José Lupi & Associates

Senior Counsel

Luis Mesquita de Melo is a Senior Counsel with José Lupi specialized in betting and gaming, banking and finance, corporate, commercial and mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and arbitration, dispute resolution and litigation.

Luis is qualified to practice in Macau and Portugal and is recognized by peers and clients as a leading gaming lawyer with 35 years of experience in Macau, Portugal and South East Asia. During his private practice, he was a member of International Masters of Gaming Law and was ranked Band 1 Asia Pacific and Band 3 Worldwide as a Gaming Lawyer by Chambers & Partners. He was also included in the General Counsel Power list of 2023 in Vietnam by Legal 500.

His practice is focused on banking and finance, corporate, commercial and mergers and acquisitions, investment funds and private equity, and arbitration, dispute resolution and litigation where he assists international and local clients in a wide range of sectors, including betting and gaming, financial services, fintech and digital economy, consumer and retail, projects and infrastructure, telecom, media entertainment and technology.

Luis Mesquita de Melo was Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Asian Coast Development (Canada) Ltd; General Counsel of the Lodgis Group; Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel of Hong Kong listed gaming group Naga Corp (HKEx 3918); Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Company Secretary of Sands China where over 5 years he led financing arrangements in excess of USD5billion, and successfully led their initial public offering (IPO) in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the opening of the Venetian Macau integrated resort.

Previously, he was Legal Advisor to the Minister of Economy of Portugal; Founding Partner of Augusto Mateus & Associates Consultancy Company Limited; Partner of Macau based law firm MDME where he set up and led their gaming and hospitality department; Senior Partner of Portuguese J.A. Pinto Ribeiro & Associates where he led their litigation practice; and Legal Advisor to the President of the Macau Legislative Assembly. He was also a Senior Lawer with the Office for Legislative Modernization of the Macau Government in preparation for the handover.

Luis Mesquita de Melo is a Juris Doctor from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, and was lecturer of Contract Law for the Lawyers Training Course of the Portuguese Bar Association, a lecturer of Civil Law, Contracts and Torts at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, and an Assistant Professor of Civil Procedure and Contract Law of the Independent University in Lisbon, Portugal.

Luis is fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French.

English, Portuguese, Spanish and French

Member of International Masters of Gaming Law

Lawyer of Macau Lawyers Association

Lawyer of Portuguese Bar Association

Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B), Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal)