Maria João Ricou promoted to senior partner and Nuno Sá Carvalho to managing partner in Portugal

Maria João Ricou will be taking up the mantle of senior partner and Nuno Sá Carvalho will take over as the Cuatrecasas managing partner in Portugal on July 1, 2022.

Nuno Sá Carvalho is 51 years old and is currently the coordinating partner for the Cuatrecasas Real Estate and Town Planning Practice Area in Portugal. He joined the firm in 2000, became a partner in 2007, and advises clients on large complex real estate transactions and projects.

Maria João Ricou has run the firm in Portugal since January 2001 and will remain on the Partnership Board, which she has been a member of since January 2011. She will also keep her seat on the Partner Appraisal Committee, which she has also been a member of since 2011. As senior partner, she will continue to have management responsibilities with a focus on strategic issues and partnership matters.

These appointments and the corresponding changes to the firm’s governance model in Portugal will take effect on July 1, 2022.

According to Cuatrecasas Senior Partner Rafael Fontana, “Maria João Ricou has done a sterling job over the past 11 years as managing partner in Portugal. She has reinforced the firm’s position and steered it into a cycle of growth and stability with a highly motivated, cohesive and united team of excellent quality, dedicated to the values of the firm and its strategic goals in Portugal. The decision she has now made to take up the mantle of senior partner and stay on as a member of the Board and the Partner Appraisal Committee is the beginning of a process of gradual transition and continuity.” Rafael Fontana also said, “Nuno Sá Carvalho is someone who can energize teams, an untiring worker, one of those lawyers who always goes above and beyond, and one with a clear vision for the future.”

Maria João Ricou explained, “a great deal of thought went into this decision and I am absolutely confident that Nuno Sá Carvalho is the right choice for this extremely demanding and challenging responsibility. This is not only because of the extraordinary professional capabilities he has already amply demonstrated inside and outside the firm, but also because of the great personal qualities I recognize in him. Nuno will be a fine leader for our firm’s new chapter, in which there will be a natural transition from one generation to another.”

Nuno Sá Carvalho said, “I feel highly valued, and I am proud of this appointment and the trust placed in me. In this new opening chapter, I will be fully committed to continuing the legacy of stability and growth I have received, which was built on our team’s technical and human excellence, the quality and uniqueness of the services we provide our clients, our innovation, and the primacy of the firm’s values, particularly in terms of diversity and sustainability.”