Private Practice Powerlist: Africa Specialists
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Partner | Pinsent Masons
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Projects Admissions: England and Wales, France Languages spoken: English, French, Spanish and Guajarati A specialist in the oil and gas, natural resources and energy...
Partner | Norton Rose Fulbright
Number of years practice: 20+ Principal practice areas: Corporate and M&A, banking and finance, capital markets, project Languages spoken: French, English and Arabic What is the geographical focus of...
Partner | Vinson & Elkins R
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Project development and finance, oil and gas, M&A Admissions: England and Wales A highly regarded energy-related projects and transactions specialist, Alexander Msimang has advised...
Partner, head of Africa group | Linklaters
Number of years practice: 26 Principal practice areas: Energy, infrastructure, natural resources, telecoms Languages spoken: English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese What is the geographical focus of your practice...
Partner | Hogan Lovells
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Corporate Number of years practiced: 34 Previously leading Hogan Lovells’ global corporate practice and now heading the firm’s Africa practice, Andrew Skipper is a...
Partner | Clifford Chance
Based in: Paris Principal practice areas: Project development and finance, banking and finance, PFI PPP Renowned for his world-class guidance on a number of Africa’s landmark power, hydropower, gas, renewables...
Partner | Hogan Lovells
Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: Energy and infrastructure Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice, with a...
Partner, co-head of international arbitration | Clifford Chance
Number of years practice: 34 Principal practice areas: International arbitration Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice; I have a...
Partner | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: Private equity, international projects and financings, sovereign debt Languages spoken: French, English and Wolof-Senegal What is the geographical focus of your...
Partner | Norton Rose Fulbright
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Corporate finance Admissions: England and Wales Bar Admissions: Nigeria An expert in cross-border transactions with a lengthy track record of advising in the emerging...
Partner | Covington & Burling
Number of years practice: 23 Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice with a focus on West Africa,East Africa, Central Africa and...
Managing partner and founder | Lazareff Le Bars
Number of years practice: 23 Principal practice areas: Arbitrations, alternative dispute resolution, international contracts, international corporation and structuring Languages spoken: English and Spanish What is the geographical focus of your...
Partner | Herbert Smith Freehills
Based in: Paris Principal practice areas: Projects, corporate, energy, natural resources and infrastructure finance, M&A, project finance A true expert in affairs related to Francophone Africa, Bertrand Montembault has over...
Partner | Eversheds Sutherland
Number of years practice: 23 Principal practice areas: Project finance, energy and infrastructure, private equity Languages spoken: English, French, Spanish What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?...
Partner | White & Case
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Project development and finance Languages spoken: English and Spanish A noted specialist in infrastructure, project development and project finance, Caroline Miller Smith has a...
Senior partner and chairman | Linklaters
Based in: United Kingdom Principal practice areas: M&A, private equity Admissions: England and Wales Charles Jacobs is a leading high-end M&A partner and is renowned for his expertise on such...
Partner | DLA Piper
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Projects, corporate, energy, natural resources and infrastructure finance, M&A, project finance Receiving extensive praise for his handling of project work in Africa, Charles Morrison...
Partner | White & Case
Based in: Paris Number of years practice: 21 Principal practice areas: International arbitration, with a focus on the construction and energy industries Languages spoken: English and French What is the...
Partner | Kirkland & Ellis
Based in: London Principal practice areas: International arbitration, litigation An international arbitration and litigation expert, dual qualified Chiraag Shah leads the Kirkland & Ellis contentious African practice. He has represented...
Partner | Norton Rose Fulbright
Based in: Paris Principal practice areas: M&A, projects Bar admissions: Paris, Australia Other admissions: England & Wales, Australia With over 25 years of experience advising on several global matters, Christophe...
Partner | Simmons & Simmons
Number of years practice: 17 Principal practice areas: TMT and life sciences Languages spoken: French, English and German What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African. Please...
Partner | White & Case
Based in: Paris Admissions: Paris bar Languages spoken: English and French Before joining White & Case in 2001, Christophe von Krause was able to spend significant time in West Africa...
