Littler Continues Global Growth and Deepens European Presence with Expansion into Portugal
Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is pleased to announce that DCM Lawyers, a specialized labor and employment law firm in Portugal, is joining its global platform (hereinafter DCM | Littler). With offices in Lisbon and the Algarve, DCM | Littler is comprised of three lawyers, two trainee lawyers and three paralegals.
“We are thrilled to add DCM | Littler as we continue to strengthen our wide-ranging capabilities in Europe and beyond,” said Erin Webber, Littler’s Managing Director and President. “As global companies face ever-evolving labor and employment challenges, especially as those challenges relate to COVID-19 and hybrid work models, expansions like this empower us to deliver the customized, high-quality legal counsel they need – combining teams well-versed in local laws and culture with expansive resources and experience.”
The addition of DCM | Littler underscores Littler’s global growth strategy that includes combining with top firms focused on labor and employment law in important international markets. Following recent expansions into Ireland and Spain, Portugal represents the twelfth European country in which Littler now has a presence. In addition to broadening its reach in Europe, Littler continues to grow in North America, South America and Asia. With this latest expansion, the firm now has more than 1,600 attorneys practicing across 26 countries.
DCM | Littler – founded by managing partner David Carvalho Martins – represents both local and international employers in a variety of industries. The firm counsels clients on a range of labor and employment matters, including hiring and employment screening, collective bargaining and trade union relations, transfer of undertakings, restructurings, data protection issues, immigration and global mobility, and tax and social security issues. DCM | Littler also represents clients in dispute resolution and litigation cases, both administrative and judicial, and in compliance, investigations and disciplinary procedures.
“Littler has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in labor and employment law, and the firm’s unique and exclusive focus in this area on a global scale will provide a significant value to our clients,” said Carvalho Martins. “We are excited to be part of the firm’s robust global footprint and to work together to deliver practical, strategic and innovative counsel to companies operating both locally and across the globe.”
Carvalho Martins has nearly two decades of experience advising national and multinational companies on labor and employment matters, including collective bargaining, compliance with working time regulations, use of flexible and remote work arrangements, and data protection and privacy matters, among several others. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Lisbon law school and a member of the board of directors of the Portuguese Labor Law Association. He is joined by attorneys Cláudio Rodrigues Gomes – who represents clients in labor litigation, dispute resolution and employments aspects of transactions and restructurings – and Catarina Venceslau de Oliveira, whose practice mainly focuses on hiring, dispute resolution, data protection and compliance. Other members of DCM | Littler include trainee lawyers Tiago Sequeira Mousinho and Francisco Salsinha; and paralegals Ana Amaro, Gonçalo Asper Caro and Inês Cruz Delgado.
“On the heels of expansions over the past year into Spain and Brazil – both of which have close ties with Portugal – joining forces with DCM | Littler adds an important element to our services,” said Stephan Swinkels, a Littler shareholder who helps lead the development and integration of the firm’s global practice. “This addition will be a boon to our offering not only in Portugal, but across Europe, Latin America and other Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa and Asia.”
Peter Susser, Littler’s Global Practice Leader and chair of the firm’s International Employment Law practice, added that “this dynamic group of lawyers has carved out a space for themselves as go-to labor and employment counsel in Portugal, and we look forward to collaborating with them to help clients in the region navigate an increasingly complex legal environment.”
Littler’s international operations span four continents – North America, South America, Asia and Europe – and include Austria, Belgium, Brazil (via a correspondent counsel relationship), Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States (including Puerto Rico) and Venezuela. The firm’s global capabilities also include lawyers with exceptional international experience, including practitioners dually licensed in the U.S. and Australia, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Russia and South Africa.
About Littler
With more than 1,600 labor and employment attorneys in offices around the world, Littler provides workplace solutions that are local, everywhere. Our diverse global team and proprietary technology foster a culture that celebrates original thinking, delivering groundbreaking innovation that prepares employers for what’s happening today, and what’s likely to happen tomorrow. For more information, visit www.littler.com.
