Cavalcanti Sion Advogados

Managing Partners: Dora Cavalcanti and Paula Sion
Senior Partners: Luiza Ferreira, Gabriel Holtz, Raquel Scalcon and Cristiane Costa
Number of partners: 6

Firm Overview:
Cavalcanti Sion Advogados was founded in October 2018, following a merger between the team led by Dora Cavalcanti, who has over 25 years of experience in Criminal Law, and her long-term partner Paula Sion. The sum of their solid experience and legal skills has created a boutique law firm focused on the most complex and up-to-date challenges in Criminal Law. The firm's founding partners are among the most renowned criminal and white-collar attorneys in Brazil, have extensive experience in major criminal cases and have achieved positive results based on their combative and innovative approach to criminal representation. The firm provides representation and consultancy to companies as well individuals in all areas of Criminal Law, including cases all over Brazil and some with cross-border repercussions, supported by a wide network of partner firms and correspondent attorneys. The consultancy services includes legal opinions, case strategy studies and assistance producing criminal compliance policies.

Main Areas of Practice: 

White Collar & Criminal
The firm focuses primarily on Corporate Criminal Law and represents foreign and domestic companies from a wide range of sectors. It has extensive experience liaising with legal and infrastructure departments to help serve each company’s specific requirements. Cavalcanti Sion provides representation at all stages of a case, including the investigative and judicial phases, to provide the best possible defense. The firm file appeals and constitutional submissions, including habeas corpus and writs of mandamus, and its attorneys have acted as counsel in cases before the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) and the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and are aware of all the most recent positions from all of the Superior Courts. Additionally, the partners are frequently involved in jury trials, which are the essence of Criminal Law and where oral argument is paramount. The firm has also vast experience in assisting criminal prosecutions and supporting state or federal prosecutors to help bring offenders to justice and obtain compensation.

Our Criminal Law practice represents clients in crimes committed within the corporate environment and involves, among others:

■ Bankruptcy
■ Free competition and bid-rigging
■ Consumer relations
■ Frauds
■ Environment
■ Money laundering
■ Social security
■ Corruption
■ Public health
■ Tax
■ Anti-corruption investigations and compliance

Languages:
Portuguese, English

Clients
Cavalcanti Sion represents clients from a wide range of industries such as banking and capital markets, civil construction and infrastructure, medical and healthcare, technology, agribusiness and oil and gas. It is important to highlight that under Brazilian Criminal Law, prosecutions are always brought against individuals except in cases involving environmental crimes. This means that even in cases involving corporate crimes, the firm is predominantly focused on the individual involved.

Profile Dora Cavalcanti
Dora Cavalcanti has over 25 years of experience in Criminal Law, with extensive background in a wide variety of challenges defending her clients and in higly complex cases over those years. Dora has vast experience in cases involving international cooperation and is regularly recognized by well-known international publications including Chambers Latin America, Who’s Who and Leaders League. She holds a bachelor´s degree in Law from the University of São Paulo (USP).

Dora is the founder and director of the Innocence Project Brazil, which is committed to exonerating people who have been unfairly convicted and improving the Brazilian criminal justice system. She is also one of the original board members of the Institute for the Protection of the Right to a Defense (IDDD), institution which she helped to create in 1990 and which main focus is to increase access to justice and reinforce people’s right to a fair hearing. Dora aims to increase women’s involvement in criminal advocacy and is a regular speaker at related events and congresses in Brazil and overseas. She stood as a candidate for the OAB/SP presidency in 2021.