Felsberg Advogados > Sao Paulo, Brazil > Firm Profile

Felsberg Advogados > The Legal 500 Rankings

Brazil > Restructuring and insolvency Tier 1

Felsberg Advogados has a long history advising on Brazilian restructuring and insolvency cases. This is thanks in part to the pioneering expertise of founding partner Thomas Benes Felsberg, who remains a leading figure in the market. He is backed by a strong team of partners, including Fabiana Solano and Clara Moreira Azzoni. The team regularly advises creditors and distressed-debt investors, but it is for its debtor-led work that it is best known. Its workload encompasses advice on out-of-court restructurings and complex judicial insolvencies. Recent mandates include assisting Renova Energia on its R$3.1bn judicial recovery and debt restructuring, while on the creditor side, it assisted 18,000 bondholders on the restructuring of toll road company Concessionária Rodovias do Tietê.

Brazil > Environment Tier 3

The environment, sustainability and waste practice at Felsberg Advogados stands out for its specialist knowledge of solid waste disposal matters and reverse logistic plans. The team is a go-to destination for clients from the pharmaceutical, chemical, electric and electronic equipment industries seeking advice in relation to non-contentious matters and litigation. Areas of strength include assisting with the negotiation of product take-back agreements and sector-related class actions. Fabricio Soler, who specialises in waste management matters, oversees the group, which has been increasingly active advising on land contamination cases involving multiple stakeholders. Tasso Cipriano - who made partner in January 2022 - is another name to note in the team; he is experienced in site contamination and waste management matters.

Brazil > Labour and employment Tier 3

Felsberg Advogados enjoys a good reputation in the market, having established strong credentials for assisting employers with the full range of contentious and non-contentious labour law matters. On the litigation side, the team regularly defends clients against claims brought by senior executives, major unions and District Attorney's offices. Consultancy support on compensation plans, collective negotiations and compliance programmes also feature prominently in the team's workload. In addition, the team has been busy advising clients on the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, including providing advice on reduced working hours, redundancies and remote working policies. The firm's highly versatile partners Maurício Pepe de Lion and Ana Cristina Valentim are very well regarded.

Brazil > Public law Tier 3

Companies operating in the sanitation, technology, telecoms, agribusiness, infrastructure, energy and chemicals sectors regularly turn to Felsberg Advogados' public law and regulatory team for assistance with proceedings before the judiciary, regulatory agencies and local authorities across Brazil. Leading the practice is public law and life sciences specialist Marianne Albers, who receives key support from Rodrigo Bertoccelli and Felipe Cesar Lourenço, both of whom possess years of experience in bidding procedures and administrative contracts. Bertoccelli is a go-to counsel for clients active in the sanitation sector and looking for advice on public service concessions and PPPs, while Lourenço stands out for his track record in administrative proceedings and regulatory matters.

Brazil > TMT: Tech, innovation and digital business Tier 3

Felsberg Advogados' data protection and technology team works in close collaboration with the innovation, start-ups and venture capital practice to provide full-service advice to start-ups, investment funds, financial institutions and emerging companies across a range of sectors, including fintech, healthtech, insurtech and biotechnology. The team is singled out for its strong transactional and corporate capabilities; Evy Marques is the name to note for this type of work and is praised for having 'a complete knowledge of this area of practice'. João Carlos Mendonça is another key contact for tech and healthcare companies in transactional matters. Clarissa Luz's arrival in 2019 further strengthened the firm's technology offering, especially on the data protection front.

