What were you doing before the MCL?
Before joining the MCL I was working at the International Legal Department of BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) for eight years, four as legal manager. My practice at the Bank involved a wide range of activities. These included financing transactions, project finance, private equity, the placement of shares and the issuance of bonds on international capital market, structuring fundraising loan agreements with international entities and international litigation.
What were your impressions of the MCL?
The MCL curriculum offered me a unique approach of both finance and corporate law. For a banking lawyer this balance implied learning about finance and financial regulation and also improving my understanding of corporations’ requirements and structure. The Deals Course provided the opportunity to engage in the analysis of actual documentation of complex transactions, as well as highlighting the economic rationale behind contractual provisions. The MCL course as a whole provided me with the opportunity to study the work of renowned academics in law and economics, addressed my intellectual interests and fit well with the challenges of my work, in particular by requiring me to develop an accurate knowledge of the common law system. I would also underline that the MCL’s small group of students created a favourable environment for closer discussions during the lectures with the lecturers.
What are your post-MCL plans and have they changed due to taking the MCL?
After graduating at the MCL I am resuming my work at BNDES, and for those purposes the content and the skills developed during the course will contribute significantly. I will have a broader understanding of the transactions I analyse and a deeper appreciation of salient corporate, finance, economic and common law issues. The international environment I experienced in Cambridge also provided me with a valuable cultural background for dealing with foreign counterparties and for life as well.
