Santos Neto Advogados

The firm: Dedicated to business law, Santos Neto Advogados (“SNA”) was founded in 1992. Over the years, it has had outstanding performances in the areas of agribusiness, banking and finance, capital markets, company restructuring, litigation, labor and employment, tax, corporate and M&A.

With a multidisciplinary and multicultural team, the office is located in São Paulo and New York City and counts with extensive operations beyond the Brazilian jurisdiction, being internationally recognized by clients and market players.

SNA offers the “lean full service” concept, in which each lawyer offers a specialized service in more than one area of law, allowing the teams to be lean and efficient and allowing our professionals to understand the clients’ needs and build close and lasting relationships.

Main areas of practice
Banking and finance: Advises clients from structuring and negotiation to documentation and closing of finance transactions, including the drafting of credit agreements, bank guarantees and security instruments. Advises on Brazilian Central Bank’s regulations, securitisations, financing by development banks and ECAs, project finance, aviation and shipping.

Capital markets: We deliver results in a wide range of matters involving debt securities’ capital raising and compliance issues, with participation in a significant volume of issuances throughout the years. We assist financial institutions, publicly-held and privately-held companies in the structuring of securitization and other capital markets transactions across all industry sectors.

Corporate/M&A: Assists clients in all matters of corporate law, including: determining and implementing corporate and tax structure for a business; formation of corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and joint ventures; drafting of corporate documents; assistance with routine; structuring of M&As, joint-ventures and strategic alliances, including the negotiation and drafting of all required agreements and due diligence reviews; representation before regulatory agencies such as the CVM (Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission).

Labor: Our labor and employment team represents multinational and domestic companies in several economic sectors on strategic labor matters. Our assistance includes both complex labor matters and routine queries related to human resources practices or general labor law aiming to assist the day-to-day operations of the client. In addition, we provide services related to administrative proceedings on course before the Labor Prosecutor Office and the Ministry of Labor.

Litigation: Assists clients in litigation and arbitration proceedings, especially: conflict prevention and negotiation of settlements; representation of clients in lawsuits at all levels of the Brazilian Judiciary System, especially related to disputes on corporate law, commercial contracts, and banking law; enforcement of security interests.

Reorganisation and bankruptcy: Advises creditors and sellers of distressed assets in all legal matters regarding corporate restructurings, reorganisations, and bankruptcy, including: assessment of the debtor’s credit status and due diligence covering all its contractual obligations and contingent liabilities; development of a restructuring strategy; drafting of restructuring plans; client representation in judicial and extrajudicial reorganisations and bankruptcy proceedings; distressed M&A activity; and asset tracing.

Tax, customs and international trade law: Assists clients in all matters of tax and customs law, including tax consulting, judicial and administrative litigation, tax planning, assistance in structuring import and export operations vis à vis tax and customs aspects involved, and representation before Brazilian Federal Revenue Service and State and Municipal tax agencies.