Arbitration as a means to settle disputes in administrative contracts is an increasingly present reality, especially in structured projects involving concessions and public-private partnerships. Subsequently to the approval of several legal instruments in Brazil about the possibility of using Arbitration in contracts with the Public Administration, an authorizing directive of the instrument began to consolidate little by little, despite some positions contrary to the idea.

The truth is that, currently, Arbitration has consolidated itself as a regular practice in the area of administrative contracts involving the infrastructure sector and it has reached favorable results in the solution of controversies which are subject to the process, especially in the face of issues with high technical complexity, which demand a robust and differentiated production of evidence.

In this segment, Dal Pozzo’s work consists in representing the interests of national and international corporations in arbitration processes involving issues arising from the implementation of public contracts, particularly in the infrastructure sector. When taking on the Arbitration proceeding, the office is in charge of the preparation of all the legal pieces necessary for the straightforward development of the process, as well as for the meticulous production of the evidence needed to fully meet the strategic demands of the concrete case.

Dal Pozzo Law Firm also provides legal advice in the preparation and negotiation of arbitration clauses, putting all its technical knowledge about public contracts in favor of its clients. The partner Augusto Neves Dal Pozzo is part of the list of arbitrators of the prestigious Board of Arbitration and Mediation of the Federation of Industries of the state of Paraná (CAMFIEP).

The establishment of a civil investigation seeks to determine the existence of enough concrete elements that allow for any judicial measures available, such as, a civil public lawsuit or an administrative improbity proceeding.

As anticipated in Resolution 23 of September 17, 2007, from the General Attorney’s Office National Council, the investigation shall be established by means of a Ruling demanding that such facts be investigated. In the context of the state of São Paulo, the matter is disciplined by the Organic Law of the General Attorney’s Office (Complementary Law 734 of November 26, 1993), a legal diploma whose design counted with the active participation of founding partner Antonio Araldo Ferraz Dal Pozzo.

In the context of the civil investigation practice, the office has recognized expertise, working in the client’s defense and conducting any necessary diligences to demonstrate, clearly and undoubtedly, the phatic and juridical situation of the case at hand, so that the rights of the juridical or individual person implicated are duly protected, with the case being filed first by the Prosecution, and subsequently, by its Higher Council.

To do so, it is essential that all documents which, in any way, may be important to clarify the investigation be carefully examined by the office’s technical staff, notwithstanding the production of all evidence necessary in this sphere, which may help to demonstrate that no further judicial measures of responsibility are necessary.

The establishment of the civil investigation can occur by means of a letter from the Court of Audits informing about a possible trial due to irregularities in tenders and administrative contracts. In this particular case, it is fundamental that the whole proceeding running in the Court of Audits be known, so that the office can prepare an adequate defense, which demonstrates effectively the inexistence of any actions that can be object of any judicial recrimination.

The office also has recognized expertise in conducting Terms of Adjustment of Conduct (TAC) of any nature, in order to terminate any investigations based on the assumption of obligations that may be object of potential judicial measures on the part of the General Attorney’s Office.

In the matter of Competition Law, the office provides legal advice to private companies, especially in regards to the defense of their interests in administrative proceedings before the Administrative Council of Economic Defense (CADE), involving acts of concentration, determination of infractions to the economic order (cartel, cartel in bidding, predatory pricing, co-selling, abuse of a dominant position, among others) and the conclusion of lenience agreements.

The work developed by the office has an emphasis in administrative proceedings before the CADE that discuss the typification of infractions to the economic order in the context of companies participating in public bids and engaging with the public administration. The work in this type of demand requires high technical and legal expertise, being one of the points of relevant research of the office in this segment, so as to help companies to mitigate the risks of sanctions and risks to their reputation.

In terms of legal advice, the work of the office is essential to assist companies which contract with the public sector to position themselves in a given sector (when they participate in consortiums and Special Purpose Company) to prevent the configuration of violation of the economic order and, consequently, the heavy penalties anticipated in the anti-competition laws. The elaboration and maintenance of a programs of integrity, with clear rules of compliance, which also constitute important activities of the office, can assist in mitigating risk exposure in terms of administrative penalties.

