| Environmental Law |
| At the onset of the new environmental legislation and new more severe sanctions, legal help has become essential to companies in order to avoid not being in compliance with the law in force, and as a consequence, to prevent the liability to fines, automatic breach and criminal attributability. The international pressure has put the Brazilian government in a situation in which it must intensify the inspection for environmental crimes, which again means that companies need legal advice for not attaining the sanctions. Furthermore, with the Sustainable Business Growth Index already implemented by BOVESPA (The Stock Exchange in São Paulo), the concern about whether companies run business management which combines their business interests and preservation of the environment has been confirmed. To manage this way, management must be up-to-date with environmental legislation on both Brazilian and International level, which again means that Environmental Law has become of extreme importance for any company. Within the activities of this area, following stand out: • Environmental Planning (Sustainability); • Environmental crimes; • preventive environmental studies for buying property and/or for building projects that depend on the approval from Environmental Protection Bodies; • defense in Public Civil Lawsuits, in which inappropriate occupation beyond limits or within areas of permanent environmental protection are argued; • environmental licensing, elaboration of RAP – a Temporary Environmental Report, EIA – a study of the Environmental Impact and RIMA – a Report on the Environmental Impact together with the approval by the Protection Bodies; • advice for avoiding non-compliance with the Environmental Legislation; • impeding the liability to fines, automatic breach and criminal attributability |