Partner | Trinity
Based in: Paris and Casablanca Principal practice areas: Dispute resolution, commercial litigation, international arbitration Admissions: Paris Noted by peers, legal directories and the industry press for his projects work in...
Partner | Three Crowns
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Commercial arbitration Languages spoken: English, French, Greek A leading commercial arbitration specialist that has received praised for his efforts in some of the largest...
Partner | Herbert Smith Freehills
Based in: London Years of practice: 20 Languages spoken: English, French and Arabic Leading Herbert Smith Freehills’ international arbitration group in London, Craig Tevendale is known amongst peers as a...
Partner | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
Based in: London and New York Principal practice areas: Capital markets, corporate, corporate governance, cross-border transactions, M&A For Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Daniel G. Walsh plays a key...
Partner | Linklaters
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Project finance, chemicals, energy and utilities Years of practice: 23 Nominated by peers for his outstanding work in Africa over the years, Daniel Tyrer...
Partner | Dentons
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Corporate, M&A, mining, energy Admissions: High Court of South Africa (North Gauteng, Pretoria) Darren Acres joined Dentons in London in 2011 and currently practises...
Partner | DLA Piper
Based in: London Having joined DLA Piper in 1998, David Church has been integral to the firm’s international growth including its development in Africa, where he has been working on...
Partner | Clifford Chance Europe
Number of years practice: 18 Principal practice areas: Projects and finance Languages spoken: French, English and Italian What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? My predominant focus...
Counsel | Stephenson Harwood
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Dispute resolution, commercial litigation, international arbitration An international arbitration specialist, Duncan Bagshaw has developed a renowned expertise in matters connected with projects and contracts...
Partner | Trinity
Based in: Number of years practice: 13 Principal practice areas: Project finance and commercial projects Languages spoken: English and French What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?...
Head of global M&A practice | Herbert Smith Freehills
Based in: London Number of years practice: 23 Principal practice areas: M&A, private equity, corporate Receiving plaudits in the industry press including recommendation as a “Leading Individual” in The Legal...
Partner | Clifford Chance
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Funds and investment management, M&A, corporate An expert in private funds and investment management, Gerard Saviola has advised a number of different fund sponsors...
Of counsel | Norton Rose Fulbright
Based in: Paris and Casablanca Principal practice areas: M&A, corporate Admissions: Paris Assisting in the creation of the Norton Rose Fulbright French Middle East and North Africa practice, having been...
Director | DLA Piper
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Projects, finance, infrastructure Admissions: Zambia, Scotland With career achievements that have seen him widely recognised as a leading expert in Africa related issues, Grant...
Partner | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
Based in: London With a practice that has seen him act under many different legal systems including common law and civil codes in a variety of international jurisdictions, Hamish Lal...
Partner | Dentons
Number of years practice: 35 Principal practice areas: Project finance, projects, trade and commodity finance Languages spoken: English and French What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?...
Partner, head of Africa and mining | Mayer Brown International
Number of years practice: 37 Principal practice areas: Mining and project finance Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice. Please describe the...
Partner | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Based in: Paris Number of years practice: 19 Principal practice areas: International arbitration, international disputes Languages spoken: English and French What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?...
Partner | White & Case
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Project development and finance, banking, oil and gas Admissions: England and Wales, Scotland, Hong Kong Jason Kerr is a noted specialist in projects and...
Senior counsel | McDermott Will & Emery
What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? My practice extends to all areas in Africa – but I have had less experience in the Horn countries such...
Partner | Betto Seraglini
Number of years practice: 24 Principal practice areas: International arbitration Languages spoken: French and English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice, with a focus...
Senior counsel | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Based in: Paris Principal practice areas: M&A, energy, project finance and infrastructure, sovereign governments and international institutions Languages spoken: English and French Bar Admissions: Paris Jean-Pierre Vignaud is an experienced...
