We live in USA and are currently debating between NSM Lawyers and Legal Square for processing our Portugal Golden Visa through investment. We’d love to hear from anyone who has used either firm for this process.
Could you share your experiences and any pros or cons you encountered? Any insights would be greatly appreciated to help us make an informed decision.
I’ve been using LegalSquare for 3+ years. They’re ok but I wish I had gone with another firm. They are among the most expensive and conservative options. They made it known early on in webinars and such they didn’t want to upset the applecart by filing lawsuits to force a response from AIMA. When everyone else was filing lawsuits, they told me it wasn’t possible with a long list of reasons why. Then, shortly after, told me it would be a good idea to file a lawsuit for 2,000 Euro where others were paying far less.
They have also seemed to forget where I am in the process. The same lawyer who travelled to accompany my family to our biometrics appointment in Faro one year ago recently told me to start collecting our children’s documents and get ready for a biometrics appointment should we decide to file a lawsuit. They didn’t appear to know our status. Not the kind of confusion I’d expect out of high-cost attorneys.
They haven’t offered much for opinions or interpretations through the legislative changes whereas other firms have been quick to provide clear information and recommendations.
To their credit, they usually respond within 1-2 days. Overall, they’re getting the job done, but I haven’t been overly impressed. Can’t speak to NSM, but if I were starting over, I’d look to use another firm.
My lawfirm is not Legalsquare but i receive the same treatment like you. I think changing lawyers in Portugal do not solve the problem unless you know exactly the new lawyer has a different approach from the old one. If you just change randomly, it is the same $hit in my opinion. That’s how all of them are. Talking like honey and butter so that we sign contract with them. But once they receive the money, they deliver poor services. For your lawyer and my lawyer, I consider them as “acceptable” because at least they get something done.
Thank you for your reply.
Thank you for your response.
Legal Square is acceptable as other commenter said. I switched to them after working with another firm, which was horrible beyond belief. So considering the standard, Legalsquare is not the worst choice
We have had NSM for nearly 5 years now.
We did everything through them from opening of bank account to property investment. Now, final approvals have been received Alhamdulillah. We are at the stage where I have paid for my GV-card and waiting for family DUCs.
Overall, I have to say NSM was a good choice. Name partner, Goncalo Mendes Leal, is copied on all email correspondence and our contact person, Ana Filipa Barreiros, is quite responsive to our emails and requests.
You may tell them about my good experience with them if you decide to hire them. If you have any questions or wish to discuss this further, please feel to contact me.
All the best.
Salman Mahmood
I can recommend NSM. We used NSM from day 1 including opening bank accounts, etc. My entire family now has their GVs and I have had mine extended. They have always been efficient, responsive and helpful. They were exceptionally helpful when we had to go for biometrics (including once when the SEF office was turning people away because of a computer problem. NSM managed to get us in anyway). However I have seen no evidence they have any special ability to get things moving. When our process first got stuck, we used another lawyer to get a judgement against SEF (which we won). At that time NSM wasn’t doing the legal suits, but I believe they have subsequently started to do them too. So they are not magic fixers, in my experience, but very good in dealing with the process, etc.
We have used and continue to use NSM. The team has been responsive and helpful. Some friends used them, as well, and ultimately used them to file a lawsuit for their visas. Our situation was successful and our friends’ lawsuit was also successful.