Brazil

Editor’s notes

Brazil entered 2024 grappling with a delicate mix of political turbulence and economic recalibration. The early months were overshadowed by the lingering fallout from the 2022 presidential election, as former president Jair Bolsonaro faced investigations over alleged attempts to overturn the results. In February, the Federal Police launched Operation Tempus Veritatis, targeting his associates with evidence suggesting coup plans. While Bolsonaro retained a loyal base, the investigations set in motion a legal trajectory that would culminate in his 2025 conviction, reshaping the political landscape and weakening the right-wing opposition ahead of local elections. Against this backdrop, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration sought to safeguard social gains and advance economic reforms, even as rising fiscal pressures and declining approval ratings highlighted the challenges of governing a divided nation.

Economic pressures tested Brazil throughout 2024 and into 2025. High interest rates, persistent inflation, and a volatile currency created challenges. Yet the government achieved measurable successes: formal employment reached record levels, social programmes expanded, and the minimum wage rose, underscoring a continued commitment to inclusion. Structural concerns persisted, with public debt approaching 78.6% of GDP by October and global trade tensions, especially with the United States, threatening growth. By mid-2025, these pressures were expected to reduce GDP by 0.2–0.3%, impacting agriculture, manufacturing, and key commodities.

Despite uncertainty, dealmaking proved resilient. M&A activity fell in volume but surged in value, reflecting a shift toward fewer, larger transactions. Energy, technology, real estate, oil and gas, healthcare, and financial services led the way, with domestic companies dominating and US and European investors active in inbound deals. Early 2025 suggested the trend would continue, bolstered by strong interest from Chinese investors seeking geographic diversification and undervalued assets. Strategic planning increasingly reflected tax reforms and regulatory changes, while high interest rates encouraged distressed deals and asset sales.

Capital markets, by contrast, remained subdued. Fixed-income instruments dominated, while equity markets stayed largely dormant—Brazil has not seen a single IPO since 2021, and follow-on offerings were limited. Regulators tightened rules on securitisation vehicles, particularly CRIs and CRAs, restricting related-party transactions and expanding collateral requirements. These measures reduced flexibility for issuers but strengthened market integrity, addressing concerns over opaque or riskier structures.

At the same time, fintechs, challenger banks, and embedded finance platforms expanded rapidly under Open Finance regulations and new licensing frameworks. Private credit and securitisation grew as corporate funding sources, while updates to the SCFI framework and oversight of virtual assets aimed to strengthen stability, particularly after Operation Carbono Oculto exposed illicit flows through digital platforms.

Competition and antitrust enforcement intensified in parallel. CADE opened dozens of investigations across traditional industries and digital sectors, while lawmakers are advancing the Digital Fair Competition Bill to regulate systemically important platforms—though critics caution it could overreach and stifle innovation.

Energy and infrastructure also remained central to Brazil’s strategic priorities. Renewable sources accounted for nearly 90% of electricity generation in 2024, while biofuel, carbon capture, and forest-carbon initiatives advanced ahead of COP30 in Belém. Efforts to accelerate environmental licensing sparked debate over Indigenous rights and ecological protections, underscoring the persistent tension between growth and conservation.

Meanwhile, arbitration continued to gain traction as the preferred forum for complex commercial disputes, including international cases, as Brazil’s courts grapple with a backlog exceeding 84 million pending cases. Labour policy saw targeted changes, with affirmative action expanded in federal employment, while the phased rollout of the tax reform simplified multiple legacy levies into a dual VAT system and aligned Brazil with global minimum tax rules.

Brazil’s legal market continues to evolve, hosting a diverse range of firms that advise both domestic and international clients. Prominent full-service firms include BMA Advogados, Cescon Barrieu, Demarest Advogados, Lefosse Advogados, Machado Meyer Sendacz e Opice Advogados, Mattos Filho, Pinheiro Neto Advogados, TozziniFreire, and Veirano Advogados.

