About

An experienced and diligent general counsel with over 15 years of involvement in the Olympic movement, Luiz Rodolfo Ryff is well-placed to dispense readily accessible, high quality and cost-effective legal and commercial advice for the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. The main function of the legal team, and Ryff’s day-to-day work, is connected with ensuring special new laws and regulations are understood and are complied with in the face of challenging demands associated with a high-profile global sporting event. Ryff describes his work as having the end goal of ‘preserving the resources and reputation’ of the Committee, which was created at the end of 2010 to organise the Games. Rio is subject to a “Host City Contract” that was implemented to support the Olympic Movement, and is an additional hurdle for the running of the Games alongside other obligations imposed upon the Committee, including upholding the rights of the sponsors, broadcasters and the International Olympic Committee. Reporting directly to the board, the legal team manages risk in conjunction with an independent compliance department, which Ryff was an integral part of developing. The two functions remain ‘very integrated yet independent’ and consultation between departments is common due to the requirement of ‘delivering projects without overlap’. Citing this collaboration as a key feature in his work, Ryff also worked with a number of internal and external clients to deliver results, having collaborated with governments to create an initial legal framework for the Games from scratch, during which there was a large amount of communication with three different levels of governance and with congress. Highly regarded by senior management, Ryff attends board meetings giving strategic legal advice in person, and has done since the start of the project, consistently advising on problems including those stemming from bureaucratic challenges and issues related to Brazil’s economic and political climate. Ryff draws on over 20 years of experience in private practice rendering legal services for the Olympic movement during stints as a partner at H. B. Cavalcanti e Mazzillo Advogados and an external lawyer on the Brazilian Olympic Committee. The Olympic Games places the host city under international scrutiny in a way that nothing else can, and Ryff has been a crucial element to the smooth running of the competition.