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Created in 2018, Instituto Mattos Filho is an unprecedented project in the Brazilian legal environment, aimed at promoting legal awareness and access to justice, fostering a freer, more diverse and democratic society. Totally independent of the firm and maintained by its partners, this initiative constitutes the third pillar of Mattos Filho’s Social Ecosystem.

The actions developed throughout 2019 and 2020 consolidated the Institute as an important agent of civil society, with the advancement and success of the different initiatives of its pillars of action: the scholarship program; the acknowledgment and recognition of access to justice initiatives; and the dissemination of legal knowledge.

“One of the goals of our actions is to promote greater access to legal education and make the legal profession more diverse. We believe that this is essential to expand society’s access to justice”, pointed out Paula Vieira, partner of the firm’s Corporate/M&A practice and director of Instituto Mattos Filho.In 2020, the Institute began the activities related to its fourth pillar of action, which consists of supporting civil society initiatives that promote diversity and citizenship.

Internally, the Institute has increasingly involved its partners, who not only act provide funding but also participate directly in the activities, including mentoring, selecting finalists for the Access to Justice Challenge and reviewing projects designed to disseminate legal knowledge, such as Artigo Quinto.

A picture of Paula Vieira, seated and smiling. She is wearing a white blouse and is leaning forward slightly, with her elbows on her thighs and her hands intertwined. On her right side there is a table with a jar of orchids.

One of the goals of our actions is to promote greater access to legal education and make the legal profession more diverse. We believe that this is essential to expand access to justice.”

Paula Vieira, partner and director of Instituto Mattos Filho

The institute's main actions IN 2019-2020

Award recognizes and encourages projects

The Access to Justice Challenge is an initiative of Instituto Mattos Filho that seeks to recognize and foster projects that promote access to justice throughout the country. Held annually, the award has already distributed BRL 300,000 to seven winning initiatives in both editions, in 2019 and 2020. These projects promote citizenship and defend democracy and human rights.

”In the challenge, we are talking about allowing people access to justice, to the judiciary, so that they can enforce and protect their rights – especially fundamental rights,” explained Fabio Ozi, Litigation and Arbitration partner at Mattos Filho and juror at the event. “Besides the assisting character of the projects, their formative character is very important, so that people are able to assert their rights without the need for someone else to do it for them,” he added.

Among the previous winners of the award are the organization Redes da Maré, which offers legal support to residents of Complexo da Maré, in Rio de Janeiro, and the Transpasse project, which works in defense of the rights of the transsexual and transvestite population of Minas Gerais – both awarded in the first edition.

In the second edition of the award, among the winners were Reporter Brazil, with its project for fighting against slave labor in Manaus, and the Trupe de Mulheres Esperança Garcia, which uses theater in the struggle to reduce violence against women in the state of Piauí. 

“The recognition of our work by a respected institution in the legal environment such as the Instituto Mattos Filho shows the degree of maturity we have achieved and allows institutions to understand the importance of what we do. It is an award that gives visibility to initiatives that need to be recognized and multiplied,” says Edson Diniz, director of Redes da Maré.

The Challenge also aims to stimulate the connection between people and organizations that seek the effective exercise of the rights of the most vulnerable and at-risk populations in Brazilian society.

“We were very happy to see that projects that are so different and coming from different places are battling to ensure greater access to justice for vulnerable populations and communities. It is an honor to win this award alongside these other initiatives,” says Natália Suzuki, Coordinator of Repórter Brasil.

Among the criteria observed in the selection of projects are their potential impacts and cumulative effect. Winners are selected by a jury composed of eleven experts, professionals from the fields of law, citizenship, democracy, human rights and access to justice.

A group photo of ten people - four women and six men. They are posing side by side, smiling at the photo and holding glasses of sparkling wine. Three of them - two men and a woman - are each holding an award plate.
Award ceremony for the first edition of the Access to Justice Challenge, 2019
A picture of Fabio Ozi in a library. He is standing, smiling, wearing a white shirt and a dark gray suit. In the background, there are shelves with books.

In the challenge, we are talking about allowing people access to justice, to the judiciary, so that they can enforce and protect their rights – especially fundamental rights. Besides the assisting character of the projects, their formative character is very important, so that people are able to assert their rights without the need for someone else to do it for them.”

