Pedro Cortés is currently Managing Partner of Rato, Ling, Lei & Cortés | Lektou, Began his career as a lawyer in 2003 at Rato, Ling, Lei & Cortés - Advogados | Lektou where he is managing partner.
Has experience in gaming, corporate and M&A, capital markets, and banking & finance.
He is admitted to practice law in Portugal, Macau, Brazil (São Paulo), China (as a cross-border Macau Lawyer) and in East Timor. He is a member of the IAGA (International Association of Gaming Advisors), IMGL (International Masters of Gaming Law), HKIoD (Hong Kong Institute of Directors), IBA (International Bar Association), CIArb (Chartered Institute of Arbitrators) and HKIA (Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators). He is recognised as a leading lawyer by Chambers (band 1), IFLR1000 (highly regarded), Asialaw (distinguished practitioner) and Legal 500 (leading individual), and was distinguished as one of Asia Best Lawyers by IFLR (2021 and 2022).
Pedro is guest lecturer of gaming law in the law degree undergraduate programme and executive coordinator of the Advanced Course in Gaming Law and Sports Betting at the Católica | Lisbon School of Law and Católica | Global School of Law, and also guest lecturer in Sports Betting at the Sports Law Post Graduation Course, Autonoma Academy, Lisbon. Previously, he was guest lecturer at the Master of Social Science in Global Political Economy (MGPE) Programme of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
He has been invited to lecturer at UNLV gaming courses. He is a regular speaker in gaming conferences and frequently writes articles on the gaming industry.
He holds an LLM in gaming law and regulation from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2020–21). As part of the programme, he was enrolled in a legal externship with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. He also holds a law degree from the Portuguese Catholic University – Lisbon School of Law (2000) and postgraduate in international management from Porto University – School of Economy (2001) and has attended numerous academic programmes in gaming matters at UNLV International Center for Gaming Regulation and other organizations, including: Fundamentals of Anti-Money Laundering, Casino & Gaming Internal Controls, Casino Audit: Revenue, Casino Floor, AML & KYC Concepts, Introduction to Indian Gaming Law, Ethics & Responsible Gaming, Data Privacy & Cybersecurity, Responsible Gaming & Player Protection, A 360 View of Compliance in a Global Gaming Organization, Casino Investigations: Security, Law and Policing, Anti-Money Laundering Bootcamp, Creating an Effective Compliance Plan, Principles of Sports Wagering and Casino Internal Controls.