Meet the team

Limongi Advocacia

Limongi Advocacia

RECIFE, Brazil
+55 (81) 3423-8805
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Deals

We defended a Brazilian telecommunications company in a public-interest lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Pernambuco, which seeks to make our client’s contractual terms for tariff prices illegal. The case refers to a specific clause in the client’s Fixed Switched Telephone Service Concession Agreement (STFC), under which a technical formula is used to readjust tariffs. The judgment of this matter has a national impact as it creates a court-binding precedent for similar cases throughout the country regarding the intangibility of tariff adjustments set by regulatory agencies. Therefore, this Federal Supreme Court (STF) ruling will apply to all similar cases nationwide. (Value – BRL 750 million [USD  150 million][Conversion Rate: BRL 1 – 0.20 USD])

Our firm is representing Traditio Companhia de Seguros in a constitutional claim to the Court of Appeal of Pernambuco (TJ/PE) seeking to apply a binding precedent issued by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and suspend the provisional enforcement of a judgment that ordered our client to pay a multimillion-dollar compensation to the counterparties. (Value – BRL 80 million [USD 16 million][Conversion Rate: BRL 1 – 0.20 USD])

Limongi Advocacia represented the IGB Group, which includes the companies IGB and EMBRASA, in its judicial reorganisation. The clients are affiliated companies that operate in the national packaging graphic industry market. This case was extremely important to support the clients in recovering from a serious economic and financial crisis, as well as preserving the more than 200 direct jobs that depend on them. (Value – BRL 30.7 million [USD 6.14 million] [Conversion Rate: BRL 1 – 0.20 USD])

We represented Telefônica in a public-interest lawsuit (class action) filed by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Pernambuco. The lawsuit accused accused our client of engaging in tie-in sales by offering services for a more affordable price once combined, compared to the cost of contracting services separately. (Value – BRL 50 million [USD 10 million][Conversion Rate: BRL 1 – 0.20 USD])

We are defending Oi S/A in a public-interest lawsuit (class action) filed by the Federal Attorney Office at the State of Pernambuco seeking the installation of kiosks for face-to-face assistance to users of mobile telephone services in the 184 municipalities of the state, as well as payment of damages for collective pain and suffering. (Value – BRL 36 million [USD 7.2 million][Conversion Rate: BRL 1 – 0.20 USD]

We are acting as lead counsel to Neoenergia Pernambuco (CELPE) — an electricity distributor in the State of Pernambuco — in a lawsuit regarding electricity debts and alleged damages to AJC Indústria e Comércio de Bebidas Garanhuns e Exportação Ltda — as the plaintiff — derived from alleged irregularities in the suspension of electricity provision to its industrial unit in the city of Garanhus/PE. The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) did not accept the counterparty’s appeal, highlighting our team’s ability to handle complex litigation and allowing us to continue to discuss this matter in order to review the trial court’s decision. (Value – BRL 7.3 million [USD 1.4 million][Conversion Rate: BRL 1 – 0.20 USD])

We defended UNBEC against the Federal Government in three notices of infraction issued against by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. These notices alleged that UNBEC had failed to fulfil its obligations related to employee payments, which culminated in the imposition of administrative fines. (Value – Approximately BRL 1.5 million [BRL 300 thousand] [Conversion Rate: BRL 1 – 0.20 USD])

Team Services

The Firm specialises in highly regulated sectors, such as energy, insurance, telecommunications, water distribution and treatment. The Firm also has extensive experience in class actions (filed by State General Attorney´s Offices, the Federal Attorney´s Office, and consumer defence associations), as well as high-profile civil and tort law/liability cases.

 

  1. Main Practice Areas:

Limongi Advocacia is a law Firm with notable expertise in the Dispute Resolution sector. We have been based in Recife since 1994 and are one of the longest-standing and traditional Firms in the State of Pernambuco.

We are focused on a full-service offering, advising our clients in all areas of law, primarily in civil, tort law/liability, consumer, regulatory, real estate, environmental, and tax law. We also specialise in telecommunications and energy law.

  1. Team Composition:

The Firm has both male and female partners, but female partners have outnumbered male partners since 2011. They also hold the administrative power within the Firm, particularly in terms of internal relationships and hiring. Women make up the majority of the Firm’s lawyers, representing around 70%of them. Furthermore, all department and branch coordinators are women. The Firm also embraces diversity, with a considerable percentage of black employees.

Our firm has a regulatory group within the litigation department, undertaking work from leading companies involved with highly regulated sectors, such as telecommunications, energy, insurance, water distribution and treatment. Our team’s extensive expertise allows us to represent heavyweight national companies throughout the Northeast Region, such as Telefônica/Vivo, Claro/Embratel, and Sul América.

It is essential to keep in mind that our lawyers have more than a decade of experience within the Firm and are specialists in the specific areas of each case. It is also worth noting that name partner Erik Limongi Sial has been recognised as an outstanding lawyer by several judicial branches, such as the State Court of Pernambuco – TJPE (2022), the Judicial School of the State Court of Pernambuco – ESMAPE (2018), as well as the Federal Regional Electoral Court at Pernambuco – TRE/PE (2015), which have all awarded him with medals.

Senior partner Graciele Pinheiro Lins Lima also holds recognition awards from the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association – CF/OAB (2022) and the Brazilian Bar Association State Chapter of Pernambuco – OAB/PE (2021).

III. Specialities & Strengths:

We have a state-wide cover. Furthermore, the team can act before all courts in Brazil, including the Superior Courts in Brasília. It acts both on judicial and administrative cases for clients from a wide range of sectors, such as automobile, construction, education, energy, insurance, real estate, steel industry and telecommunications, water distribution and treatment, among others.

In addition, we have outstanding and leading expertise in the telecommunications sector. Three of Brazil’s four largest telecommunications companies (Oi, Telefônica/Vivo, and Claro/Embratel) use Limongi Advocacia’s legal services in the Northeast Region. The telecommunications national trade association (Conexis) also retains the Firm´s legal services.

We have a partner-led approach, which means that every aspect of our work is overseen by at least one of its four leading partners.

Testimonials

Its partners are extremely respected in the judiciary and the follow-up of cases is impeccable.

The Firm stands out for the way it operates and the attention it provides to the clients. Always seeking to apply the law with an understanding of the business and attention directed to the specific case, avoiding mass and repeated responses

Limongi Advocacia is a law firm that has members with great technical knowledge, always willing to look into the client’s problem to find the best solutions.

The firm’s legal team is of excellent quality, in addition to knowing how to work as a team, both with their internal colleagues and with the client’s internal legal team. I nominate partner Erik Limongi, with whom I have direct contact and who is always ready to help me with my legal issues.