Our Practices
Six practice areas covering the full spectrum of U.S. law issues in the cross-border U.S.–Portugal context. All work is grounded in U.S. federal law. Where local counsel is required, we coordinate.
TAX
U.S. tax obligations don't stop at the border. Americans living in Portugal, Portuguese families with U.S. assets, and institutions with U.S. investor exposure all carry U.S. tax obligations that require qualified analysis. Areia Global advises on FATCA, PFIC and QEF elections, CFC/GILTI exposure, Section 409A compliance, treaty positions, estate and gift tax, pre-emigration planning, and expatriation.
PRIVATE CLIENTS & FAMILY OFFICES
When a family's life becomes cross-border, its advisors don't automatically start talking to each other. The U.S. estate attorney and the Portuguese banker have never met. Areia Global serves as cross-border coordinator for family offices and private clients with Portugal exposure, coordinating across U.S. and Portuguese advisors so nothing falls between the cracks. The primary client profile is a U.S. family office navigating Portugal exposure, or a Portuguese family with U.S. assets, beneficiaries, or American family members.
Portuguese fund managers accepting U.S. investors, and institutions marketing to U.S. capital, face a specific set of U.S. securities obligations that most European counsel isn't positioned to handle. Areia Global advises on Regulation D compliance, Investment Adviser Act analysis, SEC marketing review, U.S. investor due diligence support, and litigation risk quantification when disputes with U.S. investors arise.
U.S. corporate questions arise the moment a Portuguese company hires an American, raises from a U.S. investor, or looks at the U.S. market. Areia Global advises on U.S. entity structuring, cross-border M&A support, U.S. market entry, and equity compensation for U.S. persons. For institutions with ongoing U.S. legal exposure, Areia Global offers a fractional U.S. general counsel arrangement, fixed monthly coverage without the cost of dedicated in-house U.S. counsel.
Portuguese financial institutions with U.S. investor exposure or American clients carry U.S. compliance obligations that are real, recurring, and largely unmanaged. Areia Global designs and reviews FATCA compliance programs, coordinates U.S. investor reporting for fund managers, and trains private bankers on the U.S.-specific issues their American clients raise. Most engagements begin with a scoped diagnostic and move to a monthly retainer for ongoing coverage.
When people move across the U.S.–Portugal corridor, compensation structures that worked in one country create problems in the other. Areia Global advises on cross-border payroll obligations, equity and deferred compensation planning for U.S. persons employed by Portuguese companies, and employment tax for cross-border hires, covering the U.S. advisory layer that Portuguese employment counsel and HR teams aren't positioned to provide.
U.S. law questions don't arrive in neat categories. A fund manager accepting U.S. investors has a tax question, a securities question, and a compliance question, often at the same time. A Portuguese company hiring its first American employee touches corporate law, compensation planning, and employment tax in a single hire. Our six practice areas cover the full spectrum of U.S. legal and advisory work that arises in the U.S.–Portugal context, and where they overlap, so do we.
Not sure which practice applies to your situation?
Many cross-border situations touch more than one practice area.