Partner and Head of the Dispute Resolution Department, José Carlos Soares Machado is a regular adviser to leading national and international companies on litigation matters. He is also one of the most experienced lawyers in criminal and misdemeanours litigation.

Positions:

Partner at SRS Legal, former SRS Advogados (Sociedade Rebelo de Sousa & Advogados Associados, RL), head of Litigation and Arbitration Department (since 2010);
Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Law of Lisbon New University (2010/2018);
Chairman of the Board of Circle of Litigation Lawyers (2012/2018);
Founding partner of "Soares Machado & Associados - Sociedade de Advogados, RL", Lisbon (1991/2010);
Legal Consultant and Head of Litigation at Associação Lisbonense de Proprietários (“Lisbon Owners Association”) (since 1986);
Junior Assistant of Constitutional Law - Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon (1976/77);
Member of the Portuguese Bar Association (since 1978);
Lawyer and Trainee at law firm Sá Borges, Simões Correia, Diogo Duarte, Lisbon (1976/1978).

Work

With more than 35 years of experience, Soares Machado is also a leading lawyer on corporate and international arbitration matters. He is an Arbitrator of the Associação Comercial de Lisboa and of the Arbitration Centre of the Portuguese Bar Association.

He founded the Portuguese Círculo de Advogados de Contencioso, which he also presided.

Professional Experience (Litigation, National and International Arbitration, and Mediation):

Lawyer in several hundred judicial court cases of major complexity, in the areas of commercial law, banking and financial law, construction development and real estate law, white-collar crimes and litigation, with interventions at the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court (since 1978)
Arbitrator in several national and international arbitration cases, ad hoc and institutional (since 1993)
Mediator, in pre-arbitration proceedings (including a recent and important case between an African country and a US company)
Member of the Commercial Arbitration Committee of International Law Association (ILA)
Member of the Commercial Arbitration Practice Council of the Portuguese Arbitration Association
Referee member of various Arbitration institutions: a) Commercial Arbitration Center of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICC) b) OHADA Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (TCJA) c) Corte Civil y Mercantil de Arbitrage in Madrid (CIMA) d) Arbitration Center of the Portuguese-Spanish Chamber of Commerce e) CONCORDIA Mediation and Arbitration Center f) Arbitration Center for Real Estate Dispute (ALP) g) Liberal Professions Arbitration Center (OAP)

Professional Experience (Public and Private Companies):

Head of Administrative Department at Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (1977/79)
Chief of Cabinet to the Minister of Labor (1979/80)
Secretary-General of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (1980/82)
Member of the Board of Directors of the group of chemical companies "Indústrias Pereira e Brito, S.A." (1982/83)
Legal Adviser to the Public Litigation Department of the Ministry of Social Affairs (1984/89)

Other Positions (Portuguese Bar Association and Ministry of Justice):

Member of the National Council of the Portuguese Bar Association (1993/1995)
Member of the Editorial Board of the legal journal Lei Magazine (1994/1995)
Member of the IV Congress of the Portuguese Bar Association, Funchal (1995)
Chairman of the Lisbon Council of the Portuguese Bar Association (1996/1998)
Runner-up for National President of the Portuguese Bar Association (1999)
Member of the jury for candidates' admission to the Center for Judiciary Magistrates, Lisbon (1999/2008)
Member of the Supreme National Council of the Portuguese Bar Association, (2002/04);
Runner-up for President of Supreme National Council of the Portuguese Bar Association (2013);
Member of the committee for Disciplinary Control of Insolvency Administrators Committee, (representing the Minister of Justice) (2004/14).

Publications (Law):

Author of several published works in Litigation, Civil and Commercial Law, Constitutional Law, Corporate Law, Real-Estate Law, Professional Ethics, among others.

Author of several legal opinions for US courts.

