Szazi, Bechara, Storto, Reicher e Figueirêdo Lopes Advogados (SBSA)

In the market since 2002, Szazi, Bechara, Storto, Reicher e Figueirêdo Lopes Advogados (SBSA) is a pioneering law firm dedicated to the Third Sector. As a firm specialized in nonprofit law, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, and social enterprises, it advises prominent international and local civil society organizations, such as foundations, endowment funds, associations, charities, research centres, museums, schools, hospitals, philanthropists, religious institutions, and social movements, among others.

The firm’s +300 clients operate in various fields, such as human rights, social protection, education, research & development, environmental protection, sports, culture, health, local development, and several others. The firm also advises leading national and foreign companies that value their social role, especially those aligned with ESG practices and B-Corps, and public bodies, which have - or want to implement - partnerships with civil society organisations.

As a Third Sector full-service firm, it has the largest team in the country fully dedicated to the field, with thirty professionals, where the seven partners are also scholars, with more than forty books published on the matter.

The firm delivers comprehensive services, steering its clients through the confusing net of federal, state and local laws, providing tailored and practical solutions drawn upon decades of hands-on expertise and real-world experience in Governance and Corporate Law; Tax Incentives and Exemptions; Contractual, Civil and Commercial Law; Voluntary and Employment Law; Regulatory and Public Law; Environmental Law, International Law; Human Rights, Corporate Compliance, Digital Rights, ESG, Impact Business and more, ensuring innovative and efficient legal solutions.

Its team's expertise goes beyond traditional legal advice because the firm’s attorneys actively contribute to enhance the legal landscape for organizations, being involved in articulation, consultancy, and advocacy for the enactment of laws affecting civil society organisations and human rights. None of the laws aimed at the Third Sector since 1990s have been enacted in Brazil without the firm’s partner’s personal and direct involvement in advocacy efforts. One may quote, for example,their prominent roles in the formulation of Law 9.790/1999 (OSCIPs Law), Law 13.019/2014 (Regulatory Framework for Civil Society Organizations - MROSC) and Decree 11646/2023 (the National Impact Economy Strategy ENIMPACTO). In 2023, it is quotable the firm’s involvement in the Constitutional Tax Reform (EC 132) when, advising advocacy groups, a constitutional tax exemption for grants and bequests to civil society organizations was obtained. At international level, the firm’s partners worked in the Brazilian contributions to the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities in 2006. They are also, currently involved in the IFR4NPO project, an initiative to develop the world’s first Internationally Applicable Financial Reporting guidance for non-profit organisations (www.ifr4npo.org).

The firm “walks the talk” and it is enormously proud of its diversity. Most of its partners are women, it practices gender pay equality and its team of lawyers comprises people with disabilities and expresses gender, ethnic-racial, sexual, and religious diversity. The firm values sustainability by offsetting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) generated by the offices and lawyers’ travels, being certified by SOS Mata Atlantica Foundation and Totum Institute. The analysis considered parameters such as electricity consumption, land, and air transportation, and "fugitive emissions" from air conditioning use. The firm also cares for the work environment through practices that avoid discrimination, harassment, and constraints. In internal relations, hiring and relationships with stakeholders, the firm respects diversity in its broadest sense and repudiate all forms of discrimination. In 2018, the firm consolidated its longstanding practices and values through a Compliance Program, Integrity Policy and Code of Ethics and Conduct. Its diversity practices allowed it to be shortlisted as outstanding firm on the “Diversity & Inclusion – Chambers Brazil Awards 2024” and granted it the 2021 and 2023 Gender Equality Seal of the main national association of law firms (the CESA - Centre for the Study of Law Firm Societies). The firm has also been nominated as a finalist in the 2022 edition of the Leader’s League Brazil’s Legal Summit, in the category of “Best Diversity and Inclusion Practices” and “ESG”.

The Brazilian market is experiencing a growing demand for tax litigation, administrative disputes in public funding for charities, and the defence of people with disabilities. Besides that, the search for non-profit organisations to become aligned with impact businesses has grown, as well as companies looking to develop their ESG practices and carbon market initiatives. In addition, many innovation startups and science and technology institutions have sought consultancy for the most varied issues. These trends allow the firm to use its partner’s roles as legal scholars to reach successful outcomes in cases setting patterns for further court rulings on the matters. They are available at the firm’s website: www.sbsa.com.br.

