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Building Better Arbitrations: A Collaborative Forum for In-House Counsel and Arbitration Stakeholders

Presented by CPR's Brazilian Advisory Board

Thursday, October 22, 2026
5:45 PM - 9:00 PM (E. South America Standard Time)

Event Details

PROGRAM

Building Better Arbitrations: A Collaborative Forum for In-House Counsel and Arbitration Stakeholders

  • A special presentation by CPR's Brazilian Advisory Board for São Paulo Arbitration Week.
Date/Time:
Thursday, October 22, 2026
5:45 - 7:45 PM (BRT) - Program
7:45 - 9:00 PM (BRT) - Cocktail Reception

Hosted by:
White & Case LLP, Av. Brig. Faria Lima, 3.555 - 7° Andar, São Paulo

Click here for the program flyer!


Format: 

This is an in-person program that will be conducted in English and Portuguese. Featuring

  • an extensive panel discussion with substantive input welcomed from attendees
  • a full cocktail reception immediately following the program

Registration:

Thanks to the support of our generous sponsors, registration for this program is FREE and open to the public!

Advance registration is required for attendance. Attendees must show ID to enter the venue.


COCKTAIL RECEPTION
Meet CPR’s Brazilian Advisory Board!

Join us after the program for a full cocktail reception to continue the conversation in White & Case’s garden.

  • Connect with the speakers and fellow attendees
  • Meet CPR’s Brazilian Advisory Board members
  • Learn more about CPR Institute’s global mission and its important initiatives in Brazil

The Brazilian Advisory Board is led by three co-Chairs:
  • Diego Faleck, Faleck & Associados
  • André Cavalcanti, Shell Brasil
  • Michelle Grando, White & Case

Program and Cocktail Reception generously sponsored by White & Case LLP, Av. Brig. Faria Lima, 3.555 - 7° Andar, São Paulo, Brazil

SPEAKERS
CPR Institute:

CPR Institute's Brazilian Advisory Board:

In-House Counsel:

External Counsel:

Experts:

Arbitrators:


PROGRAM DETAILS
Building Better Arbitrations: A Collaborative Forum for In-House Counsel and Arbitration Stakeholders

Featuring perspectives from in-house counsel, arbitrators, experts, and external counsel, this interactive forum will explore practical strategies for improving arbitration efficiency and help shape CPR's forthcoming In-House Counsel Guide for Efficient Arbitrations.

Program Description

CPR was founded by corporate counsel who believed that dispute resolution works best when shaped by the needs of its users. Today, in-house counsel continue to play a central role in driving innovation and improvement across the arbitration process.

Hosted by CPR's Brazilian Advisory Board during São Paulo Arbitration Week, this interactive forum will place in-house counsel at the center of the conversation, bringing together corporate users, arbitrators, experts, and practitioners to share perspectives on what makes arbitration truly efficient. Through a facilitated discussion and active audience participation, attendees will explore practical solutions, identify best practices, and contribute ideas for improving arbitral proceedings in Brazil and internationally.

The insights generated during this session will help shape CPR's forthcoming In-House Counsel Guide for Efficient Arbitrations, creating a practical resource built on the collective experience of the businesses and professionals who use arbitration every day.


CPR IN BRAZIL 

CPR Institute’s presence in Brazil dates to 2011, with the launch of an initiative to promote the use of commercial mediation here. Thanks to grants from global corporations, CPR developed a strong collaborative network with Brazilian ADR providers, bar associations and other professional organizations, as well as the Brazilian Judiciary. CPR also translated key material into Portuguese, including rules, protocols, training materials and success stories.

Today, CPR carries out its mission in Brazil with the help of its Brazilian Advisory Board, a body of experts composed of CPR members with connections to Brazil. CPR and its Brazilian Advisory Board regularly organize trainings and educational programs for corporate counsel, business associations, private lawyers and judges on the benefits of using ADR.

Since 2013, CPR has organized annual conferences on ADR in different parts of Brazil, including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Curitiba. They also support the CPR International Mediation Competition, held annually in São Paulo, which attracts law students from around the world to compete in Brazil.

