Szazi, Bechara, Storto, Reicher e Figueirêdo Lopes Advogados

Mrs. Souza is a partner at Szazi, Bechara Storto Reicher e Figueiredo Lopes Advogados. She is the head of the Innovation Impact Business and ESG, also she co-heads the Social Business and Human Rights Law of the firm.

Mrs. Souza is a lawyer with experience in the field of public law, anti-corruption, third sector and social business. She advises civil society organizations and sector 2.5 initiatives in their corporate structure, on formatting projects and regarding their contractual relations with companies and public authorities. She helped building the agenda for the Regulatory Framework for Civil Society Organizations, a topic that she continues to work, both as a legal profession and through academic activities.

In 2009, Mrs. Souza earned her Bachelor in Law degree from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica of São Paulo. In 2015, she concluded a specialization LL.M. in Corporate Lawat at Insper:  “Social Business: an corporate approach" (Prizewinning) - ISBN 978-858-49-3048-7.

Mrs. Souza involvement with the nonprofit sector, philanthropy and Social Business began in 2007 and grew steadily since them. In 2009, she published her first book, entitled Perspectivas para o Marco Legal do Terceiro Setor [Perspectives for the Legal Framework of the Third Sector] (ISBN 978–85–88462–13–7), addressing tax aspects of the nonprofit sector in Brazil, together with other authors.

From 2008-2012 Mrs. Souza was lawyer at Sampaio Ferraz Lawyers in Public and Regulatory Law, working in consulting and development of corporate and contractual modeling for compliance with regulatory and bidding requirements of projects concerning infrastructure in concessions, bids, permits and permissions. Structuring anti-bribery compliance programs, to support the development of defense strategies of competitive cases with regulatory interface. 

In 2012, Mrs. Souza was a consultant to UNESCO on the topic of civil society organizations and their partnership and promotion relations with the Government (2012). In the Federal Government, she served as an advisor to the Secretary-General of Government of the Presidency of the Republic, where she supported the construction and implementation of the agenda of the Regulatory Framework for Civil Society Organizations (2013-2014).

She is a lecturer and researcher on the topic of civil society organizations and hybrid models, a UNDP consultant for the “Fourth Sector of Iberoamerica” initiative on business regulation on purpose and has been part of the System B Legal group since 2015. Researcher of the State and Civil Society Project in the Coordination of Applied Legal Research at FGV Direito SP since 2015.  

She has published articles, authoring and co-authoring books in her area of expertise, among which are:  and Empresas Sociais: uma abordagem societária” [Social Enterprises: a corporate approach] (ISBN 978-858-49-3048-7). She is one of the organizers of the “Economic Sustainability of Civil Society Organizations” collection, which includes the books Fortalecimento da sociedade civil: redução de barreiras tributárias às doações, Incentivos regulatórios à filantropia individual no Brasil e Fundos patrimoniais e organizações da sociedade civil [Strengthening civil society: reducing tax barriers to donations, Regulatory incentives for individual philanthropy in Brazil and Heritage funds and civil society organizations.

Mrs. Souzaalso won the first edition of the “Civil Society Policy Impact Research Award” contest, promoted by the International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR), with the survey “The Role of CSOS and Academics in Changing Brazilian Public Policy: A Brief Case Study of Provisional Measure 870/2019”. Founded in 1992, ISTR is the largest international association focused on research and education in areas involving civil society, philanthropy, and the social sector, with more than 800 members in 84 countries. It is composed mainly by academics and researchers, and its objective is to create, discuss and develop knowledge of excellence related to the Third Sector. The contest was created in 2019 to reward researchers who document effective civil society actions that have contributed to changes in public policies.

Portuguese and English

International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR)

B lawyers Group

Grupo de Estudos Avançados em Terceiro Setor do Conselho Regional de Adminitração 

Bachelor in Law, in Pontifícia Universidade Católica - São Paulo (2009). Specialization in Corporate Law, Insper, Brazil, 2015. Her final paper on “Social companies: a corporate approach”, was awarded and was published. She is PhD candidate in Public Administration and Government, EAESP, FGV, 2019 (in progress).