Mrs Ana Karina Esteves de Souza > Machado Meyer Sendacz e Opice Advogados > São Paulo, Brazil > Lawyer Profile

With strong credentials in administrative, corporate and commercial law, Machado Meyer Sendacz e Opice Advogados‘ power group combines robust transactional capabilities with extensive experience in project implementation and litigation. Typical instructions see the team advising on energy auctions, commercial contracts, including engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreements, as well as financing and M&A deals in the traditional generation and renewable energy segments. The latter is a growing area of focus for the department, which is active in wind, solar and biomass, and has recently played a key role in the structuring and financing of self-production by equivalence projects with PPAs indexed to US dollars. Concessions, privatisations and project finance are all areas of expertise for Ana Karina Esteves de Souza, who jointly heads up the team with Laura Souza, who is knowledgeable of matters involving the generation, distribution, transmission and trading segments, and recently promoted partner Paulo Machado, who focuses on regulatory issues, project finance and development. Senior associate Heloisa Zerbinatti Sato specialises in administrative law in the electricity sector, which is also a core area of activity for Luisa Rodrigues, while Lair Loureiro is skilled in projects and M&A in this space.

Domestic and international clients, including companies from the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, tobacco, cannabis, food and beverage sectors, regularly turn to Machado Meyer Sendacz e Opice Advogados‘ life sciences team for advice on issues related to Brazil’s complex regulatory framework, clinical trials, licensing of products and technology transfer agreements. The group is under the joint leadership of Ana Karina Esteves de Souza and Laura Garcia De Freitas Souza, both of whom specialise in infrastructure and regulatory matters. Gláucia Mara Coelho acts in litigation, while associate Nicole Borges de Carvalho Ura specialises in regulatory issues. The firm was strengthened by the arrival of life sciences, digital health and healthcare partner Renata Rothbarth in June 2023 from Mattos Filho.