PulsoMattos Filho
Collaboration, innovation and excellence continue to underpin our work and our vision for the future. In a year marked by macroeconomic challenges and regulatory shifts, we recorded growth for a fifteenth consecutive year, strengthened client service, invested in our people, and expanded our social impact. See our managing partner's summary of 2025's key milestones and the perspectives that guide our commitment to technical excellence, sustainable growth and long-term vision.
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In memory of Ary Oswaldo Mattos Filho, whose leadership shaped the history of law and whose commitment to education marked generations of students in Brazil.
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Financial
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Fund Social Projects*
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We have led Brazilian firms in the number of Deals of the Year in Disputes since 2009. In 2025, we were awarded Deal of the Year in Capital Markets (for the SABESP privatization deal) and in Disputes (for the BHP, Vale, and Samarco settlement of the Mariana dam disaster).
First place in the M&A Brazil and Private Equity Brazil rankings for transaction volume and number of deals
First place in the M&A Brazil rankings for transaction volume and number of deals announced and closed
Classified as ‘Class-Leading Transactional Titans’
First place in the M&A Brazil rankings for number of deals
Pro
Bono
Institutional
Chambers Brazil Awards
Record for the most Brazil Law Firm of the Year awards. At the 2025 ceremony, we received the highest number of recognitions for areas of practice:
• ESG Law Firm of the Year
• Oil & Gas Law Firm of the Year
• Projects Law Firm of the Year
• Pro Bono: Outstanding Firm
Chambers Global
Brazilian firm with the largest number of Band 1 ranked categories and professionals
We led across the rankings, including total number of recognized practice areas, Tier 1 rankings, and individual lawyer recognitions
The Global 200
The only Latin American among the world’s 200 largest in terms of revenue
• Elite Firm (9th straight year since the publication began)
• Pro Bono Leading Lights
Collaboration Award for a project in partnership with the organization Access Now, which defends and advances vulnerable individuals and communities’ digital rights
Performance
Mattos Filho’s team demonstrates an exceptional skill to adapt and provide innovative solutions to major legal challenges, always seeking precedents and creative ideas to resolve complex issues
Chambers & Partners
The Mattos Filho team is highly available and the service is efficient. The work is personalized, accessible, and they provide an agile service alongside a qualified technical team
Chambers & Partners
The group stands out by directly engaging in complex deals rather than merely offering isolated opinions
Latin Lawyer
80 Recognitions from Chambers and Partners (including 43 Band 1 recognitions)
220 Recognitions from Chambers and Partners
(including 38 Band 1, Star individual and Eminent Practitioner recognitions)
Awarded by six international institutions for our work in six different cases
Mattos Filho’s team demonstrates an exceptional skill to adapt and provide innovative solutions to major legal challenges, always seeking precedents and creative ideas to resolve complex issues
Chambers & Partners
The Mattos Filho team is highly available and the service is efficient. The work is personalized, accessible, and they provide an agile service alongside a qualified technical team
Chambers & Partners
The group stands out by directly engaging in complex deals rather than merely offering isolated opinions
Latin Lawyer
In 2025, Brazil navigated a landscape defined by structural reforms, growing judicialization, and rapid shifts across the labor, environmental, financial, and technology agendas. Against this backdrop, the increased integration of Mattos Filho’s litigation and transactional work enabled more agile, coordinated responses to complex challenges, from the ramifications of Brazil’s tax reforms and disputes in heavily regulated sectors to structuring large-scale projects and transactions.
The steady rise of litigation activity in Brazil fueled a wave of cases centered on dispute resolution over the past year. As a result, our litigation practice continued to anchor the firm, accounting for more than 50% of total revenue, while our transactional practices also gained momentum as deal activity and demand for advisory services picked up.
In this environment, clients placed a premium on efficiency and well-integrated legal solutions – a trend that drove significant transactions even amid high interest rates and heightened financial caution. M&A activity accelerated, particularly in the energy, life sciences, technology, and agribusiness sectors, while capital markets saw a higher volume of tender offers (OPAs) and an increase in reverse IPOs.
Beyond our offices in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasília, we closely track the dynamics of Brazil’s regional markets through dedicated working groups covering Brazil’s South, Midwest, North, and Northeast regions, as well as the state of Minas Gerais. This broad domestic reach ensures we can offer clients highly targeted advice when making important decisions.
