Brazil Practice

Anti-Corruption

• We represented the Odebrecht Group in connection with what the U.S. DOJ has described as “the largest-ever global foreign bribery resolution.” The criminal resolution resulted from a multi-jurisdictional investigation (Brazil, U.S., Switzerland) arising out of the Lava Jato Operation and involved $788 million in illicit payments to Petrobras officials, Brazilian politicians, and public officials in 12 countries on three continents.  We helped Odebrecht obtain a global fine of less than half of the minimum provided for under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and later negotiated a 20% reduction in the amount owed to the U.S.  Our efforts provided the company with much-needed additional liquidity, staving off financial collapse and bolstering the chances of a return to prosperity.
• We represent the largest meat producer in the world, JBS S.A., its controlling shareholder J&F Investimentos, and J&F’s ultimate shareholders Joesley and Wesley Batista in ongoing criminal investigations and civil suits arising out of the Lava Jato and other corruption investigations around the world. Prior to the companies’ engagement of Quinn Emanuel, Brazilian prosecutors, acting unilaterally, imposed a fine of more than R$ 10.3 billion (approximately US$ 3.2 billion), the largest corporate fine for corrupt activity in history.
• We were counsel to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of BTG Pactual S.A. – one of Latin America’s largest investment banks – in connection with an internal investigation regarding alleged bribery of Brazilian government officials.
• We represent the CONMEBOL in connection with U.S. criminal investigations and prosecutions into allegations of bribery and corruption in the international soccer world. On May 27, 2015, the U.S. unsealed a 47-count criminal indictment in the Eastern District of New York, charging 14 defendants with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies in connection with the defendants’ alleged participation in a long running scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer.  The criminal indictment alleges that high-level soccer officials abused their positions to solicit bribes from sports marketing companies.  The DOJ announced a superseding indictment on December 3, 2015, which charged 16 additional defendants, including several past and current CONMEBOL officials.  Among the additional charges in the superseding indictment are a bribery scheme implicating many top CONMEBOL officials relating to the sale of broadcasting rights to the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores and a scheme by an Argentinian sports marketing company to obtain various rights properties by paying bribes to three Central American soccer officials to cause them to exert their influence in favor of the company.
• We are counsel to FIFA in connection with U.S. and Swiss criminal investigations into allegations of bribery and corruption in the international football world.  As noted in the New York Times, U.S. law enforcement authorities have described the investigation as “one of the most complicated international white-collar cases in recent memory.”
• One of our partners represented the Government of Brazil in a corruption matter involving former senior government officials and multiple jurisdictions. The Legal 500 highlighted the case, and the Financial Times called it a “landmark” multi-jurisdictional representation.

Cross-Border Civil Litigation

• We represented multiple plaintiffs including PIMCO Funds, Western Asset Management, Boeing, Roche, Guardian Life, and Kuwaiti Investment Authority in essential federal securities claims concerning the multi-billion dollar kickback and bribery scandal involving Petrobras and its affiliates, alleged to have caused $30 billion in damage to Petrobras and its securities holders. After less than a year of litigation, we achieved successful settlements for each our clients as part of $353 million in matters and settlements announced by Petrobras.
• We have represented Odebrecht in connection with civil litigation flowing from its criminal exposure. We recently won a complete dismissal of all claims against Odebrecht in a civil suit in Washington, D.C. seeking over $200 million in damages stemming from Odebrecht’s participation in the massive Petrobras bribery scheme that has sent shockwaves through Brazil. In a second civil matter, we obtained a complete dismissal of securities fraud claims against Odebrecht for lack of personal jurisdiction and inadequate control person allegations. 
• We represented Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (“CSN”), a large Brazilian steel company, in a lawsuit against its former Chief Financial Officer in the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York for conversion and declaratory judgment relating to CSN’s ownership interest in International Investment Fund (“IIF”).  After a two-week trial, and after deliberating for just three hours, the jury awarded CSN a complete victory.  The verdict brought CSN’s three-year dispute with the former executive to a conclusion and affirmed that the approximately $500 million of assets at the center of the dispute belong to CSN.

Bankruptcy And Restructuring

• We represented Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Herrmann Telles, and Carlos Alberto Sicupira —three of Brazil’s most prominent businessmen—in opposing a request for rule 2004 discovery from a creditor of Americanas SA in Americanas’ chapter 15 filing in SDNY Bankruptcy court. We successfully defeated the application, resulting in no discovery of our clients or their entities, and facilitating approval of Americanas’ restructuring plan in Brazil.
• We represented OAS – a Brazilian company involved in engineering, construction, and infrastructure – in three parallel cases in New York federal courts.  OAS is in the midst of a judicial restructuring in Brazil, and certain U.S. creditors sued over allegedly fraudulent transfers (among other things) in U.S. courts in an attempt to circumvent the consolidated Brazilian restructuring proceedings. 

International Arbitration

• We represented Sete Brasil Participações S.A., Brazil’s largest maker of ultra-deep drilling rigs, in a number of disputes arising out of Brazil’s largest corruption scandal in history.
• We represented a Brazilian holding company part of a large Brazilian conglomerate in recognition and enforcement proceedings of a Brazilian Award under the Federal Arbitration Act.  The action in the United States is coupled with a pre-judgment writ of attachment due to the debtor’s continued attempts to hide his assets in Brazil and the United States.
• We represented Vinci Partners in a dispute governed by AAA arbitration involving hundreds of millions of dollars in assets in South America and we obtained a favorable outcome for our client.
• We represented a prominent Brazilian businessman in a dispute against a major U.S. healthcare company over breaches of a Share Purchase Agreement subject to an ICC arbitration clause. We were able to help our client leverage discovery pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 (which allows U.S. discovery in aid of foreign proceedings) as part of an overall international litigation and arbitration strategy.
• We represented one of Brazil’s wealthiest businessmen in a dispute against a major Brazilian telecommunications company in proceedings related to an ICC arbitration in Paris.
• We represented the controlling shareholders of a consortium responsible for building one of Brazil’s largest thermoelectric power plants in an ICC arbitration against a European manufacturer.
• We represented Renova Energia S.A., a major Brazilian renewable energy company, in a CCBC arbitration against a U.S. energy company over misrepresentation, breach of express warranties, and violations of federal and state securities laws.