LuÃs Pais Antunes is PLMJ’s new managing Partner for the next three years and takes over from Manuel Santos VÃtor, who had held the position since 2008. At PLMJ for 18 years, this partner from the firm’s regulatory law practice was elected on 14 July at the general meeting of the partners, which also elected a new board of directors. During his term of office, LuÃs Pais Antunes will focus on the internationalisation of the firm and on the development of international partnerships.
At PLMJ since 1997, LuÃs Pais Antunes has a truly impressive track record of legal work and has advised on very significant cases in the areas of corporate, TMT and European Union and competition law. Besides his legal work, LuÃs Pais Antunes has also played an important role in government, as Secretary of State for Employment in the 15th Constitutional Government, Deputy Secretary of State and of Employment in the 16th Constitutional Government, and a member of the Portuguese Parliament and vice president of its European Affairs Committee between 2005 and 2009.
LuÃs Pais Antunes feels “this challenge is one with enormous responsibility. The coming years will be particularly challenging, with the legal services market seeing a significant upturn and with ever more dynamic competition. I trust in the excellent skills and qualities of the PLMJ team and in the enormous amount of work they have been doing in Portugal and abroad to achieve consolidation at home and solidity internationally”.
I count on the unconditional support of everyone who works at PLMJ and in PLMJ International Legal Network in pursuing our objectives for the next three years. I also count on the continued support of our partners in Portugal and in other countries. Besides this, we want to continue to merit the trust our clients have placed in us”, added PLMJ’s new managing partner.
Manuel Santos VÃtor, who had held the position of PLMJ managing partner since 2008, will continue his work as a PLMJ partner and head of the firm’s corporate, energy and natural resources team. The general meeting of the partners also elected a new board of directors made up of partners Ricardo Oliveira, Paulo Farinha Alves, Tomás Pessanha, Nuno da Cunha Barnabé, Rita Alarcão Júdice and Eduardo Nogueira Pinto, in a move that is clearly in line with the strategy adopted by PLMJ of focusing on a new generation of partners.
The plan of action of the new board of directors will focus on internationalisation and international partners, business development and attracting and retaining talent.
With these changes, PLMJ enters the second half of a year of great challenges but also one of great international recognition. In 2015, PLMJ was honoured to receive the leading awards for the legal profession from independent entities accredited by the market. Highlights among these awards were Iberian Law Firm of the Year (awarded by The Lawyer) and Portuguese Firm of the Year (awarded by Who’s Who Legal).
PLMJ is one of Portugal’s top law firms. It represents companies that are national and international leaders and has been involved in many important deals over the years. The firm was founded in 1967 by António Maria Pereira and LuÃs Sáragga Leal, and they were joined in the following decade by Francisco de Oliveira Martins and José Miguel Júdice. PLMJ now has 49 partners and an overall total of 320 lawyers and support staff, in Portugal and in the nine other countries where it has a presence: Angola, Mozambique, China, Brazil, East Timor, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany and Italy.
