Most recent posts in ‘Business Law’

November 23, 2022

According to many, climate change poses the greatest threat to our planet. People across the globe have fought back against it in many ways. But one real estate project in Brazil may hold the key to achieving sustainability on earth while also turning the country into a green superpower.

Cidade Matarazzo

The French investor Alexandre Allard is building a vertical forest and green communal living space in the heart of Sao Paulo, Brazil, which he’s calling Cidade Matarazzo.

It will spread across more than 30,000 square meters and be located next to one of the city’s main transportation hubs. The land had previously been abandoned, and Mr. Allard acquired it in 2008 with the goal of creating the largest green-living community in the world.

When Mr. Allard is finished with the development, the neighborhood will be filled with vertical forests, lush parks, and other natural landmarks designed to serve as a model of what’s possible with a real estate development mindset geared towards sustainability.

How Vertical Forests Help the Planet

The idea of a vertical forest was first achieved by Bosco Verticale – a team of architects based out of Italy. The concept is to take a standard highrise apartment building and transform it with large amounts of sustainable plant life and vegetation integrated on the roof of the building and throughout its many terraces.

This helps the planet and those who live on it in a few different ways.

First, the plants and vegetation on a highrise with a vertical forest help to absorb dust from the air, which is omnipresent in cities and bad for people’s health. Second, these plants help to absorb much of the CO2 emissions that humans create while living their daily lives.

The net result is that people who live in these highrise vertical forests end up offsetting a good portion of the harm that they cause to the planet’s atmosphere. A single vertical forest won’t solve climate change. But if this becomes the standard apartment building design moving forward, it’ll be a massive step in the right direction.

How This Might Change Brazil

Mr. Allard’s project is ambitious, with an investment budget of nearly 3.5 billion reais. He hopes that this development will change Brazil for the better in a few ways.

For starters, Brazil has long been defined by the raw resources that it exports to other countries. This might be the first step in allowing more of the country’s citizens to benefit from the many wonderful natural resources that Brazil possesses.

Mr. Allard argues that Brazil is well-positioned to become a green superpower given its abundant natural resources in the Amazon and outside of it. The question becomes how Brazil uses those resources moving forward.

Cidade Matarazzo is a prime example of how Brazil can take what it possesses naturally and use it to benefit its own citizenry instead of depleting those natural resources and shipping them abroad.

The future is impossible to predict. But Alexandre Allard’s big real estate investment is a major step in the right direction towards Brazil fulfilling its destiny of becoming a green superpower.

February 1, 2022

Perfect Year to buy Property

The Brazilian currency has never been as favorable to international investors as of now. From a parity of 1:1 back in 2004, a US dollar now buys around 5.5 reais.

The fact that the Brazilian economy is going through painful adjustments also has caused the number of real estate properties to increase substantially. All factors combined, this is certainly a market highly favorable to buyers, which is why a record number of foreigners are buying real estate in Brazil.

Many of our clients are selling properties and investments in other markets to increase their real estate portfolios in Brazil. And, you can learn how to buy properties in Brazil by yourself, or you can hire one of our conveyance lawyers to fully represent you. If you want to learn more about the many opportunities in Real Estate in Brazil at this time, contact us at:

Schedule Consultation
[email protected]
+55-11-4349-1915 Brazil
+1-214-432-8100 USA

January 3, 2021

Why choose a Brazilian Lawyer

Any major new law is going to be combed over from every angle to make sure it is fully understood. That is currently happening with the new anti-corruption legislation that was passed in Brazil and became effective last year.

The law establishes a comprehensive system of liability for individual and corporate acts of corruption against Brazilian and foreign public officials or governmental bodies. It will affect any organization that conducts business directly or indirectly in Brazil—whether through an employee, independent contractor, subsidiary or as part of a supply chain.

A recent article from Mondaq broke down the law and pulled out some important information that any international employer needs to know.

“The anti-corruption law applies to companies, regardless of their corporate or legal form, whether foreign or domiciled in Brazil, and whether the unlawful act is committed within or outside Brazilian territory,” the article reads. “Civil liability extends to the entity’s directors, officers, employees and agents who commit, participate, or aid in the commission of the unlawful act, whether the act is performed in Brazil or abroad.”

The piece added that any company that has or is looking to expand and have a global reach, whether it is direct sales or as part of a supply chain, would be wise to seek out Brazilian lawyers or international legal counsel. Once acquired, companies need to consider implementing a corporate compliance program that will take into account all major anti-corruption laws to ensure the business is compliant.

Considering opening a subsidiary in Brazil. Contact us today to learn how we can help you register a company in Brazil!

February 3, 2018

Brazil data privacy laws

Privacy and government interaction with social media have been major topics of concern, especially since the NSA leaks. Now, these policies are gaining more attention in Brazil.

The Brazilian government has already enacted the first set of regulations around data and internet governance. Known as the “Internet Constitution,” or Marco Civil da Internet, the document aims to establish the rights and duties of Brazilian citizens, the government and businesses regarding internet use. It has been in the works since 2009 but has been fast tracked since the U.S. spying news broke in July.

Now, according to a ZDNet article, Facebook and Google are expressing concerns because of recent proposed amendments. The main issue revolves around a requirement that all data be stored locally. A Facebook spokesman said this addition is an “enormous technical challenge” and could cause problems for the Brazil’s internet service.

William Beer, a security expert at consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, warned that this move would complicate an already difficult landscape.

“[The Brazilian government] needs to be very careful as there are a lot of datacenter-related issues already, such as the high cost of electricity, access to skills and even the temperature, which makes it expensive to run those facilities in Brazil,” Beer said. “Then if you add regulation that will present further obstacles, companies might end up moving their IT operations to other South American countries where the rules are not so strict.”

Beers went on to say that this law could be voted on as a knee-jerk reaction to the privacy issues in the U.S. before it is actually ready to be implemented in Brazi

August 29, 2013

Cuban doctors examined by prosecutors

Getting health care to every citizen is complicated, especially for those in the poor and remote areas of a country. However, some areas are answering this challenge by thinking outside the box. Brazil, for example, has partnered with Cuba to bring 4,000 Cuban doctors and other medical personnel to these areas when it became clear that Brazilian doctors only wanted to work in cities and not in the remote areas of the country.

According to a recent article from the Miami Herald, the first 400 professionals under the Mais Medicos (More Doctors) program will begin arriving on Friday and cost the Brazilian government more than $200 million.

However, the move is not official yet as the agreement needs to be reviewed for possible violations of the Brazilian labor laws and regulations.

“After we analyze the documentation, we will take the required steps … because already there are some visible irregularities,” José de Lima Ramos Pereira, chief prosecutor in the labor fraud section of the Office of the District Attorney was quoted as saying in Brazilian news media reports.

One issue is that it raises “legal uncertainty” because of the use of the Pan American Health Organization, a Washington-based branch of the World Health Organization, as the go-between for financial transactions between the two organizations. Officials will also be checking to ensure Cuban doctors are not paid below the minimum allowed by Brazilian law.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next several days and weeks as prosecutors comb through the contract.