In the legal market since 2002, Szazi, Bechara, Storto, Reicher e Figueirêdo Lopes Advogados (SBSA) is a pioneering law firm dedicated to the Third Sector. As a firm specialized in nonprofit law, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, and social enterprises, we advise prominent international and local civil society organizations, such as foundations, endowment funds, institutes, associations, charities, research centres, museums, schools, hospitals, philanthropists, religious institutions, and social movements, among others.

The firm’s +300 clients operate in various fields, such as human rights, social protection, education, research & development, environmental protection, sports, culture, health, local development, and several others. Besides that, the firm also advises leading national and foreign companies that value their social role, especially those aligned with ESG practices and B-Corps. We also advise public bodies, which have - or want to implement - partnerships with civil society organisations.

As a Third Sector full-service firm, we have the largest team in the country fully dedicated to the field, with thirty professionals, where the six partners are also scholars, with more than 30 books published on the matter.

The firm delivers comprehensive legal services, steering its clients through the confusing net of federal, state and local laws, providing tailored and practical solutions drawn upon decades of hands-on legal expertise and real-world experience in Governance and Corporate Law; Tax Incentives and Exemptions; Contractual, Civil and Commercial Law; Voluntary and Employment Law; Regulatory and Public Law; Environmental Law, International Law; Human Rights, Corporate Compliance, Digital Rights, ESG, Impact Business and more, ensuring innovative and efficient legal solutions.

Our team's expertise goes beyond traditional legal advice since we actively contribute to enhance the legal and institutional landscape for organizations in Brazil, being involved in articulation, consultancy, and advocacy for the enactment of laws affecting civil society organisations and human rights. It may sound presumptuous but none of the laws aimed at the Third Sector since 1990s have been enacted without our partner’s personal and direct involvement in advocacy efforts. We quote, for example, firm’s partners prominent roles in the formulation of Law 9.790/1999 (OSCIPs Law), Law 13.019/2014 (Regulatory Framework for Civil Society Organizations - MROSC) and Decree 11646/2023 (the National Impact Economy Strategy ENIMPACTO). Further we quote the recent Constitutional Tax Reform (EC 132) when, advising some advocacy groups, we obtained constitutional tax exemptions for grants and bequests to civil society organizations. At international level, we worked in the Brazilian contributions to the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities in 2006. Currently, we are involved in the IFR4NPO project, an initiative to develop the world’s first Internationally applicable Financial Reporting guidance for non-profit organisations (www.ifr4npo.org).

Our firm “walks the talk” and is very proud of its diversity. Most of our partners are women, we practice gender pay equality and our team of lawyers comprises people with disabilities and expresses gender, ethnic-racial, sexual, and religious diversity. Our firm values sustainability by offsetting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) generated by the offices and lawyers’ travels, being certified by SOS Mata Atlantica Foundation and Totum Institute. The analysis considered parameters such as electricity consumption, land, and air transportation, and "fugitive emissions" from air conditioning use. The firm also cares for the work environment through practices that avoid discrimination, harassment, and constraints. In internal relations, hiring and relationships with stakeholders, the firm respects diversity in its broadest sense and repudiate all forms of discrimination. In 2018, the firm consolidated its longstanding practices and values through a Compliance Program, Integrity Policy and Code of Ethics and Conduct. Our diversity practices allowed our firm to be shortlisted as outstanding firm on the “Diversity & Inclusion – Chambers Brazil Awards 2024” and granted us the 2021 and 2023 Gender Equality Seal of the main national association of law firms (the CESA - Center for the Study of Law Firm Societies). We have also been nominated as a finalist in the 2022 edition of the Leader’s League Brazil’s Legal Summit, in the category of “Best Diversity and Inclusion Practices” and “ESG”.

We have been experiencing a growing demand for tax litigation, administrative disputes in public funding for charities, and the defence of people with disabilities. Besides that, the search for non-profit organisations to become aligned with impact businesses has grown, as well as companies looking to develop their ESG practices and carbon market initiatives. In addition, many innovation startups and science and technology institutions have sought consultancy from the firm for the most varied issues. These trends allow the firm to use its partner’s roles as legal scholars with several books and articles in the field to reach successful outcomes in cases setting patterns for further court rulings on the matters. They are available at the firm’s website: www.sbsa.com.br.

