Brazil as a Seat: Should Companies Go There?
December 17, 2009, Global Arbitration Review

The legal climate in Brazil is seen as increasingly favorable to parties wishing to resolve disputes through arbitration. Indeed, after many years of concerted efforts by Brazilian lawyers and the Brazilian Arbitration Committee (CBAr), many in the legal community believe the country has succeeded in creating a more arbitration-friendly environment over the past two decades, and pending reports are expected to confirm this.

If the signal-to-noise ratio concerning Brazilian arbitration improves, the corporate world will react, predicts one international lawyer. Jonathan Hamilton, a partner at White & Case in Washington, DC says: "The old days, when arbitration consisted of partners of global firms advising multinationals in proceedings run exclusively in Paris or New York under ICC or ICDR or LCIA rules, are gone." Now, he says, such companies “make practical choices. They're much more likely to consider a locally seated arbitration – including in Brazil.”

Hamilton notes that this is borne out by evidence from Brazil, showing that case numbers at local institutions are on the rise.

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