Overview
Joana Fernandes Bernardo is an Associate in the Employment group in the Lisbon office´s Corporate department.
From the outset her practice has focused on Employment Law matters, advising national and international clients such as banks and corporate clients that operate in a variety of markets, including health care, pharmaceutical and telecom, on national and cross-border employment matters.
She has gained experience in a wide variety of matters ranging from drafting corporate employment policies, employee handbooks, negotiation guidelines to termination agreements, from advising on compliance with Labour Law regimes, e.g. on whistle-blowing, equal pay & diversity, remote working, providing guidance on the rapidly changing legislation during the Covid-19 pandemic, to advising on sensitive high-profile issues such as corporate restructuring & spin-offs and the termination of senior management positions.
Her practice involved working within international, multi-jurisdictional teams involving Portuguese, European and Angolan jurisdictions.
Professional experience
Joana joined the Lisbon office of Linklaters in 2023, working in the Employment Group of its Corporate Department. From the outset her legal career has been focused on specialising in Employment Law, starting in 2014 as Trainee-Lawyer at the law firm DLA Piper ABBC, where she became Associate in 2017, followed by a position as Associate in the Labour Law Departments at the local law firms CCR Legal (2018-2019) and SRS Legal (2019-2023).
Education and qualifications
Joana holds a Law Degree of the Faculty of Law of the Catholic University of Lisbon (2013) and a Master´s Degree in Forensic Sciences of the Faculty of Law of the Catholic University of Lisbon (2016), obtaining a Magna Cum Laude distinction for her Master´s thesis on qualified non-judicial verifications.
During her time at university she attended a Legal Clinic in Criminal Law at the law firm Carlos Pinto de Abreu e Associados and worked on call as assistant at the Institute of Political Studies of the Catholic University of Lisbon.
She furthermore attended a course on Negotiation Skills from Lexdebata in partnership with FGV Direito (2022).
In addition to her work as a lawyer Joana is also actively involved in her political party and volunteered at Voluntariado SA (Sem Abrigo), a charity that helps the homeless.
She is a fully qualified member of the Portuguese Bar Association since 2017.
Joana speaks Portuguese, English and Spanish.
