Latin Lawyer*
8/2/2020
Por – Fredrik Karlsson
L O Baptista restocks disputes practice with hires Silvia Rodrigues Pachikoski, Tonico Monteiro da Silva and André Staffa Neto
L O Baptista Advogados has incorporated two Brazilian firms – giving it two arbitration partners and a corporate lawyer of the same rank – as it continues to form a new, multidisciplinary disputes practice.
The Brazilian Latin Lawyer 250 firm hired arbitration partners Silvia Rodrigues Pachikoski and Tonico Monteiro da Silva, as well as corporate and M&A partner André Staffa Neto on 1 February. The firm now counts 21 partners in total.
Pachikoski and Staffa were previously name partners at RPSN Advogados and have brought their entire firm with them. Monteiro da Silva previously ran his own eponymous boutique, which has become part of L O Baptista. In total, eight associates have joined the firm too.
The new partners bring important experience to the firm. Pachikoski formed part of the Federal Senate’s committee of jurists that helped amend Brazil’s arbitration law back in 2012 and 2013. She works on national and international arbitration proceedings, both as an arbitrator and lawyer. She is currently vice-president of the Arbitration and Mediation Centre of the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce and has previously been president of the São Paulo Chamber for Mediation and Arbitration.
Fellow new partner Monteiro da Silva also advises on litigation. He focuses on construction, insurance and corporate disputes and has represented Brazilian clients in international proceedings in Japan, Singapore, the UK and the US.
The third new partner, Staffa Neto, joins the firm’s corporate and M&A practice. He also brings substantial tax law experience and has previously served as alternate judge in the São Paulo state tax court.
L O Baptista has now refocused its disputes practice, establishing a more multidisciplinary offering that incorporates arbitration, litigation and mediation. “With the recent departure of some partners, the firm had the opportunity to implement a more modern operation and philosophy,” says disputes co-head André Mendes Espírito Santo, clarifying that this approach means more integration between practice areas.
“The ideal solution for any dispute goes through a multidisciplinary approach, which links litigation, arbitration and mediation to the skills of specialists from different areas of business law,” he adds. Espirito Santo co-leads the practice with partner André Camerlingo Alves.
Espirito Santo says Pachikoski and Monteiro da Silva bring experience, competence and a highly technical skillset. “That technical rigour has always been a priority for the firm, so this was crucial for the hires,” he adds. “They are also completely aligned with our new philosophy of acting in a more integrated manner to keep the firm at the forefront of responding to the complexity of the business environment,” Espirito Santo adds.
In addition to the recent hires, the firm has bet on internal talent to reform the practice. It has already promoted André de Martini Menossi and Ulisses Simões da Silva to the senior rank in the disputes group, while partner Fabricio Polido, who joined the technology practice in early 2020, will also be a key partner on disputes related to new technologies, intellectual property, data security and privacy, internet and digital trade law.
L O Baptista’s dispute resolution practice has traditionally been considered among the very best in Brazil. Founder Luiz Olavo Baptista – who passed away in 2019 – was a pioneer of arbitration in Brazil.
Besides disputes, L O Baptista offers solid corporate, administrative, trade and labour advice too.
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