Alliances with Brazil Law Firms Under Review

A June 23rd 2011 article published in the Economist

From their Sao Paulo desk “Brazilian lawyers don’t want pesky foreigners poaching their clients” tells the story of the behind the scene effort by Brazilian law firms to make life harder for the 100 or so foreigners offering legal services in the country. The Economist reported that late last year the São Paulo chapter of the national bar association (OAB-SP) indicated that formal alliances between foreign-trained and local lawyers were against its rules, which was confirmed in February. If the federal bar association supports this position, all formal local-foreign legal alliances may have to be dissolved.
The Economist reminds us that cross-jurisdictional legal work is strictly regulated: and that foreign-qualified lawyers cannot work in firms that employ local ones or offer any advice on Brazilian law, even if they base their advice on that of a qualified Brazilian lawyer. It suggests that the OAB-SP’s opinion went further by proclaiming that alliances between foreign and Brazilian lawyers were unethical, Foreign-qualified lawyers are not lawyers at all: they must call themselves, “Foreign legal consultants”.

With the Brazil economy in full growth, this decision will have an impact on the type of support foreign and national companies can obtain from Brazilian law firms. Their interests are best served by properly selecting the firm with the best team for the set of legal issues to be dealt with. Cross-border transactions involving Brazil or transfer pricing under brazil law are but a few of the questions that must be dealt with by taking into account the implications of dealing with multiple legal systems and bodies of law.

Multi-jurisdictional work can then best be addressed by Brazilian law firms that have he experience and skill to deal with such issues. Lacaz Martins, Pereira Neto, Gurevich & Schoueri Advogados, is the Sao Paulo.

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We are a leading international law firm in the Brazilian market. We advise foreign clients on a wide range of transactions and issues relating to Brazilian law— from transfer pricing to mergers & acquisitions and foreign investment. As a leading Sao Paulo law firm that has received numerous awards and acknowledgements from Brazilian law societies and international organizations, we have worked closely with numerous foreign law firms on matters relating to transactions and foreign investment in Brazil.