Areas of Expertise
Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers
Service available in four languages: Portuguese, Polish, English and Spanish.
Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers is prepared to provide legal advice to clients of different nationalities, ensuring that every legal aspect is conveyed with absolute clarity, rigour and precision.
Contact us and find out how we can protect and represent your interests in Portugal, with the security and confidence that your case requires.
Real Estate
Over the last five years, Portugal has stood out as one of the countries with the greatest capacity to recover from the global economic crisis which, about a decade ago, had a significant impact on the international economy and, in particular, on the property sector.
If the current dynamics continue, the national property market is expected to reach historic levels in the coming years.
Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers, widely recognised for its pioneering role and its distinctive approach in the sector, has proactively accompanied this evolution, establishing itself as an unavoidable reference in legal advice to the real estate sector.
We provide legal advice from a transversal and innovative perspective, covering operations involving individual real estate assets, investment portfolios and vehicle companies, ensuring an integrated and technically sophisticated service.
Civil
The challenges facing the civil area have acquired renewed relevance, extending far beyond the traditional areas associated with security.
This new paradigm for the civil industry is characterised, among other things, by a greater involvement of the industry’s players in projects of an entrepreneurial nature that have an impact on the functioning of national economies and also involve a strong technological component.
The in-depth knowledge and unrivalled experience of our agile and multidisciplinary teams of lawyers guarantee our clients – national and international public and private players – cutting-edge support, involving all the Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers practices relevant to the industry, in Portugal and in the countries where we are present.
Penal
Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers’ Misdemeanours and Criminal Law Department is made up of a team specialised in representing clients in criminal, misdemeanour and regulatory proceedings, working closely with other areas of the firm.
In preventive matters, it advises on the creation and implementation of compliance programmes, with a focus on risk mitigation and compliance with legal and regulatory standards, especially on issues such as corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing and whistleblower protection.
The team has experience in internal investigations and provides legal support in complying with international sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United Nations, safeguarding companies from legal and reputational risks.
Labour
Labour law is a central area in the management of any organisation, requiring a balance between the company’s goals and workers’ rights. With constant changes in labour dynamics, solid, strategic and up-to-date legal support is essential.
Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers has a specialised team that provides comprehensive employment advice in Portugal and other international contexts, working in sectors such as health, transport, energy, banking, tourism and real estate. Our work ranges from labour restructuring, collective bargaining, social security and the civil service to emerging issues such as diversity, inclusion, sustainability and new forms of work.
With a multidisciplinary approach and a focus on innovation, the firm has developed the HR Future initiative, aimed at the challenges of the future of labour relations, such as Labour Tech and new organisational models. This proactive and adaptable vision makes it possible to accurately assess risks and define effective labour strategies, ensuring practical solutions in line with the evolution of the labour market.
Contracts
At Ferreira & Ferreira, we offer our clients extensive experience in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contracts across a wide range of areas, including lease agreements, employment contracts, and commercial contracts. Our team combines legal precision with a practical and personalized approach, ensuring our clients’ interests are fully protected at every stage of the contractual process.
With a clear international focus, we provide legal advice in multiple languages — Portuguese, English, Spanish, and Polish — enabling us to effectively support both domestic and international clients. Our multidisciplinary expertise and sensitivity to the cultural and legal nuances of different jurisdictions make Ferreira & Ferreira a trusted partner for securing clear and reliable contractual agreements.
Fiscal
With more than forty years consolidated experience in providing legal advice to economic groups, listed companies, financial institutions, investment funds, foundations, private estates and individual investors, Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers has developed a distinctive analytical capacity for devising efficient and innovative tax strategies, adapted to a highly regulated legal environment that is subject to constant scrutiny.
We adopt a practical, results-orientated approach, integrating interdisciplinary and multi-jurisdictional teams tailored to the specific needs of each client and sector of activity.
Our team is recognised for its creativity and strategic firmness, and has achieved significant results in Portugal and in other jurisdictions where Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers operates, particularly in cases of high complexity and economic relevance.