Partner | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Based in: Paris Principal practice areas: Litigation, international arbitration, white-collar crime, bankruptcy and restructuring, global crisis management, public international law First joining the firm in 1990, Jean-Yves Garaud became a...
Partner | Trinity
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Projects, finance Languages spoken: English and French Memberships: Law Society of England and Wales In focusing her practice on matters related to the power...
Partner | Hogan Lovells
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Finance, projects Languages spoken: English Noted for his work on rapidly developing markets – with a particular focus on the North African region –...
Partner | Clifford Chance
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Project development and finance, banking and finance, public private partnerships Jeremy Connick’s focus on infrastructure transactions in African jurisdictions has led him to become...
Number of years practice: 40 Principal practice areas: Energy, infrastructure and public-private partnerships, project finance and development Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?...
Partner | Hunton Andrews Kurth
Number of years practice: 40 Principal practice areas: Energy, infrastructure and public-private partnerships, project finance and development Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?...
Partner | Eversheds Sutherland
Based in: London Principal practice areas: International arbitration, real estate dispute resolution, real estate planning Languages spoken: English, French, German Co-head of the firm’s Africa group, John Kemkers of Eversheds...
Partner | White & Case
Based in: London Admissions: England and Wales Languages spoken: English, Twi (Ghanaian) The widely-acclaimed Joshua Siaw advises corporate entities, governments, banks and other financial institutions on cross-border project development and...
Partner | Linklaters
Based in: London Principal practice areas: TMT Admissions: England and Wales Languages spoken: English, French, German An expert in the highly regulated areas of telecoms, financial services, professional services, utilities...
Partner, head of the Africa and India groups | Stephenson Harwood
Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: Dispute resolution – arbitration, litigation, fraud and asset tracing Languages spoken: Gujarati, Kiswahili, Hindi, French What is the geographical focus of your...
Partner, head of international arbitration | Mishcon de Reya
Number of years practice: 21 Principal practice areas: Investor-state and commercial arbitration Languages spoken: English, French and Dutch What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice....
Partner | Trinity
Number of years practice: 17 Principal practice areas: Finance, project finance Languages spoken: English, French, Italian, Bengali What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice. Please...
Partner; co-chair of the global private equity practice and the Africa practice group | Latham & Watkins
Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: M&A and private equity Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice with a focus...
Partner | Dentons
Based in: London Principal practice areas: International Bar Association; UK Oil Lawyers’ Group; London Solicitors Litigation Association Years of practice: 36 Head of Dentons’ litigation and dispute resolution practice in...
Counsel | Linklaters
Based in: Paris Principal practice areas: Projects, public and administrative law An expert on energy, renewables and infrastructure projects, Mark Barges has a track record of advising on several major...
Partner | Linklaters
Based in: London Principal practice areas: M&A, projects Admissions: England and Wales Having worked on some of the largest M&A transactions ever seen in the African energy sector, Mark Russell...
Partner, co-head of Africa globally, head of energy, natural resources and infrastructure finance | Herbert Smith Freehills
Number of years practice: 23 Principal practice areas: Energy, natural resources and infrastructure finance and project development Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?...
Global head of business | Norton Rose Fulbright
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Banking and finance, projects, commodity finance Known for having solutions to even the most challenging and significant projects, Martin McCann is a highly experienced...
Of counsel | Norton Rose Fulbright
Based in: Paris and Casablanca Principal practice areas: Corporate, real estate Presiding over Norton Rose Fulbright’s real estate and infrastructure practice in the Middle East and North Africa region, Mathieu...
Partner and global co-head of international arbitration | Linklaters
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Dispute resolution Having worked in the field for 25 years, Matthew Weiniger QC is a specialist in international arbitrations, public international law, and trade...
Partner | Shearman & Sterling
Based in: Paris Principal practice areas: International arbitration, litigation Admissions: Paris, New York, Brussels A partner in Shearman & Sterling’s international arbitration practice, Maude Lebois is highlighted for a more...
