Latin America has not yet developed its own case law for dispute resolution and still relies on European and US principles to govern disputes clauses in merger and acquisition deals, said lawyers speaking at Latin Lawyer′s 5th Annual M&A conference, during a discussion on what to do when M&A deals turn sour.

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Panellists revealed that if an M&A goes awry, and there are European or US-law disputes clauses included in the transaction′s documents, they would often collaborate with international counsel given foreign arbitrators are likely to be appointed if the dispute goes to arbitration. "We have to face the reality that we are not UK or US lawyers; we practice Brazilian law and there is no assurance that these terms will have the same meaning under Brazilian law. Arbitrators tend to view [a dispute] from their own perspective, not ours,"noted Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados partner Carlos José Rolim de Mello.

Latin Lawyer