I. Constitutional Law

"Lições de Direito Constitucional" - Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, co-authored with Prof. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (1977);
"Textos de Direito Constitucional"- idem

II. Civil Law

"Questões sobre Trespasse" –A Propriedade Urbana Magazine, Lisbon (1989);
"A Transmissão, por morte, do Direito ao Arrendamento Habitacional" –A Propriedade Urbana Magazine, Lisbon (1991);
"Publicidade nas Fachadas de Prédios em Propriedade Horizontal" - (co-authored) A Propriedade Urbana Magazine, December (1995);
“Arrendamento Urbano – Novo Regime do Arrendamento Urbano Comentado e Anotado” – (co-authored), Editora Livraria Petrony, Lisbon, November 2006 (2ª Edição Updated – January 2008; 3ª ed., February 2014);

III. Commercial Law

"A Recusa de Assinatura do Relatório Anual nas Sociedades Anónimas" – Revista da Ordem dos Advogados, Lisbon, December (1994);
"A Deliberação de Confiança na Apreciação Anual da Situação da Sociedade" - Ordem dos Advogados, July (1995);
"Sobre a Justificação da Recusa de Assinatura do Relatório e Contas" – Revista da Ordem dos Advogados (January 1996);

IV. Professional Ethics

“A Discussão Pública de Questões Profissionais pelos Advogados - Interpretação dos artigos 80º, 81º e 82º do Estatuto" – Revista da Ordem dos Advogados, January (1994);
“As novas metas da Formação” - Cerimónia de Abertura do 1º Curso de Estágio de 1996”, Supreme Court of Justice, Revista da Ordem dos Advogados (August 1996);
“Ética profissional” - Cerimónia de Abertura do 1º Curso de Estágio de 1997”, Aula Magna da Reitoria U.L., Revista da Ordem dos Advogados (April 1997);
“La formazione in Portogallo” – Rassegna Forense, Rivista del Consiglio Nazionale Forense, Anno XXXI, nº1, Roma (January-March 1998);
“A Advocacia e as Crises” – in “Advocacia, Que fazer?”, Edições Minerva, Coimbra (2001);
“Do Patrocínio contra Advogados e Magistrados (Comentários e Anotações ao art. 88º do Estatuto da Ordem dos Advogados)” – Revista da Ordem dos Advogados (December 2004);

V. Arbitration

“International Arbitration Review – Portugal” – Law Business Research, London (2011/2020);
“Claúsulas Arbitrais Escalonadas, Reflexões sobre a sua redacção e Interpretação” – in “Estudos em Homenagem a Mário Raposo”, Universidade Católica, Lisbon (2015);
“Resolução Alternativa de Litígios” – Almedina, Lisbon, June 2014, (2ª Ed. Actualizada) (July 2017);
“International Insolvency Review – Portugal”, Law Business Research, London (2014/2022);
A definitividade das decisões arbitrais que apliquem normas cuja inconstitucionalidade tenha sido suscitada pelas partes – (co-authored) Commercial Arbitration, Studies Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Commercial Arbitration Centre of portuguese CCI, Almedina (2019).

