Brazil’s GVBG adds two pension partners

Brazilian law firm Gentil, Monteiro, Vicentini, Beringhs, Gil Advogados (GVBG) has recruited two private pension partners, Carlos Alberto Barros and Juliano Barra. 

The hiring aims to increase the offer of law services in a low-interest economy, making the firm a strong protagonist in helping funds reshape their governance and investments, the firm said.

Carlos Alberto Barra (pictured) has worked in governance, administrative law and regulation at government agencies such as CVM, CMN, Previc and Susep. With deep knowledge of private pensions, Juliano Barra assists clients in all administrative and judicial matters involving this segment.

“We’re reinforcing the team, gaining visibility and bringing creative and innovative solutions, furthermore creating the possibility to offer a broader service to pensions entities, including M&A, tax law, litigation and labor law,” Pedro Vicentini, one of the founding partners of GVBG, said.

“They have the same profile of our other partners, with international experience and excellent reputation in a market that tends to change with the new economic scenario,” he added. 

The new partners highlight the importance of the arrival of “pension techs”, which can provide, for example, loans on a mobile app. Such innovations will require adaptation from traditional players, at the same time bringing new challenges for incomers.

Carlos Alberto Barros worked with Norton Rose Fulbright and at the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), the European Union’s pension funds and insurance regulator. For more than 12 years he has been advising private pension entities in their operations with the financial and capital markets. He teaches private pension at post-graduation courses in Brazil and obtained an LLM in Law and Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt Am Main.

Barros predictsstrong demand for safety in data transactions this year as Brazil’s new Data Protection law comes into force. He also emphasizes the importance of helping clients recover losses caused by former management, including market operations, in a way that enables them to compensate their losses, either by judicial means, or by creating internal controls capable of mitigating these situations.

“When I put together my technical experience and the knowledge I have of the market, the option that made more sense was to invest in the society with GVBG,” Barros said.

“All other partners have international experience similar to ours and a posture of offering close customer support and a pro-business stance, which substantially contributes to a full legal solution for private pension.”

After 11 years in one of the major Brazilian law firms, Juliano Barra spent the last decade in Paris, finishing a PhD (summa cum laude) at Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne. He was approved in a public selection process and taught for two years at the Sorbonne Law School, teaching both graduation and master’s degree students. In the French capital he was also a consultant at OCDE in matters of private pension and was of counsel of Valmy Avocats law firm.

In Brazil Juliano teaches at the Law School of Universidade Mackenzie and in the post-graduation course of IBMEC.

“We forecast great opportunities to develop this area due to the challenges that the new government pension reform brings and in the midst of this current economic scenario,” Barra said.

“GVBG has in its DNA a solid academic background with excellency focusing on innovative solutions and in helping clients make their business go forward.”