Former Peixoto & Cury partners launch Martins Villac Advogados

Six former partners of Peixoto & Cury Advogados have opened a new law firm in São Paulo, Brazil, entitled Martins Villac Advogados. The firm focuses on complex, strategic cases, both in advisory and litigation, and specializes in labor, tax, civil/commercial, real estate, corporate, M&A, and media/advertising.

The partners ─ Jose Ricardo de Bastos Martins, Andre Villac Polinesio, Rafael Villac Vicente de Carvalho, Carlos Eduardo Dantas Costa, Renato Vilela Faria, and Renato de Oliveira Valenca ─  have worked together for over two decades.

"The fact that we have known each other for so many years and are already aligned in our daily work means that the firm is born with a fine-tuned synergy among all its areas of expertise, which work seamlessly and in a multidisciplinary manner," explains Andre Villac.

In addition to the six partners, the legal team also consists of eight other professionals. Let’s meet the partners:

Jose Ricardo de Bastos Martins: With over 30 years’ experience in corporate law, M&A, and contracts, Jose Ricardo’s expertise includes advising national and international companies in domestic and cross-border transactions. He is a member of the ethics committee of the Brazilian Association of Advertising Agencies (ABAP). He has worked as a foreign consultant in New York at the international law firms Sidley Austin and Stairs Dillenbeck Finley. He has a bachelor’s degree from Universidade de Sao Paulo and a master’s in business law from the University of New York.

Andre Villac Polinesio: A 20-year veteran of the Brazilian labor-law scene, Andre Villac has specialized in advisory and labor-union-related matters, providing expert opinions and handling complex issues for national and multinational clients. He earned his master’s in labor law from the Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo (PUC-SP).

Renato de Oliveira Valenca: With nearly 25 years of practice, Renato’s focus lies in the areas of entertainment, corporate law and M&A, as well as leading the practices of privacy and data protection, handling strategic cases. His previous experience includes working as an international consultant in New York at the law firm Stairs Dillenbeck Finley.

Carlos Eduardo Dantas Costa: With almost 20 years’ experience in labor law, Carlos Eduardo’s practice is primarily centered on advisory work, collective bargaining, and strategic litigation. He is a professor of labor law at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas de Sao Paulo (FGV-SP) and has a master’s degree from the Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo (PUC-SP). He serves as a state counselor and is president of the labor law commission at the Brazilian Bar Association, Sao Paulo Section.

Rafael Villac Vicente de Carvalho: Active for more than a decade and a half in corporate law and M&A, real estate, as well as media and entertainment, Rafael Villac obtained a bachelor’s degree from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie and a master’s in banking, corporate, and financial law from Fordham University. Licensed to practice law in New York, he has worked as a foreign consultant at Stairs Dillenbeck Finley and Patterson Belknapp Webb & Tyler, both in New York, and he is one of the coordinators of the corporate law committee at CESA.

Renato Vilela Faria: With over 20 years’ experience in tax law, Renato specializes in advisory work, focusing on national and cross-border taxation issues, corporate restructuring, structured real-estate transactions and accounting matters. He has served as a substitute judge at the Tax and Fees Tribunal of São Paulo (TIT-SP). He is also a professor of tax law in undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as well as at the Brazilian Institute of Tax Law (IBDT), of which he is a member.