Leonardo de Campos Melo

Leonardo is a founding partner of LDCM Advogados and has solid experience advising Brazilian and foreign clients on the prevention and resolution of domestic and cross-border disputes, acting in judicial and administrative litigation, arbitration, and mediation.

His practice encompasses highly complex disputes across various sectors of the economy, including Corporate and Civil Law, Construction and Infrastructure, Real Estate, Distressed Assets, Agribusiness, Insurance, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), Transportation, Capital Markets, Banking, Oil and Gas, Public Law, among others.

He serves as an arbitrator in complex commercial disputes in Brazil and abroad.

He is recognized by national and international legal directories, including Chambers and Partners, Leaders League, Lexology Index (Who’s Who Legal), Latin Lawyer 250 and Legal 500, for his work in Arbitration, Civil and Commercial Litigation, and Dispute Resolution, with particular emphasis on strategic litigation and commercial arbitration.

He holds a Master’s degree in Civil Law from Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), an LL.M. in Arbitration from American University, in Washington, D.C., a postgraduate degree in Advanced Corporate Law and Capital Markets from Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), and a Bachelor of Laws from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio).

He served as a professor for ten years in the graduate program at PUC-Rio, where he taught Arbitration and Large-Scale Construction Contracts, and also taught Cross-Examination in a course organized by Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil – Seccional Rio de Janeiro (OAB-RJ).

Before founding LDCM Advogados, he was a partner for more than 15 years at Bermudes Advogados and FCDG – Ferro, Castro Neves, Daltro & Gomide Advogados.

Leonardo acts as an arbitrator in complex commercial disputes in Brazil and abroad.

Selected relevant cases:

Court:


▪ Represented a client acting in drilling and maintenance activities of oil wells in court proceedings involving alleged violations of lease agreements of drills and services contracts.

▪ Represented an American private equity fund in a court case pending at the bankruptcy court in São Paulo as a defendant in the suit filed by the estate requesting the defendant to pay the value of the bankruptcy liability because of alleged abuse of economic power and/or disregard of the legal entity of the estate.

▪ Represented different class entities at the domestic level in constitutional claims before the Federal Supreme Court.

▪ Represented numerous class associations in collective actions aiming to control the legality of municipal government acts in view of the State Constitution.

▪ Represented the former President of the Central Bank in a complaint before the Federal Supreme Court to discuss the laying of venue competent to prosecute and judge proceedings against misconduct in public office.

▪ Represented financial institutions in dozens of credit recovery actions, especially credit lines to rural producers guaranteed by agricultural and commercial pledges.

▪ Represented a company in the hospital and industrial gas sector in judicial action in federal first-level and Appeals Courts to annul a decision of CADE imposing alleged participation in a cartel.

Arbitration:

▪ Represented a Brazilian contractor and large hydroelectric operating company in an insurance arbitration against a pool of Brazilian insurers and international reinsurers before the London Court of International Arbitration (“LCIA”) in London.

▪ Joint representation with a European firm of a large Spanish economic group, active in the sectors of agriculture and energy, in corporate arbitrations against a Brazilian seller (agribusiness), before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (“CCI”) in New York. He subsequently represented the same Spanish group in a leading case of confirmation of the respective foreign arbitration awards before the Superior Court of Justice.

▪ Represented a company in the field of education, listed on NASDAQ, in a successful court challenge in arbitration in Brazil.

▪ Represented a company holding a thermoelectric plant in an arbitration involving an indemnity request against a mixed economy company due to the cut of gas supply by the sovereign state supplier of the input through a dedicated pipeline.

▪ Represented individual sellers of a Brazilian business group against an American company in an earn-out arbitration dispute due to an alleged breach of representations and warranties provided in the respective purchase and sale agreement.

▪ Represented a rail cargo transportation company in a corporate arbitration against a company in judicial recovery, including a request (granted) to secure credit in bankruptcy court.

Administrative:

▪ Represented different clients before the State and Federal Courts of Auditors in Audit Procedures.

▪ Represented a multinational in administrative proceedings before CADE, discussing alleged cartel formation.

▪ Represented a multinational in the document management and storage field in a series of administrative proceedings before the State Court of Justice of a Brazilian state concerning services of filing of cases already closed.

▪ Represented foreign funds in renegotiations with a Brazilian state and its Social Security Fund to secure a debt by assigning future royalties from the exploitation of oil & gas.

▪ Represented the client in an administrative filed by a Brazilian state to expropriate a high-value urban property in order to make it the seat of one of the State powers.

▪ Represented the client in administrative proceedings before the Secretariat of the Federal Government Heritage to discuss the adverse possession of private assets given under free lease to the federal authority to create and develop a hospital specialized in severe illnesses.