Brazil > Corporate and M&A Tier 4

‘Commitment, respect, determination, firmness and agility‘ characterise the corporate and M&A team at Felsberg Advogados, which balances a broad and active practice, with recent work spanning complex M&A, corporate restructurings and other corporate and commercial matters. The broader firm’s prominence in restructuring and insolvency means that its corporate department is particularly well placed to advise on distressed M&A. Also of note is the department’s innovation, start-ups and venture capital sub-group, which had a busy year in 2020, advising investors and start-up companies on investment rounds and other matters. Gender diversity is another important feature of the firm, which has a high proportion of female partners. Its DiversiFeA committee focuses on equality, diversity and inclusion at the firm, which also participates in the Aliança Jurídica para Equidade Racial. On the pro bono side, partners and associates at the firm support a number of organisations, including Associação Vaga Lume (which empowers children in rural areas in the Amazon through promoting reading and community libraries), Instituto Fashion Revolution Brasil and autism and learning difficulties organisation Projeto Amplitude. Highly regarded partners in the sizeable team include Claudia Maniaci, Miriam Machado, João Carlos Mendonça, Evy Marques and Maria Carolina Guazzelli. Names to note at the associate level include Matheus Cestari Mota, Bárbara Nátali Santos, Lucas von Wieser Ruggeri and Gleycon Jonathan Queiróz. Since publication, Mirella Kaufmann was promoted to partner, in January 2022.

Brazil > Life sciences Tier 4

The multi-disciplinary life sciences team at Felsberg Advogados acts for healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, and is also a popular choice for clients in the food and beverage sector. Among its areas of expertise are the Brazilian regulatory framework, sanctioning proceedings before Anvisa and other health agencies, product registration and advertising, and life sciences compliance and corporate ethics. Life sciences, public law and regulatory specialist Marianne Albers is 'an outstanding adviser, with a very strong knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry'. IP expert Diego Vieira is another key contact.

Tax > Tax advisory Tier 4

Felsberg Advogados offers a broad mix of advisory and litigation support to its international and domestic clients. The firm's market-leading insolvency practice gives it an edge when considering related tax disputes and liabilities for companies in restructuring. The litigation side of the practice is especially strong. Rio de Janeiro-based practice head Ivan Campos is also known for his telecoms expertise. Anna Flávia de Azevedo Izelli Greco heads the active tax litigation side of the practice, with support from Rodrigo Prado Gonçalves. Rafael Macedo Malheiro is a key contact for consulting advice.

Brazil > Banking and finance Tier 5

Felsberg Advogados has an active transactional banking practice led by the well-regarded Maria da Graça. The practice stands out in project and aviation finance, and represents a mix of banks, borrowers and multilateral agencies. Other areas of expertise include structured and acquisition finance, securitisations and syndicated loans. The department expanded in July 2021 with the arrival of banking and capital markets expert Ricardo Higashitani from KLA Advogados.

Brazil > Dispute Resolution: Arbitration Tier 5

Felsberg Advogados' arbitration team remains busy, handling a mix of domestic and cross-border matters on behalf of clients from the food, transport, energy and construction sectors. Key areas of focus include cases concerning conflicts arising from M&A transactions, financing, construction and commercial contracts as well as environmental matters. Leading the department is Marcus Alexandre Matteucci Gomes, who possesses strong capabilities in civil and commercial arbitration.

Brazil > Projects and infrastructure Tier 5

Felsberg Advogados is skilled at assisting with the development and management of infrastructure projects, most notably in the sanitation and waste management sectors. Practitioners are also seasoned in PPPs, concessions and project finance. The latter is an area of particular expertise for department co-head Maria da Graça Pedretti. She oversees the group with Rodrigo Bertoccelli, who has a strong background in corporate law, and is retained by domestic and international infrastructure groups in the energy, transport, basic sanitation and urban mobility sectors.

Brazil > Dispute Resolution: Litigation Tier 6

With offices in Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and São Paulo, Felsberg Advogados prides itself on rendering the full range of dispute resolution services, covering domestic and cross-border litigation and mediation matters. The department's caseload attests to its ability to act across a wide range of sectors, including energy, construction and transport, and to handle a variety of contentious matters arising from corporate issues, M&A, consumer law and financing contracts. Marcus Alexandre Matteucci Gomes leads the practice, which also includes Eduardo Périllier, who focuses on judicial restructuring.

Brazil > White-collar crime and investigations

Brazil > Competition and antitrust