The work in lawsuits questioning the administrative decisions by CADE is also an expertise of the office, either in relation to the content of the decision, or in relation to CADE’s competence to act in cases regarding tenders and public contracts.

The relationships between individuals and governments, as numerous normative systems arose to fight corruption, have experienced a complete transformation in the past few years. The American System of Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA), the Conventions resulting from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the organization of the United Nations (UN), as well as The Bribery Act of the United Kingdom, have prompted a profound transformation in the mechanisms to act before governments.

In Brazil, all these international efforts to fight corruption resulted in the approval of the so-called Anti-Corruption Law (Law 12.846, on August 1, 2013), which established the conducts that could be typified as detrimental to national and foreign public administration, with the implementation of severe penalties to the respective legal persons. Therefore, this normative instrument, paired with other pieces of legislation previously existing in Brazil about accountability, such as the Law of Administrative Improbity, inaugurated a complex system to determine administrative responsibility.

Dal Pozzo Law firm, at the forefront of this movement, by means of its founding partners together with two other valuable members of its technical staff, published the first work about the theme in Brazil in order to understand this new normative system in depth, and offer its customers the best expertise in the matter. Due to its success, the book is already in its second edition.

All this knowledge has brought a unique expertise to the office, and it has allowed the office to offer its clients — who engage in relationships with the Public Administration — an effective and complete system of compliance and integrity programs to prevent conducts harmful to the Public Administration (national and foreign), therefore reducing the risks of accountability to its clients.

The work of the office also involves the production of manuals for internal conduct, adapting the standards of integrity to the reality of each Corporation, creating internal mechanisms of self-cleaning and specific procedures to detect potential harmful conduct.

Still in the sphere of consulting, the firm has experience in conducting negotiations and concluding agreements for leniency with the competent authorities, sometimes necessary to preserve assets involved in public contracts in execution and, with this, safeguarding the interests of the legal person affected.

The office defends the interests of private companies when the administrative proceeding of accountability (PAIR) has already been started by the Public Administration. The office prepares all the defense measures necessary promptly, therein included the production of evidence paramount to cause the case to be permanently closed.

In the judicial sphere, the brilliant litigation team of the Dal Pozzo Law Firm is qualified to offer the best defense strategy to be used in the case at hand, by means of strict and efficient procedural steps, so as to meet the objectives established for that particular case.

Dal Pozzo Law Firm has recognized expertise in matters involving the complex issue of concessions, with a broad range of action, from the conception of the model to the legal issues arising from contract execution, always respecting the legislation governing concessions and the respective sectoral legislation.

With a prestigious and committed team, the office offers thorough support in the conception of the legal model which is most appropriate to the public service that the Public Administration wants to delegate, a work developed in perfect synergy with technical and financial consultants, whether the participation occurs by means of an expression of interest (PMI), or by means of unsolicited proposals (PNS).

The office also advises companies when the project is designed directly by the Granting Public Administration. In this case, the advice focuses on the analysis and interpretation of all documents of the Tender, even if it involves the participation of foreign companies in which there is a need to undertake corporate adjustments in line with the Brazilian legislation and with the requirements set forth in the instrument calling for the bids.

During the bidding phase for the concession, the office also drafts the instrument for the formation of consortiums, for the constitution of the respective Special Purpose Company (SPC), the rules for operational procedures (NPO), the non-disclosure agreement (NDA), the impugnation of other bidders and of the Court of Audits, as well as the administrative appeals and the requests for any judicial measures intended to ensure the participation of the legal person in the process.

The work of the office is also incisive during the execution of the complex concession contracts, either before the Public Administration, the Regulatory Agencies, or the control entities, specially the Court of Audits and the General Attorney’s Office. From the perspective of contract implementation, it is essential that experienced lawyers prepare the contractual risk analysis, with an indication of mitigation measures to meet the desired contractual performance.

The lawyers also have an important task during the preparation and the monitoring of pleas for Economic-Financial Re-balancing, involving the analysis of operational and financial aspects, in order to eliminate undesirable impacts on the remuneration of the concessionaires. Because they are long-term contracts, it is common for the office to act in the negotiation of agreed contractual clauses, to keep the relevance and efficiency of the public services delegated.

