With over 16 years of experience as a criminal lawyer, Dirce has represented clients in some of the largest and most complex Portuguese criminal cases, particularly in the areas of corporate, white-collar crime and cross-border criminality. As a prosecution lawyer, Dirce has assisted and contributed to ongoing criminal investigations in the several stages of a criminal file, including in the discovery and preservation of evidence (electronic and other) and asset recovery. As a defence lawyer, Dirce has represented national and international companies and individuals at both trial and appellate levels, including in international and cross border disputes.
Dirce has also represented clients in the great majority of Portugal’s highest profile administrative offence cases, namely in financial, capital markets and competition law matters. These cases are sanctioning in nature, though pending before public bodies, can also comprise a negotiation approach – with leniency, transaction or agreements being negotiated with the public authorities – as well as a judicial phase, before specialized Courts and Appeal Courts.
Dirce has also accumulated experience in related litigation, namely with appeals submitted before the Constitutional and International Courts (ECHR and CJEU).
In the area of criminal compliance, Dirce has advised and provided compliance services to companies in the field of prevention of bribery and corruption, money laundering and terrorism financing and international sanctions, namely by creating, developing and updating internal policies and by assisting clients on the implementation of the necessary mechanisms to prevent legal risks. Dirce has assisted and trained management and employees on these matters and has carried out preventive and post-acquisition due diligences.
Dirce has also advised companies on the design and implementation of reporting channels, on pre-litigation internal investigations and on handling the investigations carried out by national authorities and regulatory bodies and offers day-to-day support to compliance officers.
- “AML and criminal defence: challenges in an evolving regulatory framework”, Anti-Money Laundering for the Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Defence, EU Legislative Proposals, Cryptoassets, Asset Recovery and Confiscation”, ERA Seminar, Trier, May 2024
- “AI and Competition – an artificial risk?”, Conference, Eversheds Sutherland Portugal, Lisbon, May 2024
- “Brief note on Law no. 52/2023, of 28 August”, Forum Penal, 2023
- “The administrative offence legal regimen: what is the future after 40 years?”, Conferences, Forum Penal and Portuguese Bar Association, Lisbon and Oporto, 2023
- “CJEU judgement: rights of suspected and accused people in Portugal (case no. C-242/22 PPU), webinar, Fair Trials International and Forum Penal, 2023
- “The transposition of the Whistleblower Protection Directive” (co-author), Lexology, 2022
- “Brief note on the Judgement of the Court of Justice in case no. C242/22 PPU concerning the rights of suspected and accused persons” (co-author), Fair Trials International, Forum Penal - Association of Criminal Lawyers , 2022
- “No-one can erase their own memory”, Advocatus, 2021
- “Establishing a Business in Portugal”, Thomson Reuters (co-author), 2021
- “Business Crime and Investigations in Portugal: Overview”, Thomson Reuters (co-author), 2021
- “Financial Crime in Portugal: Overview”, Thomson Reuters (co-author), 2021
- “Choosing a lawyer as a means of rebutting the presumption of innocence of the Defendant”, Advogar – Direito & Advocacia, 2017
- “New law in prevention of money laundering matters change the companies’ lives”, Eco (co-author), 2017
- “Europe and the Fight against Crime - prevention of use of the financial system”, Actualidade Economia Ibérica, 2015
- “The declarations of the Defendant – a danger no one predicted?”, Jornal I, 2015
- Portuguese chapter of the Financial and Business Crime Global Guide, Thomson Reuters (co-author), 2015
- Portuguese chapters of the Anti-Corruption Regulation Manual, Getting the Deal Through, (co-author), 2014 and 2015
- Portuguese chapter of the Corporate Crime, Fraud and Investigations Multi- Jurisdictional Guide 2014/2015, Thomson Reuters (co-author), 2014
- Anti-Bribery Best Practice Manual, PLMJ (co-author), 2011
- “The Conflict of Interests and the Crime of (Tax) Embezzlement”, Wolters Kluwer Portugal, 2010
- Listed as Rising Star - Criminal Law, White collar Defence and Compliance, The Legal 500 (2023, 2022)
- Listed as Rising Star - White Collar Crime, Expert Guide IFLR1000 (2022)
- Recognized as Recommended Lawyer - Criminal Law, White collar Defence and Compliance, The Legal 500 (2021, 2020)
- Listed as Rising Star - White Collar Crime, Expert Guides, Euromoney Legal Media Group (2018, 2021)
- Shortlisted on White Collar Crime, Iberian Lawyer's Forty under 40 (2022, 2021)
- President of the Forum Penal - Association of Criminal Lawyers
- Member of the Legal Experts Advisory Panel of Fair Trials International
- Portuguese Bar Association
- Post‐Graduation in Corporate Governance, Compliance and Public Supervision, Institute of Criminal Law - Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon, 2022
- Master Degree in Legal Judicial Sciences – Criminal Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon, 2014-2015
- Advanced Course in International and European Cooperation on Criminal Matters, Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Sciences - Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon, 2011
- Member of the Portuguese Bar Association (since 2010)
- Post‐Graduation in Economic and European Criminal Law, Institute of Criminal Economical and European Law - Faculty of Law, University of Coimbra, 2008-2009
- Law Degree, Faculty of Law, University of Coimbra, 2002-2007