People
Rita Ferreira dos Santos
Partner
Practice Areas
Energy
Infrastructure Projects
Public Procurement
Public Law
Rita Ferreira dos Santos joined CTSU – Sociedade de Advogados, A Deloitte Legal practice, in January 2021, and is the partner leading the Energy and Infrastructure team.
She has over 20 years' experience of law practice, providing legal advice on the full range of strategic development and financing of projects and deals, particularly in the infrastructure, renewable energy, transport and health sectors.
Rita gained solid expertise in commercial contracts, concessions & public procurement, project financing, public-private partnerships, M&A and regulatory know-how. She regularly provides legal advice to sponsors, lenders and awarding authorities in a wide variety of large projects, successfully and effectively serving domestic and international clients, both in Portugal and in cross-border projects involving Portuguese speaking African countries, such as Angola and Mozambique.
Rita has also gained relevant experience in bank lending across a variety of product areas, including project finance, corporate finance, real estate finance and leveraged finance.
In addition to the transactional work, Rita advises foreign clients on a regular basis in matters of housekeeping and general advice to investment in Portugal.
Prior to joining CTSU she worked at Linklaters LLP in Lisbon, where she was a senior member of the Projects and Banking team. Having developed her career in a leading global law firm, Rita has taken full advantage of the opportunity to work internationally and on high-profile cross-border matters, including being seconded to the Linklaters London office in 2006. Working abroad and/or with world-class multinational clients and colleagues also strengthened her leadership and interpersonal communication skills and network, enabling her to gain broad and rich experiences, to increase her competences and to become a globally minded professional.
Rita Ferreira dos Santos is regularly commended in international directories such as Chambers and Partners and Legal 500, being “highly regarded” as “recognised practitioner”.
Rita is also a Member of the Board of a public interest not for profit association, engaged in education, sports and social support for children and the elderly.
Member of the Portuguese Bar Association since 2001.
Education
Accounting and Finance Course for Lawyers, Lisbon UCP (2019)
Post-graduate course in Health Law, Lisbon UCP (2018)
Advanced Post-graduate course in Corporate Finance and Corporate Governance, FDL (2016)
Law degree, Lisbon Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa (1999)
Languages
Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and German