About

Portuguese information technology (IT) solutions multinational Novabase provides services to a range of sectors, and operates a venture capital division that helps to identify and develop high-growth potential information and communications technology projects in Portugal. It has been listed on the Euronext Lisbon stock exchange since 2000 and is now present in over 40 countries. Supporting this rare example of a Portuguese-originated technology success story is a small legal team that has won much praise for its ability to align with the organisation and adapt its advice to the evolving needs of business. Novabase’s legal affairs are also supported by staff in Mozambique and Angola, helping the company to align with local counsel to protect its interests outside Portugal. The team handles a range of matters internally – from employment to IP to M&A due diligence – but won particular praise for its ability to develop innovative ways of serving the business. As a tech company it is no surprise to see them using software and IT systems to handle legal work but, according to one nominator, ‘the Novabase legal team does not just take off-the-shelf products but really thinks about how it can use new methods of working to reduce workloads and become more efficient’. In early 2017 Novabase’s general counsel Carina Branco left Novabase. After establishing the legal team and leading it for several years, she will be difficult to replace, but the foundations she laid leave behind a first-rate legal team capable of taking the business forward.