Melo e Novaes

What Melo e Novaes does

Melo e Novaes Advogados Associados is a Brazilian law firm founded in 1998 in Salvador, Bahia, by lawyers Sérgio Melo and Ibsen Novaes (OAB/BA registration 608/99). The firm operates as a multi-disciplinary practice covering five core areas: Labor Law, Tax/Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Civil/Corporate Law, and Digital Law. It positions itself as one of the most renowned law corporations in Northeast Brazil, with operations centered in Bahia and serving as a base for client defense in other regions of the country.

The firm's primary client segment is European and Portuguese investors entering the Brazilian market, particularly in real estate, tourism, renewable energy, healthcare, and services. It offers cross-border advisory services including company formation (including 100% foreign-owned entities), tax planning, capital repatriation structuring, regulatory compliance, and litigation. Notable client engagements include representing the Federal Republic of Germany during its first decade and ongoing partnerships with the Brazil-Germany Chamber of Commerce (with representations in São Paulo and Frankfurt). The firm has expanded its footprint to additional offices in São Paulo, Florianópolis, and Lisbon.

The business model is professional services-based, with revenue generated through negotiated legal fees for advisory, consultation, case representation, and contract drafting. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The firm employs a sales-led go-to-market approach combining direct client engagement, referrals, strategic partnerships, and content marketing — including a Portuguese-language blog and a free PDF guide ('Guia do Investidor Português no Brasil') distributed via WhatsApp to attract foreign investor leads. The firm is privately held with no external funding.

Name

Melo e Novaes

Legal name

Melo e Novaes Advogados Associados

Website

https://meloenovaes.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Melo e Novaes is a Salvador, Brazil-based law firm founded in 1998 specializing in Tax, Labor, Environmental, Corporate, and Digital law for European and Portuguese investors entering the Brazilian market, with offices in São Paulo, Florianópolis, and Lisbon.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Salvador

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Advisory Services: Professional legal services including corporate law, tax advisory, labor law, environmental law, civil law, digital law, and real estate legal services. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for legal consultation, case representation, contract drafting, and ongoing legal advisory.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Melo e Novaes is a Brazilian law firm providing professional legal advisory and litigation services across five core practice areas: Labor Law, Tax/Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Civil/Corporate Law, and Digital Law. The firm specializes in guiding European and Portuguese investors entering the Brazilian market, handling company formation, cross-border investment structuring, tax planning, regulatory compliance, and representation in litigation. Services are delivered through direct office consultations in Brazil and Portugal, supported by video conferencing for international clients.

Product overview

Melo e Novaes is a full-service law firm offering legal services across five core practice areas: Labor Law (Trabalhista), Tax/Administrative Law (Tributário/Administrativo), Environmental Law (Ambiental), Civil/Corporate Law (Cível/Societário), and Digital Law (Digital). The firm specializes in assisting European and Portuguese investors entering the Brazilian market, providing advisory services for company formation, real estate investment, tax planning, and regulatory compliance. The practice is complemented by an educational product—the Guia do Investidor Português no Brasil—a downloadable PDF guide that provides practical guidance on investing in Brazil, available free of charge via WhatsApp distribution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Assessoria Jurídica em Direito Trabalhista (Labor Law Advisory) Legal advisory and litigation services in labor and employment law, including defense of companies and individual cases for businesses and employers operating in Brazil.
• Assessoria Jurídica em Direito Tributário/Administrativo (Tax and Administrative Law Advisory) Tax and administrative law advisory covering fiscal litigation, public law, and tax planning for companies and foreign investors.
• Assessoria Jurídica em Direito Ambiental (Environmental Law Advisory) Environmental law services for companies planning and operating in sensitive areas, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations and licensing requirements.
• Assessoria Jurídica em Direito Cível/Societário (Civil, Commercial, Corporate, Consumer, and Real Estate Law Advisory) Civil, commercial, corporate, consumer, and real estate law advisory and litigation services for companies and investors, including company formation, contracts, and acquisitions.
• Assessoria Jurídica em Direito Digital (Digital Law Advisory) Legal advisory at the intersection of law and information technology, covering both consultative and litigation matters including data protection (LGPD), digital compliance, and IT-related legal issues.
• Guia do Investidor Português no Brasil (Portuguese Investor's Guide to Brazil)

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully excluded erroneously included partner from tax execution at 11th Vara da Fazenda Publica in Salvador
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• PLANOS ENGENHARIAminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 August 2020Partnership in mutual cooperation treaty for creating a healthy and safe environment for prospecting new businesses related to the Basic Sanitation Legal Framework (Marco Legal do Saneamento). PLANOS ENGENHARIA contributed technical expertise in the sanitation sector.
• WILMINGTON (USA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 August 2020American company partner in mutual cooperation treaty for Basic Sanitation Legal Framework business opportunities. Partner provides technical know-how in the sanitation sector alongside PLANOS ENGENHARIA and MELO E NOVAES.
• Brazil-Germany Chamber of Commerce (Brasil-Deutschland Handelskammer)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMELO E NOVAES integrated into the Brazil-Germany Chamber of Commerce with representations in São Paulo and Frankfurt. This formalizes the firm's existing practice of serving German investors and expands its reach in the German business community.
• Strategic Partner Law Firms (Regional and International)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStrategic relationships with other professionals and law firms in other national regions and abroad, enabling the firm to serve clients seeking expansion beyond their primary geographic focus.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mattos Filho: One of Brazil's largest full-service law firms with a strong cross-border and international-desk practice. It serves foreign-investor mandates at a much larger scale, and competes for the same inbound European-Portuguese investment work that anchors Melo e Novaes.
• Pinheiro Neto Advogados: Top-tier São Paulo-based firm with deep cross-border M&A and corporate practices serving multinational clients in Brazil. Comparable in serving foreign-investor mandates but at materially larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão: Brazilian firm with strong corporate, tax, and capital-markets practices, including advisory for foreign investors and cross-border transactions. Overlaps with Melo e Novaes on tax and corporate advisory for inbound investors.
• Tauil & Chequer Advogados (Mayer Brown): Brazilian arm of global firm Mayer Brown, with a multinational client base and corporate, regulatory, and tax practices. Competes for the same cross-border investment mandates.
• TozziniFreire Advogados: Full-service Brazilian firm with established international-desk work for foreign-investor mandates. Comparable in multi-discipline advisory (corporate, tax, labor, regulatory) but at national-firm scale.
• Machado Meyer Advogados: Brazilian full-service firm strong in corporate, tax, and regulatory advisory, including cross-border work. Comparable practice mix for serving inbound foreign investors, with substantially larger capacity.
• Demarest Advogados: Major Brazilian full-service firm with established international client work across corporate, tax, and regulatory practices. Competes for the same foreign-investor and corporate-advisory mandates, with materially larger bench capacity.
• Veirano Advogados: Full-service Brazilian firm with multi-jurisdictional tax, corporate, and environmental practices serving foreign investors entering Brazil. Directly comparable practice mix (tax, environmental, corporate, regulatory) to Melo e Novaes.

Regional players

• PLMJ: Leading Portuguese full-service law firm with a substantial Brazil-desk practice serving Portuguese companies and investors entering Brazil. Mirror-image peer for cross-border Portugal-Brazil mandates.

Direct peers

• Dias Carneiro Advogados: Mid-to-large Brazilian firm focused on corporate, M&A, tax, and regulatory advisory, including for international clients entering Brazil. Closely comparable practice mix and similar cross-border investor focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/meloenovaes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/melo-novaes
• Instagraminstagram.com/meloenovaes?igshid=1wayxyiv6e7gb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Melo e Novaes