About BMA

Francisco Müssnich and Plínio Barbosa decide to form their own law firm in Rio de Janeiro – an M&A and corporate boutique. Their goal is to offer agile, creative solutions, disrupting the market with a new way of practicing law.

The announcement we published on the founding of the firm contained only telephone numbers because the firm’s location was far from the best; the door to our office had no lock; the desks were so close together we had to weave our way between them; and the file room was so dark we didn’t know whether it was day or night when we went to pull a client’s file.

(Excerpt from internal communication).

From client to partner. Paulo Cezar Aragão joins the firm, changing its name and adding a cornerstone to the foundations of the newest player in the Brazilian legal market. Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão Advogados is now complete.

The privatization of Brazil’s state-owned telephone company, Telebrás, becomes the big case that cements BM&A (with an &) in the market. With privatization, Brazil’s telecom sector undergoes a radical transformation. The federal government raises BRL 22 billion and the number of mobile phone lines soars to 4.6 million from about 235 million.

BM&A’s growing reputation leads to expansion. The firm opens in São Paulo, Brazil’s financial center, and takes on complex, landmark cases such as the Antarctica-Brahma merger, which creates Ambev, a giant in the beverage industry.

BM&A has expanded its areas of practice and is much more than a corporate law firm. The creation of private equity funds, such as Sul América S.A.’s, with a net asset value of about USD 1 billion, becomes part of the firm’s routine.

More expansion. The firm opens an office in Brasília, the center of power in Brazil.

The first edition of BMA Review goes out to the firm’s clients. The quarterly publication addresses legal and business issues from the perspective of the firm’s highly qualified practitioners. To date, more than 90 editions have been published, including regular, commemorative and thematic editions.

“Their well-known excellence in mergers and acquisitions and in the capital market has extended to all areas, such as corporate, tax, competition law, litigation and arbitration, environmental, administrative and intellectual property. Over the 10 years of its existence, the firm has acted in many of the most significant deals in the country.” (Translation of an excerpt from a contemporary article.)

By its 10th anniversary, Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão is a full service law firm with more than 240 members. The firm celebrates a major institutional recognition: the DCI prize for the most admired law in Brazil in 2005.

In the same year, Luiz Antonio de Sampaio Campos returns to the firm after a brief tenure at Brazil’s securities and exchange commission, the CVM.

The firm’s legal skill, creativity, and agility in solving problems gain space in the press, which showcases Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão’s way of doing business. The boom in the Brazilian market continues, and BM&A advises in major M&A transactions such as the merger of Americana.com and Submarino.

Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão Advogados wins its first Latin Lawyer Deal of the Year (DOTY). The award-winning deal is the IPO of Bovespa, as Brazil’s stock exchange was known at the time, and starts a run of DOTYs for the next three consecutive years.

The firm has another reason to celebrate: It is chosen by the Brazilian Football Confederation – CBF to structure the 2014 World Cup Organizing Committee and act as its legal adviser. The project involves almost all the firm’s practice areas.

BM&A remains in the vanguard of the legal profession, acting in one of the first public-private partnerships in Brazil, in the city of Rio das Ostras in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The big M&A transactions that brought fame to Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão show no sign of slowing. The firm acts in the merger of two of Brazil’s three largest banks, Itaú and Unibanco. The same year, BM&A inaugurates the firm’s intellectual property branch, BMAPI.

The press calls the merger of Sadia and Perdigão the “Ambev of the food industry”. Like the merger that created the beverage giant, BM&A also advises in the creation of Brasil Foods. Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão’s agility, versatility and multidisciplinary approach is a match for the times in Brazil, which is experiencing growth in the infrastructure sector. The BRL 7.2 billion financing for the Jirau hydroelectric plant on the Madeira river is the largest ever for an infrastructure project at the time, and BM&A helps make it happen.

“The lawyer in the big deals. Informal, exacting, hardnosed and pugnacious, Francisco Müssnich is behind some of the biggest corporate transactions in Brazil.” (Excerpt from an article in the Veja Rio magazine profiling one the firm’s founders). BM&A is known for its fierce advocacy on behalf of its clients, a defining trait of the firm’s culture then and now.

Barbosa Müssnich & Aragão Advogados advises in an impressive range of matters, and continues to solve complex, unprecedented problems. One standout deal in 2011 is the licensing of Looney Tunes, League of Justice, and DC Comics characters to the Hopi Hari amusement park – Warner Bros’ largest licensing deal in Latin America, and its first to an amusement park.

BM&A solidifies its full-service status with another Deal of the Year award, this time for a Competition Law matter. Over the next two years, the firm secures four more DOTYs, in Conflict Resolution, Private Equity, Restructuring, and Regulatory.

With its deep roots in the sector, BM&A advises in yet another major telecom deal – the merger between Oi and Portugal Telecom, creating a company whose business spans three continents.

