Bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Lisbon Law School (1980-1985). Master’s degree in Law from Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa (1999). He joined the judiciary in 1986. He worked as Deputy Public Prosecutor in the districts of Coruche, Barreiro and Lisbon and as Public Prosecutor in Oeiras. He was a lecturer and Deputy Director of the Centre for Judicial Studies (CEJ). He has published several works in the fields of the History of Justice and the History of the Judiciary. He is an integrated researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History at Nova University Lisbon.