While the Brazilian Bar Association limits close collaboration between domestic and international firms, several notable alliances have taken shape. These include Trench Rossi Watanabe with Baker McKenzie LLP, Tauil & Chequer Advogados with Mayer Brown, Vella Pugliese Buosi e Guidoni Advogados with Dentons, and FAS Advogados in cooperation with CMS. In a significant move, DLA Piper ended its partnership with Campos Mello Advogados in July 2025, and the Brazilian firm quickly strengthened its platform by bringing Schmidt Valois (known for its expertise in the natural resources sector) into the fold.

Specialist boutique firms also remain key market players, offering expertise in areas like dispute resolution, intellectual property, competition, environmental law, and white-collar crime. Leading boutiques include Ferro, Castro Neves, Daltro & Gomide Advogados, Bermudes Advogados, Dannemann Siemsen Advogados, Kasznar Leonardos Intellectual Property, Gusmão & Labrunie, Davi Tangerino Advogados, Iokoi, Paiva, Jonasson e Scalzaretto Advogados, Grinberg Cordovil Advogados (GCA), and Milaré Advogados.

Legal 500 rankings continue to highlight the depth and diversity of Brazil’s legal market. National firms in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro remain dominant, showcasing expertise across a wide range of sectors and practice areas, from corporate law to dispute resolution. Yet beyond these dominant centres, regional markets are gaining prominence. Our City Focus coverage underscores this evolution, capturing the increasing influence of local practices, from Manaus in the North, to Porto Alegre and Curitiba in the South, as well as Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Recife, Salvador, Fortaleza and Campinas. This year, the scope expanded further to include Belém, Goiânia, and Florianópolis, reflecting the growing importance of these cities in Brazil’s legal and economic fabric.

In a notable development, Legal 500 has launched the Brazil Elite – Rio de Janeiro, a dedicated ranking designed to recognise leading lawyers at regional and local firms in one of the country’s most dynamic legal hubs. The initiative shines a light on high-calibre professionals who operate outside Brazil’s largest national firms, often leading complex, high-stakes work that shapes the local market. Research drew on interviews with practitioners, written submissions, and an extensive editorial review that began with a broad pool of candidates. Unlike traditional firm-based rankings, this series focuses on individual excellence, spotlighting standout partners across key practice areas within Rio de Janeiro. Together, this expanded and more granular coverage offers a more detailed and balanced picture of Brazil’s legal market, illustrating both the enduring strength of its major centres and the rising influence of regional talent.

Interviews
ViewView
Comparative Guides
ViewView
News & Developments
ViewView
Press Releases

Gran Capital Partners Announces Strategic Investment in Aurok (STK Comércio de Alimentos S.A.)

The corporate and mergers and acquisitions team at Finocchio & Ustra Advogados advised Gran Capital Partners — a Brazilian private equity firm that partners with entrepreneurs by combining capital and management support to scale high-potential businesses — on a strategic investment transaction in STK Comércio de Alimentos S.A. (Aurok), a chain of high-quality meat boutiques with stores in Campinas and Indaiatuba and a vertically integrated operation with its own high-technology processing facility. This is the firm’s third recent investment, following Sterna Café and La Guapa. The transaction reinforces the ongoing professionalization of the specialized protein retail and gourmet grocery segments, with positive impacts on quality standardization, the shopping experience, and the expansion of the product portfolio for consumers. As a result, Aurok will be able to accelerate its growth and implement its expansion, with gains in operational efficiency and enhanced professionalization, thereby contributing to the consolidation of the segment in São Paulo. The transaction was led by partner Andrea Tincani, with the participation of Camila de Godoy Ferreira, Júlia Cristina Arruda Savioli, Carolina Zogaeb, and Enrico Abrahão Oliveira, all from Finocchio & Ustra Advogados.
Finocchio & Ustra Sociedade de Advogados - November 28 2025
White-collar crime

