Dirce Rente

Dirce is an experienced criminal lawyer, with a focus on white-collar and international crime, administrative offences and criminal law compliance matters.

Dirce is a partner and head of the Department of Criminal, Regulatory and Compliance Law of Eversheds Sutherland Portugal.

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.