International Operations
Mattos Filho’s international practice strengthens global connections and provides solutions to clients around the world who seek to do business in Brazil. In addition to our on-the-ground presence in the United States with our New York office, the firm maintains a series of international desks staffed by specialists who advise companies from countries and regions such as China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Nordic countries, Latin America and the Middle East.
Attuned to the cultural nuances and regulatory characteristics of each market, our international practice is supported by longstanding relationships with local partner firms, organizations, and representative bodies in each region. For nearly two decades, these relationships have underpinned our involvement in strategic key initiatives on the global legal stage and deepened our ties with companies and investors seeking to expand their operations in Brazil.
Strategic Presence in Global Forums
The International Bar Association’s 2025 IBA Annual Conference in Toronto brought together more than 5,000 legal professionals from over 130 jurisdictions. At the event, a delegation of Mattos Filho partners held more than 60 meetings with firms from around the world. Networking opportunities such as these allow us to deepen connections, keep up to date with the latest global legal trends, and identify new avenues for cross-border collaboration.
Beyond the firm’s participation in major global events, in 2025 Mattos Filho sent nearly 40 associates to pursue international graduate programs and internships at leading universities and law firms in the United States and Europe. We also welcomed professionals from Latin American firms, who embedded with our Capital Markets, Corporate/M&A, and Finance teams. These initiatives enrich participants’ academic and professional development, reinforce our international strategy, and broaden our institutional relationships – ensuring ever-greater integration across our legal work.
Our reach extends beyond borders, with strategic international coverage and dedicated desks that provide integrated legal solutions to clients worldwide
Regulatory, economic, and technological shifts shaped Brazil’s business landscape in 2025. We have compiled our partners’ insights into key developments that influenced corporate strategy, highlighting the trends expected to define 2026.
Income Taxation in Brazil
Out-of-Court Reorganization Gains Momentum
Brazil's Superior Courts in 2025
Antitrust: CADE’s Reviews and Investigations
COP30 and the Carbon Market
New Rules on Tender Offers
Data Center Tax Incentives
Tax Reform: Practical Effects Felt as Transition Begins
A New Era for Brazil’s Tax Appeals Court
M&A Market
The Future of Brazilian Labor Relations
Brazilian Infrastructure
Changes to Brazil's Financial System
Investment Funds
Brazil’s Digital Child & Adolescent Statute
In Building Our Business, Governance and Innovation Go Hand in Hand
Governance and innovation go hand in hand at Mattos Filho, forming the foundation that sustains our culture and guides our work in the legal sector. This commitment to innovation opens the door to pioneering practices, facilitates the adoption of technologies aligned with clients’ needs, and reinforces our leading role in social initiatives such as pro bono work.
Our innovation strategy is currently built around three pillars: digital transformation (through deploying targeted technologies across the business), people and culture (equipping our professionals with the training needed to foster an innovation mindset), and the firm’s open innovation program – attix – which over the past three years has connected us to a series of startups and best-in-class technology solutions for the legal sector. Within this ecosystem, we have partnered with the non-profit technology innovation hub Cubo Itaú to create Cubo Legal – a legal hub backed by the firm with the goal of bringing our teams and clients closer to relevant innovation initiatives.
Our tailored approach extends beyond technology. It is reflected in how we develop our talent and strengthen the areas essential to the evolution of the legal sector. This includes both pioneering social initiatives (such as our longstanding pro bono legal practice) and the continued growth of our teams. In 2025, we welcomed a new lateral partner to our Restructuring & Insolvency practice and promoted seven senior associates to the partnership, expanding our capabilities across several strategic fronts.
Information Security-Aligned AI Use
As artificial intelligence (AI) tools continue to advance, we have adopted a dedicated internal policy and controls governing their use. The policy identifies authorized platforms, sets out strict security guidelines, and provides direction on how input data is to be processed.
This initiative is part of a broader effort to modernize and strengthen our information security policies. In 2025, we renewed our ISO 27001 certification (concerning data confidentiality, availability and integrity requirements), reaffirming our commitment to international risk management and information protection standards. We have also updated our internal guidelines to reflect more robust control and prevention practices and have stepped up training and awareness programs for our professionals, reinforcing the ingrained security culture in our internal policies.
Talent Development
At Mattos Filho, we believe in the continuous development of our professionals and invest in initiatives that strengthen their career paths, contributing to both individual growth and the excellence of our firm.
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Jovens Talentos & Soma Talentos
Jovens Talentos & Soma TalentosThe firm’s Jovens Talentos (Young Talents) and Soma Talentos programs – the latter an affirmative action initiative to recruit self-declared black students – saw more than 100 interns join practice areas all across the firm in 2025. These programs serve as the main gateway for law students at Mattos Filho, offering a unique experience that combines personal, academic, and professional development.
