Basch & Rameh is highly rated for its advice to banks and financial institutions on contentious and non-contentious aviation matters. Carlos Rameh has a standout track record in transactional and insurance-related matters. Renata Duarte Iezzi advises on aircraft financing and leasing mandates, as well as aviation-related disputes.

Bernardi & Schnapp Advogados is a leading aviation firm, which represents a broad mix of airline operators, aircraft manufacturers, lenders and insurers. This includes advice on litigious and advisory matters, such as airport concessions, domestic permits and commercial agreements. Ricardo Bernardi advises on a range of corporate, regulatory and contractual matters, while Carla Cristina Schnapp provides key support in insurance law, labour matters and disputes.

The multi-faceted aviation practice at DDSA - De Luca, Derenusson, Schuttoff e Azevedo Advogados commands considerable respect in the market. In addition to its excellent market knowledge, the team ‘sets itself apart in terms of always being timely to respond and thorough in following up’. The comprehensive service is used by airlines, banks, air taxi operators, leasing companies and manufacturers in a range of issues. The team regularly assists with high-value financings and aircraft acquisitions, as well as contentious and non-contentious regulatory matters before the National Civil Aviation Agency. Department head Ana Luisa Castro Cunha Derenusson is ‘one of the most experienced aviation attorneys in Brazil’, who ‘combines expertise with practical advice’. She is backed by a strong team of partners, including Rita de Cassia Fernandes de Godoy, an aviation specialist with notable credentials in aviation finance.

Machado Meyer Sendacz e Opice Advogados is one of the top full-service firms operating in the aviation sector, whose ‘infrastructure and aviation team is second to none, both for the technical knowledge of each team member, as well as for the interpersonal skills and soft skills with clients’. The firm is comfortable handling critical corporate finance issues, such as the LATAM Airlines Chapter 11, as well as more industry-specific mandates, including aircraft leases, financings and regulatory matters. Practice head Fabio Falkenburger is ‘one of the best and most complete lawyers in Brazil in the area’, and partner Eliane Cristina Carvalho is ‘serene and confident in the conduct of litigation’. The talented junior team includes associate Vitor Barbosa, ‘a young and super complete lawyer‘.

Mattos Filho has a good track record in corporate, finance and regulatory matters in the aviation sector, where it advises an impressive roster of major airlines, banks, air taxi companies, manufacturers, maintenance providers and drone operators. The firm’s size and broad scope also makes it well placed to assist in judicial and administrative disputes, and in key areas such as restructuring and insolvency law. Since publication, former practice head Adriana Simões has left the firm, effective as of May 2023.

Demarest Advogados has an experienced multidisciplinary team, which is particularly strong on the corporate finance side, as demonstrated by its role advising LATAM Airlines on its Chapter 11 process and subsequent DIP financing. It also has significant expertise in infrastructure projects and airport concessions, as well as related M&A, antitrust, insurance, environmental and tax law. Versatile practice head Gabriel Ricardo Kuznietz is a ‘technically excellent professional' with good credentials in corporate and regulatory matters. Former partner Luciana Goulart Penteado left in 2021.

Pinheiro Neto Advogados has a ‘very specialised, efficient team with technical knowledge about aircraft financing and leasing’. The firm has well-established relationships with several major banks, export credit agencies, lessors and airlines, which instruct the firm on a variety of related transactions, often involving complex corporate or structured components. Key finance partners Adolpho Julio de Carvalho and Fernando Ruiz de Almeida Prado have a combined almost 60 years of experience. The recently promoted Caroline Guazzelli Queiroz Gomes is highly regarded.

Veirano Advogados has a ‘very dedicated, responsive' aviation team, which handles a broad range of cross-border transactional and regulatory matters. Practice head João Paulo Servera has strong credentials in aircraft and engine financing and leasing negotiations, and also has a notable track record for contentious issues, including repossessions and insolvency procedures. Tax advice and regulatory challenges before the Aviation Authority also feature prominently in the department's workload. Clients include major domestic and international manufacturers, lessors and banks.