JURISDICTION · LATIN AMERICA
Cross-Border
Legal Counsel in Brazil
Cross-border M&A, arbitration, and enforcement involving Brazilian parties — Latin America's largest market, coordinated with the Iberian bridge to Europe.
Since 2011
boutique international counsel
boutique international counsel
Partner-led
one partner owns your matter
one partner owns your matter
35+
jurisdictions covered
jurisdictions covered
Brazil is the anchor of VLO's Latin American practice — the region's largest economy and the jurisdiction that features most often in our Iberian-LatAm work. We advise on acquisitions involving Brazilian targets, arbitration with a Brazilian dimension, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and awards in Brazil. Our Latin America desk is led by a partner who works natively in Portuguese and Spanish and has structured experience across the Iberian-Brazilian corridor.
Brazil rewards counsel who understand both its substantive legal framework and its practical realities — a sophisticated arbitration culture alongside a court system that can be slow, and a recognition regime for foreign decisions that runs through a specific superior-court procedure. A foreign party who does not plan for these features can lose time and leverage.
Most Brazilian matters we handle connect Brazil with Europe, frequently through the Iberian bridge — a Portuguese or Spanish acquirer, a European award to be enforced in Brazil, or a Brazilian decision to be recognised in the EU. We coordinate both sides under one partner who works in both legal cultures.
Brazil rewards counsel who understand both its substantive legal framework and its practical realities — a sophisticated arbitration culture alongside a court system that can be slow, and a recognition regime for foreign decisions that runs through a specific superior-court procedure. A foreign party who does not plan for these features can lose time and leverage.
Most Brazilian matters we handle connect Brazil with Europe, frequently through the Iberian bridge — a Portuguese or Spanish acquirer, a European award to be enforced in Brazil, or a Brazilian decision to be recognised in the EU. We coordinate both sides under one partner who works in both legal cultures.
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VLO IN BRAZIL
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How we work in Brazil
LEGAL SYSTEM
What foreign parties need to know about Brazil
Brazil is a civil-law jurisdiction with private law codified in its civil code and procedure in its code of civil procedure. Disputes are decided by professional judges across a structure of state and federal courts, with appeals to the higher courts and, for matters of federal law, to the Superior Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justiça, the STJ) and ultimately the Supreme Federal Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal) on constitutional questions.
For foreign parties, two practical features stand out. The first is that ordinary Brazilian litigation can be lengthy, with multiple levels of appeal, which makes arbitration attractive for commercial matters and makes interim measures and settlement leverage important in litigation. The second is the centralised procedure for recognising foreign judgments and awards, which runs through the STJ — a specific and well-defined route that must be navigated correctly.
Brazil has a foreign-investment framework and sector-specific regulation that can affect acquisitions, and its tax and regulatory environment is notoriously complex. For a non-Brazilian acquirer, structuring and regulatory planning are essential and must be built into any transaction from the outset.
Foreign parties should also appreciate the practical significance of Brazil's regulatory and tax complexity for dispute strategy, not just transactions. The structure through which an investment was made frequently shapes the dispute that follows — where liability sits, which entity holds the assets, and how a judgment or award can ultimately be enforced. Reading the dispute through the structure is essential, and it is one reason coordination between the transactional understanding and the contentious strategy matters so much in Brazilian matters.
For foreign parties, two practical features stand out. The first is that ordinary Brazilian litigation can be lengthy, with multiple levels of appeal, which makes arbitration attractive for commercial matters and makes interim measures and settlement leverage important in litigation. The second is the centralised procedure for recognising foreign judgments and awards, which runs through the STJ — a specific and well-defined route that must be navigated correctly.
Brazil has a foreign-investment framework and sector-specific regulation that can affect acquisitions, and its tax and regulatory environment is notoriously complex. For a non-Brazilian acquirer, structuring and regulatory planning are essential and must be built into any transaction from the outset.
Foreign parties should also appreciate the practical significance of Brazil's regulatory and tax complexity for dispute strategy, not just transactions. The structure through which an investment was made frequently shapes the dispute that follows — where liability sits, which entity holds the assets, and how a judgment or award can ultimately be enforced. Reading the dispute through the structure is essential, and it is one reason coordination between the transactional understanding and the contentious strategy matters so much in Brazilian matters.