To fulfill its mission, CPR regularly produces materials and resources, including manuals and guides and with the assistance of the Brazilian Advisory Board, such as:

  • The Corporate Counsel Practical Guide for Arbitration in Brazil (available to the public as a digital download) inspired by the CPR Corporate Counsel Manual for Cross-Border Dispute Resolution and with the purpose of providing in-house counsel with the resources they need to navigate through the key opportunities and challenges involved in arbitration proceedings.
  • The Brazil Mediation & ADR Guide, providing a practical overview of ADR in Brazil.

To learn more about CPR's activities in Brazil, including further information about the Brazilian Advisory Board, visit our page here: https://www.cpradr.org/brazilian-advisory-board

For More Information:

Knar Nahikian
Knar Nahikian
Vice President, Global Initiatives CPR Institute
SPONSORS
CPR Institute thanks our sponsors!

Host Sponsor and Cocktail Reception Sponsor:

 A CPR Institute member firm


Program Sponsor:


An official program of:

Speakers Bios
CPR Institute:

Knar A. Nahikian, Esq. is Vice President - Global Initiatives at the CPR Institute, the think tank side of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.

With experience as a former commercial litigator, an in-house counsel, and a court appointed mediator and arbitrator, she now promotes CPR Institute's mission of dispute prevention and resolution of business disputes on a global scale. In her role at CPR Institute, she oversees all international initiatives outside the U.S., including CPR's international advisory boards in Brazil, Canada, and Europe, as well as activities of the Y-ADR Steering Committee, an international leadership group of young professionals.

CPR Institute's Brazilian Advisory Board:

In-House Counsel:

Marcela Süssekind Veríssimo is Legal Manager at TotalEnergies EP Brasil, leading a team responsible for supporting upstream and renewables projects and legal matters. She holds a law degree from PUC-Rio and a Master’s in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University, California.
External Counsel:

Gisela is a specialist in the prevention and resolution of disputes before arbitral tribunals and state courts. She has extensive experience in cross-border disputes and has acted before the main Brazilian and international arbitral institutions. She represents clients in complex conflicts related to contract, corporate and civil liability law. Her practice also encompasses insolvency proceedings and debt restructuring. Her clients include Brazilian and foreign companies from several industry sectors, including oil and gas, energy and construction.
Experts:

Leonardo Florencio is a Managing Director in the Disputes & Investigations at Alvarez & Marsal, based in the São Paulo office. ​

He specializes in valuation and assessment of damages. He has been involved in numerous Brazilian and international economic valuation engagements in the context of arbitration and litigation. ​

Mr. Florencio regularly works as expert witness in large-scale disputes involving Latin American parties, mainly in the field of valuation and damages.​

Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Florencio was the leader of the Economic Consulting segment of FTI Consulting in Brazil, where he acted as an expert witness in assessment of damages and other economic-financial issues in arbitrations.​

Mr. Florencio holds a master's degree in finance from London Business School and a bachelor's degree in economics from Universidade de São Paulo.

Senior Managing Director at The Vertex Companies LLC, with over 25 years experience, focused on both domestic and international, public and private construction, engineering and infrastructure projects, providing advisory services to troubled projects and projects in dispute.

Experience in preparation of claims and expert evidence related to delay, disruption, productivity and associated damages, including advice on these issues for live projects. Project experience includes water treatment, power generation, residential and commercial construction, government projects, stadiums, rail projects, bridges and process facilities amongst other construction / engineering projects.

Arbitrators:



    Flavia Mange acts as arbitrator and handles litigation and arbitration before arbitral tribunals and Brazilian courts. She is currently a professor at the UNESP Master's Program and a lecturer at the GV Direito SP Global Law Program. She was Co-Chair of the Rising Arbitrators Initiative, Editor-in-Chief of the Revista Brasileira de Arbitragem, a member of CPR's Brazilian Advisory Board, Secretary to the ICC Brazil Commission on Arbitration and Mediation, and ICC YAF Representative for Latin America. Before founding Flavia Mange Advogados, she worked at major law firms in São Paulo and trained with the arbitration teams of Shearman & Sterling and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris. She also had in-house experience as Latin America Litigation Manager at Hewlett-Packard. Flavia holds a Master's and a Doctorate in International Law from the University of São Paulo (USP) and an LL.M. from New York University (NYU). She was a visiting researcher at Harvard Law School (HLS) and a guest lecturer at Trinity College Dublin (TCD).