Demarest expands infrastructure practice area with new partners
Demarest has announced the hiring of two new partners: Marina Aidar and Virginia Mesquita (pictured from left to right), for the infrastructure and project finance practice area.
Marina Aidar has extensive experience in Project Finance and advises banks (commercial and development) and companies (Brazilian and international) on structured operations within the infrastructure sector, involving highways, urban mobility, airports, sanitation and energy.
She holds a master’s degree in International Financial Law from King’s College London, a postgraduate degree in Administrative Law from FGV-SP, an Executive MBA in Electricity Sector Business from FGV and a bachelor’s degree in Law from PUC-SP.
Also joining Demarest’s infrastructure team is Virginia Mesquita, who holds a PhD in Economic Law from USP, a master’s degree from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a bachelor’s degree in Law from USP.
With more than 20 years of experience, Virginia has worked in the development team of several infrastructure projects, acted as a consultant to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and participated in the development of major projects, such as the new highway concessions in the state of Paraná, the new Via Dutra concession, the northern stretch of the São Paulo Rodoanel beltway and the concession of Lines 8 and 9 of the São Paulo State Metropolitan Trains – the largest urban mobility concession in Latin America – as well as municipal projects in the public lighting sector.
In addition to being a member of the Electoral and Infrastructure and Development Committees of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB-SP), a member of the Dispute Boards of the Brazilian Center for Mediation and Arbitration (CBMA) and the Brazilian Institute of Administrative Law (IBDA), Virginia is the sector leader at Infra Women for the area of project finance.
Along with these two partners, three other lawyers will bolster the team. Among them is Luana Falkenburger, a senior lawyer specialized in project finance transactions; lawyer Thais Vieira de Freitas and trainee Laura Tusco Dantas.
