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Ines Metello

Inês Santana Metello LL.M.

Senior Associate
About

Inês Santana de Metello is a Senior Associate specializing in regulated sectors, with a strong focus on Aviation and Life Sciences. She excels in compliance and litigation, handling both civil and administrative matters with precision. Inês has extensive experience guiding clients through licensing procedures before regulatory bodies, ensuring seamless compliance with legal requirements.

In the Aviation sector, she advises airlines, aircraft operators, and service providers on regulatory compliance, licensing, contractual matters, and administrative disputes. Her ability to navigate intricate legal frameworks and regulatory interactions makes her a key advisor in this industry. Inês also has a strong presence in the Life Sciences sector, where she supports pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies in addressing complex regulatory and contractual challenges. She ensures clients remain compliant with evolving industry standards while securing the necessary approvals for their operations.

Beyond Aviation and Life Sciences, she provides strategic legal counsel in Online Gambling, assisting clients in navigating highly regulated markets. Recognized for her meticulous approach and deep regulatory expertise, Inês is a trusted advisor in complex legal landscapes, ensuring clients achieve their business objectives while meeting stringent legal requirements.

Professional qualificationsAdvogado admitted with the Ordem dos Advogados (Portuguese Bar Association)

EXPERIENCE

  • Advising a biopharma leader on post-trial supply obligations following a clinical trial suspension in Portugal. Due to regulatory ambiguities, the analysis clarified compliance risks and ensured alignment with legal requirements. The matter highlighted post-trial obligations in complex drug combination therapies, addressing patient access challenges and the sponsor’s responsibilities within an uncertain legal framework.
  • Advising and representing a MedTech global leader in a pre-contractual litigation challenging the awarding of a public tender for a medical device. The 2024 rulings clarified key procurement aspects, reinforcing the principle of substance over form in public tenders and affirming flexibility in product identification within Portugal’s medical device regulatory framework.
  • Advising and representing a global pharma company in two civil liability proceedings related to adverse events and product liability claims concerning a medical device. The claims follow similar actions globally, with significant media coverage.
  • Advising several airlines in particular on aviation law and regulatory issues, as well as litigation in general
  • Advising clients on compliance issues in regulated sectors, namely transports
  • Advising several online gambling operators to obtain licenses in Portugal
  • Advising clients on competition issues, at national and EU level, in concentration operations and restrictive practices in investigatory or oversight proceedings before the Competition Authority and the European Commission
Languages
  • Portuguese
  • English
Education
  • Lisbon University School of Law, IDEFF, Postgraduate Studies in Competition and Regulation, 2017
  • Portuguese Catholic University, Católica Global School of Law, LL.M. Law in a European and Global Context, 2016
  • Portuguese Catholic University, School of Law, Law Degree, 2015

Prior Experience

  • 2018 – present, Associate, DLA Piper ABBC (previously ABBC)
  • 2016 – 2018, Trainee Lawyer, DLA Piper ABBC (previously ABBC)
  • 2015, Summer Trainee, DLA Piper ABBC (previously ABBC)
  • 2015, Legal Clinic in Intellectual Property, Lisbon based law firm
  • 2014, Summer Trainee, DLA Piper ABBC (previously ABBC)
  • 2014, Summer Trainee, Lisbon based law firm

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