Maria João Melícias

Maria João Melícias has been a Professional Partner since 2025, co-leading the Competition, Regulatory and European Union Law Practice Area at Abreu Advogados.

She has extensive experience in the various aspects of the European Union’s competition law and policy ecosystem, having worked in enforcement, judicial, international relations, teaching, and legal practice .

She served for nine years as Executive Board member of Portugal’s Competition Authority—the agency’s longest tenure to date—and was référendaire at the Court of Justice of the European Union. She has taught competition Law & policy and practiced for over a decade at a top-tier law firm. She coordinated the preparatory works for the most significant legislative reforms of the last decade in the field of competition law in Portugal, such as the Private Enforcement Act and the revision of the Competition Act, to adapt it to the digital age.

She has supervised and participated in legislative and regulatory activities in the European Union, including the Digital Markets Regulation and the ECN+ Directive, as well as in international cooperation in forums such as the Council of the EU, ECN, OECD, ICN, UN Trade, and the Lusophone Competition Network. Portugal gained international recognition during her term, with two nominations as competition authority of the year and a rise from 28th place (2014) to 8th place in the Global Competition Review’s Global Ranking 2023, with an unprecedented 4-star rating.

She is a published author, lecturer, and frequent speaker at international forums on EU law and policy, regulation, and competition.

Between 2015 and 2023, she was a member of the ERSE and Infarmed Advisory Board.