Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva e Associados (“MLGTS”) has recently selected Luminance’s leading artificial intelligence technology to streamline the M&A due diligence processes at the top-tier Portuguese firm.

As a pioneer in legal innovation, MLGTS participated in a two-week pilot of the technology focusing on M&A and Capital Markets, adjusting the tool to the specific needs of these pivotal areas within the firm. Luminance, created by mathematicians from the University of Cambridge, was not yet present in the Portuguese market, meaning MLGTS will assist in developing the platform’s understanding of Portuguese legal concepts for MLGTS and MLGTS’ Legal Circle, a network which includes Angola, Mozambique, and Macau. The firm’s adoption of Luminance marks the very development of legal technology in the Lusophone market.

The platform will provide MLGTS’ deal teams with permanent visualisation of the data room, displaying information by region and governing law, while highlighting differences across the documents. With 250 lawyers across four jurisdictions, the MLGTS Legal Circle will also benefit from the platform’s collaboration tools, which allow for more efficient team management, saving time for organising and managing processes.

According to Nuno Galvão Teles, managing partner at the firm, 'MLGTS is constantly analysing innovative ways to add value to highly specialised legal services, far exceeding the expectations of customers. Luminance presented us with a very intuitive technology with the potential to instantly understand thousands of documents on the first day of the operation. The implementation of this technology will drastically reduce the time allotted to due diligence processes, and can contribute to significantly shorten the preparation of many transactions. We also valued the rapid adaptation of the platform to the Portuguese language, allowing its use by teams spread throughout our Portuguese-speaking network. We are still very excited about the possibility of extending this technology to all areas of activity.'

“MLGTS is recognised for its pioneering approach to delivering a high level of service to its clients, and we are delighted to welcome the firm to the growing list of global law firms using our technology for M&A due diligence,” added Luminance CEO Emily Foges. “Nearing 100 customers less than two years since launching Luminance is a fantastic achievement and demonstrates the truly plug and play nature of the technology.”

Luminance is an artificial intelligence platform for lawyers which uses machine learning to read and analyse contracts and other documents much like a human does, thus improving the efficiency of processes such as due diligence. The system sorts, groups and classifies documents, presenting them in an intuitive dashboard to give lawyers an immediate insight and prioritising their review.

Luminance has nearly 100 customers in 26 countries and five continents since launching in September 2016, including eleven of The Global 100 law firms. The company was recently awarded ‘Startup Tech Company of the Year’ at the prestigious National Technology Awards, recognising Luminance’s exceptional growth and advanced machine learning platform.

About Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva e Associados

MLGTS is a leading full-service law firm in Portugal, with a solid background of more than 80 years of experience.

Internationally recognised, its reputation stems from the excellence and high level of the services provided to clients, solid ethical values and a distinctive approach with cutting edge solutions. Specialised legal services in the main areas of law and in different sectors of the economy are a benchmark of the firm leading to its involvement in the most important operations in Portugal, as well as in high value cross-border transactions and disputes.

With a team consisting of more than 200 lawyers, MLGTS has its head office in Lisbon and offices in Porto and Funchal (Madeira Island). To support clients’ international strategies, MLGTS developed a network of associations with local firms in Angola, Mozambique and Macau (China) - MLGTS Legal Circle, which offers integrated multijurisdictional teams.