Mayer Brown in Brazil

T&C’s “rise over recent years is best described as meteoric. Sources point to the team’s excellent service and knowledge of the sector, the tenacity and skill of its younger partners and the expertise of its more senior lawyers.”  -- Chambers Latin America

Of T&C’s corporate practice: “The service is absolutely outstanding; its vision goes far beyond legal knowledge.” T&C represented Vale in the acquisition of participating interest in an offshore block located in the Espírito Santo Basin, of which Shell owned exploration rights, with investments of approximately US $114.5 million. -- Chambers Latin America

Mayer Brown operates in Brazil in association with Tauil & Chequer Advogados (“Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown LLP” or TCMB).  We have approximately 70 lawyers in Brazil. We offer a range of international law services – principally cross-border M&A and finance, debt and equity global capital markets offerings and dollar debt restructuring – and through TCMB, we also have a full service Brazilian domestic law practice.

Our lawyers in Brazil are fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, German, Korean and Italian.

Primary practices in Brazil

Energy/Oil and Gas
Energy is a particular area of strength for Mayer Brown in Brazil.  Our team has more than 10 years experience working on major energy projects in the country and our Brazilian law colleagues have excellent experience in the oil and gas sector.  This includes the tax aspects, the regulatory framework (which they helped draft) and industry-specific contracts. Clients include a range of IOCs, NOCs and oil services companies in connection with their investments in Brazil.

Project Finance and Infrastructure
Mayer Brown has an outstanding reputation for its infrastructure and project finance work.  According to Chambers Latin America 2010, we have “possibly the most impressive of the practices with a presence in Brazil.”  Our workincludes landmark projects across the region, such as the Panama Canal expansion, as well as award winning projects in Brazil ranging from the ViaQuatro rail project in São Paulo to the financing of oil drilling ships for Odebrecht. TCMB also has a leading position in the increasingly important Brazilian domestic infrastructure and project finance activity. Combined, our Brazil team has acted on most of the major project financings undertaken in the country over the last 10 years. Our particular experience is in the project and lease financing of oil fields, gas pipelines, oil refineries, petrochemical plants, power plants, oil platforms, drilling rigs, toll roads, ports, metro and other infrastructure facilities.

Banking and Finance
We have extensive experience advising on both secured and unsecured corporate loans including IDB financings and other financings involving multilaterals and export-credit agencies, such as the IFC, JBIC, FMO and US EXIM.
 
We also advise on pre-export trade financings for Brazilian borrowers and are familiar with the structures employed to take security over contract receivables, collection accounts, crops, goods in warehouses, and goods in transit.

We are a market leader on structuring and implementing sophisticated securitization transactions for receivables and other payment rights as well as the securitization of workers’ remittances to Brazilian banks. Domestically, through TCMB, we have also been engaged on “FIDC” Brazilian receivables financing.

Corporate and Securities
We have a strong M&A practice in Brazil in all industry sectors – especially oil and gas, sugar and ethanol. We handle purely domestic transactions and inward investment and we represent Brazilian companies making acquisitions abroad. 

Our São Paulo team has been actively involved in the local market for IPOs and equity offerings, acting for both underwriters and issuers. In addition, we counsel Latin American companies and their creditors on restructuring transactions, tender offers, exchange offers, consent solicitations and negotiated restructurings. We also regularly advise clients about compliance with US securities law, including Sarbanes-Oxley and 20-F filings.

Shipping
We have extensive experience in the energy sector and  regularly offers advice on the chartering of ships, platforms, support vessels and services for the oil industry, as well as on the importation of ships and other vessels, and issues relating to registration and licensing. We also advise on the regulations and activities relating to maritime tribunals.

Mayer Brown Network Support
Mayer Brown in Brazil is fully integrated with the Mayer Brown network and the firm’s worldwide resources. In each of our practice areas we are supported by Mayer Brown’s global experience, including:

• the firm’s Latin America practice
• one of the world’s leading banking and finance and securitization practices
• world-class project finance experience in the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia
• a leading global construction and engineering group
• strong mining experience led out of London
• highly ranked dispute resolution and arbitration practices in the United States, London, Europe and Hong Kong

Examples of our work in Brazil >>