Herbert Smith Freehills Appoints Co-Head of Latin America Practice

Brazilian Pedro Rufino Carvalho, based in London, has extensive experience in oil and gas.

April 07, 2020 at 02:38 PM

2 minute read

By Amy Guthrie
Latin America Correspondent

Herbert Smith Freehills has appointed a Brazilian partner based in London to co-head the firm's Latin America practice group.

Pedro Rufino Carvalho, who joined Herbert Smith Freehills in 2013, will lead the group together with New York-based partner Christian Leathley, who is also the firm's head of international arbitration in the U.S.

"Despite these challenging times, I believe we are all rising up to the situation, being as creative and supportive as possible, and I am excited about the lessons we can apply and the opportunities to come as we continue to help our clients in addressing their LatAm-related business and legal issues," Rufino Carvalho said in a statement.

The Herbert Smith Freehills Latin America group is a global practice based in New York and London, with disputes and transactional practitioners from Tokyo, Beijing, Madrid, Paris and Melbourne forming part of the team.

Rufino Carvalho advises clients on a wide range of finance and M&A transactions in the energy, natural resources and infrastructure sectors—with extensive experience in the oil and gas industry.

Herbert Smith Freehills said his unique combination of common-law experience, with civil law training in Brazil, Argentina and continental Europe, sets him apart as a cross-border practitioner.

Leathley said that Rufino Carvalho "has impressed with his deep technical knowledge and how adept he is at navigating business and cultural sensitivities" in cross-border deals involving Latin America.

Rufino Carvalho played an integral role advising Trident Energy last year on a first-of-a-kind financing and acquisition of oil and gas assets from Brazilian state-owned firm Petrobras.

Also in 2019, he led a team advising lenders to Australia-listed oil and gas company Karoon Gas as it entered into the purchase and sale agreement for Petrobras' Baúna oil field in Brazil's Santos Basin.

Those acquisitions were part of a broad divestment plan, with Petrobras intending to sell 70% of its 254 assets located in mature and shallow water fields offshore Brazil.