The firm, which already counts energy giants Petrobras among its Brazilian clients, has signalled its intention to take advantage of profitable project-finance and real estate work in the build up to the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, according to London’s Financial Times.

Longstanding relationships

Hogan Lovells – which claim to be the ninth-biggest law firm in the world by revenue -- will be the first full service global law firm to have a presence in Rio. New York heavyweights Shearman & Sterling and Skadden have both already made moves in Sao Paulo.
Claudette Christian, a Washington-based finance partner at Hogan Lovells, will head the new Rio office. She told the FT: ‘We have had longstanding relationships with a number of high-quality local firms and we will team up with them on a non-exclusive basis.’

Tightened regulation

The announcement comes after a recent Brazilian Bar Association ruling tightened the policy governing international law firms in the country. The regulator banned global practices from using the tactic of partnering exclusively with local lawyers, which many had employed to get around rules preventing foreign lawyers from joining Brazilian firms.
According to The Am Law Daily web site, the office will focus on energy and infrastructure as well as several projects from Hogan Lovells’s office in Caracas. Further relocations are expected to be announced within the coming months.