Christiana Fontenelle

Litigation and Labour

Christiana Fontenelle is partner at the firm since 2021; she works in Labor Law.

She has published relevant studies and articles on topics including the labour changes provoked by the behavioural changes from the last three years, as well as the impacts of ESG, the evolution of legislation on outsourcing, employers’ ‘challenges, and internships as a form of inclusion. She is co-author of books such as “Advocacy Strategies in the TST”, “Brazilian Labour Reform in Debate” and “Coronavirus and the Labour Impacts”.

She is dedicated to topics such as the new NR-1, women's rights, equal pay, and the evolution of jurisprudence in the STF.

Under her leadership, the Labor Law area has made important transactions in the past few years, including:

- Mrs. Fontenelle represented BSM, company leader in heavy equipment leasing, cargo handling outsourcing, and logistics support services, in defending the company against these claims. The strategy focused on proving that the employee’s reckless actions, rather than any fault of the company, caused the fatal accident. She supported the defence with police reports, documentary evidence, witness testimony, and expert technical reports that established the employee's sole responsibility.

- She led a strong defence strategy, to an important client in the energy sector, focusing on key evidence and legal arguments to counter the claims made in the public civil action. Through the strategic approach and deep understanding of the energy sector, Christiana and the team were able to provide the client with a robust defense that challenged the applicability of the proposed obligations, particularly given the transition of the operation’s management.

With 30 years of experience, she advises large companies on advisory and litigation matters, including highly complex cases before the higher courts. Her work is marked by a focus on the new dynamics of labor relations resulting from the Labor Reform and the promotion of Human Rights in the Workplace.

Christiana leads strategic labor consulting projects, advising on issues such as executive compensation, collective bargaining, risk management, and labor compliance, in addition to conducting internal audits focused on labor law compliance and best practices in the market, ESG, and human rights in the workplace, especially in operations located in sensitive socio-environmental contexts.