MACEDO VITORINO > Lisbon, Portugal > Firm Profile
MACEDO VITORINO Offices
RUA DO ALECRIM 26E
1200-018 LISBOA
Portugal
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MACEDO VITORINO > The Legal 500 Rankings
Portugal > Banking and finance Tier 3
The banking and finance team at MACEDO VITORINO ‘offers an excellent level of service’ to its domestic and international client base. Operating across a myriad of industries, including financial services, real estate, TMT, energy and infrastructure, the practice provides support in a range of transactional matters, including acquisition finance, structured deals and project finance. The group is under the joint leadership of founding partner António de Macedo Vitorino, noted for his focus on corporate finance, and André Vasques Dias, a key port of call for international banks and companies in connection with financing transactions.Practice head(s):
António de Macedo Vitorino; André Vasques Dias
Testimonials
‘The team is responsive, compliant with timings and offers an excellent level of service.’
Key clients
Lisboa Ocidental SRU
Crédit Agricole and Investment Bank
Bankinter SA, Banca March SA and Edmond de Rothschild Funds
HC Hospitais Concessionados, SA
TIH-Tejo Infraestruturas Hospitalares
Aberdeen and Sacyr Somague
Natixis
Nowo Group
Cohort Plc
Nordic Solar Management
Banco Montepio
Tresmares Capital
Crédito Agricola Group
Frequent Summer Group
Work highlights
- Advised the Municipality of Lisbon in connection with several affordable housing PPP projects.
- Advised Bankinter SA; Banca March; and Edmond de Rothschild Funds as lenders on the refinancing of several mini-hydric projects owned by White Summit Capital.
- Assisting Crédito Agrícola Group with a green loan to be granted to Atenor for the construction of an office building in Lisbon.
Portugal > Capital markets Tier 4
Under the leadership of founding partner António de Macedo Vitorino, the ‘very helpful’ team at MACEDO VITORINO is well versed in a range of capital markets matters, including debt transactions, derivatives and securitisations. Fellow co-head André Vasques Dias is regularly engaged by domestic and international banks and companies seeking assistance with financing, capital markets, M&A and tax matters.Practice head(s):
António de Macedo Vitorino; André Vasques Dias
Testimonials
‘I recommend the team for its trust, knowledge, thoughtful judgment, availability, flexibility, resilience, and advice.’
‘Great attention to the detail.’
‘Very helpful and friendly.’
Key clients
Arjun Infrastructure Partners
Fábrica de Papel Tojal – Fapajal
Banco Montepio
Work highlights
- Advising Arjun Infrastructures Partners in connection with a mezzanine financing for the refinancing of several solar parks.
- Advised Fapajal in reviewing the bond issue agreement and taking all steps for the issuance and registration of the bonds.
- Advising Banco Montepio in connection with a commercial paper programme
Portugal > Employment Tier 4
MACEDO VITORINO advises clients on a wide array of employment matters, from restructurings and M&A,to labour litigation and social security issues. The group is particularly adept at representing public sector clients in collective bargaining and resolving collective conflicts. Practice head Guilherme Machado Dray frequently collaborates with the Portuguese government, playing a key role in mediating labour disputes and negotiating collective bargaining agreements.Practice head(s):
Guilherme Machado Dray
Other key lawyers:
Joana Fuzeta da Ponte
Testimonials
‘The opinions provided are always well-founded, showcasing a unique ability to work and respond rapidly. Their speed and care in understanding issues to deliver the best service are exemplary.’
‘Joana Fuzeta da Ponte has excelled in managing processes and requests with discretion, attentive listening for comprehensive legal opinions, flexibility, and a close proximity that enhances interaction.’
‘The team is characterised by constant availability and a rapid response capacity.’
‘This team distinctively combines deep legal knowledge with an exceptional ability to quickly grasp the client’s business, its changes, regulatory impacts, and various underlying business models.’
‘Joana Fuzeta da Ponte is commendable for her ability to contribute to defining legal solutions with significant creativity and pragmatism.’
Key clients
CP – Comboios de Portugal
Metropolitano de Lisboa, E.P.E.
Carris – Transporte Público de Lisboa
Carristur
Siderurgia Nacional (Grupo Megasa)
Infraestruturas de Portugal
Rotork
MobiE – Mobilidade Elétrica
Aga Khan Foundation (in Portugal)
Aggraria Siglo XXI
SBSI/ Mais Sindicato
AIEL – Associação para a Inovação e Empreendedorismo de Lisboa
Transtejo Soflusa – Entre as margens do Tejo (Transtejo Group
Multivision
Precision Development, Inc.
Augolf
Moody’s
Work highlights
- Provides services to TAP Air Portugal as mediators between the company and the unions in the context of a labour restructuring plan.
- Supported CP-Comboios de Portugal in the negotiation of two single undertaking agreements between the unions and the company.
- Assists Infraestruturas de Portugal in labour mediation, collective bargaining and social dialogue with all the unions.
Portugal > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 5
The corporate and M&A group at MACEDO VITORINO excels in M&A, commercial contracts and regulatory matters in the telecoms, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, to name a few. A litany of domestic and multinational clients, including private equity houses, investment funds, family offices and multinational companies, turn to João Macedo Vitorino for his expertise in M&A, corporate and commercial law; he is a key contact for players from the telecoms and energy sectors. Vitorino oversees the practice with Susana Vieira, who is routinely instructed in due diligence for national and cross-border transactions, with a particular focus on the real estate sector.Practice head(s):
João Macedo Vitorino; Susana Vieira
Other key lawyers:
Cláudia Fernandes Martins; Frederico Vidigal; João Silva
Key clients
Arjun Infrastructures Partners
Amber Infrastructure
White Summit Capital
Parparticipadas
Avis Budget EMEA Limited
Inmarsat
Alive Business Consulting
Ibérica Kemya SL
Foresight
Solaria Energía I Medio Ambiente
Alicac Group
Moiagest SGPS
Masmovil Ibercom and Lorca JV Co
Greystar Spain SL
Work highlights
- Advising Arjun Infrastructures Partners in connection with its potential investment in Amarenco Solar Ltd.