Brazil Strengthens Financial Crime Enforcement with New Federal Tax Unit

Brazil creates special tax unit to combat money laundering, targeting fuel distributors and fintechs. Brazil has announced the creation of a specialized unit within the Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal) to intensify efforts against financial crime[1]. The move followed the “Spare” and “Carbono Oculto” operations, which uncovered billions of reais in illicit transactions. These operations revealed how sectors such as fuel distribution and fintechs were used as platforms to channel or disguise suspicious financial flows, highlighting the growing complexity of organized crime schemes. A New Investigative Role for Receita Federal Traditionally, the Receita Federal acted primarily as a tax authority, identifying irregularities in payments and auditing fiscal integrity. With the establishment of this new unit, the agency steps into a broader role, working side by side with police and prosecutors in detecting, analyzing, and disrupting money laundering operations. This represents a structural change in Brazil’s enforcement landscape, aligning with international trends that emphasize “following the money” to combat organized crime. Anti-Money Laundering Challenges and Sector Exposure The findings of the recent operations make clear that certain industries are more vulnerable to infiltration by illicit networks. Fuel distribution, with its high-volume and cash-intensive operations, and fintechs, with their agility and technological models, are particularly exposed. For businesses in these sectors, the announcement should be read as a signal of intensified monitoring and heightened expectations regarding anti-money laundering controls and transaction monitoring systems. The new framework also signals broader international implications. Many of the sectors under scrutiny operate through import and export chains or rely on cross-border financial systems. As Brazil intensifies cooperation with foreign tax and enforcement authorities, companies abroad connected to Brazilian operations may face greater scrutiny and information sharing between jurisdictions. Concerns Over Fiscal Confidentiality At the same time, the new role of Receita Federal raises important concerns. Companies and their shareholders rely on the constitutional guarantee of fiscal secrecy, which protects sensitive financial data from undue exposure. The growing involvement of the tax authority in criminal investigations creates the risk that legitimate business information could be subject to excessive scrutiny or even misused. It is essential to emphasize that combating money laundering cannot justify unrestricted access to confidential data. The effectiveness of enforcement must not come at the cost of transforming financial intelligence into a fishing expedition that compromises corporate privacy and undermines due process. Looking Ahead The creation of this unit is a turning point in Brazil’s strategy against financial crime. For companies, especially in sectors already flagged by recent operations, the challenge is twofold: to strengthen criminal anti-money laundering frameworks while also safeguarding their rights against investigative overreach. Success in this environment will require balance—robust transparency and control mechanisms, paired with vigilance to ensure that the fight against illicit activity does not erode the legal protections of legitimate businesses.   Bruno Henrique dos Santos Henrique Zigart Pereira Guilherme Cremonesi   [1] https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/economia/macroeconomia/fazenda-cria-delegacia-na-receita-para-combater-crime-organizado/#goog_rewarded. Access on 10/03/2025.
Finocchio & Ustra Sociedade de Advogados - November 14 2025
Environmental Law

Unlocking the value of conservation: can your protected land generate carbon credits in Brazil?

