Manuela Demarche Mello

Languages Spoken

Portuguese (native)

English (fluent)

Spanish (basic working knowlegde)

Practice Areas

Environmental, Sustainability, ESG and Climate Change

Career

Manuela Demarche joined Trench Rossi Watanabe in 2008, and has been working with Environmental Law since 2010. She initiated her career as a legal intern, and after a period working at a boutique law firm, she came back to the Firm in 2017 and is currently a Partner of the Firm’s Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change practice group. She also helped structure a Service Line dedicated to ESG-related matters within the Firm, and has been helping clients in their decision-making process.

She has several years of experience in complex matters connected to environmental, sustainability and climate change, and her practice focus on a wide range of matters, particularly in connection to environmental liability, licensing proceedings, carbon and green M&A transactions and cross-border disputes. During her period abroad, she worked at Baker & McKenzie Chicago office and acted as a Legal Extern for the American Clean Power Association.

She regularly advises international and domestic clients in relevant cases, including preparing opinions, overseeing due diligences, drafting administrative and judicial claims for disputes arising from controversial environmental matters. Under her umbrella, she regularly deals with regularization (air pollution, effluents, solid waste, contaminated areas), circular economy and take-back schemes, extended producer responsibility, carbon markets, NbS, energy transition, biodiversity and crisis management.

On the ESG side, she helps clients navigate through reporting frameworks and voluntary standards (e.g. IFRS, GRI, SDGs), international legislation (e.g. EUDR, CSRD, CS3D) and local legislation (e.g. CVM, BACEN, CMN) that may affect investments and the long-term sustainability of business itself. She also advises clients on the assessment and management of ESG litigation risks.

Professional Memberships

Admitted to the Brazilian Bar

Eligible to sit for the New York State Bar Examination

Member of UBAA (Brazilian Union of Environmental Law)

Publications

- “Legal Aspects of Sustainability: Business as (un)usual?” published in the book Environmental Advocacy Challenges and Perspectives, 2021

- “Environmental key risks related to Real Estate Acquisition” published in the book Real Estate Operations: structuring and taxation, 2016

- “Environmental Licensing in Brazil” published in the book Brazil Infrastructure Law. International Commerce and Arbitration series, 2016;

- “Environmental licensing of waterways that run through Indigenous Lands” published in the book Infrastructure in Environmental Law, 2016.

Personal

Manuela graduated from PUC-SP with a law degree and holds two specialization in Environmental Law from FGVLaw and Escola Paulista da Magistratura. She is an expert in Sustainable Capitalism & ESG by Berkeley Law Executive Education and holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Environmental and Energy Law from Georgetown University Law Center, Washington D.C., where she graduated with a merit scholarship and a CALI Excellence for the Future Award.

Awards

Practice Areas

Environmental, Sustainability, ESG and Climate Change

Career

Manuela Demarche joined Trench Rossi Watanabe in 2008, and has been working with Environmental Law since 2010. She initiated her career as a legal intern, and after a period working at a boutique law firm, she came back to the Firm in 2017 and is currently a Partner of the Firm’s Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change practice group. She also helped structure a Service Line dedicated to ESG-related matters within the Firm, and has been helping clients in their decision-making process.

She has several years of experience in complex matters connected to environmental, sustainability and climate change, and her practice focus on a wide range of matters, particularly in connection to environmental liability, licensing proceedings, carbon and green M&A transactions and cross-border disputes. During her period abroad, she worked at Baker & McKenzie Chicago office and acted as a Legal Extern for the American Clean Power Association.

She regularly advises international and domestic clients in relevant cases, including preparing opinions, overseeing due diligences, drafting administrative and judicial claims for disputes arising from controversial environmental matters. Under her umbrella, she regularly deals with regularization (air pollution, effluents, solid waste, contaminated areas), circular economy and take-back schemes, extended producer responsibility, carbon markets, NbS, energy transition, biodiversity and crisis management.

On the ESG side, she helps clients navigate through reporting frameworks and voluntary standards (e.g. IFRS, GRI, SDGs), international legislation (e.g. EUDR, CSRD, CS3D) and local legislation (e.g. CVM, BACEN, CMN) that may affect investments and the long-term sustainability of business itself. She also advises clients on the assessment and management of ESG litigation risks.

Professional Memberships

Admitted to the Brazilian Bar

Eligible to sit for the New York State Bar Examination

Member of UBAA (Brazilian Union of Environmental Law)

Publications

- “Legal Aspects of Sustainability: Business as (un)usual?” published in the book Environmental Advocacy Challenges and Perspectives, 2021

- “Environmental key risks related to Real Estate Acquisition” published in the book Real Estate Operations: structuring and taxation, 2016

- “Environmental Licensing in Brazil” published in the book Brazil Infrastructure Law. International Commerce and Arbitration series, 2016;

- “Environmental licensing of waterways that run through Indigenous Lands” published in the book Infrastructure in Environmental Law, 2016.

Personal

Manuela graduated from PUC-SP with a law degree and holds two specialization in Environmental Law from FGVLaw and Escola Paulista da Magistratura. She is an expert in Sustainable Capitalism & ESG by Berkeley Law Executive Education and holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Environmental and Energy Law from Georgetown University Law Center, Washington D.C., where she graduated with a merit scholarship and a CALI Excellence for the Future Award.

Languages Spoken

Portuguese (native)

English (fluent)

Spanish (basic working knowlegde)

Awards