BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão > Sao Paulo, Brazil > Firm Profile

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão > The Legal 500 Rankings

Brazil > Competition and antitrust Tier 1

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão stands out for its ‘experience, quality, academic training of the lawyers, strategy and excellence in the services‘. The firm’s traditional strength in corporate and M&A ensures a steady flow of merger control instructions for the competition practice, with cases involving digital and media sectors being particularly prominent on its recent workload, though the standalone practice also generates a large proportion of merger work independently. It is also able to work in collaboration with other departments at the full-service firm, including compliance and data protection. The team can regularly be found assisting clients in cartel investigations, as well as unilateral conduct cases. The group is under the leadership of Barbara Rosenberg, an experienced competition law expert whose track record includes advising on the merger approval of numerous high-profile M&A deals. Also of note are Marcos Exposto, who advises companies in the financial services, healthcare and food industries, among others; Camilla Paoletti, who counts domestic and international life sciences, chemicals and consumer goods companies among her clients; José Inácio Almeida Prado Filho, whose practice also encompasses disputes involving competition issues; and Luís Bernardo Cascão, who specialises in antitrust matters in the digital sector. At the associate level, Vivian Terng, Lea Jenner de Faria and Bruna Anklam are also noted. Since publication, Guilherme Morgulis was promoted to partner at the end of 2022.

Brazil > Corporate and M&A Tier 1

The multidisciplinary team at BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão is regularly turned to by an impressive roster of leading domestic and international companies across an array of industries, including retail, mining, agribusiness, energy, oil and gas and telecoms, on high-profile mandates. Comprised of ‘highly qualified, well-trained, up-to-date‘ professionals, the team stands out for its track record in M&A deals involving publicly traded companies. Beyond this area of strength, the group’s cross-sector focus ensures that it is also sought out by clients in the context of public offerings, transactions for sale of control, transfers of minority holdings, structuring of joint ventures, and corporate reorganisations. In diversity and inclusion, the firm’s commitment to gender diversity is demonstrated by its significant proportion of women partners who have an active role in strategic decision-making, and its initiative to support the professional development of women lawyers through its gender equality programme, BMAWomen. Also noteworthy is the firm’s participation in Projeto Incluir Direito to foster educational and training opportunities for black students in order to enhance their competitiveness in the job market. Luís Loria Flaks and Roberto Dias Carneiro, both of whom have played an instrumental part in many of the most high-profile corporate matters and transactions handled by the team in recent decades, jointly chair the department. Paulo Cezar Aragão, who specialises in cross-border transactions and commercial arbitration, is a reference in the market, given his involvement in market-shaping M&A transactions across Latin America. Active in both sell and buy-side deals and private equity investments, Monique Mavignier is also part of the core team. Other key individuals include Luiz Antonio Campos, a counsel of choice for listed companies; joint ventures and foreign investment specialist Amir Bocayuva Cunha; senior associate Thiago Pinho; recently promoted Ana Paula Reis; and Ellen Juste Nuñez, a key contact for clients from the health sector. Luciana Magalhães Costa is a name to note for commercial contracts. Founding partners Plínio Barbosa and Francisco Müssnich have a wealth of experience in complex M&A and corporate matters. Since publication, Felipe Bon and Rodrigo Mariani were welcomed to the partnership at the end of 2022.

Tax > Customs Tier 1

Brazil > Banking and finance Tier 2

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão is a popular destination for major corporate borrowers seeking support on their most complex financings. Recently, this has included advice on high-value cross-border restructurings and DIP financings, as well as asset-backed securitisations, acquisition financings and project finance mandates. The firm has also developed strong relationships with several leading banks, including BTG Pactual. The versatile practice head Camila Goldberg is experienced in structured financings and capital markets work, while partner Rafael D’Avila Dutra has notable project finance credentials. Anna Carolina Malta maintains an active practice advising investment funds and fund managers on related matters.

Brazil > Capital markets Tier 2

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão is praised for its ‘agility and ability to find creative alternatives and solutions, especially in atypical situations‘. The ‘extremely competent, pro-business, fast and available‘ team handles a wide range of debt and equity products, and has a good track record in cross-border offerings and regulatory issues. Highly rated practice head Camila Goldberg is backed by a versatile team of partners and associates, including Conrado de Castro Stievani, who brings ‘extensive knowledge in capital markets, contracts and public companies‘, and Felipe Prado (a ‘great legal reference‘). Jane Goldman and associate Alexandre Lindenberg offer ‘great availability in client service‘ and ‘ease in presenting alternative solutions for non-standard situations‘. Clients also single out the ‘very attentive and assertive’ senior associate Júlia Rodrigues.

