Diana Ribeiro Duarte

Diana is a partner at the corporate department where she co-heads the Private Equity team and is a leading partner providing Sustainability: ESG and Human Rights related services.

Her legal practice has focused increasingly on advising PE traditional investors and M&A strategic players, from traditional buyout players (including “take privates”) and infrastructure funds, to pension funds, family offices, and other alternative asset managers, in private transactions (investments and exits), joint ventures and minority acquisitions, with substantial experience in structuring and negotiating cross-border transactions as well as the acquisition and divestiture of corporate divisions.

In later stages, she has also been involved both in the “buy” and the “sell" sides in some of the most relevant acquisition transactions (bilateral or through auctions) on the Portuguese market involving private equity and private market sponsors (alone and/or in club deals).

On the fund formation front, she addresses a full spectrum of legal and business challenges that arise throughout the life cycle of a fund (incorporation, liquidation, mergers). She advises clients ranging from first-time fund sponsors to large institutional asset managers across a variety of asset classes and investment areas, including buyout funds, infrastructure, power, and energy funds, secondary funds, and venture funds. 

Diana is one of the partners of the team providing Sustainability: ESG and Human Rights services, leading the regulatory and strategic advisory on the implementation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulations and Taxonomy Regulation to asset managers, developing their policies and adjusting to constantly changing times.

Diana has had an active and significant role in multiple privatization processes in Portugal. In other areas of capital markets, she has been involved in the structuring of several public offers, from IPOs to tender offers, advising offeror and target companies.

Diana has made use of her high profile as a lawyer to advocate for women’s career advancement on an equal footing.

Winner in 2021 of the IFLR “Europe Rising Star of the Year”, of the “Women in Business Law Awards Europe – Corporate Rising Star”, by the Euromoney group and of the “Lawyer of the Year – Private Equity” by the “Iberian Lawyer – Forty under 40 Award”.