Abreu brings bank chief on board as counsel

Portuguese firm Abreu Advogados has hired Paulo Teixeira Pinto, the former chairman and CEO of Portugal's largest private bank Millennium BCP, as counsel.

The hire is a powerful statement of intent for Abreu, which is fresh from securing a trio of law firm mergers, incorporating Lisbon firms Pacsa, Lusojurist and Chastre & Associados at the start of the year to challenge Portugal's top firms.

Teixeira Pinto is a high-profile figure in Portuguese business. He served as a member of parliament in the early 1990s before joining Banco Comercial Português (BCP) in 1995 to oversee its legal function. He became corporate secretary in 2000 and was appointed CEO five years later.

The mergers saw the firm grow in size by 50 per cent, adding nine partners and 50 lawyers and bringing Abreu's total number of employees up to 170.

Abreu is looking to challenge the dominance of Portugal's top four domestic law firms: Morais Leitão Galvão Teles Soares da Silva & Associados, Goncalves Pereira Castelo Branco, Vieira de Almeida and PLMJ.