The São Paulo State Government forwarded to the State Legislature Draft Bill No. 659/2017, which provides for the corporate reorganization of Companhia de Saneamento Básico de São Paulo – SABESP (São Paulo Basic Sanitation Company).

The 1973 Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure (“1973 CCP”) adopted as a general rule the service of process via mail, according to article 224, as amended by Law No. 8,710/93. This rule resulted from a change made in the previous system for communicating procedural acts, which provided for service of process through court official.

The recovery of the Brazilian economy necessarily requires resumption of industrial activities and investments in large infrastructure projects. It is not difficult to conclude that an essential condition for this goal is the agile and direct access to financial resources, both in the traditional debt markets, led mainly by the National Economic and Social Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social) (BNDES), and in the capital market, which was essentially marked by issuances of infrastructure debentures (a type of notes or bonds) (Law No. 12.431/2011) over the last years.

Brazil's Attorney-General has requested the full suspension of the law dealing, inter alia, with urban and rural land regularization (Law No. 13,465/2017), arising from Provisional Presidential Decree No. 759/2016 and addressed in the e-book "Inovação, celeridade e aumento de eficiência: o que muda no mercado imobiliário com a Lei nº 13.465/17" ["Innovation, speed, and increased efficiency: what changes in the real estate market with Law No. 13,465/17"]. The petition for an injunction was filed in Direct Action of Unconstitutionality ADI No. 5,771, filed on September 1.

Companies involved in asset acquisitions need to assess whether or not the transaction should be reported to Cade (the Brazilian antitrust agency). Recent decisions issued by the agency have provided very useful guidelines to conduct this evaluation, which is not always trivial, in view of the vague language of the Antitrust Law (Law No. 12,529/2011) and the lack of specific regulations.

Among its main pillars, the Labor Reform sought to a) clarify controversies regarding the concept of time at the disposal of the employer; b) give greater autonomy to workers; c) debureaucratize some mandatory procedures for companies; and d) strengthen and encourage collective bargaining, the much-publicized principle of "negotiations over legislative mandates”.