Lawyers in Brazil – Dr. Mauricio Ejchel

A. Overview of the Brazilian Legal System

Brazil’s civil-law framework is organised under the Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988 and legislation enacted within the constitutional allocation of powers. Federalism does not mean that each state maintains its own independent civil or procedural code: the Union has legislative competence over subjects including civil, commercial, criminal, procedural and labour law, while concurrent and local powers operate in other fields. Articles 18, 22, 24 and 30 of the Constitution explain that distribution.

Statutory analysis must also take account of judicial interpretation. In civil proceedings, Articles 926 and 927 of the Código de Processo Civil require consistency in case law and observance of the decisions and precedents specified there. A professional assessment therefore cannot stop at translating a statutory provision; it must establish the applicable rule, relevant authority and factual setting.

Practice areas such as family, corporate, labour, tax and international legal work describe different bodies of knowledge, documentation and procedure. An international dimension may cut across several of them. A business acquisition, for example, may require distinct corporate and tax advice; a family matter may require coordination between counsel in more than one jurisdiction. The subject and the work to be performed should determine the team.

B. Importance of Legal Services

Under Article 1 of Lei nº 8.906/1994, legal consultancy, advice and direction fall within the activities reserved to the legal profession; judicial representation is also regulated, subject to the applicable legal exceptions. The lawyer’s task encompasses explaining rights and obligations, identifying legal exposure, preparing instruments and advising on the available means of resolving a disagreement.

That work can be preventive as well as contentious. Reviewing a proposed agreement before signature, identifying regulatory requirements or examining the legal consequences of an intended transaction may alter the options available later. Where a dispute has arisen, negotiation, mediation and litigation require different decisions about authority, evidence and cost. Legal assistance supports those decisions without guaranteeing compliance, settlement or a favourable judgment.

A. Assessing Legal Needs

A useful instruction identifies the desired legal result, the countries connected with the matter and any existing proceeding or deadline. The immediate assignment might be to evaluate jurisdiction, review documents, negotiate an instrument or take an urgent procedural step. Those are different engagements, even when they arise from the same underlying problem.

Recommendations, professional websites and directories can help establish a preliminary list. The next step is to examine the individual lawyer’s registration and relevant practice, rather than treating the visibility of a firm as proof of suitability. The separate guide Brazilian Legal Services: How to Locate the Right Lawyer addresses the assessment of candidates in greater detail.

B. Initial Consultation

Before arranging a meeting or call, clarify whether the consultation is chargeable, what documents will be reviewed and what the discussion is intended to produce. Provide the names of the relevant parties so that possible conflicts can be assessed, together with enough information to identify any urgent issue. A consultation should not be assumed to include a filing, ongoing monitoring or acceptance of the full matter.

The discussion should test both substantive understanding and the proposed working relationship. Ask who will be responsible, which information is still missing and how the lawyer distinguishes an available remedy from a realistic assessment of its prospects. Article 9 of the OAB Código de Ética e Disciplina requires clear information about the risks of the client’s claim and the consequences of proceedings. An explanation of uncertainty is part of that professional responsibility.

C. Considerations for Non-Brazilian Clients

Language arrangements should be precise. Confirm who will communicate with the client, in which language advice will be delivered and whether translations are intended for understanding or for official use. In civil proceedings, Portuguese is mandatory, and foreign-language documents must satisfy the translation requirements in Article 192 of the Código de Processo Civil. Fluency in conversation does not remove those procedural requirements.

Experience with international clients is useful when it produces clear coordination: an explanation of the Brazilian procedure, an agreed method for obtaining instructions across time zones and identification of questions that require advice elsewhere. Cultural familiarity can support communication, but it does not establish competence in the law of another country or permit assumptions about a client’s objectives based on nationality.

D. Fee Structure and Engagement

A fee proposal may use a fixed amount, time-based charging or a result-related component, subject to the governing professional rules. The meaningful comparison concerns the work covered, the payment trigger and the treatment of expenses, additional stages and any separately awarded fees. Articles 48–50 of the Código de Ética e Disciplina regulate the content and moderation of fee arrangements, including the limits applicable to quota litis agreements.

Article 48 recommends a written services agreement identifying the object, fees, payment arrangements and extent of the representation. This should be distinguished from the power of attorney authorising specified acts. Article 5, § 4, of Lei nº 8.906/1994 expressly allows legal consultancy and advice without a mandate or a formal fee contract; a written record remains valuable for defining what has been agreed. How to Retain a Lawyer in Brazil examines the practical terms of engagement and authority to act.

A. Legal Education and Licensing

Article 3 of Lei nº 8.906/1994 reserves the exercise of advocacy in Brazil and the professional designation advogado to persons registered with the OAB. A law degree or success in the Exame de Ordem is therefore not, by itself, evidence of current authority to practise. Article 8 establishes the admission requirements, including the recognised law qualification, examination, civil capacity, compatibility, moral suitability and professional undertaking, with the statutory qualifications applicable to each requirement.

For a Brazilian or foreign applicant whose legal education was obtained abroad, Article 8, § 2, requires revalidation of the foreign qualification as well as compliance with the remaining admission requirements. The official Cadastro Nacional dos Advogados, accessible through the OAB’s digital services, is the appropriate starting point for checking registration details. Where an entry or professional status requires clarification, the relevant Conselho Seccional should be consulted.

