Career

PLMJ is one of Portugal’s leading law firms. Recognised internationally, it is chosen by leading Portuguese companies and international investors to support their operations in Portugal. Our clients expect us to provide the best possible legal advice and add lasting value to their businesses. Our mission is to always live up to that expectation, treating their challenges as our own.

Our reputation is the result of our individual and collective commitment to this mission, as well as to the culture and values of PLMJ.

Being a lawyer at PLMJ means working alongside some of the best professionals in the legal sector, in a leading, independent Portuguese law firm that advises the most important Portuguese companies and international clients with a presence in Portugal. It means working on highly complex transactions and disputes, and developing deep sector-specific knowledge in areas that drive the country’s economy.

Given the scale of the companies that we act for and the challenges they present, PLMJ’s teams are used to tackling particularly complex issues. The demands are constant and our clients expect consistently high performance. PLMJ’s lawyers and management team have exceptionally strong profiles and are driven to deliver exceptional results.

At PLMJ, critical thinking, freedom and non-conformity are not just features of the work we do; they are fundamental to our approach. They are part of who we are. We strive to bring about transformative change in the challenges entrusted to us. This is the attitude we look for in everyone who joins PLMJ, whether as a lawyer or a member of the management team.

Our highly demanding and intellectually challenging environment is built around cohesive teams, strong relationships, and values such as freedom, critical thinking, empathy and informality.

PLMJ’s healthy working environment is built on collaboration, multidisciplinary teams and a diversity of backgrounds. Close relationships with managers and colleagues are also central to the way we work.
Our training programmes have long been one of PLMJ’s defining strengths.

PLMJ’s lawyers and management team benefit from a training plan that supports them throughout their careers and is adapted to each stage of their professional development. In addition to the technical and legal training that enables lawyers to keep their knowledge up to date, PLMJ invests heavily in training in interpersonal skills and personal development.

For lawyers, training plans are tailored to each stage of their career, from associate through to partner. For the management team, they are tailored to each person’s specific role. Each year, the training plan is updated with new initiatives based on the needs identified. This modular approach allows each person to focus on their specific development needs in line with the feedback they receive throughout the year.

Our commitment to expanding knowledge applies to all our people from day one. We are proud to offer some of the most transparent career paths in the industry. From the moment people join PLMJ, career progression, the expected time spent at each level, performance evaluation criteria, the contribution expected by the firm are all clearly explained.

At PLMJ, we firmly believe in the benefits of incorporating artificial intelligence into the legal sector. Working at PLMJ gives you access to advanced AI tools designed to maximise talent and support professional development, while reducing the time spent on routine tasks that do not add value.

Training in AI tools is ongoing and mandatory, and their use is expected to become widespread, across all roles and career stages.

Working at an independent Portuguese law firm means working autonomously with a shared vision. At PLMJ, we combine the benefits of an independent firm with the opportunities of an international practice. A large proportion of our work involves clients from other jurisdictions, and we have close links with leading law firms around the world.

Our network of partnerships, PLMJ Colab, enables all our lawyers to work on cross-border matters, particularly those involving Portuguese-speaking countries.

At the same time, PLMJ collaborates closely with some of the world’s largest law firms, including the UK’s Magic Circle firms. Secondment programmes to these firms are possible, subject to a set of conditions being fulfilled by both parties.

Working at PLMJ means being part of a firm that is aware of its impact on the world. This includes the impact it has on its own people – lawyers and members of the management team – and on the communities it works with, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders, its environmental footprint, and the advice it provides to clients on their projects.