ABOUT THE NATIONAL CONTEXT FOR OPENING UP SHOP
Portugal is still perceived as a frustrating country to start a business. The bureaucracy associated together with some difficulty in accessing complete and credible information contribute to this generalized idea.
Nevertheless, Portugal has never been so attractive for foreign investment as it is now, and the last few years have witnessed the implementation of a number of measures that have reduced bureaucracy towards citizens and corporations. In Portugal, the process of opening up a shop has been made significantly easier through simplified incorporation requirements available in the «on-the spot firm» (“Empresa na Hora”) incorporation procedure. This procedure enables setting-up companies in an hour at a single contact point in one of the desks available throughout the country, regardless of the specific location of the company’s registered office in Portugal. An alternative swift incorporation procedure is offered through the «online company» (“Empresa on-line”) which enables the company set-up procedure to be completed online in a day or two.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva e Associados (Morais Leitão) is a full service law firm with a team comprising more than 190 lawyers, with its main office in Lisbon and additional offices in Porto and Funchal. As a result of the creation of the Morais Leitão Legal Circle, in 2010, Morais Leitão is also able to offer services through autonomous affiliated offices in Angola, Mozambique and Macau (China).
Both in a consultancy capacity and in litigation before labour courts, Morais Leitão provides daily assistance to a vast number of companies, from multinationals to start-ups (with a multidisciplinary team – Team Genesis – dedicated to these clients in particular).