Known for its tireless dedication to its clients, the firm earns Chambers and Partners’ coveted Client Service Award for the second consecutive year.

The firm’s 20th anniversary is transformative. Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão Advogados becomes BMA Advogados, with a refreshed brand that reflects its modern, focused and dynamic spirit. The firm launches its internal committees: BMA EducAção, for continuing education and training within the firm; BMA InspirAção, for pro bono and volunteer work that supports education, entrepreneurship with social impact, and culture; BMA Mulher, to support women’s professional growth and development; and BMA Diversidade, to promote engagement and communication, expand viewpoints and appreciate differences, both within and outside the firm. Rounding out the year, BMA wins Chambers and Partners’ prestigious Law Firm of Year award.

BMA Advogados joins social media and launches its Facebook page to share legal insights and firm achievements. That same year, Amir Bocayuva becomes the firm’s managing partner, a position he continues to hold.

BMA continues to strengthen its internal governance. The firm’s internal compliance program begins with a review of internal policies and procedures, including its Conduct and Ethics Policy. The firm earns recognition through awards and in the media. BMA wins Deal of the Year for clients it advises, in a streak that runs uninterrupted from 2017 through to 2025, with 2021 being the only exception. The awards highlight the firm’s versatility and strength in different practice areas. In the media, BMA founders Plínio Barbosa, Francisco Müssnich, Paulo Cezar Aragão and Luiz Antonio Campos are dubbed the “Merger Titans” in an article in the Capital Aberta magazine.

Journalist Lauro Jardim describes BMA as “On top” in Brazil’s daily newspaper O Globo in 2017, when the firm takes first place in Thompson Reuters’ ranking of mergers and acquisitions in Latin America and Brazil, for transactions worth USD 25 billion. Seeking greater transparency, BMA releases its first Social Report. Published annually, the report is especially valued by companies that adhere to ESG principles. In Rio de Janeiro, BMA relocates to a modern, spacious building that offers a breathtaking view to clients and business partners.

BMA continues to enhance its internal policies, and increases maternity and paternity leave. Barbara Rosenberg, a top competition lawyer and one of the firm’s partners, comments on the changes in a profile published in Brazil’s business newspaper, Valor Econômico, which also covers changes in CADE, Brazil’s antitrust authority, and BMA’s major competition cases. Recognized among the most sought-after specialists, she has advised on landmark transactions such as the BRF (Sadia/Perdigão), B3 (Bovespa/Cetip), and Itaú/Unibanco mergers, as well as Kroton/Estácio, Suzano/Fibria, and Itaú’s investment in XP.

The year begins with a marvelous piece of news. Paulo Cezar Aragão, one of BMA’s founders, has won Latin Lawyer’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. The awards ceremony, however, takes place later. The covid-19 pandemic hits, with lockdowns around the world and profound impacts on work relations. BMA does what is needed to safeguard its people’s safety and health, and the entire firm works remotely until 2022. Through BMA Inspiration, the firm contributes to the fight against covid-19 by providing legal advice on financing for a vaccine production facility at the Bio-Manguinhos Institute, part of Fiocruz, Latin America’s leading health science and technology institution.

BMA joins the UN’s Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, and commits to its 10 universal principles as a fundamental pillar in its strategy, culture, and practices.

After two years of remote work, BMA Advogados joins the new global trend and most members of the firm migrate to a hybrid work model. Business is booming. The “Capital” column in Brazil’s daily newspaper O Globo reports that BMA has worked in transactions that resulted in companies which, taken together, are valued at more than BRL 100 billion. BMA also announces a succession plan for Plínio Barbosa, Francisco Müssnich and Paulo Cezar Aragão. The founders will sell their equity interests in the firm by 2027, in a significant step toward consolidating BMA Advogados as an institution. At the Women in Business Law Awards 2022 – Americas, BMA wins the Firm Award: Women in Business Law – Latin America for its work in 2021 to foster gender equity.

Once again BMA Advogados is named Law Firm of the Year, this time by two different publications – Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 Brazil – for its work in Competition Law, highlighting the firm’s commitment to its clients and to excellence in all practice areas.

In a Valor Econômico interview, Paulo Cezar Aragão reflects on his career, BMA’s founding, and landmark transactions that shaped Brazilian business law. As he plans his succession, he aims to remain as a consultant. BMA also addresses the challenges of artificial intelligence: managing partner Amir Bocayuva highlights its use with caution and strict data safeguards. The firm’s ongoing social commitment earned recognition at the Legal Benchmarking Group Social Impact Awards Americas 2024 for initiatives reducing racial inequality in the legal sector.

BMA Advogados turns 30. BMA’s foundations are solid, and its enviable position in the market is testimony to recognition earned from clients and awards. The firm’s internal governance and social reporting, fine-tuned in recent years, reflect BMA’s commitment to the future. Much has been achieved, but there is more to do. We’ve constructed a past, and we’re still building to meet the challenges time will bring.