Guilherme Vaz > Pinheiro Guimarães > Rio de Janeiro, Brazil > Lawyer Profile

Guilherme Vaz Leal da Costa is one of the new generation stars of the strong and consistent team of Pinheiro Guimarães’ Bankruptcy & Restructuring and Litigation & Arbitration practice, who has been made full partner of the firm in 2021. With an impressive track record, Guilherme’s knowledge on Brazilian law and US law, experience with complex litigation and ability to communicate and interact with international clients has been praised by clients, which recognize him as a key member of the team that works along with the key partners across the firm. Guilherme’s communication skills allow him to actively participate in the negotiation of restructuring plans and out-of-court debt restructuring transactions. With sharp litigation skills acquired over more than 15 years working on complex litigation cases, Guilherme has developed a strong ability to tailor solutions to each individual case by strategic approaches that often involve coordinating multi-disciplinary teams. Also due to his solid litigation background, Guilherme is a key resource when it comes to structuring of collateral packages in transactions in both distressed and non-distressed scenarios. This adds value to the firm’s credit and corporate practice in general, since this enhances the firm’s ability to structure deals and flag risks based on what has been effectively tested in Brazilian courts. Guilherme has worked at the Bankruptcy & Restructuring group of a top tier U.S. firm, handling Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 cases, and other several related transactions. This allows Guilherme to communicate effectively with international clients – the core of his practice at Pinheiro Guimarães – and understand U.S. law issues that often arise in cross-border transactions. Guilherme assists mainly hedge funds and multi-lateral organizations that hold relevant positions in international debt offering transactions that almost all of the largest groups in Brazil involved in recent restructurings have used as a capital raise strategy, sometimes with unique collateral arrangements put in place. He has been increasingly working on complex corporate financing projects that often involve debt and equity components. Education: Guilherme has strong academic credentials and pursued graduated studies at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Cornell Law School, Université Pantheón-Sorbonne and New York University, where he obtained his LL.M. degree, received an award in recognition of his “Outstanding Leadership” and was one of the founding members and Secretary General of the Brazilian Legal Society at NYU – BLS. Guilherme is licensed to practice law in Brazil and New York.

Education: Colégio Santo Agostinho, Rio de Janeiro (BA). Pontifical Catholic University Law School, Rio de Janeiro (LLB, 2009). Pontifical Catholic University Law School, Rio de Janeiro (Specialization Degree of Civil Procedure Law, 2011). Université Sorbonne and Cornell Law School, Paris (Joint Program on International Comparative Law, 2011). The New York University School of Law, New York (LLM, 2016); Outstanding Leadership Award. Secretary-General of the Brazilian Legal Society at New York University School of Law, 2016.  Member: Brazilian Bar Association.