Costa Tavares Paes Advogados

Costa Tavares Paes Advogados is a Brazilian law firm that advises its national and international clients in a variety of domestic and cross-border business and dispute resolution matters. The firm integrates high-added value legal services and specific knowledge into the overall business processes of its clients, thus providing advice in the decision-making process of companies and individuals.

Costa Tavares Paes Advogados acts on a variety of dispute resolution matters, including administrative and judicial litigation, arbitration and mediation proceedings, both domestically and internationally. In addition, the firm acts as a strategic advisor to its clients in preventative practices in the areas of (amongst others) banking and financial services, corporate matters and M&A, aviation, oil and gas, infrastructure, insolvency matters, labour law, inbound and outbound investments, contract issues, antitrust
and competition matters and compliance issues. Costa Tavares Paes Advogados’s offices are in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília.

Areas of practice
Corporate and M&A: counseling on investment structuring. Counseling and structuring M&A operation throughout the whole process of domestic and cross-border transactions. Advising on corporate governance and management liability. Supporting on private equity investments, asset purchases, LBOs, joint ventures, recapitalizations, privatizations, reverse mergers, and spin-offs.

Litigation: legal representation of clients in litigation matters in Brazil and abroad, involving all aspects of disputes regarding business transactions and individual claims, involving various areas of law.

Arbitration: client representation in arbitration proceedings in Brazil and abroad, including enforcement of arbitral awards. Participation in arbitration proceedings as arbitrators, consultants and legal experts in the preparation of legal opinions.

Tax: advisory services, planning of ideal models for the carrying out of investments in Brazil in order to optimize the tax structure; tax-driven corporate restructurings and contractual/operational adjustments; administrative and judicial litigation regarding tax matters.

Data privacy: drafting and advising on the implementation of data privacy and cybersecurities policies in accordance with the applicable regulations. Data privacy-related disputes. Data security breach response.

Compliance: drafting and advising on the implementation of integrity programs and policies in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations. Conducting internal audits and risk assessments.

Labor, employment and pensions: advising clients in connection with application of local labor laws, including advice on daily operational issues, negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, structure and advice of work-force transfers and plant closures, as well as due diligence on labor law issues in M&A transactions. Advice in connection with the structuring of pension funds and benefits and associated issues.

Banking and finance: advising on and structuring financial transactions such as project finance and trade finance, equity and debt issuance, corporate and sovereign lending and secured transactions, as well as representation of insurance companies, banks, fund managers, equity investors and others in a variety of derivative products such as commodities, currency, interest rate, debt and equity products, and fund-linked derivatives.

Bankruptcy and restructuring: representation in insolvency proceedings, in and out of court reorganizations, debt renegotiation and acquisition of assets. Assistance on creation of plans, participation in general meetings of creditors and preparation, registration and formalization of applicable instruments.

Real estate: advice on the structuring of real estate securitization, real estate investment funds, financing transactions for projects and analysis and creation of collateral rights. Representation of clients in lease renewal, revisions, possession, blockage of new construction, compulsory adjudication, adverse possession, as well as judicial or extrajudicial enforcement of collateral.

Competition and antitrust: advising on competition matters and competition compliance, representation of clients on merger control, investigations by competition authorities, antitrust disputes and related litigation. Advice and negotiation of leniency agreements.

The firm’s clients include businesses with activities in different sectors of the global economy, such as domestic and foreign commercial and investment banks, insurance, engineering, pharmaceutical, energy, telecom, oil and gas, technology, trade, aviation, investment funds, individuals, water and sanitation, agribusiness and ports.