Sanctioning Administrative Proceedings (PAS) and Disciplinary Administrative Proceedings (PAD), initiated by the Public Administration in any sphere, leading to the possibility of a restriction of an individual’s rights by means of the application of stringent sanctions, require extremely preemptive and operative legal action.

In relation to sanctioning administrative proceedings (PAS), the work is developed at the office by the brilliant team of the contentious administrative department, whose actions aim at preventing the application of penalties arising from public contracts celebrated by private companies. To do so, it is fundamental that all parts of the defense, as well as the reasonable administrative appeals be offered, along with the production of the forensic evidence necessary — in short, it is necessary to adopt all possible measures to safeguard companies from a legal standpoint.

If, however, unfair administrative sanctions are imposed, the litigation department of the office is engaged to assess the respective measures necessary for the suspension of the harmful effects of the penalty and, at the end of the proceedings, to promote the complete annulment of the penalty applied, in order to safeguard the sphere of responsibility of the company.

In relation to the practice in disciplinary administrative proceedings (PAD), whose scope is to establish the administrative responsibility of a civil servant for infractions committed in the exercise of his functions, it is fundamental that the office act diligently to ensure that the proceedings develop within the deadlines and respect the legal formalities, and that the pieces of defense and evidence produced are analyzed effectively by the Public Administration, in order to provide a straightforward final decision.

In the same way, the office can promote the defense of civil servants in syndications established by the Public Administration, aiming at investigating illicit facts that will promote future disciplinary administrative sanctions.

Also, in the case of disciplinary administrative proceeding (PAD), it may be necessary for the office to file judicial measures during its processing, or at its end, so that the administrative decisions may be reformed by the Judiciary, thus protecting the legal safety of the respective civil servant.

The strategic conduction of business in companies that relate with public entities by means of administrative contracts requires an incisive corporate consulting in matters of corporate law to avoid the assumption of unknown risks and he application of undesirable sanctions.

The network of private law contracts that support public procurement contracts demands special attention in the writing of their clauses, which must be consistent with the company’s strategy in the conduction of the corresponding public business, glimpsing at risk scenarios that could be mitigated. The Office has expertise in the elaboration of private contracts which have as their object the whole supply chain paramount to the fulfillment of the obligations undertaken by means of the public procurement contracts.

The corporate aspects are fundamental, not only on account of the stringent control and governance structures imposed on long-term contracts, as is the case in concessions and public-private partnerships, but also of the need to discipline the inter-relationship of shareholders who participate in these unique companies. The participation of the Office in the constitution and maintenance of the Specific Purpose Company (SPC) has been essential to avoid disruptive scenarios and reduce the potential for internal and external conflicts.

If companies are participating in biddings or performing a public enterprise organized as a consortium, the expert advisory of the Office becomes crucially important, and should be sought preferably since the preparation of the instrument governing the consortium, a document which will carefully rule the internal relationships and the responsibilities undertaken before the Public Administration. The Office advises in writing any changes or amendments to the instrument governing the consortium and on their impacts before the Public Administration, in the elaboration of the standard operating procedures, and in formatting of the non- disclosure agreement (NDA) — in short, the body of documents essential to a stable contractual outcome and which allow the participants in the consortium to obtain the desired results.

Dal Pozzo Law Firm is one of the biggest authorities working with the Courts of Audits, either at the municipal, state or federal level. This unique expertise has been accumulated by means of long and intense activity in these Courts. The practice at the Courts of Audits requires, in addition to high expertise in this field, which is quite specific and complex, a thorough understanding of the inner workings of these procedural Courts, as well as monitoring their jurisprudence and decisions.

The work carried out by the office specifically involves the elaboration of previous examinations of the guidelines in tenders while still in negotiation; realization of manifestations, defenses, oral argumentation, justifications, memorials, forensic evidence and appeals in proceedings that analyze the regularity of tenders and contracts, as well as any possible additive terms; following contract execution in large infrastructure projects (concession and public-private partnership); and finally, in the proceedings of accounts, in which the body of technical knowledge in Financial Law and public budgeting is essential so that we can achieve the results expected.

