Practices

Based on years of experience, the lawyers of SAS skillfully handle a wide range of litigations involving the Federal Government, State Governments, Municipal Governments and foreign governments, as well as disputes under a variety of complex regulatory schemes.

Our group brings substantial expertise in regulatory issues, such as: antitrust, aviation, communications, defense and homeland security, anti-discrimination law, public-private partnerships, education, energy, environmental law, financial institutions, governmental contracts, health and pharmaceuticals, patent law, transportation, ports, among others.

When engaging a specialized service in the field of arbitration, the client seeks an experienced and creative professional. The specialized training, the experience and the versatility of the lawyers from SAS account for the achieved successful results when handling with the diverse areas of arbitration which demand flexibility and low cost solutions for disputes, as well as the avoidance of delays that often occur in a judicial proceeding.

This comprehensive vision reflects in SAS´ understandings that no arbitration case is like another. Each mediation and arbitration hearing must be studied individually in order to produce the best results for the participants. The wealth of experience in these processes and the aptitude for the success render our professionals worthy of the respect and confidence of our clients.

SAS team is highly qualified for the advisement of Brazilian and foreign companies in all aspects of banking and capital markets, representing both clients listed as creditors and as debtors.

In the field of ​​banking and capital markets, SAS represents important local and foreign companies in obtaining and granting loans, issuing shares and debt securities, restructuring debts, public offerings and banking practices in general.

Our goal is to offer the best legal solution to our clients, adapting international practices to the Brazilian legislation, optimizing the security package and the tax impact.

With extensive experience in Judicial or Extrajudicial Recovery of businesses, SAS is prepared to participate in all stages of the recovery process: preliminary assessment of the conditions of the company, analysis of its possibilities in the medium and long term, use of emergency measures which guarantee the running of the operation, development of the recovery plan, negotiation with creditors, and participation in meetings. The extent of our presence creates favorable conditions for the effective recovery of the company.

We promote the recovery of companies in financial difficulties with capacity to overcome this temporary condition, providing consultancy and legal audit in the process, discussing aspects such as banking, contractual, procedural, corporate, capital markets, tax, social security, labor and civil liability. Due to the participation of specialists of different areas, we are able to advise Creditor´s committees and to give support to the insolvency administrator, for the adequate conduction of the work.

Carbon markets have created a new commodity that can be negotiated. We are close to our clients for the development of strategies to manage their exposure to this new scenario.

SAS´ actions are focused on the perspectives offered by future market developments and also on the operational support in negotiations. We identify opportunities in the financial intermediation and in the development of the carbon credit and advise our clients in the design of the emissions trading systems and respective approvals.

SAS represents a diversified range of national and international clients with operations in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Our clients admire us for our ability to identify relevant issues, formulate legal strategies to get the best result, and skillfully defend our position.

We have small, medium and large companies as clients. Manufacturers, franchisors  and other leading companies across the country in the chemical, energy, financial services, healthcare, life sciences, real estate, pharmaceutical, retail, communications and technology sectors.

In each individual case, we identify the underlying business issues and their implications, and then we plan a course of actions to achieve the best result for the client. Not rarely, these steps result in a differentiated course of the case, which ultimately reveals itself much more consistent, meeting the interest of the client and therefore greatly increasing the perspectives for a favorable outcome. Our professionals possess the flexibility and agility required for the perception and introduction of new directions and lining up the legal strategies in order to achieve the best result and skillfully defend their own positions.

SAS´ experience in dealing with complex cases - including multidisciplinary disputes of utmost importance - either as plaintiff or as defense attorney is responsible for its presence in all the Courts: State, Federal and Superior, such as STJ (Superior Court of Justice) and STF (Supreme Court of Justice). The strong commitment to practical results and to the satisfaction of our clients is a consequence of privileging the understanding and the solution of issues.

In recent decades, new technologies have revolutionized the way businesses are conducted in Brazil and worldwide. Currently, most companies depend heavily on computers in their business operations and rely on the internet as support for electronic communication and commerce. The explosive growth of the Internet and computer technologies has raised legal concerns for traditional businesses. Moreover, this development lifted technology companies to a significant business sector, which requires legal expertise.

SAS has vast knowledge in advising computer and technology companies in all their legal needs. We have great experience and operate in a wide range of activities, including the areas of technology, such as: e-commerce contracts, relationship policy development, privacy policies development and online information use, advisement on customer complaints via social networks and complaint websites.

SAS´ lawyers cover the entire spectrum of corporate transactions important for the companies in today's global market. Due to our consistent volume of high complexity transactions, we developed a broad overview of issues that confront business organizations and also an ability to generate new and creative solutions.

Emphasizing teamwork, SAS summarizes the areas of expertise needed to support a top notch practice for the benefit of our clients.

SAS accumulates remarkable knowledge by representing emerging technologies companies in all aspects of their businesses - including the formation, acquisition and protection of intellectual property, financing of venture capital and private equity, mergers and acquisitions and public offerings.

