Barretto
Ferreira e Brancher has recruited the former general counsel of São Paulo gas
distributor Comgás to head up a new energy practice, opened in response to
increased work the firm believes will come from the massive investment Brazil
will need to solve its energy crisis.
Leonardo
Lerner, 63, joined the firm last month as a senior consultant, but his
appointment was not made public until today. He left his general counsel
position at Comgás last year, having joined the company in 2000, upon which he
began talking with BKBG founding partner Ricardo Barretto about a possible
collaboration.
BKBG
launched the energy practice ahead of an increase in deal flow it expects to
result from the government’s increased use of public private partnerships at
federal and state level to fund infrastructure projects in the energy sector.
Barretto says he expects the new practice to attract clients from the oil and
gas, electricity, biodiesel and renewables sectors: “Brazil faces a serious
energy crisis that will force the improvement of its physical and legal
infrastructure in the areas of energy exploration and production, generation,
transmission, and distribution – increasing the demand for highly skilled legal
services.”
Lerner is
currently the only lawyer in BKBG’s energy practice, although he draws on
members of the firm’s other practice groups, including regulatory and public
law; corporate and M&A; tax; and environment. Barretto says the firm plans
to add additional energy lawyers, including foreign legal consultants, and are
speaking to potential candidates.
Over a
40-year legal career, Lerner’s previous roles include stints as general counsel
at heavy machinery manufacturer ABB, and as part of the in-house team at
aircraft manufacturer Embraer. He believes the experience he has gained from
these positions will be an asset in his new role. “My view of the legal
profession is that you have to combine technical qualifications with
experience, in order to be fully prepared to respond to your clients’
expectations,” he explains.
When it
came to choosing someone to spearhead the new department, Barretto says Lerner
was an obvious choice, due to a combination of the experience he has gleaned in
the energy sector during his in-house career, and the pair’s long friendship
that began at law school in the 1970s.
Brazil’s
energy crisis is a result of the country’s over-reliance on hydropower, its
resources of which have been badly depleted by years of low rainfall, but has
been exacerbated by government policies to lower consumer energy tariffs,
leaving companies struggling to pay operational costs. The shortage has
prompted lawyers to recommend the country diversify away from the unreliable
hydropower resources it has traditionally relied upon. Last week, Brazilian
electricity regulator Aneel awarded construction contracts for more than 30
solar plants, following Brazil’s first solar auction, indicating this may be
starting to happen.
Over the
last year, BKBG has appointed two new partners, promoting international trade
lawyers Luiz Eduardo Salles and Marina Carvalho.
(Published by Latin Lawyer – November 6, 2014)