Fernando Dias Simões - The Civil Liability of Law Firms in Portugal

Abstract

In Portugal law firms can choose between limited or limitless liability. In limited liability law firms only the corporation answers for social debts, having to contract a civil liability insurance. The admission of this type of law firms, with exclusion of partners liability, implies a limitation of liability for acts of the debtor himself in cases of deceit or gross fault. The Portuguese legislator should have adopted a solution close to the one of Ley 2/2007, de 15 de Março, de sociedades profesionales, admitting limited liability law firms but imposing limitless, joint and several liability of the intervening partners in a particular case, leaving the remaining partners free from liability.

Fernando Dias Simões

Senior Research Associate

Professor Dias Simões is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China)

Summary

In Portugal law firms can choose between limited or limitless liability. In limited liability law firms only the corporation answers for social debts, having to contract a civil liability insurance. The admission of this type of law firms, with exclusion of partners liability, implies a limitation of liability for acts of the debtor himself in cases of deceit or gross fault. The Portuguese legislator should have adopted a solution close to the one of Ley 2/2007, de 15 de Março, de sociedades profesionales, admitting limited liability law firms but imposing limitless, joint and several liability of the intervening partners in a particular case, leaving the remaining partners free from liability.

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