The organizational structure of law firms in Portugal

: the case study of TELLES

Abstract

Large firms have unique features and characteristics, which have been shaping their organization, what they are and what they do. That said, an attentive outsider might have remarked some new features in the organizational structure of law firms. Perhaps, the most perceivable feature has been the growth in size. Nevertheless, it does not stop there. In truth, this is the focal point of this investigation: the evolution of the organizational structure of law firms. More precisely, in Portugal, as the main research question is: are Portuguese law firms already adopting business-like structures? Based on the exploratory case study method of a Portuguese law firm, TELLES, there will be an attempt to provide an answer to this question. Regarding the collection technique adopted, five semi-structured interviews were done to five workers at TELLES. Plus, the data was analyzed qualitatively and manually, through the coding technique. As a consequence, the results showed a contrasting picture. Indeed, TELLES has been adopting some traits of a more business-like organizational structure. Be that as it may, TELLES also has, presently, attributes of the traditional organizational structure of law firms. In any case, there are various limitations to the results here presented and found. The most important one is that the results presented had to be circumscribed to findings from the semi-structural interviews. In any event, this paper does provide a first step in the appropriate direction to understand fully what the current organizational structure of Portuguese law firms is.

Date of Award	17 Dec 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ana Lourenço (Supervisor)