Brazil > Dispute Resolution: Arbitration Tier 2

The sizeable arbitration practice at BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão has an impressive track record in complex and high-profile matters before arbitration tribunals in Brazil and abroad. Its strong performance in cross-border matters is noteworthy, as is its ability to handle a myriad of arbitration cases involving commercial, post-M&A and investment-related disputes. The department’s sector-specific expertise is also highly varied, spanning energy, construction, financial services, mining, healthcare, insurance and real estate, among others. Clients rely on co-head André Abbud‘s ‘extensive experience in arbitration‘ arising from corporate, capital markets, infrastructure and contractual disputes. Fellow co-leader Pedro Oliveira Da Costa focuses on litigation and arbitration, most notably contentious issues resulting from contracts and commercial agreements. Agribusiness, mining, construction and pharmaceutical companies often seek Luiz Fernando Fraga‘s assistance in arbitration at the domestic and international levels. Mario Gelli and Gustavo Santos Kulesza, the latter of whom is noted for international proceedings, are other key individuals. Luciana Celidonio recently joined from Tauil & Chequer Advogados, while Iara Santos Conrado Costa Ferreira and Renan Frediani Torres Peres were promoted to partner in late 2021.

Brazil > Dispute Resolution: Litigation Tier 2

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão has a notable track record in advising market-leading clients from a range of industries, most notably financial services, energy, retail, construction and technology, in a range of contentious matters spanning the corporate, administrative and pre-litigation spheres. With in-depth knowledge of both judicial and out-of-court proceedings, the team is particularly noted for its significant experience in cross-border cases, where it often collaborates with renowned international firms. Leading the practice, Felipe Evaristo dos Santos Galea in São Paulo is a solid performer in collective actions and litigation involving investment funds and multinationals doing business in key economic sectors in Brazil, while Rio de Janeiro-based Pedro Costa specialises in strategic lawsuits arising from corporate, contractual and commercial disputes. With an impressive caseload in both litigation and arbitration, André Abbud is another noteworthy practitioner in São Paulo, who is regularly instructed in corporate, capital markets and infrastructure cases. Mario Gelli in Rio is recommended for succession matters. Iara Santos Conrado Costa Ferreira, whose areas of focus include litigation involving bankruptcies and business recovery, was promoted to partner in December 2021.

Brazil > Intellectual property Tier 2

'Excellent professionals’ make up the IP practice at BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão. Multinational and domestic consumer products, retail and luxury goods, agritech and health care companies, as well as media and entertainment groups rely on the team’s expertise across a wide range of IP issues, including trade mark matters, copyright and image rights disputes, infringement claims and rights enforcement. The team also has a strong trade mark prosecution practice, regularly representing high-profile companies and individuals in the state and federal courts. Recent highlights for the team include representing Netflix in a novel right to be forgotten and image rights claim. Antonella Carminatti co-leads the department and maintains a broad practice, but particularly excels in portfolio management and transactional IP matters. Pedro Frankovzky Barroso leads the litigation arm of the IP practice, advising on complex mandates involving all IP types. Ana Cristina Müller is the key partner for patents and designs, leading the department’s global protection strategies for clients.

Brazil > Real estate Tier 2

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão fields a team of ‘proactive, very accessible and easy to communicate with’ partners and associates. The lawyers regularly assist in complex real estate transactions and development projects involving significant elements of corporate, M&A, tax and capital markets law. Working across offices in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the practice has a good track record in the key asset classes, including shopping centres, industrial, logistics and office developments. Key partners include Cristiana Moreira  , Cristiane Mamprin  and the recently promoted Gustavo Maia do Nascimento , who represent a broad range of domestic and international developers. Guilherme Zoghbi Ayala  is also praised for being ‘a different lawyer because he does not focus on the problem, but only on the resolution‘.

