ARTICLE – 2020

I am writing this text for our 2019 Annual Report in a very different context from what we imagined to be the 2020 scenario. Our Annual Report is the main document through which we show our work year after year, giving visibility to our initiatives and plans for the firm. In this report, we seek to talk about the year of 2019, but it would be unreasonable not to mention the scenario that we are all experiencing at the moment.

Since the first quarter of 2020, we have been going through the great challenge of dealing with a health emergency on a global scale and unprecedented for current generations. There are personal, professional, and social issues in this episode. To speak of this moment, it is necessary to begin by remembering the lives lost and the pain caused by those losses. As I write, our country has already surpassed the 50,000 death mark and this number can still increase. Above all, we have to show solidarity with those who were directly affected and to comfort them in the best possible way. In a quick analysis of this tragedy, as it impacts the most vulnerable people very differently, the most affected are those who do not have access to basic elements, such as health, education, sanitation, security, housing, and work.

There is also a negative impact on the economy, which is very large and could last for a long time. It is necessary to think about how to deal with these impacts so that our country, its companies, and the professionals who are part of it are able to get out of this difficult and recessive scenario more quickly and return to a growth path.

Whenever a crisis is faced, everything we have done before it has its effects enhanced for the good or for the bad. Fortunately, I see that much of what we have done in the firm in recent years has helped us to go through this delicate moment more peacefully. Our values are in all our activities and our firm has partners and highly engaged professionals, which have also been extremely valuable to maintain our high standard in everything we do. We were able to change to a completely remote operation model and keep the same quality of service to our clients, but prioritizing the health and safety of all our professionals. Even without face-to-face contact, we are more engaged in communicating with our clients, our professionals, and other stakeholders. Hence, we have developed great agility and adaptability. We are listening to our clients more than ever and understanding how we can effectively take actions that contribute to the challenge that they are facing.

In addition, we redirected our efforts to better contribute to society at this time of crisis. We focus on our pro bono practice and social responsibility initiatives to aid actions that contribute to Brazilian society in face of the global health crisis.

And what will we have learned when all this is over? I think that for those who are attentive and open, many things. First of all, everything is interconnected. We live on the same planet, we are all human beings, and we share the same yearnings and fears. We are fragile and human fragility can only be mitigated if we think as a whole, collectively. Living inside our bubbles or believing that we are protected proved to be an impossible conception of all this. We need to think better about these interconnections and have a look at the bigger picture.

But, we will also learn from new ways of working, with flexibilities that we have not yet attempted, and with technologies that will allow new ways to conduct our lives.

As a firm, we remain focused on our project to build a model that serves its clients with a very high level of excellence in all practice areas. We are an increasingly growing firm, based on the mindset of attracting talents and developing people who will find unlimited opportunities for their development here, with an entrepreneurial and innovative DNA and that seeks to contribute and give back to society, and to make a better world.

José Eduardo Queiroz