We are pleased to announce that we have grown our presence in Portugal by merging with boutique Portuguese firm N. Maldonado Sousa & Associados. The merged firm will move into our existing Lisbon office in the centre of the city. Nuno Maldonado Sousa, the sole partner of N. Maldonado Sousa & Associados, joins us as a partner along with two associates, Gabriela Rei and Carla Almeida Cruz.
Nuno, who graduated in law from the University of Lisbon in 1991, set up N. Maldonado Sousa & Associados, the Lisbon-based firm, in 1994. Nuno and his team’s focus spans contentious and non-contentious advice to businesses across corporate and commercial, real estate and construction, employment and life sciences. Boosting our existing life sciences practice, the merged firm’s arrival will strengthen our established insurance and commercial capabilities in Portugal and, more widely, in Europe.
We opened our office in Lisbon’s central business district in 2011. It specialises in insurance and reinsurance, including financial lines, product liability, professional liability, marine, aviation, directors’ and officers’ liability, as well as insolvency and banking, employment and regulatory matters. The arrival of the new team broadens our expertise and brings the total headcount in Lisbon to 10.
Nick Thomas, Senior Partner at Kennedys, says: “I am delighted to welcome Nuno and his team into Kennedys. We’re always keen to strengthen our offices where it will benefit our clients. Nuno and his team will play an important part in strengthening our corporate and commercial capabilities across Europe.”
Paulo Almeida, partner and head of Kennedys’ Lisbon office, says: “The breadth and depth of experience that Nuno and his team bring to our Lisbon office complements our existing insurance work. Their arrival also adds additional expertise to our global practices that are relevant to our insurer clients, such as life sciences. I am looking forward to working alongside Nuno, Gabriela and Carla.”
Nuno Maldonado Sousa says: “Kennedys is not only highly regarded in the Portuguese market, but its reputation extends across Europe and the rest of the world. Along with my colleagues Gabriela and Carla, I am excited to be joining and I look forward to working with the firm’s existing clients on commercial matters in Portugal, across Europe and elsewhere.”
Across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, we have 18 offices and almost 1400 staff. We have significantly strengthened our global commercial practice in recent years, with our merger with one of the most respected law firms in the north west of England, berg, augmenting our global commercial litigation practice in 2017. The addition of partner Celine Abi Habib Kanakri to our Dubai office, whose appointment strengthened our international arbitration capabilities, was followed in May by the launch of our international arbitration and commercial litigation team in London, headed by partner Ben Aram, in recognition of our growing corporate and commercial practice.
In June, we reported record turnover of £217m for the financial year 2017/18, representing a 12% increase on the previous financial year (£193m) and is the first time our revenue has topped £200m. The growth was supported by a 7% increase in the number of fee-earners worldwide, with our total headcount exceeding 2,000 for the first time in our history.
This continued growth has led to the appointment of Suzanne Liversidge as our first ever global managing partner, which was announced within the last two weeks.
Source: www.kennedyslaw.com