Brazil > Restructuring and insolvency Tier 2

The team at BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão has ‘remarkable knowledge in the area’, and its multidisciplinary approach enables ‘solutions and analysis of the highest level’. The firm has extremely good credentials for judicial and extra-judicial proceedings, DIP financings and distressed M&A. High-profile debtor-led work has been a major theme for the practice in recent years, with the team taking significant roles in the debt restructurings of Oi and Cimento Tupi. The ‘vast knowledge’ of practice head Sérgio Savi   ‘transmits security for the client and for the other stakeholders’. Eduardo Guimarães Wanderley  is ‘extremely creative and with a very high analytical capacity’, while senior associate Natalia Yazbek  is noted for her ‘pragmatism and assertiveness’. The team was further strengthened by the hire of partner Luciana Celidonio  from Tauil & Chequer Advogados, who is also highly regarded.

Tax > Tax advisory Tier 2

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão fields a ‘very competent and dynamic‘ team of tax lawyers, who are ‘always available to personally attend with all the attention and urgency that each matter deserves‘. The ‘exceptional quality‘ practice has a versatile offering covering high-value and complex contentious and non-contentious tax matters. This extends to direct and indirect tax, and market-leading expertise in customs matters. The litigation side of the practice handles disputes at the federal, state and municipal levels, with practice head Lígia Regini Da Silveira and Maurício Faro (noted for his ‘in-depth legal knowledge and great ability to understand the problems raised‘) particularly well regarded on this front. Versatile partner Hermano Notaroberto Barbosa and senior associate Matheus Bertholo Piconez are also commended for performing ‘quality services in exceptional time‘. Practice co-head José Otavio Faloppa is a lead contact for transactional matters.

Tax > Tax litigation Tier 2

Brazil > Wealth and succession planning Tier 2

Full-service firm BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão‘s private wealth practice is praised for its ‘technical expertise aligned with soft skills to serve families and their heritage complexities’. Assisting clients such as international and domestic banks, financial services providers and HNWIs and families, the team regularly advises on tax and estate planning, corporate and family governance, as well as litigation and disputes. The team also advises on debt restructuring, offshore philanthropy work and commercial reorganisations. Private wealth and tax specialists Hermano Notaroberto Barbosa and Débora Bacellar De Almeida jointly lead the practice. Barbosa is well regarded by a number of major family offices, hedge funds and banks, and Almeida stands out for her ‘precision, reliability, commitment and attention’, particularly in relation to asset reorganisation, estate planning and foreign investment.

City focus - Brasilia > Litigation Tier 3

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão is well recognised for its expertise in judicial review cases related to the legality of the enforcement of decisions made by government bodies. Under the leadership of André Macedo De Oliveira, the team is often retained to handle cases in the Supreme Federal Court, the Supreme Court of Justice and the Superior Labour Appeals Court. Key support is provided by associates Sarah Roriz De Freitas, who focuses on litigation before the superior courts, and Giovani Menicucci, who often represents companies from the construction, energy and telecoms sectors in disputes involving administrative misconduct and competition law.

Brazil > Compliance Tier 3

Combining the firm’s expertise in compliance, public law, finance and capital markets, infrastructure and regulation, BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão assists clients in anti-corruption and compliance risk assessments, integrity due diligence and background checks. Internal investigations, including into allegations of harassment, are also prominent in the firm’s recent workload. Anna Carolina Malta Spilborghs brings her finance expertise to assist financial institutions, investment funds and fund managers on corporate investigations and risk management; José Guilherme Berman‘s broad public law knowledge makes him a key contact for administrative misconduct, anti-corruption and compliance matters; and André Macedo De Oliveira has extensive experience in litigation before the superior courts, government relations and compliance. João Rodrigues da Costa Bonvicino is also noted.

Brazil > Environment Tier 3

Offering both litigation and advisory services, BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão's environmental and climate change group is equipped to assist a varied corporate client base in the spectrum of environmental matters, with a special emphasis on environmental licensing, enforcement proceedings, contaminated sites, ESG compliance and carbon market regulations. Its close collaboration with the firm's transactional practices makes it a safe choice for multinational and domestic companies engaged in corporate and M&A deals with considerable environmental risks. Marcio Pereira focuses on natural resources regulations and sustainability issues, and handles both non-contentious work and litigation. He receives support from a strong team of associates: Beatriz Paulo De Frontin ‘is very technically competent' in the fields of environmental licensing, administrative and judicial proceedings; and Marina Maciel is a key contact for infrastructure, waste, power and manufacturing clients involved in M&A transactions and environmental litigation.