The work of the office before the Courts of Audits requires appropriate and specialized structure to monitor these proceedings running in the Courts of Audits, from specialized technical staff until the last level of appeals, if necessary. The adversities arising from final decisions of the Courts of Audits are also the object of action on the part of the Dal Pozzo Law Firm, especially in relation to those that have a direct repercussion in the spheres of interest of individuals and legal entities involved, including the possible judicialization of the matter to ensure the constitutional principle of unrestricted access to Justice, the ample defense, the contradictory and of the judicial control over administrative acts.

The actions in the area of compulsory expropriation as a measure of privation of property of individuals is of fundamental importance, considering the need to promote fair and prior compensation of the expropriated asset. The scope of its practical activity is broader in the expropriations which involve property that will be used by the State for public utility.

The legislation governing expropriations is quite old in Brazilian Law (1941), which causes many times, many perplexities in its enforcement to, and in the conduction of specific cases that are submitted to the office, being necessary to have effective knowledge of the practice and the jurisprudence, so that the proceedings can be brought to fruition.

The firm has extensive experience in legal advice in administrative and judicial proceedings which have as their object the expropriation of property, either to work with the Public Administration, either to work with the private owner whose asset is expropriated. This activity involves all stages of administrative or judicial proceedings, with the production of the necessary expert reports until it promotes, with absolute formal and procedural rigor, the fixation of the fair value for their property.

For this, the office counts with a renowned team of experts with great experience in the evaluation of real estate throughout Brazil, whose principal job is to identify, by means of appropriate methods, the fair value to be fixed for the property being expropriated.

The office has extensive work in the sector of expropriation before the concessionaires of public service which, in the majority of the cases, are responsible for promoting the material activities surrounding the expropriation so that their contracts can be completed within the deadlines stipulated by the Pubic Administration. It is common for the concessionaires to have high expropriation liabilities on account of these contractual obligations, and efficient and operative actions are necessary in such proceedings to ensure that the appropriate values are fixed judicially, especially if it is necessary to take property possession immediately.

The consensual methods to solve conflicts are being increasingly used in our society, in view of the need for speedy solutions for disputes. Considering this evolution, it is recommended that the instrument also be used in the context of Public Administration. The new Law 13.140, of June 26, 2015, sought to build the normative profile of mediation exactly in this context, in order to bring the necessary legal stability for a controversial topic in the scope of the doctrine and jurisprudence.

As President of the Brazilian Institute of Legal Studies in Infrastructure (IBEJI), partner Augusto Neves Dal Pozzo has made every effort to promote mediation as an extremely useful and workable instrument in conflict resolution in the industry, safeguarding the public interest and also stimulating the work of the Public Administration with a high level of efficiency.

The Dal Pozzo Law Firm believes that mediation can be an important instrument for the settlement of disputes with the Public Administration, exactly for being conceived within an auto-composed model. Therefore, it has promoted a series of institutional relations with the most important centers of mediation to be able to guarantee that the inherent rights, arising especially from public contracts, may be safeguarded.

The Office’s work focuses on the preparation of documents and arguments needed to ensure that the mediation process is brought to a successful conclusion and with this, the issue can be resolved with a high level of efficiency. The matters involved in the mediation result primarily of issues involving the implementation of public contracts of infrastructure, in particular covering pleas for financial-economic re-balance.

The Procedure for Expressions of Interest (PMI) and the Unsolicited Proposals (PNS) are legal instruments of cooperation on the part of the private sector that have been used quite successfully by the public administration for the development of infrastructure projects.

The federal law authorizes that individuals contribute with the public administration by means of the preparation of concrete proposals of modeling for infrastructure projects whose objective is to protect certain public interests and provide an economic background to attract future interested parties, thus consolidating a virtuous cycle and the interdependence between the public sector and the private sector. This dialog, typical of a current model of participative management, should be guided by more stringent transparency and compliance systems to encourage a cooperative, convergent, and, above all, ethical spirit between the public sector and the private sector.

Dal Pozzo Law Firm is recognized for its work advising national and foreign companies in the preparation of the documents necessary to enable their participation in the Procedure of Expression of Interest (PMI) and Unsolicited Proposal (PNS).

