Corporate law (also "company" or "corporations" law) is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law (or law of business associations).

Other types of business associations can include partnerships (in the UK governed by the Partnership Act 1890), or trusts (like a pension fund), or companies limited by guarantee (like some universities or charities). Under corporate law, corporations of all sizes have separate legal personality, with limited liability or unlimited liability for its shareholders.

Shareholders control the company through a board of directors which, in turn, typically delegates control of the corporation's day to day operations to a full-time executive. Corporate law deals with firms that are incorporated or registered under the corporate or company law of a sovereign state or their subnational states. Shareholding meetings usually have the presence of Brazilian lawyers and firms representing the most relevant shareholders. The four defining characteristics of the modern corporation are:

• Separate Legal Personality of the corporation (access to tort and contract law in a manner similar to a person)
• Limited Liability of the shareholders (a shareholder's personal liability is limited to the value of their shares in the corporation)
• Shares (if the corporation is a public company, the shares are traded on a stock exchange, such as the London Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, Euronext in Paris or BM&F Bovespa in Sao Paulo)
• Delegated Management; the board of directors delegates day-to-day management of the company to executives

Looking for an experienced Brazil law office to help you with a corporate law case?

Our business law practice areas

Some of the law areas we practice:

• Corporate Law
  • M&A
  • Securities
• Asset Protection
  • Bankruptcy
• Business Litigation
  • Litigation
  • Class Actions
  • Business Investigation
• Commercial
  • Collection in Brazil
• Contracts
  • Breach of Contract
  • Licensing Agreements