Demarest expands market presence with five new partners

Senior lawyers from four areas make partnership as of January; valuing talent is part of the firm’s DNA

As part of the firm’s new strategy for 2024, Demarest Advogados, one of the largest full service law firms in Brazil and Latin America, has announced five new partners to expand its market presence across four areas.

These promotions will add five senior lawyers to the firm’s team of partners as of January 01: Andre Leme, from the Compliance and Investigations practice area; Débora Sejtman Gartner and Min Gon Kim, from Mergers and Acquisitions; Fernando Maluf, from Dispute Resolution (Litigation and Arbitration), and Laura Pelegrini, from Insurance, Reinsurance, Health and Private Pension.

“We are invariably committed to valuing and recognizing the talent of associates who are already part of our team. Three of the promoted associates started their careers at Demarest as interns, which is proof that the firm invests in its employees and encourages their professional development”, says Paulo Coelho da Rocha, Demarest’s managing partner, who also started as an intern and completed 30 years at the firm in 2023, when Demarest celebrates 75 years in the legal market.

Paulo added that “the new partners will contribute even more to offering innovative legal solutions that not only meet the needs of our clients, but also play a role in expanding and developing new businesses within a competitive and increasingly demanding market”.

Check out each member’s profile:

Andre Leme holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from Universidade de São Paulo (USP), with a specialization in Fundamental Rights from Universidade de Coimbra, in Portugal. Andre has also completed a course in Private International Law at the Hague Academy of International Law, in the Netherlands, and the Advanced Compliance Program at Fordham University. Andre has been ranked in the Compliance area by Chambers Brazil and Legal500, a publication by which he was awarded Rising Star in Compliance in 2023. Andre has over 12 years of experience in the area and has advised clients on Administrative Accountability Proceedings (PAR), as well as coordinating internal corporate investigations and compliance audits in corporate transactions since he joined Demarest in 2019.

Débora Sejtman Gartner holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP) and a specialization in Corporate Strategies and Tax Planning from Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV). She holds a master’s degree (LL.M.) from the New York University School of Law, where she worked at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (New York). Débora is a specialist in Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions and has been ranked by Advocacia 500 and Advocacia 500 Mulher. She advises major clients in sectors such as finance, agribusiness and chemicals, among others, and started her career at the firm as an intern in 2009.

Fernando Maluf is currently pursuing a PhD in State Law, with an emphasis on Constitutional Law, from Universidade de São Paulo (USP), and holds a master’s degree in International Law, with an emphasis on Arbitration, from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP), as well as a bachelor’s degree in Law from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie. He is also a professor at the undergraduate and postgraduate Law courses from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie and at the postgraduate courses from IBMEC-SP. Fernando concentrates his practice in preventive and pre-litigation proceedings, as well as complex judicial and arbitral disputes, especially involving Public Law, Regulatory Law, Innovation Law and Solutions for Startups. He is also listed as an arbitrator in organizations such as the Brazilian Center for Mediation and Arbitration (CBMA), the São Paulo State Arbitration Council (Caesp), the Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitration Chamber of the Brazilian Bar Association in São Paulo (CAMCA), the Specialized Mediation and Arbitration Chamber (Cames) and the Agribusiness Arbitration and Mediation Chamber (Camagro). Fernando has been with Demarest since 2011, when he joined as an intern.

Laura Pelegrini holds a master’s degree in law from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP), where she also obtained a postgraduate degree in Diffuse and Collective Rights. She holds a postgraduate degree in Contract Law from Escola Paulista de Direito and a bachelor’s degree in law from Faculdade de Direito de São Bernardo. Laura chairs the People’s Insurance Study Group of the International Insurance Law Association (AIDA) in Brazil, in addition to teaching postgraduate courses in Insurance Law at various institutions (ESA-OAB/SP, ENS and CESUSC), as well as FGV’s Qualification Course for Insurance Brokers. She has been ranked in the Insurance area by Chambers and Legal 500, a publication in which she was elected Insurance Rising Star in 2023. Laura has over 14 years of experience in the area, with a versatile practice in advisory and litigation, in corporate and personal insurance lines. She has been a member of Demarest’s Insurance, Reinsurance, Health and Private Pension practice area since 2015.

Min Gon Kim holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, a postgraduate degree in Business Law from Fundação Getulio Vargas and a master’s degree in Corporate Law (LL.M) from Columbia University in New York. During his stay in the US, he worked as a foreign associate at Holland & Knights LLP in Miami. He was also a foreign associate at Kim & Chang in Seoul (2014) and most recently worked as a visiting associate at Carey Abogados in Santiago, Chile. Min concentrates his practice in the corporate area, leading the Korean/Asian Desk, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, joint ventures, crossborder operations and corporate restructuring. His main clients include Brazilian and international companies from various economic sectors. Min has been elected and appointed by Chamber Global as a leading lawyer in the area of Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions, as well as a foreign specialist in Brazil in the area of Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions, since 2012. Min has been with Demarest since 2007, when he joined as an intern.