During their internships, the students work alongside experienced professionals, receive close mentoring from team leaders, and have access to specialized training designed to accelerate their growth. In addition to competitive benefits, the programs offer the possibility of a permanent hire at the end of the internship, supporting the development of the next generation of the firm’s talent.
- Lawyer Training & Opportunities
- Vacation Internships & Recruitment Fairs
Mattos Filho has advanced its sustainability agenda by joining international climate initiatives such as the University of Cambridge’s Law and Climate Atlas. The firm’s involvement in global forums complements its well-established projects and reaffirms its strategic commitment to climate change mitigation and the integration of sustainable practices into its institutional operations.
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Global Partnerships & Initiatives
In collaboration with the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance, Mattos Filho began contributing to the Law and Climate Atlas, developed by the Hughes Hall Centre for Climate Engagement at the University of Cambridge. This work integrates Brazilian legal analysis on climate change into one of the most significant international academic resources on the subject. The partnership expands the firm’s presence in global debates and brings Brazilian law closer to international discussions on climate.
In 2025, Mattos Filho continued contributing to the Climate Policy Monitor, a University of Oxford-based research initiative that seeks to build the evidence base and capacity needed to promote effective, rigorous, and equitable net zero regulations and policies. This contribution involves mapping and analyzing Brazilian regulations with provisions related to climate change in regard to transition plans, disclosure, public procurement, prudential requirements, methane, and carbon credits.
In addition, Mattos Filho is a member of the Climate Policy Hub’s Advisory Board, reinforcing its strategic role in shaping guidelines and promoting legal practices aligned with the transition to a low-carbon economy.
- Commitments & Coalitions
- Internal Practices
- Circular Economy
A Decade of Promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Ten years ago, a program was born that inspired the legal sector in Brazil. Beyond merely creating affinity groups, Mattos Filho’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program represents a formal commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment where everyone can reach their full potential.
In Brazil, we pioneered the rollout of affirmative action programs to recruit black law students (starting in 2019) and helped mobilize the market by forging alliances in support of racial equity (2018) and gender equity (2023). We have since received multiple awards for our efforts, including international recognition such as Latin Lawyer’s Diversity Firm of the Year on two occasions. Yet even with all the milestones achieved over the last decade, the most meaningful recognition remains unchanged – seeing our professionals increasingly feel they are a strategic part of our institution and are important to the business.
We held Diversity Month in November 2025 to mark these ten years of transformation, featuring initiatives focused on gender and racial equity, as well as LGBTQIAPN+ rights. In São Paulo, we welcomed psychologist Mafoane Odara, who spoke on the theme ‘The New Game of High Performance: Reading the Room, Transparency, and Care in Relationships’. In Rio de Janeiro, Kellen Julio, the Director of Diversity and Content Innovation at Brazilian media outlet Globo, led discussions on the importance of practicing diversity in the workplace, as did lawyers Cainara Guassu and Rute Passos (representing Philip Morris Brasil) in Brasília.
Our professionals also took part in guided tours of the 36th São Paulo Biennial exhibition, highlighting artists and works connected to women and the Black and LGBTQIAPN+ communities.
As part of our effort to promote and broaden access to human rights, the firm updated materials from the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program that were produced over the past 10 years. Click here to find out more (available in Portuguese).
Alliances That Make a Difference
In partnership with other major Brazilian law firms, Mattos Filho serves on the executive secretariat for the Legal Alliance for Racial Equity (Aliança Jurídica pela Equidade Racial) and Legal Alliance for Gender Equity (Aliança Jurídica pela Equidade de Gênero), which reached their seventh and third years of operation respectively in 2025. These movements have been instrumental in promoting meaningful debates within the Brazilian legal sector, particularly regarding the development and retention of black professionals and the advancement of women into leadership roles at law firms.
In 2025, the Legal Alliance for Racial Equity launched an e-book titled Sistematização de Boas Práticas (‘Systematizing Good Practices’), which compiles guidelines for structuring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, as well as affirmative actions to attract, develop, and retain black professionals. The publication serves as a practical guide, built on the real and successful experiences of the Alliance’s members, and seeks to inspire other institutions in the sector to advance their own initiatives.