ENFORCEMENT & RECOGNITION
Enforcing judgments and awards in Brazil
Recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions in Brazil runs through a centralised procedure before the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). For foreign judgments, the STJ conducts a recognition procedure (homologação) examining the regularity of the foreign proceedings, proper service, finality, and consistency with Brazilian public policy and sovereignty — it does not re-examine the merits. Once recognised, the decision can be enforced through the federal courts.
For foreign arbitral awards, Brazil is a New York Convention party, and recognition likewise proceeds through the STJ under a framework aligned with the Convention's narrow refusal grounds. Brazil has developed a strongly pro-arbitration stance over recent decades, and the STJ's practice on award recognition is well established — which makes arbitration with a Brazilian dimension considerably more attractive than relying on the slower ordinary courts.
The practical work is navigating the STJ procedure correctly — the recognition step is specific and procedural missteps cause delay — and then enforcing the recognised decision against Brazilian assets through the federal courts, with attention to asset identification and the procedural realities of Brazilian execution. We coordinate the STJ recognition with the underlying foreign proceeding and any parallel enforcement elsewhere.
A practical dimension of Brazilian enforcement is the interaction between the STJ recognition step and asset preservation. Because the recognition procedure takes time, a creditor concerned about dissipation must consider what protective steps are available in parallel, and how to position the recognition application so that, once granted, execution can proceed without giving the debtor a further window to move assets. Sequencing the recognition and the execution is as important as the recognition itself.
For foreign arbitral awards, Brazil is a New York Convention party, and recognition likewise proceeds through the STJ under a framework aligned with the Convention's narrow refusal grounds. Brazil has developed a strongly pro-arbitration stance over recent decades, and the STJ's practice on award recognition is well established — which makes arbitration with a Brazilian dimension considerably more attractive than relying on the slower ordinary courts.
The practical work is navigating the STJ procedure correctly — the recognition step is specific and procedural missteps cause delay — and then enforcing the recognised decision against Brazilian assets through the federal courts, with attention to asset identification and the procedural realities of Brazilian execution. We coordinate the STJ recognition with the underlying foreign proceeding and any parallel enforcement elsewhere.
A practical dimension of Brazilian enforcement is the interaction between the STJ recognition step and asset preservation. Because the recognition procedure takes time, a creditor concerned about dissipation must consider what protective steps are available in parallel, and how to position the recognition application so that, once granted, execution can proceed without giving the debtor a further window to move assets. Sequencing the recognition and the execution is as important as the recognition itself.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION FORUMS
Where Brazil disputes are resolved
Brazil has a mature arbitration culture. Leading institutions administer domestic and international proceedings, and São Paulo is an established arbitral centre. Brazilian courts are supportive of arbitration, and the combination of an arbitration-friendly judiciary and the length of ordinary litigation means arbitration is the forum of choice for most significant Brazilian commercial contracts.
For matters connecting Brazil with Europe, the choice of seat is a strategic decision: a Brazilian seat, a neutral European seat such as Madrid or Lisbon (drawing on the Iberian-LatAm bridge), or another international centre. We advise on seat selection as part of the broader strategy, with an eye to where any award will ultimately need to be enforced.
For Brazil-Europe matters, the seat decision frequently comes down to a Brazilian seat versus a neutral Iberian one. A Brazilian seat keeps the proceeding close to the assets and the governing law; an Iberian seat such as Lisbon or Madrid offers linguistic proximity, neutrality, and a European enforcement bridgehead. The right answer depends on where enforcement will ultimately be needed, which is why we approach the seat decision from the enforcement end.
Brazil's strong institutional arbitration culture means that for significant commercial contracts, a well-drafted arbitration clause is the norm rather than the exception, and the supportive stance of the Brazilian courts toward arbitration reinforces this. For the foreign party, the practical question is less whether to arbitrate than where to seat the arbitration and how to ensure the resulting award can be enforced against the specific Brazilian assets in question — questions we approach from the enforcement end.
For matters connecting Brazil with Europe, the choice of seat is a strategic decision: a Brazilian seat, a neutral European seat such as Madrid or Lisbon (drawing on the Iberian-LatAm bridge), or another international centre. We advise on seat selection as part of the broader strategy, with an eye to where any award will ultimately need to be enforced.