- Advising Amber Infrastructure on the acquisition of a minority stake in R. Power.
Portugal > Dispute resolution Tier 5
Under the leadership of João Macedo Vitorino, the dispute resolution team at MACEDO VITORINO is well placed to advise its domestic and international client base on distribution agreements and insolvency-related litigation and arbitration. A litany of Portuguese and multinational companies, private equity houses, investment funds and family offices turn to Vitorino for assistance with a broad range of disputes.Practice head(s):
João Macedo Vitorino
Other key lawyers:
António de Macedo Vitorino
Portugal > Energy and natural resources
MACEDO VITORINO > Firm Profile
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
---|---|---|---|
Banking and finance | |||
Capital markets | |||
Construction and real estate | |||
Corporate and M&A | |||
Employment | |||
Energy and telecommunications | |||
European law and competition | |||
Foreign investments | |||
Intellectual property | |||
Litigation and arbitration | |||
Private equity | |||
Project finance | |||
Public law | |||
Tax and tax litigation | |||
Technology, media and information | |||
Restructuring and insolvency |
Staff Figures
Number of lawyers : 24Languages
English French Italian SpanishOther
Contact : Susana VieiraInterviews
António de Macedo Vitorino, Senior Partner
Senior Partner António de Macedo Vitorino talks differentiation and success in today's market, forward-thinking strategy and the true meaning of 'adding value' to clients.What do you see as the main points that differentiate Macedo Vitorino & Associados from your competitors?
Attention to the details, clarity, looking one step ahead. Generally, firms will tell you that they can deliver the best service and that they are commercially aware, but only a few can actually deliver. This is because any firm is only worth what their lawyers are capable of doing. If you have a talented team and the right business procedures, you can excel. For us, the key elements in service delivery are the attention to the quality of our processes down to the smallest points, not overstepping your role and to understand and really listen to your client. Not many firms do that. We cannot pretend that we are the best, but we like to pride ourselves in not falling short on our promise to clients: clarity, straight to the point, no legal jargon.
Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?
Data protection, M&A, banking and real estate. These are the areas we are seeing expanding in the market. We expect growth to continue despite the uncertainty that is felt caused by Brexit and US/China tensions. The real estate boom seems close to its end but before slowing down there will be a period of continued growth. There are several projects in the pipeline that will keep the economy and law firms busy for at least the next 12 months. On data protection and privacy, we have only scratched the surface. The use of personal data for client profiling and service and product customization will be the next big thing. Trading of data and b2b services using personal data will continue to grow. So, we see this as one of the big market opportunities for the next 12 months and beyond. Transactional services in M&A and banking are also expanding. We are now around pre-crisis levels, but we expect this to improve.
What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?
Updating our internal IT systems and moving to an extremely secure cloud system. Clients don’t see it but it is changing the way we collaborate, the way we produce documents with the changes being made simultaneously by many lawyers working in the office, from home or anywhere where they have an Internet connection. We work faster and better. It’s a revolution as big as the use of email in the nineties.
Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?
Yes. We can now share workspaces with clients and bring them in on the document creation process. Sharing and working on documents in a single point of access has already changed the way we do due diligence work. We are now a long way from the days we had to go to a physical data room to look at documents and take notes. You can access virtual data rooms. That has been a big change, although people seem not give it too much credit. Sharing actual work spaces and promoting collaborative working will more than double the speed at which you can negotiate and produce a contract, a legal opinion or a court brief.
We are now doing it internally with extraordinary results. We need to bring in the client and other stakeholders to the document production process. We will gain in the speed at which we work and also in the quality of the end product. The technology is available. We only need to start doing things in a different way. In the next ten years, collaboration tools and systems will be the norm.
In 5 to 10 years Artificial Intelligence tools will also be used on a day-to-day basis, but we are not there yet.
Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?
Tough question. We like to say that if we deliver a good service, we have added value to the client’s business. Many times, it’s in the small stuff that you add real value. Picking up the phone and answering a question can lift a weight from the client’s shoulders and that is what we are here for. We are not stars doing miracles, but ordinary people who can do their job well.
Sometimes, doing your job well can have an outstanding result. For instance, on one occasion we were working on a financing and we were able to negotiate two comfort letters that made the difference in the pricing of the loan facility to fall to less than 20% of the initially agreed price. Because of that the entire structure of the transaction changed, new lenders were brought into the deal and the clients and the borrower were very happy with the result.
But we still say that our job is that attention to the detail and not trying to reinvent the wheel. Small things may make a big difference. We add value if the client tells us that we did our job well no matter how small or how important that particular assignment was.
Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?
In many instances the lawyer’s role is more that of a counsel. Clients want lawyers’ reassurance that the desired actions are suitable from a legal stand point, giving them a stable base for conducting business.
Clients also seek advice or even the validation of strategic decisions. Counseling is at the root of a lawyer’s traditional role and it seems increasingly important as the forms of delivery of legal services become more commoditized and are taken over by legal processors and the legal arms of accounting firms.
We expect to continue the same path we have to date but also to bring more disruptive solutions to the market. We will continue investing in people, processes, technology and our clients.