Described as “one of the best employment teams in the country,” this national group splits its employment practice between the Lisbon and Porto offices. The nine-member outfit is “client-focused and very quick to respond,” and noted for always being “on top of matters.” It also enjoys “excellent assistance from the junior lawyers.” The team covers the whole array of employment matters, with labour litigation and collective dismissals forming a sizeable proportion of the workload over the past year. Clients/Work Highlights: The team advised Alcoa Fujikura on the closure of its Portuguese factory and the collective dismissal and litigation that followed. Other clients include BP; Pfizer; Santander Group; Abbott and Banco BPI.

Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados’ pre-eminent employment team benefits from the firm’s outstanding corporate department, having advised some of the country’s largest companies on a wide range of employment-related issues. NAER recently instructed the firm regarding employment due diligence on ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal in view of the company’s privatisation and the construction of the new Lisbon airport. The firm also acted for Marcelle Bouhon on the termination of a distribution agreement of Parfums Christian Dior and subsequent collective dismissal. Senior associate Luís Miguel Monteiro heads the firm’s highly regarded four-fee-earners team.

Head of department Luís Miguel Monteiro, a professor and author of several books on labour law, “is highly efficient, pragmatic and very knowledgeable.”

Rising star Joana Almeida is seen as “clear-thinking and objective” as well as “quick in understanding clients’ needs.”