For Brazil-Europe matters, the seat decision frequently comes down to a Brazilian seat versus a neutral Iberian one. A Brazilian seat keeps the proceeding close to the assets and the governing law; an Iberian seat such as Lisbon or Madrid offers linguistic proximity, neutrality, and a European enforcement bridgehead. The right answer depends on where enforcement will ultimately be needed, which is why we approach the seat decision from the enforcement end.
Brazil's strong institutional arbitration culture means that for significant commercial contracts, a well-drafted arbitration clause is the norm rather than the exception, and the supportive stance of the Brazilian courts toward arbitration reinforces this. For the foreign party, the practical question is less whether to arbitrate than where to seat the arbitration and how to ensure the resulting award can be enforced against the specific Brazilian assets in question — questions we approach from the enforcement end.
WHEN CLIENTS COME TO US
Common Brazil scenarios
ACQUISITION INVOLVING A BRAZILIAN TARGET
You are acquiring or investing in a Brazilian company and need structuring, regulatory, and antitrust matters coordinated. We manage the Brazilian pathway alongside the transaction, drawing on the Iberian bridge where a European acquirer is involved.
BRAZIL-CONNECTED ARBITRATION
Your contract has an arbitration clause with a Brazilian dimension. We act as counsel and advise on seat selection — Brazilian, Iberian, or other — with enforcement in mind.
RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT IN BRAZIL
You hold a foreign judgment or award and need to enforce against Brazilian assets. We navigate the STJ recognition procedure and coordinate enforcement through the federal courts.
RECOGNITION OF A BRAZILIAN DECISION IN EUROPE
You hold a Brazilian judgment or award and need to enforce it in the EU. We coordinate recognition in the relevant European jurisdiction, frequently through the Iberian gateway.
ILLUSTRATIVE MATTER
What a Brazil engagement looks like
SECTORS & MATTER TYPES
The Brazil matters we see most
Brazilian matters cluster around inbound investment and cross-border disputes. Cross-border M&A and investment is a major area: European and other foreign acquirers of Brazilian targets, where structuring, regulatory, and antitrust planning are essential given Brazil's complex environment. Agribusiness, energy, infrastructure, and industrial sectors feature prominently given the shape of the Brazilian economy.
A second cluster is arbitration — both Brazil-seated and international proceedings with a Brazilian party — reflecting the maturity of Brazil's arbitration culture. A third is recognition and enforcement in both directions: foreign decisions enforced in Brazil through the STJ, and Brazilian decisions enforced in Europe through the Iberian gateway.
We do not handle Brazilian domestic litigation unconnected to a cross-border dimension, routine regulatory filing, or consumer matters. Our work is the Brazil-connected cross-border transaction or dispute, particularly across the Iberian-Brazilian corridor, that warrants partner-level, Portuguese-fluent attention.
Brazilian matters concentrate in agribusiness, energy and infrastructure, mining and natural resources, and industrial manufacturing — the sectors that attract the foreign investment from which most cross-border Brazilian disputes arise. The scale of Brazilian infrastructure and energy projects in particular generates construction and concession disputes that frequently proceed by arbitration, often with a European counterparty or financier.
A second cluster is arbitration — both Brazil-seated and international proceedings with a Brazilian party — reflecting the maturity of Brazil's arbitration culture. A third is recognition and enforcement in both directions: foreign decisions enforced in Brazil through the STJ, and Brazilian decisions enforced in Europe through the Iberian gateway.
We do not handle Brazilian domestic litigation unconnected to a cross-border dimension, routine regulatory filing, or consumer matters. Our work is the Brazil-connected cross-border transaction or dispute, particularly across the Iberian-Brazilian corridor, that warrants partner-level, Portuguese-fluent attention.
Brazilian matters concentrate in agribusiness, energy and infrastructure, mining and natural resources, and industrial manufacturing — the sectors that attract the foreign investment from which most cross-border Brazilian disputes arise. The scale of Brazilian infrastructure and energy projects in particular generates construction and concession disputes that frequently proceed by arbitration, often with a European counterparty or financier.
HOW COORDINATION WORKS
One partner, one strategy — across every jurisdiction
Brazilian matters are run on our standard coordination model, with the Latin America desk providing native Portuguese capacity and Iberian-Brazilian experience. Brazilian local counsel are engaged and coordinated where local court appearances or Brazil-specific specialist work require it, under the VLO partner who owns the overall strategy.
