Deloitte Portugal acquires Portuguese law firm Telles and rebrands as Deloitte Legal & Telles

Deloitte Portugal is finalising the acquisition of Portuguese law firm Telles. The deal will merge Deloitte Legal (formerly CTSU) with Telles under the new brand Deloitte Legal & Telles, led by Francisco Espregueira Mendes, currently managing partner of Telles.

The transaction marks the first multidisciplinary combination since the new rules on professional associations came into force in Portugal. Deloitte Legal currently has 60 lawyers in Lisbon and Porto, under the leadership of managing partner Mónica Moreira, while Telles counts around 150 lawyers, 27 partners, and annual revenues of approximately €19 million.

This move has been made possible by Law n. 2/2013 of January 10, which ended the long-standing prohibition of multidisciplinary firms within the framework of professional public associations. Article 27 of that law – transposed from Article 25 of Directive 2006/123 of the European Parliament – authorises the creation of professional firms whose principal activity involves professions organised under a single public professional association, whether jointly or separately with other professions or activities, provided that incompatibility rules are respected.

In the legal sector, this model enables lawyers to work alongside consultants, auditors, notaries, and other professionals. Following the 2024 reform of the Portuguese Bar Association Statute (EOA), which came into effect in April 2024, law firms are now able to organise themselves under this model.

Several leading Portuguese firms have already adopted this approach. In January, Morais Leitão transitioned into a multidisciplinary professional firm, admitting non-lawyer partners into its structure. Carlos Eduardo Coelho, Director of Innovation and Knowledge, became an industry partner responsible for consultancy and technological development services. Similarly, PLMJ completed its transition into a multidisciplinary firm at the end of 2024.