PLMJ’s launches Italian Desk, a multidisciplinary team focused on providing support for italian investments in Portugal and in portuguese language countries, coordinated by portuguese-italian partner Serena Cabrita Neto

PLMJ has taken another important step in its internationalisation strategy by setting up a new team dedicated exclusively to clients of Italian origin and companies that wish to invest in Italy. The Italian Desk features a team of lawyers with extensive knowledge of the Italian language, market and culture as well as the experience that comes from many years advising clients and companies from Italy or with Italian capital.

Coordinated by PLMJ tax partner Serena Cabrita Neto, who is an Italian national, the team is made up of lawyers with special ties to the country who are fluent in Italian. These include Marta Costa and Célia Vieira de Freitas from PLMJ and Renata Valenti, also an italian national, who works at GLA - Gabinete Legal Angola, PLMJ’s associated firm in Angola. The team is perfectly positioned to offer a multidisciplinary service and to work across a range of sectors including international trade and e-commerce, luxury goods and services, tourism, industry and retail, among others. The team also benefits from the support of more than 200 PLMJ lawyers at its offices in Lisbon, Oporto and Faro, and also further afield in the associated firms in Angola, Mozambique and soon East Timor, with all the advantages of permanent, centralised support in Italian. This means that the client always deals with a contact lawyer who speaks Italian and has experience in dealing with Italian investors and will coordinate the work, providing a full service in all the countries where PLMJ has a presence, directly or through its international network. In the words of team coordinator Serena Cabrita Neto, “With the new Desk we plan to provide clients from Italy with more effective support which will be based on in-depth knowledge of the Italian market and the needs of its companies and individuals that decide to invest in Portugal or in other Portuguese-speaking countries. We will also be in a perfect situation to provide support to clients who want to invest in Italy, using the same skills and knowledge of the two countries involved.”

The lawyers of if the Italian Desk have all the skills necessary to represent Italian clients and advise companies in their expansion to Italy in areas including corporate a M&A, tax, finance and capital markets, consumer law, employment, intellectual property, competition, real estate and construction, and private clients, particularly in the areas of family law, inheritance and wealth management, among others.

PLMJ’s international network is also a huge benefit for clients as it makes it possible for us to provide legal support for any transaction that involves different jurisdictions with the same guarantee of quality. PLMJ International Legal Network has a presence in most Portuguese-speaking countries including Angola, Mozambique, Brazil, Macao and soon East Timor.

The decision to go ahead and set up a new desk focused on the Italian market is the result of PLMJ’s accumulation of know-how and experience in the country and also of the current growth in the number of Italian-owned companies wanting to do business in Portuguese-speaking countries, in particular, Angola and Mozambique, in areas such as construction of infrastructures and the energy and industry sectors. Furthermore, the market for luxury brands also has great potential for growth in these countries where purchasing power is constantly increasing. The luxury segment has also gained ground in Portugal, with the opening of a number of stores of Italian origin and PLMJ already has a history of success in providing legal support in this area of activity.

The creation of yet another Desk specialising in specific market of origin of investors, which joins the teams we have already set up to focus on the markets of Angola, Mozambique, Germany, France, Brazil and China/Macao, is yet another step in PLMJ’s strategy of internationalisation, with the creation of multidisciplinary teams that bring together language skills, knowledge of cultures and know-how gained in specific markets where investors place a great deal of importance on specially tailored advice and support delivered in their own language and recognise the added value of PLMJ’s extensive experience. This model is a strategic investment by PLMJ and has made it possible for the firm to stand out among its competitors by making it possible to guarantee the client a high level of technical quality at the same time as offering knowledge of the specifics of each of these countries, with the support of local firms that belong to PLMJ’s international network.