TozziniFreire´s partner in the Corporate Law and Foreign Investment, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, Maria is highly skilled in complex contracts, having led some of the most relevant transactions conducted in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in the last decade. She answers for strategic relations in the innovation ecosystem, operating as a bridge for venture capital funds and large companies focused on open innovation and corporate venture. Maria was a permanent associate in the M&A team at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Los Angeles, USA, having previously worked as a legal intern with a judge at the Superior Court of California. Maria is among the distinguished Brazilian lawyers licensed in California.
// Academic education
LL.M. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, USA, 2007.Graduate of the Law School of PUC-RS (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul), 2005.
// Recognition
Recommended by Chambers Brazil in the Rio Grande do Sul region, Latin Lawyer 250, Análise Advocacia Mulher. Maria was also elected Leading Individual in Commercial, Corporate, and M&A by The Legal 500. She was also shortlisted among America´s female lawyers for the M&A Lawyer of the Year award by Euromoney Women in Business Law Awards Americas in 2022 and 2023.
// Additional Activities
- Vice-chair of the M&A/JV Committee of ABA (American Bar Association) - International Law Section.
- Advisor at Wow Accelerator.
- Board member of PROCEMPA (Porto Alegre City Data Processing Company).
- Professor in the specialization program in Business Law at PUC-RS.
- Mentor in the Women in Law Mentoring program.
- Member of the Governance Commission for Startups and Scale-ups at IBGC (Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance).
- Member of the State Bar of California.
// Publications
- "Investimentos em startups: desafios jurídicos e medidas protetivas ao investidor" article (co-author). In: Fusões e Aquisições em Foco. Rio de Janeiro: Lumen Juris, 2022.
- Corporate Venture Capital: como transformar e exponencializar sua empresa fazendo investimentos em negócios inovadores e startups (co-author), 2022.
- "O Direito Societário em Ambientes Digitais Descentralizados" article (co-author). In: Metaverso: Aspectos Jurídicos. São Paulo: Almedina, 2022.
