29 August 2011
Law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP has opened an office in São Paulo, Brazil with about 10 attorneys focusing on international securities offerings, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments and project financing,
The office is to be led by Stephen Hood and James Vickers, who joined David Polk from the São Paulo office of Mayer Brown earlier this year.
Hood’s practice focuses on corporate, infrastructure and project finance as well as cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Vickers focuses on much of the same, including energy project financing. The office’s leadership team will be filled out by Manuel Garciadiaz and Maurice Blanco.
Davis Polk is only one U.S.-based global law firm looking for a piece of Brazil’s economy. New York City and Washington D.C.-based Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton opened an office there earlier this month and DLA Piper has opened a Miami office and partnered with Campos Mello Advogados, which maintains offices in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
As U.S. law firms look to formalize their Brazilian presence, Brazilian firms have sought to limit their operations.
Last year the São Paulo chapter of the national bar association (OAB-SP) argued formal alliances between foreign-trained and local lawyers were against its rules, and confirmed that opinion in February, according to a report in The Economist.
Though foreign firms are crying protectionism and Brazilian lawyers seem to be trying to keep carpetbagger attorneys from flooding the country, all are after a piece of of the booming business sector.
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in late 2010 served as issuer’s counsel for the state-owned oil giant Petrobras’ record $76 billion public stock offering.