Biography
He started his legal career in 1998 as a conciliator at the Santo Amaro Regional Courthouse in São Paulo, as a volunteer member of the team of the São Paulo State Attorney’s Office, where he provided services to needy people in the areas of civil and family law. He subsequently worked at renowned law firms in Brazil, such as Manuel Alceu Affonso Ferreira Advogados (1998-1999) and Wald Advogados Associados (2002-2005). For two years (2000-2001) worked in the United States at the office of Bander, Fox-Isicoff & Associates in Miami, Florida. In 2005, he founded his own firm, and today is a partner with Decoussau Tilkian Advogados (www.dtlaw.com.br), with headquarters in São Paulo and a branch office in Rio de Janeiro. The firm is active in the following practice areas: Strategic Civil Law and Arbitration; Administrative Law; Corporate and Contractual Law; Tax Law; Reorganization and Bankruptcy Law; and Labor Law. [These are missing: Digital Rights; Entertainment and Image Law; and Sports Law.] He has been a member of the São Paulo State Chapter of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB/SP) since 2006, and on October 1, 2010 became Vice-chairman of the Permanent Commission on the Bar Examination of the OAB/SP, a position he held until December 2015. Over the years he has given numerous presentations at law schools in the state of São Paulo, defending the values of the legal profession and the importance of lawyers in preserving democracy. He is currently vice-chairman of the Special Committee on Mediation of the OAB/SP. Rubens was named a member of the São Paulo Institute of Lawyers (IASP). For four years he was legal director of the Itaim-Bibi Community Safety Board. He practices with emphasis in the litigation area, especially in complex lawsuits involving corporate, civil and capital market disputes, violation of rights by the print and digital media, as well as disputes in the area of administrative law, notably involving airport and highway concessions. Rubens is also active in corporate law, particularly mergers and acquisitions and preparation and negotiation of contracts involving national and international companies. He is a specialist in mediation and since 1998 has dedicated himself to the area. Over the years, he has extensively studied interpersonal conflicts and has performed important work in the area of private and judicial mediation, in the areas of business, family and administrative law, having been chosen to act as mediator by renowned law firms and the courts. He is a certified practitioner of neurolinguistic programming and has the title of Master Coach with certification from the International Association of Coaching. He also has a credential as a Behavioral Analyst from Inscape Publishing, Inc. In 2015 he founded the Vertus Institute for Mediation and Dispute Resolution, the first specialized private mediation chamber approved by the judiciary in the country, with the aim of contributing to society through amicable resolution of conflicts. The Institute also provides training for personal and professional development. In November 2016, Rubens launched the book Comentários à Lei de Mediação, with a preface by the president of the São Paulo State Court of Appeals, Paulo Dimas Mascaretti, presentation by retired appellate judge José Roberto Neves Amorim and a special article by the general coordinator of the Judicial Dispute Resolution Center (CEJUSC) of São Paulo, Ricardo Pereira Júnior.