Pinheiro Neto has been on the forefront of the derivatives legal industry for decades. Back in 1991, the firm assisted foreign banks with presence in Brazil to propose regulation on overseas derivatives access to local banks and companies that result in the first rule on derivatives enacted by the Central Bank of Brazil. Later, the firm worked together with ISDA and local banking associations to create a sound legal basis for netting and to develop a local master agreement, which resulted in the draft of the Contrato Global de Derivativos, a standard derivatives agreement for use in the domestic OTC market that follows the ISDA Master Agreement structure.

More recently, the office has been involved with the developments on OTC clearing, advising on the relevant rules and procedures and on the impact foreign derivatives legislation could have on clearing procedures. As an ISDA Member in Brazil, the firm has been assisting the association being responsible for the preparation and constant updating of netting opinions, collateral opinions, enforceability of e-contracts opinions and, more recently, on margin requirements rules for derivatives.