Lays Lima Dutra

Primary Focus & Experience

Lays’ practice focuses on providing New York law advice to Brazilian and US companies and financial institutions in a variety of cross-border transactions, including capital markets, financing and general corporate matters. She has experience across a range of industries, including mining, energy, retail, manufacturing, oil and gas, aviation, and sanitation. 

Among her recent representations:

• Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, one of Brazil's largest integrated steel and mining conglomerates, in several of its bond offerings and cash tender offers, and in corporate finance, corporate governance and SEC reporting matters
• Embraer, the third largest aircraft manufacturer globally, in its notes offering, cash tender offers for its outstanding notes, and in corporate finance, corporate governance and SEC reporting matters
• Gol, Brazil’s largest domestic airline, in its private placement of notes under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act, in a retap of its Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of notes and in corporate governance and SEC reporting matters
• The initial purchasers in an offering of senior notes by Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in Latin America
• Unigel, one of the largest chemical companies in Latin America and the largest Brazilian producer of nitrogen fertilizers in Latin America, in connection with a loan backed by an export credit insurance policy 
• Vamos, the leading company in Brazil for the leasing of trucks, heavy machinery and equipment, and part of the Simpar conglomerate of companies; CVC Brasil, one of the largest travel groups in Latin America; Arezzo, a Brazilian footwear and fashion company; and TOTVS, one of the largest technology and software companies in Latin America, in their respective equity follow-on offerings
• Movida Locação de Veículos, one of the three largest car rental and fleet management companies in Brazil, and part of the Simpar conglomerate of companies, in its bond offering and in cash tender offers for its senior sustainability-linked notes
• The initial purchasers in the offerings of sustainability-linked notes by Aegea, the largest privately-owned water and sewage service provider in Brazil, involving its commitment regarding social liability matters and the reduction of energy consumption in its operations
• The dealer managers in the cash tender offer by Klabin, the largest producer, exporter and recycler of packaging paper in Brazil and one of the largest integrated paper producers in Latin America, for its outstanding senior notes
• 3R Petroleum, one of the largest private oil and gas exploration and production companies in Brazil; in the credit agreement syndicated to international and Brazilian banks to finance 3R Petroleum’s acquisition of the assets of the Potiguar oil and gas cluster from Petrobras and in its Rule 144A/Regulation S equity follow-on offering
• The issuer or international placement agents in the initial public offerings of Caixa Seguridade, the Brazilian-state owned insurance company; Cruzeiro do Sul, one of the largest education companies in Brazil; Jalles Machado, a major sugar and ethanol producer in Brazil; and OceanPact, a Brazilian company that provides environmental, subsea operations and logistics and engineering services

Recognition & Accomplishments

Lays earned her LL.M. with honors from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where she was awarded the Victor Rosenblum Award, and her LL.B. from Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná. She is fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish and also speaks French and Mandarin.