The territorial organisation of registration also matters. Article 10 provides for principal registration at the professional domicile and supplementary registration where practice becomes habitual in another section; the statutory judicial threshold is intervention in more than five cases per year in that territory. This is distinct from the competence of a particular court and does not turn a state registration into a universal licence abroad.

B. Ethical and Professional Standards

The Estatuto da Advocacia and the OAB Código de Ética e Disciplina govern independence, conflicts, candour towards the client, confidentiality and accountability. The duty to explain risks coexists with the lawyer’s responsibility to determine the professionally appropriate conduct of the matter and explain the chosen strategy. Articles 9–11 and 19–21 of the Code are relevant to that relationship.

Professional confidentiality is protected by Articles 35–38 of the Code, including the rules concerning lawyer–client communications and exceptional just cause. It should not be presented as an unlimited assurance that every disclosure is lawful or that information may be circulated without regard to its purpose. Collaboration with other advisers requires attention to what is shared, with whom and on what basis.

The OAB exercises disciplinary authority under the Estatuto, including Article 70, through the competent professional bodies and the applicable procedure. A complaint, an adverse review and a final disciplinary determination are different forms of information. Each must be assessed according to what it actually establishes.

C. Role in Legal Proceedings

The lawyer may analyse the legal position, prepare contracts and opinions, negotiate terms and represent the client within an authorised mandate. In civil litigation, Articles 103–105 of the Código de Processo Civil distinguish representation by an OAB-registered lawyer from the powers that must be expressly granted for particular acts. Authority to negotiate does not dispense with the specific powers required to conclude a procedural settlement.

Court representation also involves evaluating evidence and procedural alternatives, responding to developments and explaining decisions that require the client’s instructions. The scope of an engagement should identify whether it includes appeals, enforcement or separate proceedings. A general description such as “representation in Brazil” does not, without further definition, explain all the professional work or costs contemplated.

D. Collaborative Approach

Accountants, translators and other specialists may contribute to a matter alongside legal counsel. Their participation should have a defined function, a clear allocation of fees and an appropriate basis for access to documents. Coordination is an operational arrangement; it does not merge distinct professional qualifications or remove the lawyer’s duties of independence and confidentiality.

Professional networks and associations can facilitate the identification of advisers and exchange of knowledge. Their existence should be distinguished from proof of a particular collaboration, authority to represent a client or competence in a foreign legal system. Where another lawyer will take responsibility for part of the work, the client should understand that lawyer’s role and the relevant engagement arrangements.

A. International Law Firms

An international instruction may be handled by Brazilian counsel coordinating with a foreign firm, by a local team with relevant language capacity or through another professionally permissible arrangement. The client should identify the person and entity actually engaged, the lawyers responsible for Brazilian advice and the arrangements for work abroad. The name of a network or an office location does not answer those questions.

Brazil also regulates a separate category of consultants in foreign law. Under Article 1 of OAB Provimento nº 91/2000, the relevant OAB authorisation permits consultancy in the law of the professional’s country or state of origin; it does not authorise Brazilian-law advice or judicial representation, including through a Brazilian lawyer as a means of overcoming those prohibitions. A foreign consultant’s status must not be confused with full admission as a Brazilian advogado.

B. Specialised Legal Work

International clients may need assistance with immigration or residence questions, cross-border investments, acquisitions, corporate arrangements or family matters connected with Brazil. Those descriptions identify possible assignments, rather than establish that every internationally oriented practice undertakes each of them. The professional’s actual experience, available team and agreed responsibility should be examined for the particular instruction.

Multilingual support is similarly a matter to confirm. A firm’s ability to receive enquiries in a language does not necessarily establish who will analyse the matter, prepare documents or attend proceedings. The working arrangements should connect the language service with the substantive advice and the people who will provide it.

C. Coordinated Work Across Disciplines

A law office may bring together different legal practice areas and coordinate external tax, accounting or regulatory expertise. That does not create an unrestricted multidisciplinary professional business. Articles 15 and 16 of Lei nº 8.906/1994 govern lawyers’ professional entities and exclude non-lawyer partners and activities foreign to advocacy from those entities. Article 8 of OAB Provimento nº 205/2021 also restricts linking or jointly advertising legal services with other activities, subject to its stated exception.

The practical benefit of coordination lies in identifying which adviser is responsible for each conclusion and how the work fits together. An instruction involving legal, tax and operational questions should record the boundaries of each service, the information needed between advisers and any additional appointment required. A broad service description cannot substitute for that allocation.

Choosing legal assistance in Brazil requires attention to professional authority, the substance of the assignment and the organisation of the relationship. Registration, an intelligible scope and clear communication provide the basis for evaluating a proposed service. Cross-border coordination adds a further question: which properly authorised professional is taking responsibility for each jurisdiction and each part of the work?

This overview concerns the Brazilian framework. The requirements for advice or representation in another country must be established under the rules applicable there. The institutional website for information about Dr. Mauricio Ejchel and MF Ejchel International Family Law is www.internationallawyerbrazil.com.