Biography: Insolvency & Restructuring

Thomas Felsberg got his JD from the University of São Paulo in 1967. He founded the practice that is now Felsberg e Associados in December 1970 after returning from New York, where he received his LLM from Columbia University. Over the years, the law firm has grown to become the internationally renowned full-service law firm it is today: Felsberg e Associados has offices in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasí­lia, New York, Shanghai, Düsseldorf and Washington, DC, and has become one of the principal Brazilian firms in cross-border transactions. Its international orientation finds expression in the membership of Meritas, a network of prominent law firms in more than 70 countries around the world.

In addition to his activities in the areas of project finance, aircraft finance, cross-border leasing and securitisation transactions, Thomas Felsberg is the head of the firm's global insolvency practice, having assisted domestic and foreign clients in restructuring debts ranging from US$100 million to US$1 billion. He is a member of the International Insolvency Institute, International Bankruptcy Association and American Bankruptcy Institute. He is also the only Brazilian member of the American College of Bankruptcy. Cases in which Mr Felsberg has acted include the in-court restructuring of the Brazilian subsidiaries of Parmalat (Deal of the Year 2006 by Latin Lawyer Magazine), the Brazilian subsidiary of Tecumseh Products Company, the Brazilian Airline BRA and several ongoing in- and out-of-court restructuring procedures representing both debtors and creditors.

Mr Felsberg has become a reference in the movement for the modernisation of Brazil's insolvency laws and their interpretation. He participates actively in drafting and advising on new legislation based on international experience in such matters, supplemented by research developed for academic and business conferences domestically and around the world. He has recently made presentations on insolvency matters in several events in Dublin, Houston, New York, Salzburg, Cancún, Zurich, Paris, Mexico City, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin and São Paulo.

From 1971 to 1978 Thomas Felsberg lectured at the School of Law of the University of São Paulo. He has been a speaker at numerous conferences all over the world and regularly publishes books, articles and essays. Noteworthy examples include Doing Business in Brazil, 1974/1976, Restructuring the Brazilian Financial System, published in March 1996; Product Liability in Brazil, published by Oceana in 1982; and "Anotações para um Enfoque Jurisprudencial do Leasing", published in Revista de Jurisprudência dosTribunais de Alçada Civil do Estado de São Paulo in 1994. He co-edits the Brazilian chapter in the World Leasing Yearbook, Air finance Annual, as well as the Brazilian chapters for the Collier International Business Insolvency Guide and for Getting the Deal Through: Restructuring & Insolvency, published annually by Law Business Research.

Mr Felsberg also has a relevant experience in arbitration as he acted as arbitrator and attorney for Brazilian and international clients on procedures both in Brazil and overseas, on, among others, cases conducted before the CCI, AAA, LMAA, UNCITRAL, the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Center, the AMCHAM Arbitration Center and ARBITAC.

Biography: Mergers and Acquisitions

Thomas Felsberg got his JD from the University of São Paulo in 1967. He founded the practice that is now Felsberg e Associados in December 1970 after returning from New York, where he received his LLM from Columbia University. Over the years, the law firm has grown to become the internationally renowned full-service law firm it is today: Felsberg e Associados has offices in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasí­lia, New York, Shanghai, Düsseldorf and Washington, DC, and has become one of the principal Brazilian firms in cross-border transactions. Its international orientation finds expression in the membership of Meritas, a network of prominent law firms in more than 70 countries around the world.

In addition to his activities in the areas of project finance, aircraft finance, cross-border leasing and securitisation transactions, Thomas Felsberg is the head of the firm's global insolvency practice, having assisted domestic and foreign clients in restructuring debts ranging from US$100 million to US$1 billion. He is a member of the International Insolvency Institute, International Bankruptcy Association and American Bankruptcy Institute. He is also the only Brazilian member of the American College of Bankruptcy. Cases in which Mr Felsberg has acted include the in-court restructuring of the Brazilian subsidiaries of Parmalat (Deal of the Year 2006 by Latin Lawyer Magazine), the Brazilian subsidiary of Tecumseh Products Company, the Brazilian Airline BRA and several ongoing in- and out-of-court restructuring procedures representing both debtors and creditors.

Mr Felsberg has become a reference in the movement for the modernisation of Brazil's insolvency laws and their interpretation. He participates actively in drafting and advising on new legislation based on international experience in such matters, supplemented by research developed for academic and business conferences domestically and around the world. He has recently made presentations on insolvency matters in several events in Dublin, Houston, New York, Salzburg, Cancún, Zurich, Paris, Mexico City, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin and São Paulo.

From 1971 to 1978 Thomas Felsberg lectured at the School of Law of the University of São Paulo. He has been a speaker at numerous conferences all over the world and regularly publishes books, articles and essays. Noteworthy examples include Doing Business in Brazil, 1974/1976, Restructuring the Brazilian Financial System, published in March 1996; Product Liability in Brazil, published by Oceana in 1982; and "Anotações para um Enfoque Jurisprudencial do Leasing", published in Revista de Jurisprudência dosTribunais de Alçada Civil do Estado de São Paulo in 1994. He co-edits the Brazilian chapter in the World Leasing Yearbook, Air finance Annual, as well as the Brazilian chapters for the Collier International Business Insolvency Guide and for Getting the Deal Through: Restructuring & Insolvency, published annually by Law Business Research.

Mr Felsberg also has a relevant experience in arbitration as he acted as arbitrator and attorney for Brazilian and international clients on procedures both in Brazil and overseas, on, among others, cases conducted before the CCI, AAA, LMAA, UNCITRAL, the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Center, the AMCHAM Arbitration Center and ARBITAC.