A key player in Brazil’s environmental legal market, Pinheiro Neto Advogados advises domestic and international clients on complex contentious and non-contentious matters, including environmental damages, contamination and licensing, alongside broader ESG, sustainability and climate change issues. The practice is led by André Vivan de Souza, who has extensive experience in environmental licensing, carbon markets, infrastructure, energy, waste management, and agribusiness-related issues. Werner Grau Neto is noted for his proven track record in environmental disputes and deep knowledge of civil liability, licensing, sustainability and climate change issues. Other noteworthy practitioners include Alexandre Outeda Jorge, who handles environmental litigation and HSE issues; Natália Azevedo de Carvalho, who focuses on cross-border litigation, carbon market projects, and ESG matters; and Paula Susanna Amaral Mello, who advises on sustainability, climate change and environmental matters across the mining, energy, health, infrastructure and forestry sectors.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- André Vivan stands out for his technical excellence, strategic vision, and ability to quickly understand the most sensitive issues of each project. His work goes beyond identifying legal risks, presenting clear, pragmatic recommendations aligned with business needs, even in complex matters or those with few precedents. He is an extremely approachable, careful, and committed person who conveys security to the client and actively participates in building solutions. Natália Azevedo de Carvalho possesses in-depth knowledge of Environmental Law and an excellent ability to articulate regulatory, land, contractual, and contentious issues. She stands out for her objectivity, the quality of her analyses, and her ability to translate sophisticated legal topics into clear and applicable guidance. She also demonstrates great availability and personal involvement in matters, even when deadlines are tight or the subject matter requires strategic decisions. In general, the professionals on the team are distinguished by a combination of technical rigour, agility, availability, and genuine interest in the client's business. They act not only as external advisers but as legal partners effectively integrated into discussions and decision-making. This close relationship, combined with the ability to anticipate risks and propose concrete solutions, is one of the qualities we value most in Pinheiro Neto's work.
- The Environmental team at Pinheiro Neto Advogados combines technical depth, strategic vision, and a very clear understanding of client needs and the business context in which legal issues are embedded. The firm supports us in due diligence on carbon properties and projects, as well as in the legal structuring of carbon projects and in advisory, contractual, regulatory, and litigation matters related to our activities. One of the team's main differentiators is its ability to analyse complex environmental issues comprehensively and pragmatically. Opinions and recommendations are not limited to outlining applicable legislation, but rather identify the risks that are truly relevant to the project, assessing their potential impacts and proposing viable legal and operational solutions for the market in which we operate. This approach is especially valuable in carbon projects, which involve the interaction between environmental, land, regulatory, contractual, and reputational issues. The technical quality of the work is consistently high, even in new matters or those without established precedents. The team stands out for its ability to quickly understand complex business models and adapt its analyses to the characteristics and objectives of each project. The work is developed in close and integrated collaboration with our legal, technical, and commercial teams. Communication is clear, transparent, and objective, and professionals remain accessible throughout the development of the projects. Compared to other firms, Pinheiro Neto differentiates itself through its combination of technical excellence, responsiveness, multidisciplinary knowledge, and practical commercial orientation.
- My main partner is Alexandre Outeda Jorge. He is recognized as one of the country's leading experts in Environmental Law and Occupational Health and Safety. His work combines solid experience in complex litigation, negotiations with public bodies, and cases involving environmental contamination and exposure to hazardous substances, always with strong pragmatism and a sense of urgency.
- Pinheiro Neto Advogados stands out as a full-service law firm, with a multidisciplinary approach and recognized capacity to address complex issues in an integrated manner to meet my specific needs. I can say that a key differentiator is the close relationship with its partners, which facilitates agility in decision-making and the handling of strategic matters. The firm delivers efficient, comprehensive legal solutions aligned with the needs of the company I work for.
- A comprehensive overview of legal, regulatory, and business aspects.
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Practice head
André Vivan de Souza
Other key lawyers
Werner Grau; Alexandre Outeda Jorge; Luis Celso Ribeiro; Paula Susanna Amaral Mello; Natália Azevedo de Carvalho