Global law firm Reed Smith has lured Felipe Berer as a partner to its global disputes group and Latin America business team as demand expands for advisory work in the region's struggling economies.

Formerly head of the Brazil practice at Akerman, Berer represents multinational companies doing business in the United States and Latin America. He has significant experience advising Brazilian companies on cross-border commercial disputes, litigation and arbitration, and insolvency matters both in the U.S. and in Brazil. He is based in Miami.

The Reed Smith buildout comes as law firms eye a growing workload for arbitration and restructurings across Latin America, and in particular Brazil, the region's biggest economy, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global firms have continued to jostle for Miami-based talent to service Latin America during the health crisis, with Polsinelli announcing its first-ever Latin America practice group in March through the hire of a Holland & Knight partner as shareholder.

Just a year ago, Morrison & Foerster stormed into the Florida market by snagging nine Greenberg Traurig attorneys and establishing its own Latin America practice in Miami.

"Felipe is a 'go-to' legal and business adviser to major Brazilian companies, helping them navigate a broad range of disputes involving Brazilian and U.S. law," said Constantine Karides, managing partner of Reed Smith's Miami office.

Jose Astigarraga, global chairman of Reed Smith's international arbitration practice, says the firm's Brazil-related disputes work, including international arbitrations, as well as U.S.-based litigation having Brazilian connections, has been expanding and hence the need for an attorney such as Berer.

Berer is dual-licensed in the U.S. and Brazil and a native Portuguese speaker whose clients include Fortune 500 companies and some of the largest and most successful Brazilian conglomerates and investors. Sometimes acting in the capacity of outside general counsel, he works with companies that are often involved in parallel litigation in both jurisdictions.

In addition, he advises Brazilian companies that are creditors or debtors in bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings related to Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 filings in the U.S., or where there is a Brazilian insolvency recognized in the U.S.

"Brazil is emerging from a deep recession, and the volume of work involving Brazilian companies in the U.S., especially the flow of litigation and insolvency work, has grown dramatically," said Berer.

Berer also regularly advises international clients on trade policy, export controls and sanctions under U.S. and Brazilian laws, contract negotiations, especially supply and distribution agreements, and government affairs in Brazil.

Berer began his legal career at Barbosa, Müssnich, & Aragão Advogados in Rio de Janeiro. He later practiced at Bryan Cave and Mayer Brown before joining Akerman in 2012.

Florida serves as a gateway for Brazilian companies and products into the North American market. Bilateral trade between Brazil and the U.S. topped $34 billion in 2018. Brazil's consul general in Miami, Adalnio Senna Ganem, estimated three years ago that 300,000 Brazilians live in Florida, constituting the largest Brazilian community in any state in the country.

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