About

Rui Andrade heads the legal function of Andrade Gutierrez Europa, África, Ásia (AG EAA), one of the largest construction companies in Portugal, present in more than 30 countries. He joined the company in 1997, creating an in-house legal department for the head offices in Lisbon. Currently he leads a team of eight senior lawyers and oversees all legal matters in the 30 jurisdictions where AG EAA is present. Through the course of 18 years as the head of legal, Andrade has implemented many reforms and he believes that constant adaptation to the new changes is essential for a well-functioning legal department. ‘A modern legal department like ours must have the capacity to reinvent itself permanently, taking into consideration AG group’s policies, the diversity of the jurisdictions where AG is present, its respective differentiating elements in terms of legal systems and practices (notably civil law and common law), legal developments and jurisprudence (local or at the level of international arbitrations), besides the necessary tools to increase the level of organisation and performance of the legal team (permanent training and updating from a legal perspective as well as in terms of legal management as per the international best practices), IT and others’. He admits that the internationalisation phase was a great challenge, as the company was expanding its operations into new jurisdictions, which required very good knowledge of the legal and market systems. Currently the company operates in 30 countries and Andrade’s approach and legal support has been central to this impressive growth.