Speaker details

Biography

Claudia Santos Cruz co-heads the Lusophone Africa practice team at Morais Leitão which is dedicated to deals; transactions and advising international clients investing in these markets. The team advises clients on both cross-border inbound and outbound investments into Lusophone Africa. The team combines international experience with expert local knowledge and the support of the whole network, enabling each firm to maximise the resources available to its clients, as well as including members qualified in civil and common law jurisdictions in the most complex and large-scale deals in Lusophone Africa. Claudia is qualified in three different jurisdictions, most notably having practiced in the city of London and top global English law firms. She is also qualified in Mozambique and Portugal. Claudia is internationally recognised for her experience in large-scale project finance deals, oil & gas, corporate and shipping work. She is also considered in the international legal market as one of the leading transport lawyers in Lusophone countries, in particular in the Port and Shipping sectors. Claudia has acted for a wide range of shipping clients over the years including international oil companies chartering FPSO’s and other offshore drilling rigs; cargo companies as well as cruise line companies. She is often seen as the international go to lawyer instructed by foreign insurers and P&I Clubs in high profile cases such the Prestige oil spill which occurred off the coast of Galicia, Spain (2002) and more recently in the Portuguese-flagged RCGS Resolute diplomatic incident (2020) which occurred with Venezuela. Claudia also has a significant finance practice acting for international lenders on a regular basis. IBA Officer positions: 1) European Regional Forum: Officer, Vice-Chair; Senior-Vice Chair from 01/01/2010 to 31/12/2013: 2) Oil and Gas Law Committee: Officer from 01/01/2021 to current 3) African Regional Forum: Officer from 01/01/2024 to current