Partner | Clyde & Co
Based in: London Principal practice areas: International arbitration, commercial litigation, public international law A world-class litigator with extensive experience leading successful teams under ICC, LCIA, and UNCITRAL rules as well...
Partner | King & Spalding
Based in: Number of years practice: 24 Principal practice areas: Energy, corporate Languages spoken: French, Arabic and English Bar admissions: Paris, Algeria What is the geographical focus of your practice...
Partner, global head of international arbitration | DLA Piper
Based in: New York Number of years practice: 25 Principal practice areas: International arbitration Languages spoken: English and French What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? DLA...
Partner | White & Case
Number of years practice: 33 Principal practice areas: Arbitration and litigation, energy, telecommunications, project finance and infrastructure Languages spoken: English and French What is the geographical focus of your practice...
Partner | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Number of years practice: 24 Principal practice areas: International arbitration, energy disputes Languages spoken: English and French What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice; my...
Partner | White & Case
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Project development and finance, infrastructure Mukund Dhar is an energy, infrastructure and natural resources lawyer with experience across the power, oil and gas and...
Partner and co-head of East Africa practice | Clifford Chance
Based in: London Principal practice areas: M&A, corporate At the firm since 2002 and a partner since 2013, Nicholas Hughes of Clifford Chance uses his considerable experience in cross-border and...
Partner | Ashurst
Number of years practice: 25+ Principal practice areas: TMT Languages spoken: English, French and Japanese What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice. Please describe the...
Partner and joint head of corporate | Clifford Chance
Based in: London Principal practice areas: M&A corporate Admissions: The Law Society of England and Wales Nigel Wellings has extensive experience of covering private company M&A, joint ventures and equity...
Partner | Clifford Chance Europe
Based in: Paris Principal practice areas: Banking and finance, construction Languages spoken: English, French, Russian An expert on matters related to all types of projects in the mining, metals, oil...
Partner, co-head Africa practice group | Herbert Smith Freehills
Number of years practice: 22 Principal practice areas: Project finance Languages spoken: French and English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice with a particular...
Director | Clifford Chance
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Banking and finance Professional memberships: International Bar Association, Nigerian Bar Association With a career that has seen him undertake a position as a partner...
Partner, head of Africa and lead member of board | Orrick Rambaud Martel
Number of years practice: 20+ Principal practice areas: Banking and finance, projects Languages spoken: English and French What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice. Please...
Senior partner | Trinity International
Number of years practice: 28 Principal practice areas: Project finance and infrastructure project development Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice. Please...
Partner, head of global arbitration practice | Herbert Smith Freehills
Based in: Number of years practice: 30 Principal practice areas: International arbitration Languages spoken: English and French What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice. Please...
Partner, head of the Paris energy, infrastructure, project and asset finance group | White & Case
Number of years practice: 22 Principal practice areas: Project finance Languages spoken: French and English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice with a focus...
Partner | White & Case
Number of years practice: 30+ Principal practice areas: Project development and finance Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice. Please describe the...
Partner and head of international arbitration for continental Europe | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Number of years practice: 25 Principal practice areas: International arbitration Languages spoken: English, French, Spanish What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African. Please describe the most...
Partner | CMS
Number of years practice: 20+ Principal practice areas: Pan-African business law, tax in Africa, M&A, corporate and commercial, private equity Languages spoken: French, English and Spanish What is the geographical...
Partner; global head of disputes | Shearman & Sterling
Number of years practice: 30+ Principal practice areas: International arbitration Languages spoken: French and English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African. Please describe the most...
Partner | Mayer Brown International
Number of years practice: 21 Principal practice areas: Mining and project finance Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African practice. Please describe the...
Partner, energy and natural resources | Herbert Smith Freehills
Number of years practice: 21 Principal practice areas: M&A and disposals, joint venture structuring, project development and related financing arrangements Languages spoken: English and French What is the geographical focus...
Partner and co-head of the Africa practice | Jones Day
Number of years practice: 20+ Principal practice areas: Government regulation, TMT, global disputes and M&A Languages spoken: French and English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?...