In the legal market since 2002, Szazi, Bechara, Storto, Reicher e Figueirêdo Lopes Advogados (SBSA) is a pioneering law firm dedicated to the Third Sector. As a firm specialized in nonprofit law, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, and social enterprises, we advise prominent international and local civil society organizations, such as foundations, endowment funds, institutes, associations, charities, research centres, museums, schools, hospitals, philanthropists, religious institutions, and social movements, among others.

The firm’s +300 clients operate in various fields, such as human rights, social protection, education, research & development, environmental protection, sports, culture, health, local development, and several others. Besides that, the firm also advises leading national and foreign companies that value their social role, especially those aligned with ESG practices and B-Corps. We also advise public bodies, which have - or want to implement - partnerships with civil society organisations.

As a Third Sector full-service firm, we have the largest team in the country fully dedicated to the field, with thirty professionals, where the six partners are also scholars, with more than 30 books published on the matter.

The firm delivers comprehensive legal services, steering its clients through the confusing net of federal, state and local laws, providing tailored and practical solutions drawn upon decades of hands-on legal expertise and real-world experience in Governance and Corporate Law; Tax Incentives and Exemptions; Contractual, Civil and Commercial Law; Voluntary and Employment Law; Regulatory and Public Law; Environmental Law, International Law; Human Rights, Corporate Compliance, Digital Rights, ESG, Impact Business and more, ensuring innovative and efficient legal solutions.

Our team's expertise goes beyond traditional legal advice since we actively contribute to enhance the legal and institutional landscape for organizations in Brazil, being involved in articulation, consultancy, and advocacy for the enactment of laws affecting civil society organisations and human rights. It may sound presumptuous but none of the laws aimed at the Third Sector since 1990s have been enacted without our partner’s personal and direct involvement in advocacy efforts. We quote, for example, firm’s partners prominent roles in the formulation of Law 9.790/1999 (OSCIPs Law), Law 13.019/2014 (Regulatory Framework for Civil Society Organizations - MROSC) and Decree 11646/2023 (the National Impact Economy Strategy ENIMPACTO). Further we quote the recent Constitutional Tax Reform (EC 132) when, advising some advocacy groups, we obtained constitutional tax exemptions for grants and bequests to civil society organizations. At international level, we worked in the Brazilian contributions to the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities in 2006. Currently, we are involved in the IFR4NPO project, an initiative to develop the world’s first Internationally applicable Financial Reporting guidance for non-profit organisations (www.ifr4npo.org).

Our firm “walks the talk” and is very proud of its diversity. Most of our partners are women, we practice gender pay equality and our team of lawyers comprises people with disabilities and expresses gender, ethnic-racial, sexual, and religious diversity. Our firm values sustainability by offsetting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) generated by the offices and lawyers’ travels, being certified by SOS Mata Atlantica Foundation and Totum Institute. The analysis considered parameters such as electricity consumption, land, and air transportation, and "fugitive emissions" from air conditioning use. The firm also cares for the work environment through practices that avoid discrimination, harassment, and constraints. In internal relations, hiring and relationships with stakeholders, the firm respects diversity in its broadest sense and repudiate all forms of discrimination. In 2018, the firm consolidated its longstanding practices and values through a Compliance Program, Integrity Policy and Code of Ethics and Conduct. Our diversity practices allowed our firm to be shortlisted as outstanding firm on the “Diversity & Inclusion – Chambers Brazil Awards 2024” and granted us the 2021 and 2023 Gender Equality Seal of the main national association of law firms (the CESA - Center for the Study of Law Firm Societies). We have also been nominated as a finalist in the 2022 edition of the Leader’s League Brazil’s Legal Summit, in the category of “Best Diversity and Inclusion Practices” and “ESG”.

We have been experiencing a growing demand for tax litigation, administrative disputes in public funding for charities, and the defence of people with disabilities. Besides that, the search for non-profit organisations to become aligned with impact businesses has grown, as well as companies looking to develop their ESG practices and carbon market initiatives. In addition, many innovation startups and science and technology institutions have sought consultancy from the firm for the most varied issues. These trends allow the firm to use its partner’s roles as legal scholars with several books and articles in the field to reach successful outcomes in cases setting patterns for further court rulings on the matters. They are available at the firm’s website: www.sbsa.com.br.