Does my Legal Reserve and Permanent Preservation Area make me eligible to issue carbon credits? This is one of the most recurring questions among Brazilian rural landowners considering the recent enactment of Federal Law No. 15,042/2024, which establishes the Brazilian Emissions Trading System. The question is legitimate: if Legal Reserve (RL) and Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) are protected by legal obligation under the Forest Code, Federal Law No. 12,651/2012, would it be possible to generate carbon credits by keeping these areas conserved? The answer, considering the new legislation, is yes, but the principle of additionality prevents carbon generation projects from being eligible for this purpose. Before delving into the analysis of whether or not it is possible to issue carbon credits in these areas, it is necessary to explain what the institute of legal reserve and permanent preservation area is in the Forest Code. Legal reserve is understood as the area located within the rural property intended for the sustainable use of natural resources, conservation of biodiversity, and fulfillment of the socio-environmental function (art. 3, III, and art. 12, Law No. 12,651/2012). The permanent preservation area, in turn, corresponds to the protected space, whether or not covered by native vegetation, whose function is to preserve water resources, soil stability, biodiversity, and ensure the well-being of human populations (art. 3, II, Law No. 12,651/2012). Federal Law No. 15,042/2024, article 43, paragraphs 17 and 46, which establishes the regulated market, expressly recognizes the suitability of these areas to generate carbon credits, provided they meet the technical and regulatory requirements for measurement, verification, and registration. However, the debate arises regarding the criterion of additionality, traditionally required in carbon markets, which questions whether conservation already required by law can be considered an “additional” mitigation. It is important to understand the legal concepts established in the Forest Code to understand the relationship of this rule with the regulated carbon market law. Thus, for Legal Reserve, Federal Law No. 12,651/2012 defines, in its art. 3, item III and 12, the area located within a rural property or possession that must be maintained with native vegetation, with the purpose of ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources, the conservation of ecological processes and biodiversity. The extent of the mandatory Legal Reserve varies according to the geographical location of the property: 80% for forest areas in the Legal Amazon, 35% for cerrado within the Legal Amazon, and 20% for other regions. Art. 3, item II, of the aforementioned law, in turn, defines permanent protection area as a protected area, whether or not covered by native vegetation, with the environmental function of preserving water resources, landscape, geological stability, and biodiversity, facilitating the gene flow of fauna and flora, protecting the soil, and ensuring the well-being of human populations, such as the marginal strips of any natural watercourse, slopes with a gradient greater than 45 degrees, restingas, mangroves, hilltops, edges of plateaus or tablelands, and veredas. And then comes the question: what is additionality? I preserve 20% of my area with vegetation cover, in this scenario of climate change does it have no value? Does being in environmental compliance not generate economic benefits for me? In common sense, these questions are pertinent, since the media constantly mentions that Brazilian agribusiness will benefit from the carbon credit market and that rural areas will be eligible to generate carbon credits. However, in practice, the monetization of the conservation of these areas within rural properties does not occur, either because there is no additionality or because it is too small to gain scale and guarantee the cost of the projects. The concept of additionality, although not expressly provided for in Brazilian environmental legislation, was developed internationally and is a criterion used to verify whether the environmental benefits, notably the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, are actually due to the implementation of the project, and are therefore additional to the reference scenario. From a systematic reading of Federal Law No. 15,042/2024, which establishes the Brazilian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System (SBCE), and the Forest Code (Federal Law No. 12,651/2012), the compatibility between the legality of the protection of these areas and the principle of additionality is analyzed, as well as the effects of Brazilian legislation in relation to the environmental integrity standards of carbon markets. The article “Is the requirement of additionality for carbon projects unfair?”, published by LACLIMA, critically discusses this point, arguing that landowners who have historically kept the forest standing are disincentivized, while agents who deforested and now restore obtain greater access to the market. After the enactment of Federal Law No. 15,042/2024, the possibility of issuing carbon credits from the conservation of native vegetation protected by law was established. In theory, additionality ceases to be an absolute criterion and becomes weighed according to the Brazilian regulatory and socio-environmental reality. However, considering that the rule is recent and the carbon credit market does not apply this logic to carbon credit projects, there is a high probability that rural landowners will have difficulty monetizing the preservation and conservation of existing forests on their rural properties that result from compliance with the Forest Code. By recognizing the suitability of permanent preservation areas and legal reserves to generate carbon credits, the Brazilian legal system gives economic value to the maintenance of ecosystems and promotes a fairer and more effective model of sustainable development. Luciana Camponez Pereira Moralles Partner, Specialist in Environmental, Sustainability, and Regulatory Law.
Finocchio & Ustra Sociedade de Advogados - November 14 2025
Intellectual Property