Partner | Covington & Burling
Based in: London Number of years practice: 25 Principal practice areas: Project development and finance and M&A in emerging markets in the energy, water and infrastructure sectors. Languages spoken: English...
Partner | Linklaters
Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: International commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration, dispute resolution Languages spoken: English, French, Arabic What is the geographical focus of your practice in...
Partner | Hunton Andrews Kurth
Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: Energy and infrastructure, project finance and development, public-private partnerships and infrastructure, renewables Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your...
Partner | Hogan Lovells
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Commercial, corporate, infrastructure, projects, M&A, private equity Languages spoken: English, French, German With a truly international practice and a specific focus on Africa, Sarah...
Partner | Hogan Lovells
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Finance, asset finance, aviation law, transport Languages spoken: English, Swahili Highly commended for her performance as lead counsel on several complex matters in the...
Partner | Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Based in: Amsterdam Languages spoken: Dutch, English, Afrikaans Co-head of the firm’s Africa group, Shawn der Kinderen has worked at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer since 2000, mainly focusing on cross-border M&A...
Partner | Trinity International
Based in: London Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: Project finance, project development and corporate Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?...
Partner and head of emerging markets private equity practice | Clifford Chance
Number of years practice: 25 Principal practice areas: Private equity and corporate M&A Languages spoken: English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African. Please describe the...
Co-chair of Africa practice, chair of global mining, co-head of BHR, head of crisis management – Africa | Herbert Smith Freehills
Number of years practice: 30 Principal practice areas: Project development and structuring, crisis prevention and management, compliance, business and human rights, dispute resolution (including arbitration) Languages spoken: French and English...
Regional managing partner – UK and Africa | Hogan Lovells
Based in: London and Brussels Principal practice areas: Antitrust and competition, investigations Having been the recipient of a number of awards and high-profile industry recognition, Susan Bright is acknowledged as...
Partner | Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Dispute resolution, litigation and arbitration Leading Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s international arbitration practice from the firm’s London office, Sylvia Noury is a specialist in treaty...
Independent consultant | Cooley
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Commercial litigation, international commercial arbitration, asset recovery Recognised for his outstanding track record in dispute resolution and public international law, Tim Daniel is one...
Partner | Allen & Overy
Based in: London Number of years practice: 25 Principal practice areas: Project development and finance – energy, infrastructure, natural resources Languages spoken: English, French, German What is the geographical focus...
Director, Africa Group | Clifford Chance
Based in: London Principal practice areas: Banking and finance Admissions: New York, Cameroon and England and Wales Thanks in part to a spectacular track record in advising on African related...
Senior associate | Shearman & Sterling
Based in: London Principal practice areas: International arbitration Admissions: England and Wales, Paris A senior associate in Shearman & Sterling’s international arbitration practice, Tsegaye Laurendeau’s career experience in Africa has...
Partner; co-head of international arbitration practice; head of public international law practice; co-leader of energy practice | Shearman & Sterling
Number of years practice: 20+ Principal practice areas: International arbitration, public international law Languages spoken: French, English, Farsi What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? Pan-African. Please...
Partner | Simmons & Simmons
Number of years practice: 18 Principal practice areas: Energy, natural resources and infrastructure projects Languages spoken: French and English What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa? North...
Partner, head of global energy and infrastructure group | Orrick Rambaud Martel
Based in: Number of years practice: 39 Principal practice areas: Infrastructure, M&A and private equity, energy, funds Languages spoken: French, English What is the geographical focus of your practice in...
For over 30 years, The Legal 500 has been analysing the capabilities of law firms around the world. Over the last five years, we have expanded our analysis to include corporate counsel, again, on a global scale. This has been reflected in our GC Powerlist series, recognising the leading corporate counsel in a number of markets….read more
Most recently, we have begun the development of the Private Practice Powerlist, in which The Legal 500focuses on key individual practitioners with outstanding expertise in, and knowledge of, particular jurisdictions. This edition of the Private Practice Powerlist focuses on lawyers whose practice specialises in Africa facing matters, with a particular spotlight on those based in the major legal centres.
