This interview concludes Líder Legal’s series of conversations “Brazil in 2026 and the new market logic: the perspective of ‘big law’”, a journey through the views of managing partners from the country’s leading law firms. Across these conversations, one idea recurs, expressed with different emphases but unmistakably consistent: Brazilian big law is moving beyond automatic reflexes and entering a phase of more deliberate, selective and structural decision-making.

Against this backdrop, we spoke with Paula Surerus, managing partner of Veirano Advogados, whose perspective brings together sustained growth, technical specialisation, responsible innovation and a clear understanding of leadership as a force in shaping culture and institutional reputation. Her interview does not function as a summary of the series; rather, it serves as a confirmation of the core issues currently redefining the Brazilian legal market.

Focused growth: expanding without diluting identity

The year 2025 marked an important milestone in Veirano Advogados’ recent trajectory. The firm consolidated its position in highly complex matters, particularly in infrastructure and strategic litigation, while also expanding its territorial footprint, reinforcing its standing as one of Brazil’s leading law firms.

The opening of an office in Belo Horizonte is consistent with this strategy of selective growth. It responds directly to client demand in Minas Gerais and to the need to support increasingly sophisticated transactions in key sectors of the economy.

“This initiative strengthens our presence in one of the country’s most important markets and expands our capacity to act in complex and innovative matters”.

The firm’s focus on mining, an area in which Veirano Advogados was recognised as Brazil’s leading firm by the Chambers Awards 2025, illustrates this approach clearly: growth is pursued where there is genuine specialisation and a well-defined value proposition.

Technology and artificial intelligence: innovation with rigour

As elsewhere in the market, artificial intelligence is already embedded in Veirano Advogados’ daily operations. In 2025, the firm adopted specialised AI-based tools to support activities such as document analysis, drafting and translation, generating measurable gains in efficiency and speed.

However, Paula Surerus introduces a nuance echoed throughout the series: technology does not replace legal judgment.

“Every deliverable is necessarily reviewed and validated by a lawyer, in a co-pilot model”.

AI is positioned as a means of enhancing quality and productivity, but always under human supervision. Innovation, in this view, is irreversible, but it must be accompanied by responsibility, security and strategic discipline.

A client who demands specialisation and real value

The profile of the corporate client closely mirrors the assessments shared by other managing partners throughout the series. More informed, more demanding and increasingly unimpressed by generic structures, today’s client places growing value on the specific experience of the professionals involved in each matter.

“More than the breadth of a full-service offering, what clients value is the proven experience of the teams directly involved”.

This shift compels law firms to evolve in terms of efficiency, transparency and predictability, and to reassess fee models so that they reflect not merely time spent, but the actual value delivered, through flexible arrangements adapted to the complexity of each engagement.

Rainmakers and long-term relationships

In a highly competitive environment, Paula Surerus places business development professionals in a central, but not isolated, role. Their function extends beyond generating mandates to include building long-term relationships, reinforcing the firm’s technical reputation, and ensuring alignment between what is promised and what is ultimately delivered.

This approach echoes one of the series’ recurring themes: the rainmaker of 2026 is no longer a solitary figure, but a connector, linking strategy, teams and client expectations within a coherent institutional framework.

Where will the opportunities be?

Looking ahead to 2026, Surerus identifies clear opportunities in tax, driven by Brazil’s tax reform, and in corporate law, particularly in corporate and M&A transactions. Environmental law is also gaining prominence, propelled by tightening regulatory requirements.

At the same time, she stresses the importance of maintaining a diversified practice and a genuine capacity to adapt.

“Opportunities can arise across different practice areas”.

Talent, female leadership and organisational culture

Talent development and retention remain strategic pillars at Veirano Advogados. The firm has maintained a consistent commitment to internal promotion, leadership development and diversity within decision-making roles.

Female leadership is not framed as a slogan, but as an institutional reality, reflected both in the firm’s governance structure and in Paula Surerus’s own role as managing partner.

From this perspective, leadership is exercised not through hierarchy, but through example. The balance between high performance, responsible innovation and a healthy professional environment is embedded in the firm’s strategy, rather than treated as a parallel agenda.

This interview brings the Brazil in 2026 series to a close, while also allowing it to be viewed as a whole. Across conversations with the managing partners of the country’s leading firms, several points of consensus clearly emerge:

• Technology is necessary, but insufficient without sound judgment;

• Clients demand specialisation, predictability and real value;

• Sustainable growth depends on focus, not volume;

• And leadership is no longer measured solely by results, but by culture, talent and consistency.

Paula Surerus’s perspective encapsulates this moment in the market with particular clarity. In Brazil’s big law of 2026, leadership will not be defined by who reacts fastest, but by who makes better decisions, combining ambition with responsibility, and building cultures capable of sustaining both over time.

The conclusion is unequivocal: the future of the Brazilian legal market is no longer being improvised. It is being built, firm by firm, through deliberate choices and long-term planning.