Nuno Sá Carvalho becomes managing partner of Cuatrecasas in Portugal

Nuno Sá Carvalho, Cuatrecasas partner and coordinator of the Real Estate and Town Planning Practice Area, will become managing partner this Friday, July 1.

Nuno Sá Carvalho’s priorities for this new phase are talent, innovation, internationalization, and sustainability. “Cuatrecasas is unquestionably the international law firm with the strongest roots and most substantial investment in Portugal through its offices in Lisbon and Porto, which have more than 150 lawyers and 70 professionals. This is one of the things that differentiates us from other firms operating in the Portuguese market. It is the foundation of our growth. We will continue to invest in capturing and retaining the best talent and working with strategic clients in the most sophisticated and innovative matters in the market. The new headquarters and most recent incorporations clearly illustrate this ambition. We want to achieve these goals by providing for the integral wellbeing of our team in a healthy, diverse and inclusive environment with flexible and collaborative working models, assuring each member a stimulating and rewarding professional experience, so that they can feel they are contributing responsibly to society as a whole. I have every confidence that we have the right team to achieve these goals.”

Nuno Sá Carvalho joined the firm in 2000 and became a partner in 2007. Throughout his 27-year career, he has provided legal advice on the planning and implementation of major real estate investments, transactions and projects. He was the founder of the firm’s Real Estate and Town Planning Practice Area in Portugal, which today has 15 lawyers who advise on large complex legal projects. This practice area is one of the most recognized by the main international legal directories, particularly Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.

Before joining Cuatrecasas, he was a lawyer and legal consultant for several public and private entities. He holds a master’s degree in legal and political sciences from Universidade de Lisboa and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

He is taking over from Maria João Ricou, who was managing partner of the firm in Portugal for 11 years and who has now become senior partner. She will remain on the firm’s global Board of Directors and on the Partner Appraisal Committee, which she has been a member of since 2011. As senior partner, she will focus on strategic issues and partnership matters. “This is without question the right time to take this step, and a great deal of thought has gone into it. It is a natural, healthy and, above all, seamless process of generational renewal in the leadership of our office in Portugal. Nuno has extraordinary professional capabilities and enormous personal qualities, which have been widely demonstrated and recognized both internally and externally. I know that he will be an excellent leader in this new cycle in the life of our firm,” Maria João Ricou said.

For Jorge Badía, managing partner of Cuatrecasas, “this is a very natural transition point. It is taking place at a time of great stability and growth. I can guarantee that no matter how much the firm grows and develops new projects, Portugal will continue to play a key role. On behalf of everyone at Cuatrecasas, I would like to express my deepest thanks to Maria João Ricou for bringing us this far and the utmost confidence in Nuno Sá Carvalho for the new cycle that is about to begin.”