Commercial and Business
At Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers, we invest in an in-depth understanding of our clients’ business reality, with the aim of contributing, in an agile and proactive manner, to the growth and sustained success of their activities. Our teams operate in an integrated manner, combining specialised legal knowledge with a precise reading of the regulatory dynamics of each sector and the particularities of the markets in which our clients operate.
The continuous commitment to innovation, through the modernisation of methodologies and the application of advanced technological solutions, in close collaboration with clients, has been a distinctive element in the quality of our services.
The experience, diversity and multidisciplinary capacity of the team dedicated to the business and social sector are widely recognised, both in Portugal and in the international jurisdictions where Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers is present.
Tourism
Tourism, as a key sector of the national economy, is today one of the biggest contributors to the country’s GDP. In its more traditional mould, it develops around the sea and the sun and continues to grow exponentially.
The wave of investment in the sector is now also centred on new concepts such as cultural, sports, urban, ecological and business tourism.
With a team of lawyers specifically dedicated to tourism, we support financiers, investors, developers, owners and public bodies, particularly in the areas of licensing and urban planning, in the development of hotels, resorts, golf courses, ecological tourism projects and marinas, for emblematic clients at both private and public level. We provide full-service legal advice, integrating lawyers from other sectors into the tourism team, tailored to the needs of each specific project.
Transport
The transport industry is one of the sectors most vulnerable to economic fluctuations, traditionally reflected in the globalisation movement, in which it has played a pioneering role.
We have formed a multidisciplinary team of lawyers, highly specialised in the demands of the sector, drawing on different areas of practice and expertise to offer complete and comprehensive legal support.
Our clients include producers, multinational companies, OEMs and internationally renowned groups in the areas of electronics, food, manufactured goods and raw materials transport, among others.
From the management and protection of brands to contractual and commercial relationships (franchises, concessions, agencies and other transport models), including the structuring of transport models in accordance with competition legislation and the identification of solutions within the legal and regulatory framework, both national and EU, we provide integrated legal advice which, adapted to the needs of our clients, includes the relevant practices of our firm for each situation.
Succession and Sharing
Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers offers specialised legal advice on succession and inheritance matters, focusing on both family and business contexts, both nationally and internationally. Recognising that inheritance processes often involve sensitive, emotional and complex property dimensions, we provide technical, confidential and humanised support tailored to the specific nature of each situation.
Our intervention covers all stages of the inheritance process – from preventive succession planning and structuring asset transfer strategies, to conducting heir qualification processes, judicial or extrajudicial partitions and resolving inheritance-related disputes. This assistance can involve both individuals and family companies, where the continuity of the business requires an integrated and strategically thought-out approach.
We also stand out for our rigorous work in drafting, re-reading, analysing and negotiating essential documents in these contexts: wills, succession pacts, deeds of division, agreements between heirs, donation contracts with reservation of usufruct, and instruments for the transfer of shares or immovable property. Our team works fluently in Portuguese, Polish, English and Spanish, ensuring that all contracts and legal instruments are understood and legally valid in the different jurisdictions involved, particularly in cases with international connections.
Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers’ multidisciplinary approach allows us to combine expertise in complementary areas such as tax, real estate, corporate law and litigation, guaranteeing an integrated approach to preventing conflicts, optimising asset solutions and protecting the interests of our clients and their heirs.
Administrative
Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers offers legal advice specialising in Administrative Law, acting both to prevent disputes and to represent clients in administrative and contentious-administrative proceedings. We support national and foreign clients, both public and private, in their dealings with the Public Administration, ensuring strict compliance with the legal framework and the defence of their rights and interests.
Our intervention covers matters such as public procurement, administrative procedures, licensing, civil liability of the state, concessions, public-private partnerships and legal regimes applicable to administrative activity. We work on challenging administrative acts, monitoring sanctioning procedures and supporting the implementation of projects subject to public regulation.