The activity consists in providing legal advisory to the company since the beginning of the procedure, by means of the preparation of all documents required for their participation, and also in the preparation of the legal model that will be offered to the public entity for the conception of the project. The renowned expertise of our lawyers in the infrastructure sector, led by the presence of founding partner Augusto Neves Dal Pozzo, one of the biggest authorities in the subject in Brazil, provides unique knowledge that will certainly contribute to the Public Administration in choosing the model that has counted with the participation of Dal Pozzo Law Firm, due to its high credibility.

It is important to highlight that the aforementioned partner, besides his direct daily practice in the industry, with high experience in numerous infrastructure projects undertaken in Brazil and abroad, has developed highly recognized academic work in this context. His work on PMI is cited as a national reference in the study entitled “Structuring PPP’s and Concession Projects in Brazil: diagnosis of the Brazilian Model and Proposals for Betterment”, conducted by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank. His expertise has been complemented by his participation in the most important executive program in the world in the area of infrastructure, offered by Harvard Kennedy School. 

The office also has outstanding work in projects involving the spontaneous collaboration of a company in the legitimate expectation to be able to celebrate a partnership in the future, the so-called Unsolicited Proposal (PNS). Its valuable technical team will take care of all the details for the company, within the strictest standards of compliance and transparency, to offer proposals that will contribute to an enterprise which meets the aspirations of the community.

Fulfilling the desire for quality infrastructure and excellent public services must confront a quite complex, and sometimes, little discussed issue: financing such investments.

Regardless of its size, structured projects involving models of concessions and public-private partnerships require significant amounts in investment; the leverage by means of instruments that approximate the concept of project finance have become recurrent practice in the market.

In this sense, it is essential to count on specialized legal advice for the decision-making process regarding the funding model to be hired to carry out the investments in concessions and public-private partnerships, considering the need for the assessment of the risks involved, both for the Special Purpose Company (SPC), as well as for its shareholders.

The Office has extensive experience in the advisory and support required to obtain and to close contracts aimed at financing infrastructure projects in order to create the conditions for their development in a scenario of safety, reliability, predictability and stability. Managing legal and political risks properly helps ensure that all the social and economic benefits will be achieved.

The Dal Pozzo Law Firm has outstanding experience in the matter of public contracts, whether they are governed by the Law of Public Procurement, or disciplined by specific laws, such as the Law of Concessions, the Law of Public-Private Partnerships, the Differentiated System of Public Procurement (DRC), among other normative acts. We offer highly specialized legal advice to private companies, whether or not gathered together in the form of a consortium, throughout the mishaps that can occur during contract execution. This expertise has led the office to form a team of specialist attorneys in the so-called contract management, especially in the field of public construction work and engineering services. The Office has recognized experience in this segment, both to conform to the obstacles identified in the daily contract operation, and in the strategic management of risks, helping private companies to find mitigating solutions that neutralize the incidence of responsibilities.

During contract execution, the team of lawyers provides all the necessary legal support to the contractor’s managers, especially regarding the conclusion of any amendment terms, drafting administrative claims, requests for financial and economic re-balance and administrative proceedings of accountability, always tuned with the strategic corporate positioning of the shareholders.

The office also acts to file and strategically monitor the judicial measures taken during contract execution, notably to safeguard the company from any penalties that may be imposed by the public administration or to assert the company’s right to economic and financial balance or even to seek the suspension or termination of the contract, where this is the case.

When working with processes of mediation and arbitrage, national and international, to safeguard the rights of the company in the legal-contract relationship, the work of the Office has already been successful in establishing important precedents in the Brazilian Law, with extremely favorable results in past experiences, in order to inhibit improper behavior on the part of the public administration.

The firm has vast experience in settling conflicts between companies belonging to a consortium, especially when this conflict interferes with the correct implementation of the contract, taking the measures necessary to guarantee that the contract can come to fruition, without remnants of the enforcement of contractual penalties.

Public Financial Law has a fundamental importance to ensure that the State can promote the implementation of all its objectives, as anticipated in the Constitution and the infra-constitutional norms. In order to do so, it is necessary to examine the constitutional control of the public budgeting, the budgeting principles, the execution and drafting of the budget, the management of public resources, as well as the respective budgetary laws as a fundamental part of responsible state planning.

