Inês Pisco Bento

Managing Associate, Lisbon

“Being a part of a team that is sought after by clients for its sophisticated legal advice in complex and demanding cases, I enjoy the challenge of checking all details and dismantling issues to be able to deliver in-depth, creative, solid solutions in complex tax disputes to defend our clients´ interests.”

Overview

Professional experience

Education

Overview

Inês Pisco Bento is a Managing Associate in the Lisbon Tax department, where her experience has been focused on all matters of tax law, with a particular focus on tax dispute resolution, possessing extensive experience in tax litigation in administrative proceedings, judicial and arbitration claims, dealing with issues such as VAT, corporate income tax, Stamp Tax, parafiscal charges such as regulatory fees and special contributions such as bank levies.

Inês has successfully advised domestic and international corporate clients, on national and cross-border tax issues in sectors such as banking, energy and private equity and distressed/restructuring funds, that for their turn deal with companies in a wide variety of markets such as financial markets, construction, manufacturing and retail.

In addition to her work as legal counsel specialised in tax law, Inês also invested in a career in academia, having lectured as Assistant Professor at the Lisbon University School of Law, and acting as member of academic research groups on tax law matters.

She was invited to be a Member of the Jury of the Magistrates Training Course, in recognition of her expertise as lawyer in Tax Litigation matters.

Inês did a secondment at the Linklaters Brussels office in 2019 in the Tax Law department with a focus on State Aid disputes.

She furthermore receives invitations to speak on tax matters, especially on oil and gas taxation, in national conferences.

Work highlights
  • Tax litigation related to special contributions, such as the Contribution of the Banking Sector, Contributions to the National Resolution Fund and other Regulatory Fees, representing national and multinational banks and operators of the telecommunications sector
  • Arbitration cases related to the application of the Portuguese General Anti-Abuse Rule
  • Arbitration and judicial cases related to Value Added Tax matters, concerning the exercise the right to deduct VAT both from a domestic and an EU Law perspective
  • Corporate Income Tax related tax litigation concerning the special tax grouping regime, deductibility of costs, participation exemption regime and tax benefits, municipal and state surcharges
  • Advisory and tax litigation in the context of restructuring and insolvency matters
  • Advisory in domestic and international tax compliance issues

Professional experience

Inês joined Linklaters as Associate in 2013 in the Tax Department of the Lisbon office. She did a secondment at the Linklaters Brussels office in 2019 in the Tax Law department with a focus on State Aid disputes.

Inês started her legal career in 2007 with an academic summer internship in the Court of Peace of Seixal, sponsored by the Academic Department of the University of Coimbra.

Before joining Linklaters, she gained experience working in renowned law firms in Lisbon, specialising in tax law. First as summer intern at PLMJ, then as Junior Associate in Garrigues Portugal, followed by a period as Junior Lawyer and Lawyer at Albino Jacinto & Associados.

She was invited to be a Member of the Jury of the Magistrates Training Course of the Centre for Judicial Studies, that determines access to the judiciary, in recognition of her expertise as lawyer in Tax Litigation matters.

Inês is a regular speaker on tax matters at national conferences, invited by universities and entities such as the Centre for Judicial Studies and institutes of the University of Lisbon School of Law.

Inês volunteered as a victim support technician between May 2007 and May 2008, at The Portuguese Victim Support Association in Coimbra.

Role in academia:

Between 2013 and 2018 Inês was Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon School of Law, in the Legal and Economic Sciences Group, lecturing on Economics, Public Finance and EU law.

She was also a member of the Oil and Gas Law Research Group at the University of Coimbra, with particular emphasis on the taxation of the oil and natural gas industries.

Inês is a Member of the Centre for Research in European, Economic, Financial and Tax Law (CIDEEFF), the research and development unit set up at the School of Law of the University of Lisbon, in collaboration with the Institute for Economic, Financial and Tax Law (IDEFF) and the European Institute (EI) of this University.

Education

Inês holds a Law Degree of the Faculty of Law, University of Coimbra (2004/2008). She furthermore did a Summer Course on European Private Law - The Main Features of the European Legal Systems (Transfer of Title and Breach of Contract) at the University of Salzburg, an Intensive Course on European Tax Law, taught by Professor Cécile Brokelind, at the School of Law, University of Lisbon, and an Accounting Intensive Training Course by the Institute of Economic, Financial and Tax Law (IDEFF), of the School of Law, University of Lisbon.

In 2013 Inês obtained her Master’s degree in Legal and Economic Sciences, with a thesis on the taxation of holding companies.

She furthermore completed the I Post-graduate Course on Corporate liability in Criminal Law (Tax infringement proceedings) at the Institute of Criminal Law of the School of Law, University of Lisbon.

In 2015 Inês completed the First Advanced Postgraduate Course in Corporate Law, Corporate Finance & Governance of the School of Law, University of Lisbon. Module: Strategy and financial structure of the company: corporate law and financial, tax and accounting aspects.

Inês is a Member of the Portuguese Bar Association since 2013.

She speaks Portuguese, English and French.