Portuguese firm Abreu Advogados has secured a trio of law firm mergers, leapfrogging its competitors into the list of the top five largest Portuguese firms.
From the new year Abreu will incorporate the practices of Lisbon firms Pacsa, Lusojurist and Chastre & Associados. The latter was once the Portuguese referral firm for now defunct Spanish firm Mullerat Abogados.
Currently Abreu turns over around 28m (£5.57m) and has 16 partners and 70 lawyers in offices in Lisbon, Madeira and Porto. The mergers will see the firm grow in size by 50 per cent, adding a further nine partners and 50 lawyers and bringing Abreu’s total number of employees up to 170.
Pacsa will bring a team of 18 lawyers and six partners with a practice focused on corporate and commercial law, finance and capital markets.
Lusojurist will also add a further 18 lawyers, dealing with M&A, banking, employment and real estate matters. Finally, the merger with Chastre will boost the firm’s IP and IT capability.
The mergers will not be the first for Abreu. In March the firm combined with mid-sized Portuguese firm Azevedo Neves Benjamim Mendes Bessa Monteiro Cardigos & Associados.
The triple merger will cap off a busy year in the usually quiet Portuguese market. Earlier this month Lisbon firm Rui Pena Arnaut & Associados brought on board a group of four Linklaters senior associates as partners.
Meanwhile, this summer saw the split between Spanish independent firm Gómez-Acebo & Pombo and its Portuguese ally Vieira de Almeida, when both revamped their international strategies.
