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Margarida Vila Franca

Partner
Lawyer

Contact
CMS Portugal
Rua Castilho 50
1250-071 Lisbon
Portugal
Languages Portuguese, English, Spanish, German

Margarida Vila Franca is a Partner in the Corporate M&A team.

With over 20 years’ experience, she advises a roster of national and international clients on M&A processes, public offerings and corporate reorganizations, both domestic and cross-border, with a special focus on the energy sector.

She has also been active in M&A insurance, where she advises international insurance entities in the scope of their activity in Portugal. She regularly provides legal advice on corporate compliance, Corporate Governance and financial regulation issues, mostly to foreign groups active in Portugal.

Margarida is individually ranked for Private Equity by Chambers Europe, 2015 and she is recommended for Commercial, Corporate and M&A and Capital Markets by Legal 500, 2023. She is ranked Highly Recommended lawyer for Investment Funds – Private Equity and as Excellent for Corporate M&A by Leaders League, 2023. She is also recognized as Rising Star for Capital Markets and M&A by IFLR 1000, 2022. She was also awarded Lawyer of the Year, 2017 for Corporate M&A, Forty under 40, promoted by Iberian Lawyer.

Joined CMS Portugal in 2001.

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Margarida Vila Franca is highlighted as an "organised, efficient and technically very complete" associate.

Chambers & Partners (2015)

Margarida Vila Franca and team head João Caldeira are recommended.

Legal 500 (2015)

Margarida Vila Franca – a partner who has great professionalism and enormous perfectionism in presenting her work to the client. She is also versatile and clear.

Legal 500 (2022)

Memberships & Roles

  • Member of the Portuguese Bar Association since 2002
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Education

  • Law degree, Faculdade de Direito, Universidade de Lisboa
  • Postgraduate degree in Securities, Faculdade de Direito, Universidade de Lisboa
  • Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Legal and Commercial Sciences, Faculdade de Direito, Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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