Lucas Spadano

Fialho Salles Advogados

São Paulo www.fialhosalles.com.br

lucas.spadano@fialhosalles.com.br Tel: +55 11 4064 7013

Biography

Lucas Spadano has broad experience in international trade matters. He regularly represents clients in trade remedy investigations (antidumping, CVD and safeguards) and offers advice on tariff modifications, technical barriers, import/export procedures, etc. His past experience includes working with the Brazilian government in Brasilia and Geneva, and with Freshfields in London. He has recently been included in the list of individuals that may be appointed as arbitrators in trade disputes between the EU and other countries.

What attracted you to a career in trade and customs litigation?

One of the main features that attracted me was the opportunity to have an “internationalised” professional practice. I have always been attracted to the cultural diversity, the different perspectives that are presented by international relations. In law school, international law was my main area of study. Within that field, international trade law offered promising career opportunities, so this is where I headed.

What do you enjoy most about working in this practice area?

I think the interdisciplinarity is what I enjoy the most, because it means you are constantly learning and being challenged to improve. It is not possible to offer excellent advice in international trade and customs matters without knowledge of various other fields of law (e.g. tax, administrative, contractual law, etc.), as well as other fields of knowledge (e.g. accountancy, politics, and economics). That makes each trade matter – even the ones that appear to be simple at first sight – rather interesting and challenging.

From a legal perspective, what ways can Brazilian trading interests be improved on an international level?

Negotiating more trade agreements is certainly important. Given the difficulties of completing multilateral negotiations (which would be very important for Brazil, notably in the area of agriculture), the practical way forward in my view is to enter into new regional/bilateral agreements, so that Brazil may keep pace with other countries. There are various ongoing efforts in that regard.

From the perspective of Brazilian companies and industry associations, I think a more strategic and closer look at trade barriers abroad, and at the possible solutions, could contribute to improve exports.

You have experience working with matters aligned with the WTO. If you could make one change to their rules and regulations, what would it be and why?

Right now I believe the most important changes are the ones that will allow the WTO to restore the normal functioning of its dispute settlement system. The appeal mechanism is currently blocked by virtue of a lack of consensus to appoint new members of the Appellate Body. At this stage it is not possible to anticipate the exact changes that will be made, but it seems clear that there must be some reform. A healthy dispute settlement system is extremely important to support the proper enforcement of trade agreements.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a global practice?

The main advantages are the opportunities to be in contact with people from different countries and cultures, which is truly a privilege. It is also great to be able to learn about different legal systems.

I do not see any disadvantages. There are challenges, of course – the area of international trade is a niche field, with perhaps less stable demand compared to the more traditional areas of domestic law. But with creativity and a good eye for market opportunities, these challenges can certainly be overcome.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

It is difficult to single out only one piece. I think my favourite one is: “read it again and keep only what the client (or the target audience) really needs to know”. Communication nowadays needs to be more direct and simpler than ever. I try to put that into practice and to be as pragmatic as possible, because this tends to increase effectiveness. The advice goes for written and oral submissions, memos, emails, or any other product of legal work.

What underrated skills and traits would you encourage the next generation of trade and customs lawyers to develop?

I am not sure this is underrated, but I think it is very important to realise that, to be a good trade lawyer, one needs to be first and foremost a good lawyer overall. Specialisation is of course a requirement in the market, but it is only possible to steadily deliver excellent work in international trade if one has a really good basic knowledge of classic areas of law, including constitutional law, administrative law, taxation, public international law, contracts, and others. Developing some knowledge of other disciplines is also desirable in my view – economics and politics, in particular, are always intertwined with trade law.

WWL says: Lucas Spadano is revered for his “remarkable expertise in WTO law, particularly in relation to subsidies”.