Dal Pozzo Law Firm provides legal advice in terms of Public Financial Law and public budgeting to public entities and also to individuals who, somehow, have an interest in the understanding of the theme in face of budgetary rules governing public contracts.

The actions in this area of the office are made concrete to public entities and agents of the Public Administration, especially in conducting proceedings that examine the regularity of annual accounts presented to the Courts of Audits, to the financial and budgetary audits promoted by the Legislative Power and also to other organisms of external and social control.

The office counts on renowned specialists in Finance to corroborate with technical elements necessary to clarify any notes requiring administrative defense before the Court of Audits and other organisms of control. These are extremely qualified professionals who have a unique understanding of this systematic and complex phenomenon that constitute the public expenditures.

Consulting services in processes involving the structuring of projects of public-private partnerships require deep knowledge of this area in order to promote the studies necessary for the enforcement of the budgetary laws. Knowledge of the normative instruments designed by virtue of the Law of Fiscal Responsibility might also be necessary in the project.

Expert lawyers in the field have unique knowledge of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (Complementary Law 101/00), a fundamental normative diploma that governs responsible and transparent planning of government action, advocating the balance of public accounts through the adoption of limits and conditions to forgo revenue and spend public resources.

The work carried out by the office also covers the actions in judicial proceedings focusing on the same subject, with strict observance of all the norms that systematize the Public Financial Law and budgetary control.

Dal Pozzo Law Firm was one of the pioneers in the Brazil to model projects of public-private partnerships, leading to the conclusion of the first contract in the municipal scope in the sector of water supply and sanitation. The projects of public-private partnership have unusual complexity and demand a body of lawyers of high technical knowledge so that they can be implemented.

The office acts in the conception of the juridical modeling of PPP’s, preparing the risk matrix, the financing structure and the guarantees allocated in the project, especially in procedures for expressions of interest (PMI) and unsolicited proposal (PNS). The sources to finance the project for the purpose of risk assessment are also duly examined, in addition to the required actions to structure the guarantees offered by the public partner, which present enormous complexity because of the specific knowledge required in terms of public budgeting.

When modeling is designed by the Public Administration, the office advises companies interested in participating in the PPP throughout the bidding phase, including the hearings and public consultations, analysis of the bidding rules and appendices and of the sectoral legislation of the Federative Unit. Another important work regards the analysis of the distribution of risks present in PPP projects, so as to help companies to understand, with clarity and precision, the allocation of risks foreseen in the project and, therefore, provide a more appropriate pricing.

During the bidding phase of the project of public-private partnership, the office has great expertise in the preparation of the consortium instrument, the constitution of the Specific Purpose Company (SPC), in drafting the standards of operational procedures (NPO) and the non-disclosure agreement (NDA), in objecting to bidders, in filing administrative appeals, and any judicial measures aimed at ensuring the participation of the legal person in the process.

Whenever the bidding rules bring guidelines due to funding by development banks and multilateral agencies, it is essential to make an accurate analysis of these rules so as to match the technical and commercial proposals to be offered in the bid. This is the expertise that the office has acquired through participation in numerous projects containing this type of financing, which require great dexterity in the preparation of the bidding documents, as well as in handling administrative disputes before bodies of external control (Courts of Audits and the Judiciary Power).

The work of the office also includes the follow-up throughout the execution of the public-private partnership contract, to ensure contractual performance and the expected results. The challenges and complications experienced during the execution of these complex contracts require accurate and thorough monitoring; the Office has unequivocal experience in this type of activity, including those instances in which such conflicts may result in arbitration or mediation. The realization of administrative claims, such as those involving the financial and economic re-balance of the contract, whether within regulatory environments or directly before the Public Administration, are also an important aspect of the expertise of the office, which will follow such claims throughout their development until their solution by means of a final administrative decision.

During the implementation of public-private partnership contracts, the office has also outstanding performance in proceedings that examine the regularity of the Request for Proposal (RFP), the contract and any amendment terms in negotiation with the Courts of Audits. If it is necessary to submit any questions to the Judiciary Power, the team of lawyers of the office is highly prepared to file the proper judicial measure before the competent authorities, with or without a request for injunction, all the way to the higher courts.

