Maneira ECIJA > Rio de Janeiro, Brazil > Firm Profile

Maneira ECIJA > Firm Profile

ECIJA is a European law firm with headquarters in Spain and offices in Portugal, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and El Salvador. ECIJA has a multidisciplinary team of over 800 professionals, with exceptional experience in their areas of specialization, enabled to work in different jurisdictions, with extensive knowledge of the different industries and international markets. ECIJA is a client-focused law firm with the agility and personal service of a high-end boutique firm and the multidisciplinary experience of a large firm. ECIJA is a full-service firm with significant experience and specialized in the practice areas required by international clients to invest and operate globally.

ECIJA international capacity is outstanding, the firm offers integrated cross-border advice. Since 2019, ECIJA has merged with 16 law firms and has become the largest Spanish law firm in Latin America. Nowadays, ECIJA has 29 offices in 16 countries. Furthermore, in 2019 ECIJA signed the biggest strategic agreement between a Spanish and Chinese firm being a joint venture with the 4th largest firm in China (Grandall Law). The agreement brought together 3,500 lawyers and 54 offices in Iberia, Latin America and Asia. “To put that in perspective, that is comparable with CMS and Norton Rose Fulbright, some of the biggest firms in the world by headcount.” Law.com

ECIJA Maneira in Brazil acts in the most relevant areas of the business law.

Combining traditional practices and innovative approaches, the firm provides its clients with a wide range of services, anchored in the adoption of disruptive technologies applicable to law firms, favoring a culture that encourages efficiency and quality in its deliveries.

Composed of renowned and experienced professionals, ECIJA serves a diversified portfolio of national and international clients, especially relating to regulated markets such as telecommunications, oil and gas, mining and energy, in addition to large base industries and, more recently, startups and fintechs.

Customs and international trade: the firm has a team specialized in customs law and international trade, working on the legal analysis of projects and demands, drafting contracts and documents relating to import and export operations, drafting tax planning for foreign trade operations, including the concession of special customs regimes, tax and duty assessment. The firm also assists clients in customs and tax litigation, as well as in commercial advice, distributors, shipping and other players involved in the international trade ecosystem.

Litigation and dispute resolution: the firm’s litigation practice comprises the prevention of potential disputes, the identification and adoption of different composition strategies and the defense of clients’ interests in administrative, judicial, arbitration claims and in alternative forms of dispute resolution. We act before all national courts, in addition to several arbitration bodies, in Brazil and abroad.

Bankruptcy and judicial recovery: with a highly qualified team the firm acts in judicial recovery and insolvency proceedings, including planning the business strategy before the debtor or creditor, the judicial administrator, and other parties in this process, in an attempt to create an amicable arrangement for the credit recovery.

Leisure and tourism: the office works in the entire structuring of the legal framework of tourism and leisure projects, ranging from environmental impacts, contractual instruments and other issues. Drawing on a financial and commercial approach with its clients, the team is able to evaluate the feasibility of each, with complete monitoring at all stages of the project.

Labor law: the firm acts with efficiency and agility in legal consultancy to deal with labor aspects arising from mergers and acquisitions of companies, top management hiring, negotiations and collective agreements, outsourcing, prevention of occupational risks, implementation of compliance policies and adaptation to new related legislation.

TMT – technology, media, and telecommunications, privacy and data protection and intellectual property: the firm has a team that incorporates the dynamism of new technologies to the challenges and particularities of the regulated broadcasting, audiovisual and telecommunications markets. Our team is able to advise on various topics of digital law, including licensing agreements, assignment of rights, software development, distribution of audiovisual content, technology transfer, projects related to the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud services, fintechs, payment gateways, open banking to blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI).

Transportation and logistics: the transport and logistics team has professionals with recognized practice in regulatory matters. We work for large transport companies both in issues relating to their day-to-day operations as well as in specific projects.

Tax: the firm deals with all tax matters in Brazil. The main partners have actively participated in discussions relating to the Brazilian tax policy. We have a team of qualified professionals to advise on direct and indirect taxation issues, as well as on issues relating to international tax law.  In tax litigation matters, the firm has conducted some of the most relevant cases in Brazil, either before the Federal Supreme Court – STF and the Superior Court of Justice – STJ.

Real estate: We offer specialized legal advice on any operations involving rural and urban real estate, such as swaps, leases, incorporations, subdivisions, spin-offs, BTS (Built to Suit) and SLB (Sale and Leaseback) and land tenure regularizations. The team has a strong expertise in transfers of the right to build, funding, ancillary obligations such as registration, expropriation, among other issues states and local law.

Corporate and M&A: our corporate and mergers and acquisitions practice is distinguished by its ability to find technical, proactive and creative solutions, for the benefit of the transaction, to satisfy the best interests of our clients. We have professionals with a reputation for excellence in advising national and international clients on corporate and M&A transactions. Our main objective is to contribute to the result expected by the client, at the right time, anticipating risks and proposing strategies capable of making the transaction viable.

Capital markets: the office represents issuers, investment banks, advisors, managers, investors and market participants in business, corporate governance and capital market regulation matters. We have experience in setting up investment funds and structuring financial and private equity transactions, including issuing securities in public and private placements.

Corporate criminal law: with a highly qualified team, the firm’s economic and corporate criminal law practice represents companies and their managers in criminal law processes and proceedings. In addition, we have expertise in supporting companies and financial institutions in corporate criminal law, whether in the defense of individuals or in representing their interests as victims, from the initiation of investigative procedures until the final judgment.

Comparative Guides

• El Salvador: TMT

  Published: July 2023

  Authors: Alfredo Navas DuarteCarlos GilCarlos Quintanilla Nathania García PrietoEnrique Araujo

  This country-specific Q&A provides an overview of TMT laws and regulations applicable in El Salvador.

• Uruguay: Private Client

  Published: February 2024

  Authors: Juan Ignacio FraschiniSantiago Gortari ScheckFederico Galceran BonassoJosefina Gomez

  This country-specific Q&A provides an overview of Private Client laws and regulations applicable in Uruguay.