Who we are

Established in 1992, SRS was the first Portuguese law firm to have a formal international association, forming part of Grupo Legal Português, a group comprised of Simmons&Simmons, J&A Garrigues and Pinheiro Neto.

All its members belonged to a broader network, Club de Abogados, which comprised members from all principal European and Latin American countries.

It was one of the first firms to offer a career plan in addition to a strategic framework, and lead its peers in terms of both internal and external dynamic.

In addition to an existing civil and commercial law practice, in 1993 a new finance practice was created under the leadership of Pedro Rebelo de Sousa. Pedro's career was intrinsically linked with the world of finance. This new department at SRS Advogados was focused on banking and capital markets, as well as on M&A, corporate finance and project finance.

From 1993 to 1996, the firm was heavily involved in advising on World Bank and EU projects aimed at standardising international legislation, and in this context drafted legislation on banking, investment, and tax for countries such as Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine.

The firm moved from a small office in Rua Fialho de Almeida to two floors in a modern building on Rua Castilho.

From 1995 to 2000, the firm co-ordinated and advised the arrangers/underwriters on the five phases of the privatisation of Portugal Telecom (at the time the only telecommunications company in Portugal), in what was a groundbreaking first share IPO in a Portuguese company.

J&A Garrigues in Spain merged with the auditing firm Arthur Andersen. As a result of this merger, the Spanish firm left the joint venture. Shortly thereafter, and due to conflict issues, Pinheiro Neto also left the joint venture.

Following the departure of Pinheiro Neto, SRS Advogados established a joint venture with leading Brazilian law firm, Veirano Advogados.

In 1997, the firm adopted a policy of social responsibility and took up pro bono work.

At this time, the firm was also increasingly involved in international and domestic capital markets transactions and acted in (and structured) the first ever securitization in Portugal.

The firm opened its Porto office. It also occupied seven floors of the building on Rua Castilho, in Lisbon, comprising more than one hundred employees.

Between 1995 and 2000, the firm was a pioneer in developing products for the financial sector (derivatives, securitisations, structured products, etc.) and took part in numerous privatisation, project finance and corporate finance transactions in Portugal, Angola, Mozambique and Macau. In addition to its leading position in the financial sector, the firm also developed a reputation for excellence in the telecommunications sector, and in particular was involved in the launch of four new telecommunications operators in Portugal.

In 2001, as a part of its increasing alignment with Simmons&Simmons, the firm merged with Simmons&Simmons and changed its name to Simmons&Simmons Rebelo de Sousa.

In the 2000’s, the integration with Simmons&Simmons took shape. A number of Partners, including Pedro Rebelo de Sousa, William Smithson, Octávio Castelo Paulo, César Sá Esteves, Alexandra Valente and José Luís Moreira da Silva became Partners of Simmons&Simmons. Additionally, Pedro Rebelo de Sousa was a member of the Simmons&Simmons Management Board for two terms (eight years), and Octávio Castelo Paulo was appointed head of the Simmons&Simmons international TMT sector group, which he successfully lead for 6 years.

SRS moved its head office and took over an iconic 1970s building just off Rua Castilho, a symbol of an era and the former headquarters of Readers' Digest.

The firm became the first Portuguese law firm to have its accounts audited by an international auditor.

In 2009, with a view to greater strategic freedom, SRS Advogados went independent and ceased to be a part of Simmons&Simmons, while at the same time remaining good friends with the firm. As a result thereof, SRS set about creating its first international offices in Africa. An agreement was concluded with an Angolan law firm in Luanda and in 2010 with a Mozambican firm with offices in Maputo.

The firm believes strongly in developing new practice areas (e.g. employment, immigration, European and competition law) and has an innovative matrix focusing on specific sectors, such as Energy, Infrastructure and Life Sciences, in addition to its existing TMT and Financial Institutions sector focuses.

In 2010, the firm merged with boutique litigation firm Soares Machado & Associados, headed by José Carlos Soares Machado (former chair of the Lisbon District Council of the Portuguese Bar Association), which provided considerable impetus to the Litigation and Arbitration practice at SRS Advogados.

Twenty years on from its inception, the vitality of the SRS Advogados project was indisputable. It had 19 partners (over 30% of whom were women) and a personal development plan for employees. Innovation has been, and always will be, present and the firm was a pioneer in Portugal in the context of administrative support structures for the legal profession.

In 2014, SRS Advogados launched SRS Global, with a network of international offices in Angola, Brazil, Macau and Mozambique.

The firm was voted the "Best Company to Work for" in Portugal for several years running and in 2016 was nominated "Healthiest Company" by IMS Health, placing it amongst the top three highest ranking companies in Portugal.

SRS Global was further enhanced in 2016 with the establishment of a Malta office.

In 2017 SRS Advogados opened an office in Singapore - yet another first for a Portuguese law firm - and celebrated 25 years of leadership in law in Portugal.

SRS Advogados won Law Firm of the Year: Iberia at The Lawyer European Awards 2019 by The Lawyer.

SRS Advogados also won European Competition/Antitrust deal of the year at The Lawyer European Awards.

In 2020, SRS Advogados merged by way of incorporation of AAA Advogados into SRS Advogados, a firm with recognized notoriety in the Portuguese business and financial market.

This integration resulted from the SRS strengthening strategy defined at the end of 2019.

In 2022, we commemorate our 30th anniversary and, following a rebranding process, we are now SRS Legal, with a new slogan: About Law. Around People.