Associate

Luiz Santiago Filho

Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Global Anti-Corruption & FCPA, Internal Investigations

"Luiz Santiago is well versed in criminal enforcement actions."
The Legal 500, 2023

Overview

Luiz Santiago is an associate in the Anti-Corruption & Compliance practice of Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown in the Rio de Janeiro office.

He joined the firm in 2016 from one of the most traditional and prestigious criminal litigation boutiques in Brazil, where he represented clients in bid rigging, tax evasion, environmental crimes, as well as money laundering investigations and prosecutions. He has also represented clients in criminal proceedings in the Superior Courts and in large-scale police investigations.

Luiz has experience in civil and criminal investigations and enforcement actions, internal investigations, negotiations with public authorities, due diligence proceedings, developing and implementing compliance programs, criminal investigations and litigation, and general queries regarding Brazilian and foreign anticorruption and criminal legislation, notably the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act.

He has represented local and foreign clients in complex anticorruption & fraud civil, administrative, and criminal investigations and litigation, local and cross-border M&A transactions with exposure to Brazilian and foreign anticorruption legislation, allegations of breach of anticorruption obligations, and remediation plans involving criminal and other liabilities generally related to criminal wrongdoing.

Luiz graduated magna cum laude from Fundação Getúlio Vargas, in Rio de Janeiro, and earned his LLM degree from Harvard Law School, where he received the Dean Scholar's Prize for outstanding performance in Complex Federal Investigations.

Experience

  • Assistance to clients in Anticorruption & Compliance administrative (Law no. 12,846/2013) and judicial (Law no. 12,846/2013 and Law no. 8,429/92 – “Administrative Improbity Act”) litigation and disciplinary proceedings;
  • Third Party Due Diligence in the context of corporate and commercial transactions.
  • Interaction with enforcement agencies (Prosecutor's Office, Police, Brazilian Federal Revenue Office and others);
  • Assistance to clients in remediation projects with public authorities, cooperation and settlements (plea bargain, leniency agreements and Conduct Adjustment Agreements – “TAC”);
  • Anti-Corruption & Compliance programs and internal policies: creation, revision, improvement, adaptation of multijurisdictional programs and policies as per Brazilian Law, implementation, training and supervision of its operation;
  • Conducting internal investigations;
  • Drafting, revising, triggering and defending from alleged infractions of Anticorruption & Compliance clauses in corporate and commercial agreements;
  • General queries regarding Brazilian and foreign Anticorruption legislation and risk-assessment of commercial transactions;
  • Data Privacy and Cyber-Security: consultancy, creation, revision and implementation of internal policies, adaptation of internal rules and policies as per the applicable Brazilian and foreign legislation, notification and defense from alleged breaches;
  • Assistance to clients who have been accused of committing bid rigging, tax evasion, environmental crimes, crimes against the state and money laundering investigations and prosecutions.
  • Criminal investigations and proceedings in the Superior Courts.
  • Assistance to individual defendants in the Petrobras/Car wash case.
  • Assistance to clients in connection with Congressional Investigations Committees (CPI) in Brazil.
  • Assistance to clients in queries regarding repatriation of assets held by Brazilian tax residents abroad (Law n. 13.254/2016).
  • Assistance to clients in queries regarding criminal lawsuits and criminal procedure.

Education

  • Harvard Law School, LLM
  • Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Bachelor of Law (JD equivalent)
  • Harvard Law School, Exchange Student

Admissions

  • Brazil

Languages

  • Portuguese
  • English
  • Spanish

Professional & Community Involvement

  • Professor, Anticorruption & Compliance Post-graduate Program – Fundação Getúlio Vargas.
  • Lecturer, The Constitutional Development of the Death Penalty in the United States –  Fundação Getúlio Vargas, 2014.
  • Lecturer, “Deciphering the Mensalão” – Fundação Getúlio Vargas, 2012
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