The Dal Pozzo Law Firm has extensive experience in working in favor of private companies that participate in national and international tenders in any of their forms: public competition, pricing, invitation to bid, selection process, auction, present and electronic bidding, pre-qualification, and public procurement disciplined by the Differentiated System of Procurement. The office provides comprehensive advisory during all phases of the bidding process, such as the preparation of technical proposals; the analysis and compilation of documents, and the preparation and filing of requests for clarification, appeals and administrative suspensions. The Office also follows up on all activities throughout the public sessions conducted by the bidding authority, including public hearings and public consultations.

In bidding processes that involve projects of concessions and public- private partnerships, the office has an experienced team with valuable lawyers who assist corporations to obtain the strategic results expected, considering the complexity of these processes.

The office also has strong expertise in taking judicial measures involving public procurement, as well as in challenging the bidding rules before the Courts of Audits, by means of representations and the prior examination of the bidding rules.

Dal Pozzo Law Firm has acted in an outstanding manner in the regulatory sector, specially providing advisory services to private companies which are subject to the incidence of state activity, either by the rendering public services in a regime of delegation (concession or PPP), or by exploitation of economic activity.

The work conducted by the office also involves following up on administrative proceedings being negotiated with the regulatory agencies, whose objective is to impose administrative sanctions, to claim economic-financial re-balance due to adjustment or revision, administrative requests for broadening rights, such as licenses, authorizations or any other topics of interest of private companies that are subject to the jurisdiction of such entities.

The Office has recognized expertise in the judicialization of administrative decisions by regulatory agencies, following the demand since its filing until the higher courts. If necessary, the offices can also plead to obtain injunction measures, especially to suspend any effects of applied sanctions.

Developing infrastructure projects also means strategically analyzing the environmental impacts of the project, which are disciplined and monitored more and more rigorously in Brazil, both because of its strategic importance, and to meet the aspirations of sustainability required by modern international order. Governments and companies that operate in this sector in Brazil are primarily concerned with the promotion of sustainable infrastructure, which does not hurt the environment and that promotes better living conditions for the population.

The Office defends this idea in an obstinate manner, having sustainability as the horizon in the infrastructure projects on which it works. Having sustainability as a guiding principle, the Office provides strategic legal solutions that consolidate the environmental conditions required for the proper development of ongoing projects.

In order to do so, the Office is prepared to provide highly qualified consulting services on environmental law to companies that operate in public enterprises, especially in obtaining the necessary environmental licenses; on the evaluation of risk exposure arising from environmental liabilities and their legal consequences for the public contract; on the management of crises that might have negative repercussions before the public and before control and environmental bodies; on the conduction of civil proceedings and the conclusion of the Terms of Adjustment of Conduct before the General Attorney’s Office to resolve environmental disputes that may put at risk the activity of the company. Consulting services also focus on strategic judicial measures involving complex environmental issues.

Companies that operate in Brazil face multifaceted challenges on a daily basis regarding tax matters. The complex legislation and the public departments of tax supervision require special and careful attention on the part of companies so that they can develop their economic activities in an environment of juridical certainty without setbacks.

The Office has developed thorough expertise that meets our clients’ needs in the area of taxation, and our team of lawyers has had active participation in consulting in the areas of administrative litigation, administrative courts and the Judiciary.

In many cases, tax issues are the object of administrative claims for extraordinary contractual review seeking its economic-financial balance; in such instances, it is critical that the origin of such financial imbalance be presented in an authoritative and well-reasoned manner to the public administration.

When not recognized administratively, such claims may lead to juridical proceedings, on which the Office works tirelessly to safeguard the interests of the company involved and to prevent that debt certificates be issued, which might tarnish the company’s participation in future bidding processes.

Tax hindrances that involve the concessionaires of public service are also the object of the Office’s expertise, which has developed all the apparatus necessary to bring forward and carry out the demands of a tax nature that may occur during the execution of public contracts.

Filing tax lawsuits as a result of fines imposed by the Public Administration is also the object of Office’s actions. On many occasions, the Office prefers to question the fine in court before the tax execution is proposed to avoid tax problems that might impede the free economic activity by the company or its shareholders.