Herbert Smith Freehills has appointed partner Pedro Rufino Carvalho as co-head of the firm’s Latin America Practice group.
Based out of London, he will lead the group together with New York-based partner Christian Leathley, who is also the firm’s Head of International Arbitration in the US.
For more than 15 years Pedro has advised clients across Latin America and Europe, with an emphasis on the Brazil market. He is recognised in the legal sector for his “extensive experience in the oil and gas industry” and for a track record delivering industry firsts.
He recently played an integral role advising Trident Energy on the first-of-a-kind financing and acquisition of Brazilian oil and gas assets from Petrobras. Later in 2019 he led the team advising the lenders to Karoon Gas on the financing of its acquisition of the Bauna oil field from Petrobras and earlier this year Pedro led the team advising Ocyan on the disposal of its 50% stake in two deep-water pipe-laying support vessels.
Pedro’s experience means he will bring deep-lying expertise from advising on the range of structures used to finance and acquire projects and assets in the energy, natural resources and infrastructure sectors. He currently acts for a broad client base of lenders, borrowers, project companies and other market participants, delivering expert legal advice on some of the largest projects and M&A transactions in developed and emerging markets.
A native of Brazil, Pedro joined Herbert Smith Freehills in 2013 and was promoted to the partnership in 2019. The unique combination of Pedro’s common law experience, with his civil law training in Brazil, Argentina and continental Europe, truly sets him apart from his peers as a dynamic, cross-border practitioner.
Commenting on his appointment, Christian Leathley, co-head of Herbert Smith Freehills’ Latin-America practice group, said: “I am truly delighted to be working alongside Pedro as co-head of the Latin America group. Since he joined the firm, Pedro has impressed with his deep technical knowledge and how adept he is at navigating business and cultural sensitivities when it comes to cross-border deals involving the LatAm region. His skills and talent as a lawyer and a leader will enable us as a group to further strengthen our offering to clients.”
Commenting on his new role, Pedro said: “It is a pleasure to be appointed as co-head of the firm’s Latin America group, of which I have been part with Christian, Juan-José (Zentner) and Ed (Dougherty) since its inception. 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.”
The 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.
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