Leonardo da Costa Carvalho

Leonardo is the head of the Litigation, Labor, and Social Security Law practices at BVA.

With over 20 years of experience in these areas, he is considered one of Brazil’s leading lawyers in Labor Law and Long-Term Incentives, having been recognized for years by Chambers in Band 1, the highest category of the ranking.

Representing large corporations, banks, and middle market companies, as well as executives and statutory officers, Leonardo has handled thousands of disputes, negotiations, and labor proceedings, including cases involving the Labor Prosecution Office (Ministério Público do Trabalho), unions, and trade associations.

Leonardo also dedicates himself to the structuring of Stock Option plans, Partnerships, RSUs, and other long-term incentive plans in Brazil and abroad, having advised domestic and foreign clients across various sectors on a large number of such projects.

He holds a Master’s degree in Labor Law from PUC-SP, along with several specializations in procedural, labor, and social security law.

He is the author of the book “Empregado Hipersuficiente e o Alcance do Art. 444, Parágrafo Único da CLT – Preponderância do Acordo Individual Sobre o Instrumento Coletivo – Teoria e Prática” (Hyper-Sufficient Employee and the Scope of Article 444, Sole Paragraph of the CLT – Prevalence of Individual Agreements Over Collective Instruments – Theory and Practice), published by Ed. Juruá, as well as co-author of “Marco Legal das Startups” (Legal Framework for Startups), published by Ed. Thomson Reuters/Revista dos Tribunais (in which he explored the topic of stock options), and “Remuneração Variável como Ferramenta Estratégica” (Variable Compensation as a Strategic Tool), published by Ed. Auddas.

Regarding litigation, he handles primarily corporate and contractual matters arising from disputes involving non-compete clauses, abuse of controlling shareholder rights, minority shareholder violations, enforcement of shareholders’ agreements, earn-out provisions, breach of contract, among others. In 2026, he was recognized by Chambers in the Dispute Resolution: Mid-Market ranking.

He is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA), IR Global, and the Labor Law Research Group at PUC/SP (NETPUC).

• Leadership in Law Firms – Harvard Law School
• Master’s Degree in Labor Law – Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC/SP)
• Postgraduate Degree in Labor Law – Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC/SP)
• Bachelor of Laws – Mackenzie Presbyterian University
• Owners, Presidents and Top Management Program – Insper
• Specialization in Social Security Law – Faculdade Legale
• Extension in Fundamental Rights and Legal Innovations – University of Chile
• Training in Business-to-Business Mediation – CCFB-RJ
• Extension in Legal English – UCSD
• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems – Mackenzie Presbyterian University