The Iberian bridge is the distinctive feature: for matters connecting Brazil with Europe, the same partner coordinates both the Brazilian and the European components — rather than splitting the matter between a Brazilian firm and a separate European firm. The partner who structures a Portuguese or Spanish acquisition of a Brazilian target, or who enforces a European award in Brazil, sees both ends of the corridor.
The Iberian bridge is the distinctive feature: for matters connecting Brazil with Europe, the same partner coordinates both the Brazilian and the European components — rather than splitting the matter between a Brazilian firm and a separate European firm. The partner who structures a Portuguese or Spanish acquisition of a Brazilian target, or who enforces a European award in Brazil, sees both ends of the corridor.
OUR APPROACH
How a Brazil matter is run
Brazil rewards arbitration-led strategy, careful navigation of the STJ recognition procedure, and the Iberian bridge for European connections. We scope the Brazilian issues alongside every other jurisdiction in play, deliver a strategy memo with a procedural map and fee structure within five business days, run the Brazilian matter through our Latin America desk with local counsel, and report to you in English.
SCOPING
Map the Brazil issues and any other jurisdictions involved
STRATEGY MEMO
Procedural map, merits, fees — within 5 business days
EXECUTION
Latin America desk leads; local counsel coordinated by VLO
RESOLUTION
Settlement, award, or judgment — reported in English
Daniel Ríos
Matters in Brazil are coordinated through the Latin America desk. For a matter routed to Daniel, use the main contact form — enquiries are routed by jurisdiction and practice area.
PARTNER · LATIN AMERICA
DR
BRAZIL DESK LEAD
WHY VLO FOR BRAZIL
What we bring to a Brazil matter
Brazil is Latin America's largest market and rewards counsel who understand both its arbitration-led commercial culture and the specific procedures — notably STJ recognition of foreign decisions — that govern cross-border enforcement. Its ordinary litigation is slow, its regulatory environment complex, and its recognition regime particular; each rewards planning and punishes a casual approach.
VLO's value in Brazil is a Portuguese-fluent, Iberian-experienced partner who coordinates the Brazilian and European ends of a matter as one — using the Iberian bridge that links Brazil's legal and linguistic culture with the EU. The partner who handles the Brazilian side understands the European side, and vice versa.
For clients operating across the Brazil-Europe corridor, this means one accountable, Portuguese-fluent relationship for matters that would otherwise require coordinating firms on two continents, with transparent fees and the discretion sensitive matters require.
VLO's value in Brazil is a Portuguese-fluent, Iberian-experienced partner who coordinates the Brazilian and European ends of a matter as one — using the Iberian bridge that links Brazil's legal and linguistic culture with the EU. The partner who handles the Brazilian side understands the European side, and vice versa.
For clients operating across the Brazil-Europe corridor, this means one accountable, Portuguese-fluent relationship for matters that would otherwise require coordinating firms on two continents, with transparent fees and the discretion sensitive matters require.
PARTNER OWNERSHIP
Brazil is handled as part of the wider strategy, not as an isolated engagement.
CROSS-BORDER COORDINATION
TRANSPARENT FEES
Confidential by default. No press without explicit consent.
DISCRETION
FREQUENTLY ASKED · BELGIUM
Common questions about Brazil matters
How are foreign judgments and awards enforced in Brazil?
Yes. Brazil has developed a strongly pro-arbitration stance over recent decades, with a supportive judiciary, mature institutions, and São Paulo as an established arbitral centre. Given the length of ordinary Brazilian litigation, arbitration is the forum of choice for most significant commercial contracts.
Is Brazil arbitration-friendly?
Why involve the Iberian bridge in a Brazilian matter?
Arbitration avoids much of the delay of ordinary litigation and is the preferred forum for significant commercial matters. Where litigation is unavoidable, interim measures and settlement leverage become more important. We build the realistic timeline into strategy from the outset.
Brazilian litigation is said to be slow — how do you manage that?
Do you work in Portuguese?
Yes. We coordinate recognition of Brazilian judgments and awards in the relevant European jurisdiction, frequently through the Iberian gateway given the close ties, and the subsequent enforcement.
Can you enforce a Brazilian decision in Europe?
RELEVANT PRACTICES IN BRAZIL
How we help in Brazil
Mergers & Acquisitions matters with a Brazil dimension.
Litigation & Arbitration matters with a Brazil dimension.
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments matters with a Brazil dimension.
RELATED JURISDICTIONS
Matters in Brazil often connect with