PLMJ is the only Portuguese firm shortlisted in the STEP Private Clients Awards 2016-2017

PLMJ’s private clients and Patrimónios Familiares has been shortlisted for an international award in the prestigious STEP awards.

PLMJ is a finalist in the STEP Private Clients Awards 2017, in the category of Private Client Legal Team of the Year (large firm). PLMJ is the only Portuguese law firm to have been shortlisted for an award this year, and it will be represented at the awards ceremony on 6 September at Westminster Park Plaza Hotel, in London.

The STEP awards are an internationally recognised Hallmark in the area of advising private clients. These awards recognise and celebrate private client solicitors, lawyers, accountants, barristers, bankers, trust managers and financial advisors.

STEP is the world’s largest and best-recognised organisation working exclusively in the area of private clients and family offices. It brings together 20,000 professionals dedicated to this industry, in 95 countries.

The PLMJ private cents and family wealth practice is headed by partner Nuno Cunha Barnabé with the support of senior associates Marta Costa, Maria Inês Assis and Patrícia Dias Mendes. It advises clients on management of private wealth, taxation of individuals (domestic and international), estate planning, family governance, foundations and philanthropy, acquiring nationality, and transferring residents.

For PLMJ partner Nuno da Cunha Barnabé, "Being shortlisted for this award is recognition of our capacity to act on an international level and of the sophistication of the advice we provide to our private clients. It also demonstrates that we match the best work done by our peers in London, Geneva and New York. This is the first time a Portuguese firm – and I believe even any firm from the Portuguese-speaking world – has been shortlisted for such an award, and we are very proud of this. This nomination is a result of the enormous investment we have made over recent years in international training for our team at the sector’s leading professional associations and forums, naturally, it is also true to say we would not be in the position we are today without the trust our clients have placed in us to coordinate their international matters, and the team now does this type of work on a regular basis".

The process for selecting the finalists for the STEP Private Clients Awards is a tough one, and it culminates in the selection of five finalists by an independent panel of people who specialise in advising private clients.

PLMJ was selected because of the innovative character of the tailor-made solutions it created for some of its clients in highly complex cases during the year 2016.

This nomination means PLMJ is, once again, recognised internationally for its work. The firm is proud of this honour, which confirms its leadership not only in Portugal, but also in cross-border cases. Moreover, it comes in the year when PLMJ celebrates its 50th anniversary of building the legal skills and experience it puts to use in serving its clients.