We excel at drafting, re-reading, analysing and negotiating national and international administrative contracts, including works, concession, supply and service contracts, in Portuguese, Polish, Spanish and English. This multilingual approach is particularly relevant in cross-border contexts or with European funding.
With a multidisciplinary team and consolidated experience in dealing with areas such as urban planning, the environment, energy, transport and litigation, we guarantee effective legal solutions that are strategically orientated towards dealing with public entities, promoting legal certainty and predictability in decision-making.
Foreign Investment
Social and foreign investment is an investment strategy that aims to combine the generation of positive social impact with obtaining a financial return, with an emphasis on social objectives. This type of investment has experienced significant growth in recent years, fuelled in particular by European legislation on Social Entrepreneurship Funds, which are regulated in Portugal.
The dissemination, both in Portugal and elsewhere, of innovation and social entrepreneurship projects has been crucial in attracting the increasing attention of foreign investors, such as business angels, venture capital funds, entrepreneurship and/or social investment funds, and other entities which, by preferring to invest in “social businesses”, have contributed to the creation of a new “impact market”, in line with the new ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) trends.
At Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers, we have closely followed this movement since its inception, in collaboration with the main public and private stakeholders, including the Portugal Social Innovation Mission Structure, with the aim of actively contributing to the development of this new ecosystem. In this context, we have extensive experience in advising both social and foreign investors and promoters of social and environmental impact projects, having participated in the most important social and foreign investment operations in Portugal, including those developed under the Portugal Social Innovation programme.
Corporate e M&A
The Corporate and M&A area is essentially transactional, with vast and solid experience in mergers and acquisitions of varying complexity and size. Our client portfolio includes international and national companies and investors from a wide range of areas and backgrounds, and we have participated in a significant number of transactions in key sectors such as banking, insurance, energy, infrastructure, health, communications and technology.
Our activity focuses mainly on the acquisition and sale of companies, mergers, demergers, joint ventures, partnerships, privatisations, corporate reorganisations, restructurings and takeover and sale bids.
We are a multidisciplinary team with vast and solid experience, working in close collaboration with the various areas of the firm, guaranteeing, through an integrated approach of sectoral skills and expertise (namely in the tax, financial, regulatory, competition, labour and industrial property areas, among others), the development of innovative solutions geared towards the objectives and results of our clients, always taking into account the specificities of each case.
Litigation and Arbitration
Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers is guided by the diligent pursuit of all legally admissible means of resolving disputes involving its clients, favouring swift and effective solutions with the least possible impact on them. This guiding principle forms the basis of the approach we adopt in each case.
We represent our clients’ interests in highly complex litigation, both in court and in arbitration, both in Portugal and in the various territories where Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers is present.
Our practice includes regular co-operation with prestigious international law firms, particularly in matters governed by European and North American jurisdictions, using the support of local firms that are part of the Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers network whenever necessary.
Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency
The Restructuring & Insolvency Area is the result of the firm’s strategic commitment to offering complete and integrated monitoring of matters related to corporate restructuring and insolvency, adopting an innovative approach in the Portuguese market through a specialised team dedicated exclusively to these issues.
The area supports corporate clients in the various dimensions and situations associated with restructuring and insolvency activity, including financial restructuring, negotiation of distressed assets, monitoring of REREs, strategic definition, legal representation in PERs and insolvency proceedings, definition and implementation of insolvency plans, as well as all activity linked to the legal structuring of the commercialisation and monitoring of NPLs.
Our clients’ support on these various issues is ensured by close and continuous collaboration with other areas of the firm – such as the banking & finance area, in financial restructuring, defining insolvency plans and structuring and monitoring NPL operations; the corporate and M&A area, in monitoring REREs, negotiating distressed assets and structuring insolvency plans; and the litigation & arbitration area, in defining and monitoring our clients’ position in PERs and insolvency proceedings, at all procedural stages involved. The firm’s other areas, such as tax and property & urban planning, are also called upon to intervene when necessary, guaranteeing a fully integrated solution tailored to the client’s needs.
Ferreira & Ferreira Lawyers