Demarest announces six new partners in strategic practice areas

As of January 2025, senior associates will be promoted to partners and bolster the firm’s practice across nine areas

Demarest Advogados, one of the largest full-service law firms in Brazil and Latin America, announced six new partners to reinforce its performance in strategic areas as part of its 2024-2026 expansion plan.

Senior associates Celso Baez (Labor and Employment); Fabio Tayar (Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate, and Private Equity and Venture Capital); Marco Fonseca (Competition); Milena Arbizu (Dispute Resolution); Robson de Oliveira (Real Estate and ESG), and Vitor Amorim (Telecommunications, Media and Technology – TMT), will be partners at Demarest as of January 2025.

Paulo Coelho da Rocha, Demarest’s managing partner, reiterated that recognizing talent has been an essential part of the firm’s policy and unwavering commitment to value its professionals throughout its 76-year trajectory in the legal market. Two of the new partners joined Demarest as interns, as did Paulo, and one of them was a paralegal.

“Demarest stimulates the growth and development of its professionals by investing in human resources policies aimed at expanding knowledge, qualifying its employees, and promoting new partners to represent our clients with increasing excellence and quality at all times,” said Paulo. He also emphasized the importance of the firm’s Brasília office with the addition of a new partner, in line with the firm’s strategic plan.

Following the promotion of these six senior associates, as of January, Demarest will have 95 partners collaborating in a multidisciplinary practice that provides high-quality legal services to more than 1,500 clients in Brazil and internationally. Throughout 2024, Demarest hired ten partners from other firms, of which six were women. This also attests to the firm’s commitment to social responsibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Find out more about each new partner:

Celso Baez holds a specialization in Labor and Union Relations from Wilson Cerqueira Consultores Associados (WCCA), a human resources consulting firm with over 35 years of market experience, as well as a postgraduate degree in Labor Law, and a bachelor’s degree in Law, both from PUC-SP. Celso has more than 15 years of experience in labor law, advising companies on highly complex projects such as corporate restructuring, collective dismissals, remuneration, and negotiations involving senior executives. He has also assisted in investigations and proceedings conducted by the Brazilian Labor Prosecution Office.  He advises large companies operating in the chemical, pharmaceutical, technology, auto-parts, packaging, beverages and IT industries, among others. After concentrating his practice in labor litigation until 2016, he has since focused on advisory matters. Celso joined Demarest in 2008 as an intern, while still a sophomore in law school.

Fabio Tayar holds a master’s degree in Corporate Law (LL.M.) from the School of Law at New York University (NYU) and a bachelor’s degree in Law from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie. While in NY, he served as a foreign associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Fabio has 15 years of experience in corporate law and concentrates his practice in mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, joint ventures, cross-border transactions, corporate restructurings, and corporate governance. His major clients include Brazilian and international players in various sectors of the economy, such as private equity funds, financial market companies, banks as well as construction, retail, education, health, agriculture, and consumer goods and car companies. He is ranked by The Legal 500, a publication for which he has been recognized as a Rising Star (Corporate and M&A) for two consecutive years (2023 and 2024). Fabio has been in Demarest since 2013, when he joined as an associate.

Marco Fonseca holds a master’s degree in Law from Universidade de Brasília (UnB), a postgraduate degree in Public Law and Regulation from FGV and a bachelor’s degree in Law from Centro Universitário de Brasília (UniCEUB). He has over 17 years of experience with Antitrust Law and advises a number of clients mainly in cases of anticompetitive conduct (whistleblowers and investigated parties). Marco concentrates his practice on the submission of acts of economic concentration to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), in addition to advising on competitive issues. In addition, Marco is involved in government relations in Brasília. He was a guest professor in postgraduate courses held by Instituto Brasileiro de Mercado de Capitais (IBMEC) and UnB, and a speaker in academic events relating to Competition Law. He is also mentioned by important international rankings, such as Latin Lawyer and The Legal 500. Marco has been in Demarest since 2007, when he joined as an intern in São Paulo. He is now working at Demarest’s office in Brasília.

Milena Arbizu holds a master’s degree in Civil Law from USP, an LL.M. from Stanford Law School and a specialization degree in Contract Law from Insper – Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from FGV and attended an exchange program hosted by Instituto de Empresas, in Madrid, as part of the LL.M. program. Milena has 12 years of experience advising on arbitrations and complex legal disputes involving contract law, corporate law, civil construction, and intellectual property. Milena’s professional experience includes her work as an international lawyer in arbitration and compliance/investigations of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, in New York. She has been listed as an arbitrator in CBMA (the Brazilian Center for Mediation and Arbitration), one of the most recognized entities in the sector, since 2023. Milena has been in Demarest since 2023 and had a previous stint at the firm from 2018 to 2021.

Robson de Oliveira holds a master’s degree in Human Rights from Universidade Pablo de Olavide (Spain), a postgraduate degree in Real Estate Law, a specialist degree in Real Estate and Agrarian Law and a bachelor’s degree in Law, both from Faculdades Metropolitanas Unidas (FMU). He is the winner of the Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards (2019 and 2022), in the Future Leader – Minority Lawyers, Latin America category and recognized as one of the most admired lawyers in Brazil (2022 and 2023), by Análise Advocacia; Robson was also recognized by Mundo Negro magazine (2023), as one of the 25 black executives who are reshaping narratives in the corporate market. He is also a co-founder and member of the D Raízes Committee, Demarest’s affinity group focused on racial inclusion, chaired the Racial Equality Commission and was a board member of the Brazilian Bar Association of the state of São Paulo (OAB/SP). He also served on the Real Estate, Urban Planning and Notary and Public Records Law Commissions of OAB/SP, and on the Forum for Preventing and Combating Racial Discrimination in the Workplace of São Paulo’s Labor Prosecution Office. Robson is a board member of the Study Center for Law Firms (CESA) as well as general coordinator of the Incluir Direito (Inclusive Law) Project, a CESA initiative. Robson has been in Demarest since 2008, when he joined as a paralegal.

Vitor Amorim is currently pursuing a PhD, holds a master’s degree in Constitutional Law from USP and a bachelor’s degree in Law from PUC-SP. Vitor has a vast international experience, having served as International Law Clerk at the U.S. Holland & Knight law firm in Miami during 2017. He has 12 years of experience in public law and transactional matters, particularly in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) industry. Among his main clients are companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications industries. He concentrates his practice on regulatory and contractual issues. Vitor has been in Demarest since 2022, when he joined as a senior associate.