Three associates have left Linklaters' Portuguese arm after the firm discovered their plans to set up the office of an incoming international rival.

The three associates – banking lawyer Antonio Payan Martins, tax specialist Patrick De Werbe and capital markets lawyer Francisco Almeida – left the firm on Tuesday evening (8 May) after details of a business plan called 'Project Iberia' were found on a laptop, revealing how the lawyers were going to launch a Portugal office for an unnamed international firm.

It is understood the firm confronted the individuals, who were then given 24 hours to say whether they wanted to remain at Linklaters.

Commenting on the departures, Linklaters' local head of corporate, Jorge Bleck, told Legal Week: "Those lawyers are valid people and technically very good. We wish them well. However, we had no hesitation in asking them to leave."

The departing lawyers issued a statement today (11 May) saying they were asked to stay but chose to leave to pursue another project with Jose Luis Esquivel and Antonio Andrade de Matos, former managing associates at Linklaters, who also left the firm voluntarily last January.

Linklaters will be looking to replace the lawyers and has indicated that the appointments could be made internally.

The news follows the departure of a seven- lawyer property team, led by senior associate Bryan Wilson, from Linklaters' Central & Eastern European arm in February.

The team, which quit the magic circle firm's Prague office, has set up a standalone real estate practice which Legal Week understands will operate under the banner Wilson & Partners.