The representation of emerging technologies companies cannot happen without the understanding of the parameters inherent to a bold and innovative technology. Thanks to this perception, our attorneys offer a competent consultancy able to protect companies, their intellectual property and agreements.

In the energy sector, Brazil has a vast and promising field to elevate it to the status of powerhouse. However, with the recurrent changes in laws and regulations, opportunities need to be studied and the risks assessed.

Also in this area, SAS develops valuable work to assist clients to identify the most fruitful partnerships for each situation, estimating risks and creating all necessary contractual structure.

The global strengthening of ecological awareness and the concern for the environment have forced companies to change the profile of their operations. The initiatives of sustainable businesses, such as the emissions trading of clean and renewable energy utilization sources, are gaining ground in the markets around the world. Corporate programs for the preservation of the environment have been rewarded with subsidies and tax incentives; on the other hand, stricter accountability standards and high penalties due to infractions have amplified their impact, causing not only loss of public trust, but also criminal responsibility.

Aware of its commitment to clients, SAS guides the companies about the risks and opportunities, as well as advising in relation to environmental laws and regulations.

Brazil is emerging as a future economic powerhouse on the international stage and attracting, therefore, investors’ attention. To compete and succeed in the challenging economic scenario of our country, foreign companies need to navigate with ease through a set of rules and policies of international, domestic and local trade in continuous evolution.

SAS has an outstanding record of success in advising companies as it relies on broad knowledge, both in laws and in the economic and political environment, which guarantees us the privilege to provide effective strategies to the investors involved.

The competence of SAS comprises the assistance to the sophisticated needs of a wide and diverse client bases in Brazil and the world, through counseling of a wide margin of international affairs, including cross-border tax planning, mergers and acquisitions, customs, import/export issues and related matters. We also represent foreign companies developing businesses in Brazil and Brazilian companies investing abroad.

SAS adopts innovative methods of operation by counting on the services of an international network of lawyers and accountants capable to provide quick answers to practical international matters. The agility to furnish such services is a significant part of the success in the projects of its clients.

SAS has extensive experience in a wide range of corporate matters, advising Brazilian and foreign clients, in international transactions, infrastructure sectors (oil and gas, energy, ports and logistics), mining, steel industry, real estate, pharmaceutical industry, healthcare, insurance, education, financial institutions and agribusiness.

We provide services in the different stages and aspects of mergers and acquisitions, representing companies, private equity funds, pension funds, executives, members of boards of directors and special committees, investment banks, financial institutions and many investors. Our work covers, among other activities, the conduction of legal audits and the preparation of the contractual paperwork relevant to the business.

Our goal is to maximize positive results for our clients through a pragmatic approach, combining practical experience and creative strategies that meet the nuances of each representation.

Our attorneys perform multiple representations: prospective buyers interested in acquiring assets, debtors, creditors' committees, secured and unsecured creditors, investors and firms of bank investments and restructuring in the entire country.

Our international structure allows us to offer a solid cross-border practice, leading us to always seek solutions that meet the regional and global needs of our clients, ranging in the context of legal systems in which they are based, as well as in the legal systems in which they intend to invest.

SAS offers a range of legal services to clients that develop businesses related to mining and logistics. We cover the entire life cycle of a mining project: structuring of investments for the development of projects, raising of capital and financings, acquisition of assets and corporations, crisis management and conflict resolution.

SAS assists its clients with proficiency in relation to regulatory and environmental issues, including the obtaining and evaluation of mining titles and permits needed for the rehabilitation of mining areas.

SAS provides advisement on all matters related to labor law with respect to the individual as well as collective labor relations, with a focus on prevention.

Regarding individual rights, our attorneys are experts in preparing employment contracts for key employees of the company, policies and guidelines, termination of agreements in complex cases and adequate prevention and solution of conflicts generated by individual claims. With respect to the collective labor relations, our professionals provide ongoing advice on collective negotiations and on collective labor conflicts. In this context, we have conceived and negotiated a number of collective bargaining agreements successfully, overcoming complex conflicts.

Such results emerge from the recognized competence of our lawyers in labor litigation matters, achieved through the planning and argumentation of the defense for our clients.

Our firm provides national and international companies with extensive tax consultancy and tax planning, as well as representing them in administrative and judicial tax proceedings.

The success of our actions is driven by our experience in all levels of taxation - federal, state and local – and also by our great reputation in international taxation. The focus of the office is to assist its clients in a practical way to solve highly complex tax ​​issues.

Always monitoring the socioeconomic transformations and also the needs of its clients, SAS assists companies that operate in social movements based on the concept of social responsibility, known as “Third Sector”. The services provided in this area comprise legal advice and counsel related to the creation and maintenance of private foundations, nonprofit civil societies, NGOs, Non-Governmental Organizations of Public Interest and Social Organizations, production and revision of Bylaws of nonprofits entities, monitoring for the obtainment of the registry of philanthropic and Public Interest entities, fundraising for Social Projects, cultural and artistic projects, based on the Rouanet Law and on Estate and Municipal laws that offer tax incentives.