Castelo Branco Advogados

Castelo Branco Advogados Associados has worked for over 60 years in cases of notorious complexity and importance in the criminal area, throughout the Brazilian territory.

With a relevant role in the evolution and transformation of the criminal law landscape in Brazil, we have actively worked towards consolidating the Law of Crimes in the 80s and 90s, had a relevant participation in the largest Federal Police operations in the 2000s – with special prominence and main role in the Mensalão and Lava Jato cases –, and worked on implementing a culture of corporate compliance, defensive investigation and criminal negotiation justice in Brazil.

Our experience and expertize, added to the high specialization and constant professional and academic development of all of our practitioners, enable us to provide highly specialized and personalized criminal law services (both contentious and advisory), to the most renowned national and foreign companies, their executives and employees, often working in close integration with full-service law firms, both national and international.

Castelo Branco Advogados Associados is prepared not only to provide the best legal advice for disputes, but also to work in a preventive and advisory manner, avoiding future litigation and related problems.

In our view, a complete legal assistance is only possible with holistic and multidisciplinary actions, led by a highly technical team that is constantly improving and ahead of the curve. The continuous updates to the national and international legislation, the quick evolution of the Superior Courts' case law and the growing range of oversight bodies demand a deep understanding of different areas of law, with effective and pro-active responses to any matters that may arise.

What we do: 

• We work on the defense of national and foreign companies, as well as of their officers, directors, executives and employees, in all areas of Criminal Law, in the judicial and administrative spheres.

• As advisors, we carry out criminal risk assessments for companies and individuals in a wide range of areas – from M&A transactions to tax, environmental and antitrust matters.  

• We work preventively to build defense strategies, drafting opinions, expert examinations and reports, in preparation to potential future investigations, operations or notifications.

• We oversee administrative proceedings and provide assistance to our clients in Parliamentary Committees of Inquiry, with the negotiation of leniency agreements, plea deals and extrajudicial proceedings.

• We have a vast and consolidated experience working in partnership with national and international full-service law firms, which rely on our known expertise in highly complex cases in the criminal sphere.

Areas of expertise: 

Castelo Branco Advogados Associados works in a comprehensive manner within all aspects of the Law of Economic Crime, considering both implemented and expect changes to Brazilian and international rules, and in line with the most up-to-date case law, theories and strategies, ensuring extremely high rates of success for our clients. We work in cases including (but not limited to) the following crimes:

• Tax and financial

• Antitrust

• Social security

• Environmental

• Electoral

• Against the public authorities

• Against consumer relations

• Digital and privacy-related