FreitasLeite

Managing Partners: Cristiano da Cruz Leite, Humberto de Paula Lima Isaac, Pedro Afonso Gutierrez Avvad, Raul de Paula Leite Filho

Number of partners: 13

Number of other lawyers: 50

Languages: English, Portuguese

Firm Overview:

Since 1996, FreitasLeite has significant expertise in providing specialised legal advice on high profile matters. The firm offers a multidisciplinary team of highly qualified and experienced professionals by developing tailor-made solutions for the clients’ needs.

With active presence along with the main market participants and regulators, FreitasLeite followed and actively participated in the evolving regulatory framework governing the financial and capital markets in Brazil in the last decades, being considered an influential and innovative office on proposed solutions.

Over the years, FreitasLeite has broadened its areas of expertise while keeping the ‘boutique’ concept. Every matter handled by the firm is closely followed by a partner and treated in a truly personalised manner.

Main Areas of Practice:

Antitrust:

Legal advice on:

■ Merger control

■ Competition advocacy

■ Defence in cartel and abuse of dominance cases

■ Antitrust Private claims

Contact: Leopoldo Pagotto

Anti-Corruption & Compliance:

Legal advice on:

■ Compliance programmes

■ Risk assessment

■ Judicial and administrative defence in compliance related cases

Contact: Leopoldo Pagotto

Banking/Financial & Capital Markets:

Legal advice on:

■ Analysis, development and implementation of structured financial transactions for private companies, banks, asset managers, broker-dealers and insurance companies

■ Set up and regulatory accreditation for fintechs operating in various segments of the industry, such as: regulated credit fintechs and peer to peer landing companies, investment fintechs, payment fintechs, foreign exchange facilitators, digital banks, securitization companies and cryptocurrency issuers

■ Structuring of financial products and payment services with digital platforms and similar technologies

■ Set-up of investment funds and development of management and distribution arrangements in the domestic and international capital markets

■ Set-up of structured investment funds (private equity funds, real estate funds, receivables funds and offshore funds)

■ Securitisation transactions in multiple industry sectors, including agribusiness, credit linked notes, real estate receivables certificates and collective investment contracts

■ Securities transactions, including equity and debt public offerings, block trades and tender offers

■ Structuring and reviewing banking transactions and products related to corporate loans, trade financing, OTC derivatives FreitasLeite provides general legal assistance to asset managers, banks, fund administrators, professional investors, family offices and other service providers in the fund and capital market industries. Work includes the representation of clients in administrative and court disputes involving the Brazilian Central Bank and Securities Commission regulatory and administrative matters

Domestic Contact: Cristiano da Cruz Leite

International Contacts: Humberto de Paula Lima Isaac and Isabela Nunes

Corporate/M&A:

The firm’s corporate practice includes setting up companies, joint ventures, consortiums, associations and foundations, structuring and implementing corporate reorganisations, as well as representing clients in their capacity as shareholders and corporate governance matters. By combining business-driven professionals with tax experts, FreitasLeite has established itself as a significant legal adviser on mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructurings, as well as on providing guidance in mitigating risks arising from business activities, from the exercise of board positions and from business contracts in general. Legal advice on matters related to foreign investments in Brazil, including registration with the Brazilian Central Bank, repatriation of funds and import and export transactions.

Contacts: Claudio Fabricio Lima, Pedro Afonso Gutierrez Avvad and Raul de Paula Leite Filho

Real Estate:

Legal advice on:

■ Development of real estate transactions in residential, commercial, industrial warehouses, shopping centres, and land development sectors

■ Construction contracts, consortia, land develop- ment, built-to-suit agreements and sale-and-lease-back agreements, including legal analysis and the issuance of legal opinions and securitisation of receivables

■ Real estate financing transactions, including real estate funds and issuance of real estate receivables certificates

Contacts: Cristiano da Cruz Leite and Fernanda Amaral

Taxation:

Legal advice for individuals and entities, resident in Brazil or abroad on:

■ Analysis, structuring and implementation of tax planning solutions

■ Interpretation and application of Brazilian federal, state and municipal tax rules

■ Tax credits and tax refunds

FreitasLeite’s tax department has a significant role on all financial and capital market transactions and on M&A deals, as well as a very strong tax litigation team to protect clients from undue taxation or to provide tax savings before Brazilian administrative and judicial courts.

Contacts: Pedro Afonso Gutierrez Avvad and Diogo Ferraz

Private Client & Wealth Advisory:

Legal advice on:

■ Organisation and structuring of families’ investment structures that are efficient from corporate, tax and succession law standpoints, including trusts, foundations, proprietary investment funds, and other legal devices to consolidate or segregate assets

■ Estate planning, including drafting wills and other instruments governing the division of assets located in Brazil and abroad

■ Acquisition, leasing and selling of aircrafts, boats, onshore and offshore real estate properties and other assets

■ Preparation of Income Tax Returns

Contacts: Raul de Paula Leite Filho and Humberto de Paula Lima Isaac

International Work:

FreitasLeite has been engaged by a significant number of international clients in transactions involving parties from several different countries. The firm’s international practice encompasses finance and capital markets transactions, cross border mergers and acquisitions and international tax planning, among others.