Dentons LEAD > Luanda, Angola > Firm Profile

Dentons LEAD
Edifício Dália Plaza, Avenida de Portugal, 31-35, 2º Andar
Luanda
Angola

Angola > Local firms Tier 1

With ‘in-depth knowledge of the Angolan market’, Dentons LEAD regularly acts for financial institutions, government bodies and international companies operating in a wide range of sectors, most notably banking, energy, oil and gas, infrastructure and mining. The group’s offering is equally broad, covering employment disputes, M&A, project finance, tax litigation and public law. With vast experience in international transactions, Djamila Pinto de Andrade heads up the corporate, M&A and banking teams, while Emanuela Vunge oversees the tax, public law and competition practices. Itweva Nogueira is recommended for energy and natural resources matters, Raquel Lourenço leads the real estate group and António Caxito heads the litigation and arbitration practice. Employment law is the key area of expertise for João Manuel Lourenço.

Leading individuals

Djamila Pinto de Andrade - Dentons LEAD

Emanuela Vunge – Dentons LEAD

Practice head(s):

Djamila Pinto de Andrade; Emanuela Vunge; Itweva Nogueira; Raquel Lourenço; António Caxito; João Manuel Lourenço

Testimonials

‘Dentons LEAD stands out for its senior partners. Although still young, they have significant experience according to international standards. But, most of all, they pass their technical knowledge and commercial approach to younger lawyers and that is why one cannot distinguishes the level of delivery from any member of the team. They are really cohesive and this is well known by clients and colleagues from other jurisdictions. Dentons LEAD senior partners are also concerned with training their team to reach the same level of quality regardless of seniority.’

‘The firm is equipped to meet the standards of responsiveness required by local and international clients. In commercial terms, they always try to find the best fit for the client, notably in regards to fees, invoicing and billing. In a nutshell, a top notch team led by high quality individuals.’

‘Djamila Pinto de Andrade, Emanuela Vunge, António Caxito Marques and João Manuel Lourenço are the partners with whom I work the most. Always available and answering promptly, with creative solutions grounded in outstanding experience and knowledge. They not only speak English fluently, but also have profound understanding of legal issues beyond Angolan law as they deal with clients and colleagues from different jurisdictions. All these qualities and its commercial approach whilst focusing on personalised legal advice are points that are not common in other local law firms.’

‘Dentons LEAD has in-depth knowledge of the Angolan market and this is a great tool when assisting clients.’

‘Djamila Pinto de Andrade and Emanuela Vunge: I value their ability to find quick solutions under pressure and in complex situations.’

Key clients

Ministry of Finance of Angola

Sonangol Group

Standard Chartered Bank

SODIBA – Sociedade de Distribuição de Bebidas de Angola

Fresenius Medical Services

Somoil – Sociedade Petrolífera Angolana SA

KSB Valves and Pumps

LL International Holdings BV

Ramos Ferreira Engenharia

Banco Económico

BAI

Work highlights

Advised the Republic of Angola and the Ministry of Finance on its London-listed multibillion-dollar global medium-term note programme (GMTN) for the issue of its international sovereign debt as well as its $1.75bn international bond issue.
Assisted Standard Chartered Bank and UK Export Finance with a €459,231,217.25 facility agreement.
Acted for lender SODIBA in the restructuring of a syndicated loan agreement with Banco Caixa Geral Angola, Banco Millennium Atlântico and Banco BIC.

Dentons LEAD (formerly Lead Advogados) is a full-service law firm, based in Angola, with a strong international focus. Already considered among the strongest players in the Angolan market, Dentons LEAD assists top clients from all over the world.

Less than four years after the firm was created, its unique approach in the Angolan Legal market led the firm to join Dentons, in this way sharing the vision of creating a truly pan-African law firm.

A deep knowledge of the Angolan legal market, its specificities and challenges, enabled the firm to assist its clients in an efficient, cost-effective and responsible manner.

Dentons LEAD prides ourselves on providing clients with both global reach and local expertise. The team advises clients in a wide range of legal areas, including corporate and M&A, finance, litigation and alternative dispute resolution, employment, natural resources, tax and public law.

More recently, while strengthening its Finance and Corporate practice, it has developed relevant experience in the telecommunications and mining sectors. The firm’s Arbitration practice has been in increasing demand, with its lawyers involved as either lawyers or as arbitrators.

The firm’s team are trusted advisors to international companies, the Angolan government and parastatals. Clients benefit from its excellent relationships and regular interaction with all stakeholders in the economy, including industry participants, industry bodies, the labour movement and regulators. Dentons LEAD partners and senior lawyers are currently involved in the legislative drafting of impactful laws and regulations, and are opinion makers in their respective fields of expertise.

Main industry sectors: Financial Institutions, Energy and Natural Resources, Construction, Government, Infrastructure and PPP, Mining, Technology, Manufacturing (Food & Beverage and consumer products), Public Sector, Media, Real Estate and Retail.

Department	Name	Email
Managing Partner	António Caxito Marques	caxito.marques@dentons.com
Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Investment	Djamila Pinto de Andrade	djamila.pintodeandrade@dentons.com
Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Investment	Raquel Lourenço	raquel.lourenco@dentons.com
Banking & Finance	Djamila Pinto de Andrade	djamila.pintodeandrade@dentons.com
Tax Law	Emanuela Vunge	emanuela.vunge@dentons.com
Litigation & Arbitration	António Caxito Marques	caxito.marques@dentons.com
Employment Law	João Manuel Lourenço	joaomanuel.lourenco@dentons.com
Real Estate	Raquel Lourenço	raquel.lourenco@dentons.com
Public Law, Competition & Law-Making	Emanuela Vunge	emanuela.vunge@dentons.com
Energy & Natural Ressources	Itweva Nogueira	itweva.nogueira@dentons.com

Name	Position	Profile
António Caxito Marques	António is Dentons LEAD’s managing partner and one of the Founding Partners…	View Profile
João Manuel Lourenço	João is a partner at Dentons LEAD and heads the Employment and…	View Profile
Raquel Lourenço	Partner, Co-heads the Corporate and M&A Practice area.Heads the Real Estate Practice Area	View Profile
Itweva Nogueira	Itweva joined the firm in January 2021 as a Partner. Itweva has…	View Profile
Djamila Pinto de Andrade	Djamila heads the Corporate, M&A and Private investment practice. She also has…	View Profile
Emanuela Vunge	Emanuela is one of the Founding Partners of Dentons LEAD and heads…	View Profile