The Private Practice Powerlist: Africa Specialists highlights those professionals who are recognised as dedicated and capable in providing specialised, expert and transformative advice helping the continent of Africa realise its mighty potential. We have assessed a range of candidates, analysing both current practice and historical data to confirm the inclusion of individual practitioners.
To state the obvious, there is no single “African” market legal service providers operate in. In spite of the significant differences across the continent however, lawyers often face the same challenges including vast linguistic and cultural dissimilarities, lack of integration with global financial institutions and corruption, all of which risk undermining the efforts of lawyers within the continent.
That said, Africa is rich in natural resources and human talent, and investment is increasing in a variety of sectors, not just the “traditional” fields of mining, materials and energy. Banks, private equity investors and development finance institutions are becoming more comfortable with lending for Africa-based projects, and the rate of infrastructure and renewable energy transactions is increasing. Such deals are very often first-in-market, and lawyers working on them are innovating and trendsetting in terms of the practice of related law. Lawyers working in Africa in this sense are true pioneers, displaying creativity and expertise to find solutions. Whilst foreign direct investment – particularly from China – remains large, a number of intra-African investments are increasingly being made.
Many of those profiled in the Private Practice Powerlist: Africa Specialists are optimistic about the future of the continent. Crucial to this optimism was the strengthening of the legal profession. A more specialised judiciary, more “home-grown” African arbitrators, stronger legal education and local firms integrated into the wider legal community worldwide remain priorities for those seeking to improve legal practice on the continent. Africa’s growing legal maturity is exemplified through the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Corporate Law in Africa (OHADA) system, which has facilitated and simplified cross-border transactions.
Political issues also remain prevalent and there have been several leadership changes in African states in the last two years, often accompanied by pledges related to anti-corruption, economic growth and good governance. Whether this cocktail of a youthful population and the goals of increased investment and stronger institutions will have the desired effects is unclear, however what is certain is that domestic and international legal practitioners will have a huge part to play.
Jamie Rayat
Research editor, GC Powerlist series
On July 8th, Legal 500, in exclusive partnership with PLMJ, proudly unveiled a new edition of the GC Powerlist: Portugal, this time marking the first-ever Teams issue. Hosted at PLMJ’s Lisbon office, the highly anticipated event brought together the country’s most prominent and accomplished corporate legal teams to celebrate this important milestone.
Over 120 general counsel and senior in-house lawyers attended the evening reception, representing leading legal departments across Portugal. The event began with a warm welcome from Francisco Castro, Legal 500’s editorial lead for the publication. In his opening remarks, Francisco set the tone for the evening by emphasising the significance of this new format, which shifts the spotlight from individuals to entire teams. He noted that in today’s fast-evolving business landscape, in-house legal departments play a central role in their organisations’ success – and the publication seeks to reflect the strength and collaboration of Portugal’s in-house legal community.
Next to speak was Bruno Ferreira, Managing Partner at PLMJ, who delivered heartfelt congratulations to those selected for the GC Powerlist: Portugal Teams 2025. In his address, he highlighted the indispensable role in-house legal teams play in supporting business operations and advancing legal excellence. His words served as a strong endorsement of the value, resilience, and strategic insight these teams bring to the table.
Concluding the speeches was Daniela Silva e Sousa, General Counsel at Start Campus, who delivered a compelling keynote address. Speaking to her peers, she reinforced the growing importance of legal departments in shaping the future of their organisations and helping them navigate complexity and innovation.
Overall, the launch of the GC Powerlist: Portugal Teams 2025 was a resounding success – an evening of recognition, reflection, and celebration. It not only honoured the exceptional talent within the in-house legal community but also reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to showcasing the remarkable contributions of legal professionals across Portugal.
On behalf of Legal 500, we extend our sincere thanks to PLMJ for their continued partnership. We look forward to returning to Lisbon in October for the GC Summit: Portugal 2025.
