My Entrepreneurial Journey - J.A. Miguel Neto

Our Brazilian member, José Antônio Miguel Neto , Founder of Miguel Neto Advogados , has shared with us his journey in entrepreneurship and answered our questions:

With over 35 years of experience in the practice of law, José Antonio Miguel Neto coordinates and implements corporate governance and compliance, restructuring, professional management and advised various Brazilian and foreign companies in the renegotiation of debts and commitments with various domestic and foreign creditors. 

He also acts as legal advisor in countless sale and purchase transactions, investments, and mergers and acquisitions of several companies in Brazil, as well as in other countries.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of several relevant Brazilian companies.

Miguel was President of Interlegal from 2013 to 2015. 

What was the driving force behind opening your own firm/ becoming a leading partner?

Before I started my own law firm, I used to be an associate of one of the largest law firms in the world. Despite it being a very interesting job in which I could involve myself in very large and interesting transactions, I was a very unhappy professional since that the relationship between client and counsel was a very formal relationship, and the client was a source of earning and nothing else.

 I wished to have one-on-one meetings with clients, understand the entire context of its/his/her problem, business, difficulties and concerns. It was very important to me to see the client as a person not as an entity and I wanted to know how my services could make its/his/her life better and how I could assist in the entire manner and not only in a single job.

 Besides that, it was a very expensive law firm and for me, in the beginning of my practice, many of my clients had not the financial conditions to be served by such a law firm. 

How did you decide to take that leap of faith to branch out on your own?

 On a certain day I received two different jobs from two different partners, and I tried to negotiate with them to send me to one place, since that they had ordered me to be in two different cities at the same time!! The partners did not reach an agreement and, therefore, I decided to attend the first job that was demanded of me. I was surprised that the next day, returning to the law firm, I was fired by the partner whose matter I did not attend.

 I tried to find another job, in another law firm, but it was a very hard time in Brazil, and I could not do it. Therefore, partly because I dreamt of having my own law firm and partly because I had no job and needed to survive, I decided to open my own law firm, in 1990.

 What kind of culture exists in your organization and was that a conscious choice?

At the time I started, at least in Brazil, you had law firms with high quality services but they were very expensive and not reachable by medium and small business and individuals, or you had the one single lawyer law firm, most of them did not speak any other language other than Portuguese and without any know how about trans-border transactions, common law and financing structures.

My strategy was to have a law firm providing the same quality services that the big ones used to provide, but at a much less expensive cost and working closely with client to see how I could provide services for all that it/he/she needs. I would like to be the “family lawyer”, as most of them used to have their “family doctor”, ready to answer any pain and to direct them to a specialist, when necessary.

During the following years I was generating services enough to have such specialists in my own law firm. Some as a partner, some as associate. Always taking care of all legal issues necessary to such business or individuals.

Today I am happy to say that the law firm assists some of the more important companies in Brazil, larger corporations invoicing beyond US$ 1 billion per year, for all kind of matters, but it continues to attend to family business and families that we started working when the law firm began. The difference is that I am currently assisting the children or even the grandson or granddaughter of my original client!!!

We thank J.A. Miguel Neto for taking the time to share his incredible success story and educating many aspiring entrepreneurs through his life experiences.