The Firm

Founded in 2000 in Rio de Janeiro, Paulo Freitas Ribeiro Advogados Associados Law Firm is renowned for its expertise and success in corporate and economic criminal law cases.

Thirty years ago, when we began practicing criminal law, the field was undergoing a significant transition. Classic criminal law, which traditionally focused on protecting individual rights like freedom, life, and property, evolved to include Economic Criminal Law.

Traditionally, criminal law addressed offenses against individuals. However, in the late 1980s, laws expanded to protect both individual and collective interests, such as the environment, financial systems, and free competition. This expansion birthed economic criminal law, holding corporate executives accountable for criminal acts and allowing for corporate investigations and charges.

Our practice grew alongside these developments. Having started with classic criminal law, we adapted to the emergence and evolution of economic criminal law, handling numerous high-profile economic crime cases in Brazil. In recent years, the landscape of economic crime investigations has changed dramatically, particularly due to Operation Car Wash.

Previously, invasive measures in economic crimes were rare. — Now, precautionary arrests, searches, breaches of confidentiality, and the use of leniency agreements are common, introducing short-term risks and potentially irreparable damages to individuals and corporations.

Moreover, advancements in criminal justice technology, including big data analytics, have transformed how criminal prosecution authorities operate. This has made practicing criminal law more challenging, requiring us to adopt technology to ensure resource parity and effectively strategize both short-term and long-term case management.

Classic criminal law shaped the traditional criminal lawyer. Today, lawyers must adapt to new realities while upholding the essence of criminal law: safeguarding individual rights. The modern challenge lies in understanding corporate dynamics without losing the strategic edge of criminal defense. It involves deep knowledge of corporate operations and technologies, balancing technical proficiency with human-centric legal advocacy.

Our approach embraces this challenge—to be technical yet empathetic, navigating the complexities of modern criminal law while advocating passionately for our clients.