IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

The main theme that restructuring and insolvency practitioners have noted in the last year has been a substantial increase in insolvency proceedings. "There is a lot of work and many judicial insolvencies and pre-insolvency matters in 2010. There were much more insolvency filings than in the previous years," says one partner.

The wider European trend has seen a concerted effort to keep cases out of court and find a way to reach an agreement with creditors, but in Portugal this does not seem to be quite so prevalent. "There isn't that much restructuring work unfortunately, but there's more insolvency work in the last 12 months," says another practitioner.

One aspect, which is proving to be a source of great annoyance to practitioners, is the failings of the commercial courts. "They're very slow, they are very very slow. The main problem is we did not have enough specialised courts," explains one partner.

While it can be argued that the sheer number of cases emerging from the financial crash could not have been predicted far in advance and thus expansion of the courts was not possible, partners also point to more simple practical issues which should have been addressed. "Lack of administrators, they are not very well prepared, it's a problem because the court appoints the same person. The criteria is not very clear, the criteria of the court to appoint the administrator," says one insolvency practitioner.

There have also been voices of dissent raised against the insolvency law. Now almost a decade old, the law was introduced before the financial crash and thus has been found wanting in certain areas now it is being more rigorously tested. However the main shift from the old law has seen a greater importance put on creditors rights and has generally been seen as a good thing. "Our former law is quite different; our former law was in favour of the company," one partner explains. "The Spanish [law] is very similar to Portuguese law. The creditors have a lot of power, all the law is to defend the interest of the lenders instead of the debtors."

PLMJ's restructuring and insolvency team is one of the clear market leaders and few would argue with its status position in the table. The team is led by star partner Nuno Líbano Monteiro, who came in for personal praise from both clients and peers. "I've been working with Nuno Líbano Monteiro for ten years, but also with some other lawyers at the firm," says one client. "I'd follow him if he leaves the firm." The client explains that the good thing about PLMJ is no matter what problems he encounters, lawyers at the firm always try to help to find solutions. "If I've a labour problem, I have a lawyer that can help me on this subject. If I have a crime problem, I have someone [to help me]. Mr Monteiro is the bridge, I contact them and they make sure I have good service from the firm."

Innovation was also pointed out by clients as one of the firm's key attributes. "What I can say is that my case is not another person's case, so they try to fulfil and to prepare my case which is the only one that matters," says one client. "They mix [their former] experiences and put it into my case in order to do it in the best way."

Monteiro was involved in most of the substantial mandates last year. One highlight saw him lead the team involved in the insolvency procedure of the holding company of the Portuguese Bank BPN, named SLN Valor - SGPS, the team advised one of the holding companies' creditors Joaquim Alberto Vieira Coimbra.

Another highlight saw Monteiro again involved teaming up with Manuela Tavares Morais to advise daily general counselling in the insolvency and pre-insolvency situations of diverse clients in the pharmaceutical sector. The mandate surpasses €25 million.

Alongside Monteiro, a young associate Nuno Miguel Lourenco also came in for specific praise. "Their technical ability is quite good and we're quite satisfied with all the jobs they've done," says one client. "They've accomplished all the objects we had in these situations."

Elsewhere four companies, including Alicoop, Alisuper, Macral and Geneco acting together as one of the biggest distributors in Algarve, also called in the firm when Monteiro advised them on insolvency procedure. The team was involved in preparing and submitting an insolvency plan for those four firms to recover, as well as negotiating with the creditors.

In relation to the lawyers' legal knowledge, clients are satisfied with the team's performance. "I'm quite satisfied because of the preparing meeting for this process," says one. "I've the information; I've the feeling and I'm quite sure they dominate all the legal procedures or legal laws, in order to give the steps towards where we want to go."

Another highlight saw Pedro Faria lead the team acting for Silvip in relation to the €12 million insolvency proceeding of Massa Insolvente De Papelaco - Sociedade De Representações De Papel E Máquinas De Escritório. The legal action was filed against the insolvent company in order to obtain the annulment of the revocation determined by the insolvency manager of the purchase and sale of real estate.

Leading the team at VdA is litigation and arbitration partner Frederico Gonçalves Pereira who has led on most of the firm's restructuring and insolvency mandates. Clients are quick to praise him: "His technical ability is quite good, I would even say excellent, because he's quite competent and he assists us in a very quick and efficient manner," says one. "He is excellent, we use the firm systematically on legal aspects regarding litigation [transactions]."

When it comes to accessibility, clients seem to be quite satisfied with their availability as one says: "We're almost in permanent contact. They're quite accessible to us."

One notable mandate saw Pereira lead the team acting for Nanium (former Qimonda Portugal) in the implementation of the restructuring plan approved within the company insolvency proceedings. The €250 million transaction involved legal support in the negotiation of new commercial agreements with clients; legal advice concerning €50 million of disputed credits, as well as legal assistance in the German insolvency proceedings of Qimonda Holding.