VI. Courses, Seminars, Conferences And Lectures Given (Non-Exhaustive List)

"O Arrendamento Urbano de Prédios do Estado" - Conference at the Ministry of Finance, Lisbon (1991);
“A Formação E o Estágio de Advocacia" - Justice and Freedom Forum Meeting, Lisbon, January (1996);
“Justiça e Comunicação Social" - II Meeting of the Association of Catholic Jurists, Catholic University, Lisbon (February 1996);
“A Formação e o Acesso à Profissão de Advogado" - Lecture given at a seminar promoted by the Portuguese Pharmacists Bar Association, Lisbon (May 1996);
"Advocacia em Direito Imobiliário Urbano" - Course (one semester) for Lawyers, integrated in the Permanent Training Program of the Portuguese Bar Association, CDL, Lisbon, 1997;
"The Training Period in Portugal: the Present and the Future" - IV Congress "Stage", Fédération des Barreaux d´Europe, London (October 1997);
"A Deontologia no Relacionamento entre Advogados e Magistrados" - Conference held at the Macau Magistrates Training Center (December 1997);
"O Estado da Justiça" – Conference held at Lions Club de Portugal, Lisbon (February 1998);
"Segredo de Justiça" – Portuguese Bar Association, Lisbon (May 1998);
"O Segredo Profissional" – Conference at the Portuguese Bar Association, Lisbon (July 1998);
"O Advogado na Comunidade Jurídica" – Conference at the II National Congress of the Young Lawyers Association, Lisbon (1999);
“Especialidades do Arrendamento para Habitação” – Seminar at the Portuguese Bar Association, CDL, Lisbon (2005);
“Arrendamento e União de Facto” – Seminar at the Portuguese Bar Association, CDL, Lisbon (2005);
“Cessação do Contrato de Arrendamento Urbano” – Seminar at the Portuguese Bar Association, CDL, Lisbon (2005);
“Especificidades do Novo Regime do Arrendamento Urbano” – LLM Course in Urban Leasing, Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon (Dezembro 2007);
“Dever de Reserva” - Intervention in conference at the Lisbon District Council of the Portuguese Bar Association (July 2008);
“A Actualização de Rendas no Novo Regime do Arrendamento Urbano” – Conference at the Portuguese Bar Association (October 2008/2009/2010);
“Lawyer’s Competence and Reasonable Price in Legal Profession – Supervision and Control by the Portuguese Law Society” – Congress at da Union International des Avocats (UIA), Oporto (2011);
“A Prova em Processo Civil”, Conference at the Center for Judiciary Studies, Lisbon (2011);
“O Segredo Bancário no Processo Civil” - Conference at Magistrates Course at the Center for Judiciary Studies, Lisbon (2011);
“A Evolução da Arbitragem, na Doutrina e Jurisprudência, em Portugal e no Brasil” – lecture given at Veirano Advogados, S. Paulo, under the sponsorship of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce of Brazil (July 2011);
“Arbitragem Fiscal - Especialidades face à Arbitragem Comum” – Conference on Tax Arbitration, Portuguese Arbitration Association, Lisbon (2011);
“O Novo Regime de Impugnação da Decisão Arbitral” – International Conference about Arbitration, SRS, Lisbon (2012);
“Análise da Proposta de Alteração da Lei do Arrendamento” – Conference at the District Council of the Bar Association (2012);
“O Regime da Arbitragem Internacional na nova Lei da Arbitragem Voluntária” – Conference at the Seminar of the International Court of Arbitration in Madrid, Lisbon (2012);
“Insolvency in Portugal: the new legal system” – at the International Congress of the New York Bar Association, Lisbon (2012);
“O Estado da Justiça – Causas e Diagnósticos” – at the closing session of the Conference on Economic Justice, Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation, Lisbon, (June 2013);
“Arbitration Third Party Funding” – Communication at the VII Congress of the Commercial Arbitration Center of Portuguese ICC, Lisbon (2015);
“Panorama da Arbitragem em Portugal e nos Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa” – Communication at the 51st Assembly of the Inter-American Comission of Commercial Arbitrage (CIAC), AIP, Lisbon (2018);
“Public Order and Arbitral Awards” – Biennual Conference of the International Law Association, May (2022);
“Commercial Litigation: complexities” – Iberian Lawyer Legal Summit, May (2022)
“Nomeação e Recusa de Árbitros: Novos e Velhos Problemas” – Pannel about Judiciary Courts and Arbitration, Lisbon Court of Appeal (October 2022).

Recommendations

Recommended and ranked by Chambers Global and Europe in Dispute Resolution
Recommended and ranked by Legal 500 in Dispute Resolution
Ranked in Leaders League as Excellent in Civil & Commercial Litigation and International Arbitration and as Highly Recommended in White Collar Crime
Recommended by Best Lawyers in Litigation
His team at SRS won the European Litigation Team of the Year at The Lawyer European Awards
"José Carlos Soares Machado has great capacity to build a cooperation and overpass limitations on the final result." - Dispute Resolution client – Chambers Europe
"José Carlos Soares Machado has great capacity to build a cooperation and pass over limitations on the final result." – Chambers Global
“With strong capabilities in both litigation and arbitration, the group is active across an array of sectors, most notably tourism, telecoms, financial services and construction. Jointly led by José Carlos Soares Machado and José Jácome, the practice acts for national and international companies, non-profit organisations and high-net-worth individuals” – Legal 500

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