Interact Law spoke to Fernando Antas da Cunha, Managing Partner at Antas da Cunha ECIJA on the recent announcement that Joana Pinto will join the Antas da Cunha Technology Transaction Team as a Partner.
Tell us about your Technology Transactions team and how Joana’s arrival will shape the future of it.
Antas da Cunha Ecija has been steadily building a solid reputation as a leading law firm for technology-related matters in Portugal. Our Technology Transactions team is one of the most differentiated in the market, something that is clearly reflected in our positioning and in the profile of our lawyers. What truly sets us apart is the combination of deep legal expertise with practical, hands-on experience in the tech sector. Our team includes professionals with real industry backgrounds, which gives us a unique ability to understand our clients’ challenges. We offer a full-service approach to tech-related transactions, combining legal expertise with strong technological awareness.
Joana’s arrival comes precisely to reinforce this strong and multidisciplinary team. With over 25 years as in-house counsel at global technology companies, she brings a pragmatic, business-driven perspective that enhances our ability to support clients not only with legal excellence, but with insight that is practical, relevant, and add strategic value.
What is Joana’s background and how will her practice solidify the firm’s approach to technology?
Joana combines legal expertise and deep knowledge of the technology industry, developed over two decades of leading complex technology negotiations from inside a large, fast-moving organization. Her background is a natural fit with our positioning as a truly digital law firm.
At Antas da Cunha Ecija, we believe that advising on technology requires more than legal knowledge, it requires a clear understanding of how innovation reshapes risk, value, and entire business models and Joana embodies the mindset that defines us: legal rigour, digital fluency, and business orientation. Her experience strengthens our ability to act not just as legal advisors, but as strategic partners who anticipate challenges and speak the client’s language.
In what ways is Antas da Cunha Ecija a ‘digital’ law firm?
Being digital is part of our DNA. From day one, Antas da Cunha Ecija positioned itself as an innovation-driven law firm, one that embraces technology not only as a practice area, but as a way of working and thinking.
We continuously adopt and integrate digital tools to improve efficiency, collaboration, and client experience. But being a digital law firm goes beyond tools. It’s about mindset. Our teams are agile, multidisciplinary, and innovation-oriented, combining legal expertise with strong business and industry awareness. We work closely with clients in highly dynamic sectors, such as fintech, digital platforms, AI, and e-commerce, which demands a deep understanding of emerging technologies and the business models behind them.
Ultimately, we are unafraid to challenge the traditional legal model as we see the digital transformation of the legal profession not as a threat, but as an opportunity and at Antas da Cunha Ecija, we are committed to being at the forefront of that change, leading it with confidence, creativity, and purpose.
What is the firm’s approach to AI and in what ways have you incorporated AI into your practice?
At Antas da Cunha Ecija, we see AI as both a legal challenge and a strategic opportunity, for our clients and for the legal profession itself. We provide legal advice across the full life cycle of AI adoption: from compliance with the EU AI Act, to risk governance and contract structuring. We’re working closely with clients to help them adopt responsible AI frameworks that align with business goals and regulatory expectations.
We’re now taking that commitment even further, evolving toward the concept of a Full AI Firm. This means using artificial intelligence not only to automate repetitive tasks, but to enhance legal analysis and offer more strategic solutions to our clients. It also means preparing our people, through training, governance, and ethical frameworks to work responsibly and confidently alongside AI. Being a Full AI Firm is not about replacing lawyers with machines, it’s about empowering our teams and our clients through technology.