From Ornament to Asset: The Strategic Role of Prints in Intellectual Property

For a long time, prints were regarded merely as transient ornaments — accessories within a collection or aesthetic variations of fashion and consumer products. That perception has radically changed in recent decades. Today, those patterns can function as distinctive signs, comparable to traditional trademarks or industrial designs, and have become strategic assets within a company’s intellectual property portfolio. This evolution aligns with the growing recognition of trade dress protection, particularly in jurisdictions such as the United States and the European Union. Trade dress acknowledges that a product’s identity can be expressed not only through names or logos, but also through the combination of visual elements — including colors, shapes, and graphic patterns. In this context, prints that become recognizable to consumers cease to be decorative details and instead form part of a company’s core brand identity. International cases illustrate this transformation. The Burberry check pattern, initially associated with trench coats and accessories, has evolved into a global icon. To ensure its exclusivity, the company had to register and actively enforce this asset in multiple jurisdictions, combating unauthorized reproductions that threatened to dilute its value. Similarly, Louis Vuitton continues to defend its monogram canvas in courts worldwide — a design that transcends aesthetics and represents billions in brand equity. Another emblematic example is Hermès, whose silk scarves have become enduring symbols of heritage and sophistication. By securing legal protection for its graphic designs, the maison ensures that consumers immediately associate the product with the brand, leaving no room for imitation. Legal enforcement, in this sense, is not merely about safeguarding design — it is about preserving a cultural narrative built over decades. These examples reveal a recurring legal challenge: distinguishing what is purely ornamental from what has evolved into a distinctive element. Common prints, widely used across the market such as polka dots, are unlikely to receive robust protection, although distinctive patterns that have acquired a unique identity and direct association with a company may be recognized as registrable and enforceable assets. This boundary is strategic — it separates companies that lose creative value through lack of protection from those that transform design into intangible capital. From a business perspective, ignoring this dimension can be costly. In globalized markets, graphic patterns circulate rapidly and can be appropriated by competitors in countries where they are not registered or actively monitored. Without proper registration and protection, a print can be misappropriated — and, in extreme cases, its creator may even be prevented from using it in certain jurisdictions. An effective protection strategy should combine three layers: the first is formal registration, whether as a figurative mark or as an industrial design, the second is active monitoring, essential to detect unauthorized uses across marketplaces, social media, and competing products, and the third is contractual governance: licensing and distribution agreements must include clear provisions on the use of prints, defining territory, scope, and duration to prevent misappropriation. It is important to emphasize that the strategic value of prints extends far beyond the fashion sector. Companies in stationery, cosmetics, home décor, and even food use visual patterns as a key differentiator at the point of sale. Coca-Cola, with its iconic graphic waves, and Ben & Jerry’s, with its playful illustrations, demonstrate how prints can adapt across industries while reinforcing immediate brand recognition. At the same time, regulatory boundaries must be observed. Competition authorities in some jurisdictions monitor excessive exclusivity practices that may restrict free competition. This calls for proportional and economically justified protection measures, ensuring that exclusivity rights are not interpreted as an abuse of market dominance. For companies seeking to transform creativity into protected assets, the lesson is unequivocal: a print must be treated as an intangible asset from conception. This involves not only its creation but also the structured development of a robust intellectual property portfolio aligned with international expansion strategies. The takeaway is clear: prints are not fleeting trends. When integrated into a brand’s identity, they can transcend decades, becoming timeless symbols of enduring economic value. In this process, specialized legal guidance is essential — translating creative sensitivity into solid legal instruments capable of resisting imitation and generating competitive advantage. Talita Orsini de Castro Garcia Partner, Intellectual Property | [email protected] Luiza Fernandes de Andrade Ramos de Oliveira– Lawyer, Intellectual Property | [email protected] Beatriz de Araújo Fonseca– Trainee, Intellectual Property | [email protected]
Finocchio & Ustra Sociedade de Advogados - November 14 2025