Costa, Albino & Rocha Sociedade de Advogados (CAR)

A group of lawyers acting in the market for almost 20 years and experienced in large and representative law firms in Brazil decided to create DR&A Advogados in 2013. It is a boutique law firm aiming to provide effective, customised and highly qualified legal solutions in insurance, reinsurance and private pension fund practices, as well as civil, commercial and consumer law. Its main target is to exceed the expectations of clients, who it also considers its business partners. It has a multidisciplinary view of insurance law and it intends to get to know the specifications of each of its clients’ businesses in order to maximise their profits and optimise their time and costs.

Main areas of practice
Claims: insurance claim adjustment, including implementation of measures for recovering values; preparation of memoranda and legal opinions related to various types of insurance claims; legal advice to insurers in settling claims and interacting with parent companies located abroad and reinsurers.

Contracts: preparation and negotiation of insurance and reinsurance agreements; preparation and negotiation of co-operation, co-insurance and bancassurance agreements; legal advice on structuring and negotiation of sponsorship and withdrawal projects, merger and demerger of benefit plans managed by pension funds; legal advice on the investment rules set forth by the Brazilian Securities Commission and the National Monetary Council for insurance, reinsurance and private pension companies.

Corporate and M&A: incorporation of insurance, brokerage and health insurance companies; drafting of corporate documents for companies in general; preparation and filing of regulated companies’ corporate acts before regulatory bodies and board of trade; advice on regulatory, tax and exchange issues relating to foreign investments in companies regulated in Brazil; follow-up on incorporation, transfer of corporate control and restructuring procedure of insurance and private pension companies; due diligence on target companies for acquisition; advice on acquisitions, consolidations, mergers, spin-off, joint ventures and divestitures of regulated companies; advice on transfers of insurer’s portfolios.

Insurance, reinsurance and private pension fund: assistance in insurance regulatory issues for insurance companies (mainly subsidiaries of foreign insurers); creating, revision development and negotiation of new insurance products emphasising Financial Lines products such as D&O, E&O, IMI, PFI, performance and completion bonds, among others), reinsurance and private pension products, including follow-up for obtaining the relevant approvals before government agencies; contact with the Brazilian insurance regulatory authority – Susep, Previc, ANS and the Central Bank of Brazil – Bacen; structuring of insurance transactions and loans with surety; in-company training on new products and regulations relating to the insurance, reinsurance and private pension market; legal advice on setting reserves based on lawsuits and administrative proceedings; drafting of memoranda and legal opinions on insurance, reinsurance and private pension-related matters.

Litigation: assistance for insurance and reinsurance companies in complex cases involving different lines of insurance and reinsurance business; defense of insurance and reinsurance companies and its directors and officers in administrative proceedings filed by SUSEP; legal advice on actions for recovery under insurers’ and reinsurers’ subrogation rights (including collateral enforcement); legal assistance in commercial and civil matters in judicial and arbitral disputes related to commercial contracts, civil liability, enforcement of contracts, insurance, reinsurance, consumer law (administrative and judicial proceedings) and administrative law; large experience in class actions and the retail market.