Following a recession that started at the end of 2014, the brazilian economy had a terrible 2015. Inflation rates hit 10%, while unemployment reached 9%. To make matters worse, after many popular demonstrations and revelations of political scandals, president Dilma Rousseff faced an impeachment process that resulted in the transfer of the nation's highest executive functions to vice president Michel Temer. Brazil's legal market, which is one of the world's biggest, has been heavily affected by these political and economic events, even as it witnesses many changes in its own field.
[…] Others think the arrival of foreigners would actually favour the exchange of legal knowledge and management skills. The vast majority of registered lawyers operate as sole practioners or in small office structures – usually involved exclusively in domestic matters. Some others are big, full service firms, like BMA, Pinheiro Neto, Mattos Filho or Machado Meyer, that split their practice between domestic and international work with an effective presence abroad.
Celso Costa, Managing Partner at Machado Meyer Sendacz Opice Advogados, one of the major law firms in Brazil. He looks back on what has been a hectic year for the country and gives his interpretation of the early signs of recovery.
(Leaders League - Top 100 Law Firms – 2016 Edition – p. 47-51)
