It is a common mistake to believe that officers in Brazil cannot be engaged or kept as employees during their office.

"Garden leave" is a concept present in many foreign legal systems and encompasses the idea of an employee away from work and staying home during the notice period arising from his/her employment agreement termination.

The reimbursement of education expenses in Brazil was always a controversial issue, from the social security perspective.

The Guarantee Fund for Length of Service (FGTS) is a legal and constitutional right that aims to protect the Brazilian employees in case they are terminated without cause by their employers.

The section 60, sole paragraph, of Federal Law 11.101/05, is likely one of the most discussed and actually used tools brought by the almost 10-year old Brazilian Bankruptcy Act

With the imminent opening of the reinsurance market, the professionals operating in the Brazilian insurance market are envisaging an array of opportunities. Nonetheless, they are somewhat perplexed by the challenge of defining a new regulation and establishing procedures appropriate to structure and manage reinsurance programs and contracts.

On March 07, 2014, Administrative Order 39 came into force to change some items in the table of fees for services provided by the Brazilian Industrial Property Office – INPI.

The new Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) enacted by Law nº 13105/2015 and enforceable as of March 2016 will affect all pending civil claims, including those of tax nature that are also governed by the rules of said code.

The Brazilian Internal Revenue Service released on 03/05/2015 a report with the outcome of federal tax inspections carried out during the year of 2014.

In order to offset the costs resulting from the enactment of laws aimed at restoring employment in the United States after the crisis of 2008, the Obama administration made a series of provisions addressing the control and inspection of financial transactions, including in regard to tax aspects

Aiming to combat the Tax War among the Brazilian States, the Federal Senate approved a Resolution establishing that the tax on interstate operations with imported assets and goods will be charged at a rate of 4% in all States, in replacement for the current applicable rates (i.e. 12% and 7%).

The new Brazilian Competition Law (Law 12.529/2011), which came into force in May 2012, provided significant changes to the national legal system.

After intense criticism and almost half of its articles vetoed, Bill no. 5120 intended to regulate the activities of tourism agencies in Brazil was finally passed into Law (no. 12974/2014) by the President of the Republic.

Apart from incorporating a new company in Brazil, Brazilian law provides the possibility of a foreign entity to establish a branch to operate in Brazil.

A recent decision of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court changed the court’s current understanding of the statute of limitations on the Unemployment Guarantee Fund deposits, a mandatory right guaranteed to all employees in Brazil.

One of the main improvements made in the Brazilian legal environment in 2013 was the launch of Federal Law n. 12.846/13, the so-called Brazilian Anti-Corruption Act ("BACA"). Although such law will only become effective in February 2014, since its enactment it has become one of the most debated legal topics in Brazil

The Federal Law 11.101/05, the so-called Brazilian Bankruptcy Act ("BBA"), had its 10th anniversary in 2015.

The choice of Rio de Janeiro as the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games created the concern to make huge investments in some of the city's strategic areas, called "Porto Maravilha".

Brazil currently has 5,570 municipalities spread out over 27 federated units, including the Federal District.

Within the last three years, Brazilian society has been involved in a major debate pertaining to the current legal framework of the oil and gas industry in light of the recent findings of large amounts of oil and natural gas off the Brazilian coast.