Abreu Advogados is the Portuguese firm with the most nominations in the FT Innovative Lawyers Europe 2023 awards

The Financial Times has published the list of finalists for the 2023 edition of the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe and Abreu Advogados stands out with nominations in 4 categories, becoming the Portuguese law firm with the most nominations in these reputable international awards.

Abreu Advogados is thus recognised for the sophistication, quality and innovation of the work carried out in the last year, with the following nominations:

• Innovation in Skills Development;
• Innovative Lawyers in Digital Assets And Blockchain;
• Innovative Lawyers in Energy Security and Transition;
• Intrapreneur Category: Matilde de Mello Cabral (COO of Abreu Advogados).

Abreu’s applications, which have now been honored by the Financial Times nominations, stood out among more than 550 applications received by the international economic medium, based on the firm’s track record in advising on major client projects with an innovative character, as well as several internal projects of the firm focused on digital transformation and the upskilling of Abreu’s lawyers and employees.

In the Innovation in Skills Development category, Abreu submitted a project in the area of training and capacity building: the IdC – Instituto do Conhecimento, a non-profit training organization, is able to provide certified professional training in various areas of law, business skills and soft skills. Abreu has been investing in new ways to improve its service delivery model, while reinforcing its investment in empowering its clients and employees with the right tools and skills to remain relevant in a future where AI is already a reality. The IdC – Instituto do Conhecimento was founded with the aim of studying matters that are not regulated in the Portuguese legal system, as well as discussing important topics that are not directly on the legal agenda, identifying 4 main areas of action: innovation, legal tech, sustainability and public affairs.

In the category of Innovative Lawyers in Digital Assets And Blockchain, Abreu’s Financial Law and Fintech team captured the jury’s attention for the second consecutive year with its tokenization project for the Casa da Moeda. The team advised the Instituto Nacional Casa da Moeda on the development and implementation of the NFT – Portuguese Coin, a pioneering project in currency digitization, the first time a country has issued a commemorative coin edition using artificial intelligence to design the design of one of the sides, but also to issue, alongside the number of physical coins, the corresponding number of NFT. This innovative project was coordinated by Diogo Pereira Duarte, partner and co-coordinator of the Finance practice area, who drew on all his practical experience in dealing with the regulatory framework of NFTs.

Also in the Innovative Lawyers in Energy Security and Transition category, another team of Abreu Lawyers sees its innovative and differentiated work recognized, this time in advising the mega project of Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP), in the implementation of the first large-scale offshore wind farm in our country.  This innovative project involves a large multidisciplinary team, led by José Eduardo Martins, partner and co-coordinator of the Public and Environment practice, and a recognised expert in energy, environmental and ESG issues.

The implementation of this project will be important to help Portugal achieve the goals proposed in its energy transition plan for 2030 (10 GW of offshore wind) and will represent a challenge due to the lack of a regulatory framework.

Finally, the individual category of Intrapreneur recognizes the work of the management team of Abreu Advogados, which has more than 120 employees, and its role in responding to the emerging challenges of the exponential growth of society, its digital transformation and its commitment to upskilling its people, in the person of Abreu’s COO, Matilde de Mello Cabral, who is the only Portuguese professional nominated by the Financial Times in a list where she stands alongside 8 top managers of large global firms.

Financial Times Europe Awards

The FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe are a celebration of the best in innovation in European law firms and in-house legal teams. The 20+ awards aim to honor leaders in digital innovation, strategic advice, talent management and driving positive change in the sector.

To validate nominations, the Financial Times assesses all applications using three key criteria:

Technical-legal innovation: the solutions found with the client, highlighting the skills developed through counselling, such as in sectors that are poorly regulated and require ad hoc and pioneering solutions;

Innovation in firm management: highlighting strategies that increase efficiency, reduce costs and enable legal teams to manage complexities, such as ensuring that everyone is aligned with the firm’s environmental, social and governance commitments, as well as labor relations strategies.

Impact: evaluation of results and impact for the client and/or sector in advising on matters that, with the regulator or governmental entities, benefit all companies in the sector, for the future, (for example, advising on matters related to crypto assets) On the other hand, the socio-economic impact of the advice will also be evaluated, for example, in large projects of national interest, important for the economy and attractive to international investors.

In 2022, Abreu Advogados was ranked 31st in the top 40 of the most innovative law firms in Europe, with the third place among the four independent Portuguese firms that integrated the ranking last year. It is also noteworthy that it was ranked fourth among the eight Iberian Peninsula law firms that have seen their innovation work recognized at European level this year.

The law firm was also a finalist in three of the main categories in competition – “People management Award”, “Practice of Law: Market Firsts” and “Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe (outside UK)” – in a clear recognition of the market and the sector to the innovation of Abreu Advogados.