José Maria Corrêa de Sampaio

Partner | Lisbon

José Maria Corrêa de Sampaio is the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Abreu Advogados.

Partner since 2008, focuses his practice on Corporate and M&A.

He is co-coordinator of the financial law and corporate law practice areas, as well as the banking and financial services at Abreu Advogados.

He is also co-coordinator of the Mozambique Desk supporting the interchange with lawyers at Abreu International Legal Solutions in that country.

Over the past few years he has coordinated multiple mergers and acquisitions in Portugal and internationally, special relevance in banking, insurance and transportation sectors as well as in financing operations.

He has experience in the area of commercial law (corporate law and contracts) to which he has dedicated a significant part of his career, as well in finance (financing and restructuring) and litigation (civil and commercial litigation and arbitration proceedings).

He is currently the Vice-President of the Board of Directors and leads the Quality Commission.

Recommended Lawyer, Banking & Finance (2021-2022)

Recommended Lawyer, M&A (2021-2022)

Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Portugal (2016-2022)

Experience

Advising an international oil group on the acquisition of a competing company and petrol station and distribution network as project coordinator and lead for M&A, Corporate and business integration in Portugal.

Advising an international hospitality group on the acquisition and financing of a leading hotel group in the Algarve as well as negotiating and refinancing the hospitality group in Portugal, as project coordinator.

Advising a Portuguese insurance company on their internationalization project and on the acquisition and licensing of the insurance company in Angola and 2 insurance companies in Mozambique, providing legal support on the corresponding activities.

Advising a group in the aeronautical sector on the privatization process of the Portuguese Government’s holding in the Portuguese airline carrier as project coordinator and team lead.

Advising international banks in the corporate, financial and regulatory areas and advising on their day to day activities, as lead Partner for the client.

Advising an international bank on the acquisition of the retail bank business of a Portuguese affiliate of an international bank. He was responsible for the due diligence in the regulatory and compliance areas regarding the M&A in Portugal.

Advising an international bank on the acquisition process of the Portuguese Government’s holdings in a nationalized bank, as team lead and project coordinator.

Advising a services company on the acquisition of a number of delinquent credit portfolios from Portuguese banks and other entities.

Advising a Portuguese group in the food sector on general legal issues and on corporate and commercial matters as well as on the implementation of their internationalization project.

Advising Portuguese and international companies operating in Portugal and abroad in wide-ranging sectors regarding corporate and commercial matters on an ongoing basis including acquisition, reorganization and internationalization processes.

Monitoring several commercial arbitration proceedings as a legal representative of parties to the proceedings, in ad hoc arbitration as well as institutional arbitration both in Portugal and internationally through the International Chamber of Commerce.

Association

Education

Lusíada University

Law degree from the Lusíada University Faculty of Law (1989)

Lusíada University

Postgraduate degree in Community Litigation from the Centre for European Studies of Lusíada University (2000)