IEL Elite
Highly recommended national practice
Overview
The employment department at Pinheiro Neto is a bilingual team that specialises in employer-side representation.
The department prides itself on being a strategic partner for businesses, and particularly foreign or multinational entities requiring local guidance.
Luís Antônio Ferraz Mendes leads the São Paulo-based group. Thais Galo and Maurício Fróes Guidi are other names of note.
Owing to the firm’s full-service offering, the group is able to pool expertise from a variety of specialists – including corporate and tax – to offer complete, 360-degree support to clients.
Specialisms
The team is well placed to assist with a variety of consulting issues. This includes executive compensation, outsourcing, salary and benefits structures, and in-house policy reviews.
As part of this, it regularly advises on corporate transactions – including the restructuring or layoff of staff, or due diligence and investigations into undisclosed liabilities.
Its incentives practice covers bonuses, stock options, restricted stock units, and profit-sharing plans.
The team is also regularly involved in high-stakes litigation, including administrative and judicial proceedings. This further encompasses defence in public civil actions filed by the labour ministry, and individual or collective labour claims filed by employees or trade unions.
Members of the team are also adept at assisting with investigations launched by the labour ministry, as well as acting for employers on the defence of infraction notices issued by regional authorities.
Further areas of activity include collective bargaining and corporate immigration.
Profile provided by Pinheiro Neto
Pinheiro Neto’s labour and employment practice comprise an experienced team of professionals exclusively focused on corporate labour cases. The team is always abreast of the most recent legal stands and court precedents.
The practice encompasses complex restructurings, reductions in force, outsourcing, incentive and benefit plans, executive compensation, pension and insurance plans, cross-border employment matters, development of employment agreements, inbound and outbound expatriates, compliance investigations, preparation of employer policies and manuals, non-compete and trade secrets, collective bargaining with trade unions, support for M&A and capital market transactions, and more.
The practice works in close coordination with clients’ legal, financial and human capital departments to find the best legal options for all high-stakes labour and employment issues, discussing creative solutions and building procedural defences. With a bespoke approach, the partners are deeply committed to the client’s goals, being present throughout all states of the cases.
In addition, the firm has a strong foot in litigation, representing clients in administrative and judicial proceedings, as well as in arbitration. Based on a value assessment made in all cases to determine the advisability of litigating or proceeding with the case, the team focuses on sophisticated mandates that may have significant impact on clients’ image and finances. Regardless the amount involved, we are retained for cases involving relevant and strategic matters, having a strong track record at the labour courts.