CGRS Advogados

The CGRS Advogados, with offices in Lisbon (head office) and Ourém, is comprised of a group of lawyers specialising in the key areas of Public and Private Law. Originating from a merge of different individual initiatives headed by its founders, the firm’s purpose is to provide a dynamic and complete service, tailored to the needs of any client, regardless of nature or sector.

In order to perform our activities and reach a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of our clients, we rely on our partnership with management and accounting specialists, as well as on the constant exchange with other law firms and consultants based in different countries all over the world, enabling us to respond quickly and effectively to the challenges in which we are called on to intervene.

CONTRACTS

It is our purpose to offer our experience and creative concept on the framework and achievement of the contractual relations requested by our Clients, both on Public and Private Law, namely in what regards to:

- Contracts for purchase and sale, lease, transfer, transfer of exploitation and any other form of transfer of real estate assets;
- Contracting and subcontracting agreements, standing out as activities, prior to contracting itself, the application and monitoring of public procurement processess;
- Supply Contracts and service agreements;
- Finance lease, franchise, commercial agency and other distribution contracts;

COMMERCIAL AND CORPORATE

Having a clear understanding of the markets in which our clients operate, we provide legal advice to companies, be it SMEs or large companies, carrying out a range of operations pertaining to business dynamics, from their creation to follow-up of every deed that makes up the corporate life, namely:

- Constitution, incorporation, transformation and dissolution of companies (in the form of societies, branches or others) and corporate groups;
- Acquisitions and cessation of membership;
- Joint-Ventures, fusions and other forms of business cooperation;
- Real estate licensing for industrial or business purposes;
- Anti-trust and protection of private industrial property rights (brands, patents, logos);
- Insolvency and corporate recovery.

LABOUR LAW

Being aware of the constant need for fostering a suitable and effective management of labour relations between employers and employees, optimising the corporate fabric and streamlining human resources with the aim of ensuring high competitiveness for companies, we offer the know-how and experience necessary to guide and assist our clients on segments such as, but not limited to:

- Individual and collective employment: employment contracts, including contractual models and clauses adapted to the corporate structure, senior management contracting, including confidentiality and non-competition clauses;
- Termination of employment and collective bargaining.
- Employment litigation and administrative offences;
- Disciplinary investigations (preparation of and fact-finding for preliminary investigations and disciplinary procedures);
- Outsourcing: contractual relations of clients with service providers or liberal professions, service agreements and outsourcing agreements.
- Daily employment advice for senior management of companies: clarifying questions on the delivery of opinions, holidays, absences, training, occupational safety and hygiene, employment due diligence, parental leave, compensation, labour credits, employment claims, financial support for employment, flexible tax planning that benefits both the company and the employees.

INTERNATIONAL & FOREIGN INVESTMENT

We offer our services to foreign companies looking to directly or indirectly invest in Portugal, as well as to Portuguese companies who have trade relations with partners based in other countries or who wish to internationalise in a plethora of economic areas.

Our team works in an international context every day and is sensitive to various cultures, legal systems and specific methodological differences which companies are faced with in the course of their operations abroad.

We are equipped with the necessary experience to help our clients establish international businesses and successfully run and complete their respective international operations.
The abovementioned services notably include the following action areas:

- Foreign investment process in Portugal;
- Creation of subsidiaries, branches, agencies and other types of representation of companies.
- Application process for permanent residence in Portugal;
- Creation of joint-ventures;
- International agreements (patent licenses, trademarks and any other private rights pertaining to industrial property, distribution, purchase, technology and communication transfers, know-how, etc.);
- European Union legislation and regulations and their application to Portuguese companies.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

We have extensive experience in overseeing several projects that were completed in Portugal, namely, in the public works domain, as well as in a wide variety of industrial sectors such as the road, port, airport, rail, hospital and energy sectors.
We also have relevant experience in public procurement and tenders, as well as in providing advice for public procurement and obtaining licenses from local public administrations. This includes the preparation of documents, as well as the establishment of legal structures (consortiums and joint ventures), with the aim of participating in tender procedures and completing projects.

In addition, we often handle the submission of administrative complaints on issues relating to tender procedures, in the area of public procurement, as well as the representation of our clients in litigation.

Furthermore, we are particularly suited to following issues directly associated with Urban Design and Planning, in both practice areas, public and private, in different economic areas and domains, particularly, procedures for approval of urban operations and planning and rehabilitation administrative activities, as well as advice on tax planning for projects, urban and environmental litigation and the implementation of different land management instruments.

CIVIL LITIGATION

As far as Litigation is concerned and without prejudice to always favouring obtaining out-of-court settlements, thus avoiding high legal expenses and delays inherent to any legal dispute, our Team advises and legally represents our clients in the different judicial and extrajudicial bodies, namely at the following levels:

- Credit collection;
- Corporate recovery, bankruptcy and insolvency;
- Pre-litigation assistance;
- Commercial leases;
- Financing and loans;
- Violation of labour agreements and dismissals;
- Insurance contracts.

REAL ESTATE

Our team in charge of Real Estate has extensive experience in real estate operations in Portugal and our Lawyers’ expertise encompasses all aspects of the real estate market, namely those relating to the sale of real estate assets and the structuring and negotiating of a wide range of real estate operations.
These operations include future financing contracts, turn-keys, acquisition of rent guarantees, sale and lease back, forward purchase, due diligence, structuring of real estate companies, real estate funds and operations involving institutional investors.

We have gathered the experience required for negotiating all types of real estate contracts pertaining to the ownership rights to real estate. Specifically, our lawyers handle contracts on the use of retail units in shopping centres and retail parks, residential and commercial lease contracts on land-use, lease and transfer of existing establishments.

Our team specialized in real estate provides legal assistance in a variety of issues related to the constitution and registration of ownership rights, land planning and registration, including the division of land and establishments, land reparcelling and compensation and issues related to condominium regimes.

FAMILY LAW AND SUCCESSION

Regarding the Family Law and Succession is our goal to provide a personalized assistance on the subjects related with the family and/or child legal relations, focused on acting either on basis of prevention, in first place, with the competent legal counseling and also on judicial and non-judicial resolution of conflicts.
Given this, we provide counseling on the following areas:

- Marriage, prenuptial agreements, recognition and termination of the non-marital partnerships;
- Family law, in particular, divorce and parental responsibility and assets division;
- Parenthood;
- Inheritance and succession law in general.
- Judicial and extrajudicial assets division;
- Property management;
- Wills;
- Donations;
- Inventory Process;
- Asset management;

CRIMINAL LAW AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENCES

Handling the criminal and administrative liability of natural persons, companies and collective entities, our practice area focuses on:

- Criminal proceedings;
- Precautionary measures;
- Follow-up on all phases of criminal proceedings;
- Strategic planning of defense in criminal proceedings;
- Review of sentences to all Higher Courts;
- Follow-up with arrested accused persons in the context of the supervisory court.
- Defense and judicial reviews in the context of administrative offences.
- Follow-up of the extradition of nationals arrested abroad and of foreigners arrested in Portugal;
- Follow-up of offences related to copyright, trademark and patent rights;
- Follow-up of offences related to the Tax Authorities and Social Security;

In light of the new reality we are living today, we are particularly focused on economic and financial crimes, namely money laundering, economic participation in business, maladministration, corruption, fraud and cybercrime, among others.