Legal News

DLA Piper Makes Foray into Brazil

By Brian Harris

By Gina Passarella
Of the Legal Staff

DLA Piper has taken the first step in its efforts to create a presence in Brazil.

The firm said Monday it has entered into a cooperation agreement with Brazilian firm Campos Mello Advogados in order for the firm to collaborate on serving both Brazilian clients looking to do business abroad and international companies with interests in Brazil.

?Joining forces with Campos Mello Advogados is an important step in the advancement of our global strategy, which is to have a significant presence in the world?s leading and rapidly emerging economies,? Francis B. Burch, Jr., global chairman of DLA Piper, said in a statement. ?This collaboration gives us a go-to resource on the ground in Brazil, which will provide great value for our clients and a stream of referral business to our worldwide network. This arrangement is a great beginning for us in Latin America, but there is more to come in the near future.?

Brazilian regulations require foreign lawyers to obtain authorization from the bar in order to advise clients in Brazil in connection with foreign laws. Foreign firms can then sponsor those authorized lawyers to organize a foreign consultancy that could operate in Brazil under the name of the firm, DLA Piper said. Foreign firms are not permitted to advise on Brazilian law, so DLA Piper has teamed up Campos Mello to help provide local legal advice. The goal is to have those local connections and ultimately get permission to create a consultancy to advise on foreign law, the firm said.

DLA Piper said it wanted to take advantage of the growing economy in Brazil, which has emerged as the world?s eighth largest and is only expected to grow. The firm said Brazil is expected to outpace most of the world in the economic recovery.

Campos Mello Advogados has lawyers specializing in corporate, finance, real estate, tax and litigation matters. The firm currently has 60 professionals, among partners, associates and trainees in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The firm expects the Sao Paulo office to ?grow substantially in the next few months,? according to the statement.

DLA Piper, which has more than 30 lawyers in Pennsylvania, is the only firm with local ties to have a presence in Brazil. A number of firms in the state use Miami or other Florida offices as a foray into South America and some have said they are exploring the idea of opening an office on the continent with Brazil being the most likely spot.

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on March 02, 2010 (boomark / email).