The team's innovation ability also draws clients' attention. "They're quite innovative and assist us," says one client. "They have a traditional way to solve these kinds of problems."

The firm also advised Banco Comercial Português when Pereira led the team in the insolvency proceedings of Alberto Martins de Mesquita & Filhos, a company in the Portuguese contractors business. The mandate was valued in excess of €28 million.

The firm's key partner José de Freitas, who was involved in most of the restructuring and insolvency mandates last year, grabbed clients' attention due to the high quality of his legal advice. "He's very good and very thorough. He's very experienced and a very good insolvency lawyer," says one. "He's very quick to react [on things], even just to cope with situations or high pressure."

The team's overall capacity also impressed its clients. "I'm very happy with the co-operation, because we're also a law firm, so we're sort of looking at the work very closely, and they always deliver fast and very good quality advice, the co-operation is very good."

Freitas last year advised Qimonda and Qimonda Dresden in relation to the insolvency case of Qimonda Portugal, which later led to a recuperation plan approved by both of the creditors. The mandate was worth €366 million.

The firm also advised on Extrajudicial Conciliation Procedure (PEC) related mandates. The procedure aims to avoid the deterioration of the company's economic and financial situation and thus to protect creditors from a worse scenario. One notable example saw the team led by Freitas advising Transportes Centrais do Minho and on another occasion advising MT - Instalações Técnicas, with a hope to conclude an agreement between both the said companies and their creditors in order to enable their economic recovery.

In terms of the communication between the firm and its clients, Freitas again came in for personal praise. "He's very accessible. If I call, he's always available; if not, he'll call me back the same day, or within a few hours, either him or his associates," says one client. "They even try to answer difficult questions in details about Portuguese law, with a high-quality answer and I'm very content with that."

Another highlight saw partner Rita Gouveia called in to advise plastics and textiles company La Seda de Barcelona in relation to Fibralegre's declaration of insolvency.

On the restructuring side, Frederico Pereira Coutinho was involved in the negotiation process with a syndicate of banks on the debt and operation restructuring of CampoReal 5-star tourist resort in Torres Vedras. The team represented the holiday resort CampoReal.

When comes to the firm's international network, clients expressed their good feeling towards the firm's Spanish branch. "I know my firm is frequently working with their Spanish office," says one. "I know we consider Cuatrecasas a very good law firm and we work together with them a lot."

Garrigues Portugal has been busy on both restructuring and insolvency work this year and maintains its position in the rankings. Although not seen as a particular specialism by the firm, the team has been involved on some decent mandates.

In restructuring, Bruno Ferreira and André Marçalo headed the team advising GE Capital on its restructuring activities in Portugal. Another example saw Susana Pimenta de Sousa work alongside Pedro Lemos Carvalho advising Prosegur - Compañía de Seguridad in relation to its subsidiaries' corporate reorganisation and restructuring. The main purpose of the transaction is to create a single entity capable of delivering integrated and centralised services to all of Prosegur's clients.

On the insolvency side, João Duarte de Sousa and Miguel Azevedo teamed up to advise Banco Privado Português (BPP) on its insolvency proceeding, which involved Garrigues providing advice to BPP's Liquidation Committee on all procedures required for the liquidation. The mandate followed an unsuccessful effort by the Portuguese Finance Ministry to keep the private bank afloat through a government-guaranteed loan.

Linklaters is in the enviable postion of being able to draw upon its substancial network when dealing in restrcuturing and insolvency matters. As a result the team is often mandated on cross-border work. One example is Qimonda's insolvency. Many law firms have been involved in different aspects of the proceedings and Linklaters was no exception. Leading the team on the deal were key practitioners Carlos Pinto Correia and Nuno Ferreira Lousa who advised Infineon in the insolvency proceedings and on the re-negotiation of the existing investments agreements with Qimonda as well as with the Portuguese State. Qimonda was a spin-off from Infineon Technologies back in May 2006.

Another on-going highlight saw the firm advising ECS - Sociedade de Capital de Risco on the restructuring of investvar Group, Portugal's biggest footwear group. As part of the process, insolvency filings have been submitted for several of its main units.

"We've worked with Morais Leitão, we were always happy with the firm," says one client.

The firm was involved in a €246 million transaction as it represented three creditors on the insolvency proceedings of the Spanish company Martinsa Fadesa.

The largest Portuguese electricity supplier EDP also called in the firm in relation to Entigere's insolvency declaration in February 2011. Entigere used to run a payment system named "Megarede" and EDP had a contract allowing consumers to pay their bills on Megarede.

Another similar transaction saw the team advise Abbott in relation to CJ Sousa Andrade's insolvency and liquidation proceeding.