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Enforcement Law

Our firm provides specialized legal services in Enforcement Law, ensuring the effective implementation of judicial and arbitral decisions. We act at all stages of enforcement proceedings – whether civil, commercial or employment-related offering rigorous and strategic advisory to secure debt collection, asset recovery and protection of rights, always focused on maximum efficiency and safeguarding our clients’ interests.

Practice Areas

Debt Collection and Credit Recovery

We develop effective strategies for credit recovery, prioritizing out-of-court solutions. Our services include:

Judicial and Extrajudicial Collection

  • Pre-litigation: formal notification of debtors through extrajudicial notices, mediation in civil and commercial matters for swift and cost-effective resolution.

  • Judicial collection: representation in enforcement actions and injunction procedures, including the European Payment Order, ensuring effectiveness in national and transnational jurisdictions.

  • Arbitration in collections: use of arbitration for credit disputes, recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, ensuring enforceability in international contexts.

International Credit Recovery

  • Debt collection proceedings in European and international jurisdictions: management of cross-border recoveries, recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions, and bilateral legal assistance treaties.

  • Coordination with foreign authorities and legal partners: establishment of partnerships with international law firms and interaction with judicial authorities for European Account Preservation Orders.

  • Due diligence on transnational credits: analysis of debtor solvency and identification of assets in foreign jurisdictions using international databases.

Attachments and Enforcement of Assets

  • Attachment of movable and immovable property, income, fruits, corporate quotas and tax refunds: execution of attachments including cross-border bank account freezes.

  • Structuring of dation in payment and creditor position transfers: drafting of dation in payment agreements and credit assignments, ensuring contractual validity in international contexts.

  • Challenge and opposition to attachments: defence against undue attachments in accordance with the principle of proportionality, protecting the debtor’s fundamental rights.

  • Lifting of attachments on essential assets: support in applications for suspension or lifting of attachments, particularly on assets essential for the debtor’s subsistence, in restructuring and insolvency contexts.

Debt Renegotiation and Restructuring

  • Drafting and monitoring of payment plans: development of tailor-made payment plans promoting sustainable financial recovery.

  • Negotiation of debt restructuring agreements: mediation with creditors for balanced liability restructuring.

  • Judicial approval of restructuring agreements: court representation for homologation of payment agreements, ensuring enforceability and protection against dissenting creditors.

Bank and Financial Debts

  • Debts arising from banking contracts, loans and other financial products: legal representation in negotiating plans for defaulted credit agreements, loans and leasing.

  • Advisory in litigation involving financial institutions: representation in disputes with banks, including unfair terms cases, and defence against enforcement of real or personal guarantees.

Corporate Credit Collection

  • Assistance in collecting debts from clients, suppliers and commercial partners: recovery strategies for commercial credits under national and international contracts.

Tax Debts

  • Negotiation of tax debts and payment plans with the Tax and Customs Authority (AT).

  • Support in recovery proceedings against public entities: administrative claims and appeals against tax decisions.

  • Defence in tax enforcement proceedings: representation in tax enforcement actions, including opposition to tax attachments based on the principle of proportionality under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

  • Monitoring of related insolvency proceedings: integration of tax debt negotiations into insolvency or revitalization processes.

Mediation and Arbitration in Business Disputes

We promote alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in enforcement proceedings in accordance with the Voluntary Arbitration Law:

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  • Business mediation: facilitation of agreements between creditors and debtors to avoid protracted litigation.

  • Commercial arbitration: representation before arbitral tribunals for contractual disputes, supporting binding and enforceable decisions.

  • Arbitration and mediation clauses: drafting of mediation and arbitration clauses in contracts to prevent judicial litigation.

Management of Guarantees and Counter-Guarantees

  • Constitution of real and personal guarantees: structuring of mortgages, pledges and sureties to secure contractual obligations.

  • Enforcement of guarantees: management of enforcement actions to realize real guarantees such as pledges and mortgages.

  • Defence against enforcement of guarantees: opposition to undue enforcement of guarantees in accordance with the principle of good faith.

  • Counter-guarantees: drafting of counter-guarantees such as comfort letters and bank guarantees for debtor protection in transnational enforcement proceedings.

Corporate Law in an Enforcement Context

  • Attachment of shares and quotas: management of attachments on corporate participations, with analysis of governance impact.

  • Defence of partners in enforcement proceedings: protection of partners’ rights against undue attachments based on the principle of separate legal personality.

  • Resolution of corporate disputes: mediation and arbitration in partner disputes, including issues of abuse of right or excess of power.

  • Dissolution and liquidation of companies: support in judicial or extrajudicial dissolution processes under the Portuguese Commercial Companies Code.

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