With more and more foreign companies entering Brazil comes an increased need for foreign law firms to establish bases in the country. Though Brazil does not allow foreign firms to acquire Brazilian firms, many Brazilian firms engage in close partnerships and strategic alliances with international firms.
“In Brazil, the partners of a law firm must be Brazilian partners,” says Joaquim Muniz, a partner at Brazilian firm Trench, Rossi e Watanabe, which is associated with the US firm Baker & McKenzie. “So what you see more and more is having associations between foreign law firms and Brazilian firms. But that’s normal in global markets. Brazilian companies are doing a lot of business abroad, so it’s normal that a Brazilian law firm would team up with a large international firm.”
