São Paulo-based TozziniFreire Advogados has snagged capital markets partner Kenneth Ferreira from Mattos Muriel Kestener (MMK) Advogados, headquartered in the same city. Ferreira began working at TozziniFreire on January 11.
Ferreira joined his previous firm in March 2011. MMK was established as a litigation boutique in 2005, but has since expanded to other practice areas including M&A, tax, and environmental law.
“[The firm] was seeking to expand and trying to create to a full-service platform. We were able to work with most of the largest banks, both local and international banks, but we started to struggle to grow within a capital markets practice,” Ferreira explained. Ferreira said he was drawn to TozziniFreire, in part, because of the firm is committed to continuing to grow its practice despite the state of the capital markets in Brazil. In September 2015, the firm hired corporate, banking and capital markets partner Fabíola Augusta Cavalcanti from Rio-based Barbosa Müssnich Aragão (BMA).
“My coming here is tied to an investment in the firm in the [capital markets] practice,” Ferreira explained. “Of course, these days the markets are not very attractive, but we hope the market will pick up again, and we want to be ready to play among the top-tier firms when this moment comes.”
Alexei Bonamin, a capital markets partner, added that, “Even though capital markets is not doing very well in Brazil, still there are a lot of opportunities. Agribusiness, infrastructure and real estate securities are demanding a lot of work from our law firm.”
Bonamin also attributed the firm’s hire of Ferreira to his experience at notable local and global law firms (such as São Paulo-based Mattos Filho Veiga Filho Marrey Jr. & Quiroga Advogados and global firm Davis Polk & Wardwell) and his investment bank experience. Ferreira worked as Vice President – Legal of Morgan Stanley from October 2005 to July 2008 and then again from June 2009 to March 2011.
Ferreira spoke about the relationship among politics, economy and capital markets in Brazil. “I think we don’t have a capital markets without a strong economy. We have recently faced political challenges in the country that affect the economy and, consequently, affect the capital markets. I think the economy will revert at some point,” he said, expressing his hope that more stability in politics will allow Brazil to build a better economy, which will result in more investors. “I think we have a solid legal framework. We have a very good and structured regulator.”
Ferreira earned a Masters in Commercial law from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo in 2008 and an MBA in corporate finance from Ibmec in 2004.