Wald, Antunes, Vita e Blattner Advogados

Founding Partners: Arnoldo Wald, Alexandre de Mendonça Wald and Arnoldo Wald Filho

Partners: Mariana Tavares Antunes (São Paulo), Marcus Vita Ferreira (Brasília), and Marina Gaensly Blattner (São Paulo)

Number of other lawyers: 41

Firm Overview:

Wald, Antunes, Vita e Blattner Advogados is one of the most efficient and dynamic Brazilian law firms, providing personalised legal services to clients in Brazil and abroad. The firm is headquartered in São Paulo and has offices in Rio de Janeiro and Brasília. The firm was founded in 1954 by Prof. Dr. Arnoldo Wald, along with his sons, Alexandre de Mendonça Wald and Arnoldo Wald Filho and it is currently managed alongside three other partners: Mariana Tavares Antunes (São Paulo), Marcus Vita Ferreira (Brasília), and Marina Gaensly Blattner (São Paulo).

The firm is a highly specialised boutique, concentrated on strategic legal counselling. Known for providing its clients with tailor-made services, the firm is focused in multifaceted areas of disputes in both public and private affairs, such as: civil, commercial, administrative, banking, international, antitrust and corporate law, as well as disputes relating to infrastructure (telecommunications, energy, gas & oil, sanitation, transport and aviation). In addition, Wald, Antunes, Vita e Blattner Advogados manages and brings to resolution conflicts concerning regulatory bodies such as ANP, ANATEL, ANEEL and CADE.

The firm also represents public utilities companies in disputes involving contracts entered with the State and State entities. In the past years the firm acted in relevant cases, for example, by having a key role on reaching a settlement between banks and depositors from Brazil’s hyperinflation period after several years of litigation within national courts. It was the biggest settlement among banks and depositors in the country’s history, which provided an effective solution for over 1.5 million savers and several financial institutions. The firm also figured as judicial administrator in the biggest judicial reorganisation of Latin America, concerning a debt of almost R$ 66 billions.

Moreover,Wald, Antunes, Vita e Blattner Advogados pioneered in having a department specialised in national and international arbitrations, what allowed the firm to represent clients in important national and international arbitration and mediation procedures throughout the years. Its lawyers are experienced counsellors, mediators, legal experts and consultants in proceedings before Brazilian and foreign arbitral institutions (ICC, AAA/ICDR, LCIA and UNCITRAL). One of the team’s most recent highlights regards the defence of the port authority of Santos, Brazil’s biggest and most relevant port, in the first public arbitration involving the Federal Government as party, discussing contractual obligations involving billions of reais.

For many years, the firm and its managing partners have appeared among Brazil’s first tier litigation and arbitration firms, as well as leading individuals in several specialised publications, such as Latin Lawyers 250, Chambers Latin America, The Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal. Recognised as a leading firm in its field, the firm won the 2019, 2018, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2009 and 2008 ‘Latin Lawyer Deal of the Year’, due to its outstanding work in some of the major dispute resolution cases and M&A deals. In 2014 and 2015, the firm ranked first and second, as the ‘Dispute’s Boutique Law Firm of the Year’ from Revista Análise Advocacia, and was also elected the ‘Best Litigation Boutique – 2016’ by Business Worldwide Magazine.

Main Areas of Practice:

Litigation:

The firm’s litigation department is specialised in various areas, private or public, such as disputes over civil, commercial, administrative, banking, international, corporate, competition and tax law, environmental, infrastructure (telecommunications, energy, sanitation, transport and aviation), among others. Throughout a 68-year history, the firm consolidated its role in the resolution of high-profile disputes, such as the economic plans, the restructuring of the Brazilian Foreign debt, the economic and financial balance of administrative contracts, corporate conflicts involving the country’s largest companies, patents, environmental and competition issues. In the administrative litigation field, the firm represents public service concessionaires before regulatory agencies, notably in the infrastructure sector, to enforce agreements or review their terms, in administrative processes for non-compliance with obligations, or even to challenge previously held bids.

Arbitration & Mediation:

The firm has a department specialised in arbitration and mediation. Its lawyers work as counsels, arbitrators, mediators, legal experts and consultants in proceedings before Brazilian and foreign arbitral institutions (ICC, AAA/ ICDR, LCIA and UNCITRAL). Furthermore, the firm’s practitioners represent clients in state court proceedings related to arbitration. One of the team’s most recent highlights regards the defense of the port authority of Santos, Brazil’s biggest and most relevant port, in the first public arbitration involving the Federal Government as a party, discussing contractual obligations involving billions of reais. Regarding mediation, the firm has a leading role in the construction of mediated solutions to matters with significant economic impact, such as corporate recovery cases and the Brazilian economic plans. It has worked recently on a successful mediation that ended with the first agreement in a concentrated constitutional control suit before the Brazilian Supreme Court.

Administrative, Regulatory & Infrastructure:

The firm’s practice covers regulated industries such as energy, telecommunications, gas, oil, airlines, toll road concessions and pharmaceuticals, representing them before several government agencies, as well as representing their interests in lawsuits that aim to set aside these administrative bodies’ rulings. Having assisted both domestic and international clients throughout the privatisation process and relying on extensive practice and experienced lawyers with knowledge of varying regulatory regimes, the firm has a comprehensive understanding of the complex issues emerging in these industries. The firm also has significant experience advising clients in administrative, judicial and arbitration proceedings commenced against these agencies, in public procurement procedures in general, publicprivate partnerships and public utilities companies.

Commercial/Corporate:

The firm’s lawyers have been active in both domestic and cross-border transactions and private equity practice, representing foreign and multinational corporations, financial institutions and other organisations on a full range of specialised services. Lately, the main focus has been on solving disputes brought before judicial and arbitration courts.

Debt Restructuring & Bankruptcy:

The firm has vast experience in advising and representing both debtors and creditors in debt reorganisations and also acts in corporate recovery and bankruptcy cases, as lawyers or judicial administrator/liquidator. It is actually working as the judicial administrator of the biggest reorganisation case in Brazil regarding a telecommunications company.

Banking & Finance:

The firm provides counsel to both companies and financial institutions in transactions of a varied nature, including loaning, acquisition financing and financing of exports, among others. Active in medium-size and large complex litigation proceedings, involving project financing and infrastructure development transactions to create tailor-made structures, both aiming to prevent controversies from arising or to propose a solution after they erupted.

Languages:

Portuguese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish.