Professional notice
Portugal
The elite team at PLMJ could hardly be busier, as the competition group – led by Ricardo Oliveira – is involved in the two largest ongoing investigations by Portugal’s Competition Authority. It represents two suppliers in the authority’s investigation into the retail distribution sector, in the largest antitrust investigation ever opened by the enforcer. The group also counsels a leading insurer in the competition watchdog’s investigation into the insurance sector.
Acting on behalf of the National Association of Pharmacies and its subsidiaries, the firm in June 2017 persuaded the Lisbon Court of Appeal to cut the enforcer’s €10.5 million fine for an abuse of dominance by more than 90%. However, in October 2017 the Competition Regulation and Supervision Court upheld the authority’s €150,000 fine on PLMJ client Ford Lusitana for providing inaccurate information during an antitrust investigation into the company’s car warranty clauses, which required customers to use only authorised repairers.
Beyond its work on these investigations by the competition watchdog, the team represented the regional government of Madeira in the state aid notification to the European Commission of the tender conditions for the reinstatement of a ferry line between the island of Madeira and the continent. The firm also acted for Macquarie in the merger control aspects of the acquisition of the Iberian parking concession company Empark.
PLMJ is Portugal's largest and most senior law firm with over 290 lawyers, including 61 partners. With 50 years of history and experience, PLMJ stands out as a full-service firm that offers a high degree of specialisation gained from working across industries, sectors and countries.
The firm is recognised for its unparallelled quality in advising Portuguese, international and foreign investment clients on a wide range of matters. Through its solid network, PLMJ has established itself as a benchmark for legal services outside Portugal, thanks to its partnerships with local, independent firms in Angola, Mozambique, China, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Brazil and Cape Verde. PLMJ also has specialised desks for France, Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Benelux, Scandinavia and Italy, to cover the key markets for outbound and inbound investment in Portuguese-speaking countries. Working with PLMJ Network, clients have access to multidisciplinary teams of lawyers who provide high-quality cross-border services enhanced by deep knowledge of the local markets and legal systems where we work. This approach guarantees the day-to-day provision of integrated legal services throughout our network. Clients benefit not only from the contacts and the immediate response, but also the security the network affords while maintaining the same coordinating partner who manages the work of all teams involved.
International network
PLMJ has a solid network of partnerships – the PLMJ Network – across Portuguese-speaking countries. The network benefits from the synergies generated by a common language.
Full service
Practice areas include arbitration; banking and finance; capital markets; corporate / M&A; criminal law, white collar and compliance, employment and labour law; energy and natural resources; EU and competition law; insolvency and restructuring; intellectual property; litigation; projects and infrastructures; real estate; tax law; and telecommunications, media and technology(TMT).
Market recognition
PLMJ has achieved a consistent and high level of recognition in all the leading legal directories, such as Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, IFLR1000 and Best Lawyers. The firm has also had the privilege of receiving some of the most renowned legal awards including those given by Chambers Europe, The Lawyer, FT Innovative Lawyers and Who’s Who Legal, among others.