Overview
AFMA originated from a project of independence and freedom of thought. This is the culture that endures and that we intend to assure. In AFMA we continue to believe that the upside of legal practice lies in the personalised expression of each of our lawyers. This has been, in fact, the key factor in the relationship with our clients during these challenging times. We are proud of this and we intend to maintain this way of working.
AFMA was incorporated in 1997 by its founding partner António Frutuoso de Melo and a few other lawyers as a financial and banking boutique. In 1999, other senior lawyers joined the firm enlarging the areas of expertise of the law firm. The firm builds an important portfolio of clients and obtains recognition both in domestic and international markets.
Since the year 2000, AFMA has been consolidating its position in the market, extending its activity to complementary areas of practice and building up to be able to meet its increasing and diversified clients’ demands and to deliver in top size operations.
AFMA is a medium size law firm that has been strategically resisting to grow through a merger; AFMA considers itself a boutique and values the development of tailor-made solutions rather than the performance of high volumes of standardised work. AFMA invests in building close, long-term relationships with its clients based on a personal and direct contact between them and the lawyer(s) allocated to the client or to a specific project.
Presently AFMA has 19 Lawyers. Today AFMA benefits not only from the individual experience of each of its lawyers (many of them with over 20 years of professional experience) but of the accumulated experience and knowledge of the team. AFMA continues to render legal advice in the financial, corporate, M&A, real estate, consumer and competition law, nowadays being more active in labour, energy and litigation.
AFMA has no rigid departments and work teams are organised in view of the real needs of clients or of specific projects. Work teams are established on the grounds of versatility and a multi-discipline approach to ensure a global view of the client?s business or project, rather than a segmented approach.
AFMA is a space of free-thinking and of stimulating debate of ideas with clients. AFMA wishes to create tailor-made solutions rather than to execute standardised solutions. We try and establish long term partnerships with clients, participating in innovation and creation of solution processes. These close relations, from an early stage, reinforce reciprocal trust and allows a cross fertilisation, favourable to both parties. The elected working model, based on communication and availability, fuels our ability to respond. We believe in the advantages of eliminating superfluous work.
The competence and independence of our lawyers are the reason for AFMA?s merits and reputation. Professionalism allows us to maintain solid relations with clients which, in their own countries, are assisted by the best international law firms whose quality standards we are proud to match.
Our strict conflict of interests policy is a reflection of our professional position. We are proud to have personal and informal relations with our clients and their representatives, without harming the efficiency of the cooperation.