The Legal Alliance for Gender Equity, in turn, has established itself as a space for reflection and the exchange of best practices to increase female representation in leadership at Brazil’s major law firms. Building on the Minimum Agenda, launched in late 2024, the partners that make up the alliance offered training focused primarily on strategic communication to emphasize the importance of gender equity with different stakeholders. The alliance also discussed how to influence the Brazilian legal sector more broadly, providing visibility to successful, proven initiatives for advancing women into leadership positions.
Systematizing
Good Practices
(Only in Portuguese)
Pro Bono: A Real Impact on Human Rights and Justice
A landmark partnership signed in 2025 between the Fundação Getúlio Vargas Law School (FGV Direito SP) and Mattos Filho’s 100% Pro Bono practice has broadened the practical training available to students while strengthening work on human rights and justice cases before Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF). We filed eleven amicus curiae* briefs last year, including one challenging the invasive medical exams women in Brazil’s armed forces are required to undertake, and another seeking to expand the scope of emergency protective measures under the Maria da Penha Law, a key Brazilian law concerning domestic and family violence against women.
The partnership complements Mattos Filho’s broader pro bono work on access to justice and defending the rights of women, the LGBTQIAP+ community, migrants and refugees, as well as cases involving the criminal courts and ethnic and racial rights.
Mattos Filho and FGV Direito SP reaffirm their joint commitment to preparing professionals who are equipped to advocate for people’s rights and to strengthen democracy.
*‘Friend of the court’ – a third party who provides the court with technical expertise or perspectives in significant cases.
By promoting human rights and strategic litigation at the STF, Mattos Filho’s 100% Pro Bono practice is able to expand its social impact and reinforce the transformative role of law on society. We work with technical excellence and an institutional vision in a way that is fully integrated with the firm’s overall strategy”
Students learn to work collectively, to act in the public interest and to build consistent legal arguments, important qualities for the formation of a good legal professional, concerned with social justice”
Social Investment Policy
In 2025, Mattos Filho’s Social Investment Policy gained traction and sparked widespread interest – more than 260 projects were received from 218 cities across all of Brazil’s five main regions. Launched at the end of 2024, the policy has established a clear and transparent process for supporting social and cultural projects via tax incentives. Part of the firm’s corporate citizenship strategy, the policy is aligned with the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program and 100% Pro Bono practice, reinforcing Mattos Filho’s institutional commitment to creating positive social impact and initiatives that reflect its values.
Supported a show by Ana Cañas as part of a program titled Quintas no Clube do Choro.
Supported a project titled Ocupação Cultural (Cultural Occupation), with support for cultural activities in the complex, including the exhibitions Crivo, a perspectiva de Luisa Strina and Re-Selvagem: Natureza Inventada, by Eva Jospin.
36th Exhibition: Not All Travellers Walk Roads/Of Humanity as Practice, curated by Bonaventure Ndikung and inspired by the works of Brazilian poet Conceição Evaristo.
Supported an exhibition by the Polish-Brazilian artist Frans Krajcberg titled Reencontrar a Árvore (Rediscovering the Tree), a leading reference for ecological art in Brazil.
Supported Brazil's largest Andy Warhol exhibition, which was awarded the 2025 APCA Trophy for best international exhibition of the year (Visual Arts) by the São Paulo Art Critics Association (APCA).
Supported an activity program involving exhibitions, education actions and maintaining the museum's collections.
Supported the Historical Meetings, Osesp Season and Choir programs.
Supported an exhibition titled Pop Brasil: vanguarda e nova figuração, 1960-70, which commemorates 60 years of pop art in Brazil.
Supported the MUJ Repara project, a training program for public and private schools on tackling antisemitism and discrimination.
Supported this institution's activity program, with exhibitions, residencies and actions aimed at democratizing culture in Brazil.
Instituto Mattos Filho
Instituto Mattos Filho (Mattos Filho Institute) is a pioneering, partner-led initiative in the Brazilian legal sector that seeks to promote equality and access to justice.
One of the institute’s key programs is the Access to Justice Challenge (Desafio de Acesso à Justiça), which was run for the seventh time in 2025. The challenge awarded prizes to several institutions for initiatives seeking to guarantee the rights of Brazilian people, such as efforts to include indigenous names in official documents and the fight against forms of domestic work akin to slavery. The five award-winning projects achieved real advances in areas such as racial justice, reproductive rights, police monitoring, and the protection of vulnerable population groups.
The institute also runs a program aimed at disseminating legal knowledge to the public, as well as another based on scholarships and mentoring. Instituto Mattos Filho creates positive social impacts through these initiatives, leading to a freer, more diverse, and more democratic society in Brazil.
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