Event Report

Legal 500 hosted the Legal 500 Brazil Awards 2026 on 24 February in São Paulo, bringing together some of the country’s most prominent legal professionals for an evening dedicated to recognising standout achievement across one of Latin America’s most competitive legal markets.

The ceremony drew senior partners from leading domestic and international law firms, alongside general counsel and senior in-house lawyers from major corporates, and influential figures from across Brazil’s broader legal community. The awards serve as a credible and impartial benchmark of excellence across both private practice and in-house legal functions, with this year’s winners selected in recognition of exceptional performance, with particular weight given to technical excellence, market leadership, innovation and strategic growth.

Highlights of the ceremony included:

· Pinheiro Neto Advogados awarded Brazil Firm of the Year, in recognition of benchmark-setting excellence across virtually all major practice areas and its leadership on transformative transactions across key sectors.

· Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton presented with International Firm of the Year, recognised for leading Brazil’s most complex debt restructurings, capital markets transactions, M&A mandates, compliance investigations and ESG-linked financings with outstanding multidisciplinary expertise.

· PepsiCo awarded In-House Team of the Year.

· Carlos Mello of TozziniFreire Advogados honoured as Lawyer of the Year for commanding Brazil’s transactional market following a high-profile move and further strengthening the firm’s corporate practice.

· Rodrigo Junqueira of Lefosse Advogados named Managing Partner of the Year, recognised for expanding the firm by 50% over three years, driving sustained revenue growth and reinforcing strategic practice areas.

· Beatriz Barrionuevo of Mondelēz International named In-House Lawyer of the Year.

· Ana Carolina Katlauskas Calil of Cescon Barrieu celebrated as Next Generation Partner of the Year for leading sophisticated regulatory and transactional work across the energy sector, spanning generation, distribution, transmission and energy transition matters.

· Mariana Conrado of Trench Rossi Watanabe awarded Rising Star Associate of the Year for exceptional work on complex bankruptcy and judicial reorganisation proceedings, as well as distressed asset acquisitions.

· Juliana Iglesias Vasquez of Nubank recognised as In-House Rising Star of the Year.

· Mombak received In-House Sustainability Team of the Year.

· Demarest Advogados recognised as DE&I Law Firm of the Year for its exceptional commitment to diversity and inclusion, increasing female leadership representation to 53% and significantly expanding pro bono engagement.

· Grupo Soma awarded In-House Diversity Team of the Year.

· TozziniFreire Advogados awarded Marketing Team of the Year for successfully linking communications strategy to tangible business results through high-impact campaigns and strategic initiatives.

· Deal of the Year awarded for the transformative R$14.8 billion follow-on offering and privatisation of Sabesp — advised by Cescon Barrieu, Clifford Chance, Lefosse Advogados, Lobo de Rizzo Advogados, Mattos Filho, Pinheiro Guimarães, White & Case LLP and Pinheiro Neto Advogados — marking one of the most significant transactions in the region in recent years.

Legal 500 extends its congratulations to all shortlisted firms, teams and individuals, and to each of this year’s winners. We thank all attendees for joining us in São Paulo and look forward to continuing to recognise excellence across the Brazilian legal market in the years ahead.