Brazil > Labour and employment Tier 3

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão has ‘a high performance team‘, which brings ‘out of the box insights’, coupled with ‘solid technical knowledge’. The consultancy side of the practice provides strong transactional support, in addition to advice on standalone strategic employment matters, including compliance procedures and collective bargaining negotiations. The lawyers are also well versed in class actions and individual labour claims filed by executives. Lead partners Luiz Marcelo Góis  (‘a brilliant lawyer, extremely up to date and practical’) and Cibelle Linero   handle contentious and non-contentious issues. Senior associate Fernanda Rochael Nasciutti  is also highlighted as ‘an excellent professional’.

Brazil > Public law Tier 3

Praised for its ‘specialisation in public law matters’, BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão brings together a multidisciplinary team with credentials in regulated sectors, competitive government contracting procedures, concessions and PPPs. Additionally, the team is well versed in public law-related litigation, a space in which it assists clients in all types of governmental disputes, ranging from administrative procedures to actions involving the judicial review of administrative acts and public contracts. Ana Cândida de Mello Carvalho in São Paulo is recognised in the market for her experience in advising state-owned and mixed economy companies and handling administrative proceedings before public agencies and regulatory bodies. Carvalho chairs the practice alongside José Guilherme Berman in Rio de Janeiro, who is active in public tenders and regulatory enforcement. At the associate level, Mayna Dias Melo and Débora Signorelli Carvalho stand out for their experience in public service concessions, PPPs and government bidding procedures.

Brazil > TMT: Cybersecurity and data privacy Tier 3

The cybersecurity and data protection offering at BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão is broad based, covering security breaches such as ransomware, LGPD compliance projects, and data transfers. Clients ranging in size from multinationals to start-ups in the financial services and digital media industries turn to the team, which offers a 24/7 hotline available in instances of critical events. Felipe Palhares heads up the practice, advising on personal data processing in cross-border and domestic transactions, data breaches, and new product and service development. Bárbara de Oliveira Iszlaji is another name to note in the team.

Energy and natural resources > Electricity (and renewable energy)

Drawing on its strong know-how in the fields of M&A, public law and regulatory law, BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão builds on its expertise acquired in complex transactions involving power assets, concessions, negotiations of regulated contracts and bids. The practice is well versed in all matters before regulatory agencies, including ANEEL and CCEE, and in assisting large consumers in the acquisition of electricity in the free market. Ana Cândida de Mello Carvalho heads up the infrastructure, regulatory and government affairs department, and steers the team in bidding procedures, public contracts and administrative proceedings. Corporate partner Carlos Frederico Lucchetti Bingemer in Rio de Janeiro takes the lead on M&A transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Brazil > Insurance Tier 4

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão's well-regarded insurance team is particularly experienced in sector-related corporate acquisitions and restructurings. Noted for its ‘professional competence and total commitment to the client', as well as its ‘fast and timely service', the team has recently assisted buyers and sellers in several high-profile transactions. Rio de Janeiro-based practice head Henrique Vargas Gama Beloch has significant expertise on the corporate and regulatory side. Other key partners include Maurício Pereira Faro for tax and Pedro Costa for litigation. Versatile senior associate Adriano Carneiro  handles contentious and non-contentious issues.

Brazil > TMT: Media Tier 4

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão’s ‘modern’ media and entertainment group draws from its wider corporate, tax, regulatory, and IP practices to advise clients in the cinema, music, video game, and online media industries. The multidisciplinary approach sees the team advise on a broad spectrum of matters, including image rights and IP transfers, accessibility rights in media, and licensing agreements. IP specialist Antonella Carminatti heads up the practice alongside IP litigation lead Pedro Frankovsky Barroso and dispute resolution, restructuring and insolvency expert Felipe Evaristo dos Santos Galea.

Brazil > Projects and infrastructure Tier 5

At BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão, the infrastructure, regulatory and government affairs team attracts instructions from domestic and international clients in competitive bidding processes, PPPs and concessions, but is perhaps best known for its transactional capabilities in the infrastructure space. Ana Cândida de Mello Carvalho has considerable experience in regulated sectors and public law matters, and has advised on numerous infrastructure projects in the sanitation, public lighting and transport segments. She oversees the department with Rafael D’Avila Dutra and Camila Goldberg, the latter of whom is recommended for project finance transactions.