Fabio Ozi, partner and juror at the Access to Justice Challenge

Access to Justice Challenge

2019 | First edition

133
registered initiatives
BRL
140,000
distributed
3
winners

2020 | Second edition

124
registered initiatives
BRL
160,000
distributed
4
winners

Opportunities for law students

In association with universities and social organizations, Instituto Mattos Filho grants scholarships to economically disadvantaged young law students with high academic potential.

One of the goals of this initiative is to reduce inequality in access to quality higher education in an area that is still very elitist. Another is to boost the career of university students who intend to work in the field of human rights, citizenship and access to justice. With these actions, the Institute seeks to contribute to the diversification of professionals in the Brazilian legal environment.

There are two types of scholarships: those that are offered through partnerships with educational institutions and social entities and those that are paid directly to the student – which can be in form of a monthly scholarship or a pre-determined cost-of-living assistance grant. In 2019, the first year of the program, 23 scholarships were awarded. In 2020, 29 scholarships were awarded – in partnership with seven universities and three social and/or academic projects.

Scholarship recipients can also be part of a mentoring program, in which they are accompanied by associates of the Institute, senior lawyers and other partners. The contact with more experienced professionals aims to develop social and interpersonal skills, offer academic-professional guidance and open doors in the legal market through networking.

“Mentoring has a very clear goal, which is to facilitate a person’s path to accessing important information for their professional growth and development. This happens through the experiences passed down by the mentor, describing situations that they have already experienced or even suggesting reasonable paths to follow”, says Paulo Brancher, a partner in the Intellectual Property area and mentor since 2019.

In 2020, forty students were mentored, participating in monthly meetings with their mentors to think about study paths and the future of their careers.

The Institute’s fellows also have access to the Mattos Filho library, where they can search for bibliographic references and attend specific training sessions available via the firm’s corporate academy.

A photo of a group of ten young women and five young men. They are posing side by side, smiling and wearing t-shirts from the scholarship program.
Meeting of Instituto Mattos Filho scholarship recipients, 2019
A picture of Paul Brancher in a library. He is sitting with his right arm leaning on a table and wearing a dark gray suit, light gray shirt, and wine-colored tie. In the background, there are shelves with books.

Mentoring has a very clear goal, which is to facilitate a person’s path to accessing important information for their professional growth and development. This happens through the experiences passed down by the mentor, describing situations that they have already experienced or even suggesting reasonable paths to follow.”

Paulo Brancher, partner and mentor of one of the Institute's fellows since 2019

Scholarships

29
2020
23
2019
7
universities
3
academic and/or social projects considered
40
law students mentored by the firm’s partners*

*Students supported in 2019 continue to receive mentorship. Therefore, there are 40 pairs of students and partners.

Artigo Quinto: the constitution within reach for all

Between May 2019 and December 2020, Instituto Mattos Filho carried out the Artigo Quinto project, in association with Politize! — a civil society organization that promotes civic and political education in order to train conscious citizens committed to democracy. The project was established to promote the fundamental rights and duties guaranteed by Article 5 of the Federal Constitution of Brazil, in a clear and accessible way.

”To the extent that it raises awareness, values citizenship and contributes to citizens’ formation, the Artigo Quinto project allows people to be more aware of their rights and the existing mechanisms for their implementation,” said Rogério Taffarello, a White Collar Crime partner at Mattos Filho who works on the project.

The content of Article 5’s caput, 78 items and four paragraphs was prepared by volunteer professionals of Mattos Filho and adapted by Politize! in more accessible language to the general public.

The material was released in the format of blog posts, podcasts and videos published on the pages of the Artigo Quinto on Politize! and the Instituto Mattos Filho websites, as well as on the social networks of the two institutions. Seventy volunteer professionals from the firm and six fellows from the Institute participated in the recording of the project videos.

The publication of Article 5’s Item I, dealing with gender equality, was the most accessed page of the entire Politize! portal. In addition, in 2019, the text was incorporated into educational material aimed at middle and high school students in the state of São Paulo.

As an extension of the project, during the Covid-19 pandemic four webinars were held on the fundamental rights provided for in the Brazilian Constitution. The virtual meetings were mediated by the Institute’s directors and associates, with four partners and fifteen lawyers authoring content for the project.

A picture of Rogério Taffarello, standing on a balcony. He is wearing a light gray suit, white shirt and tie with a black and white geometric print. São Paulo's Avenida Paulista (Paulista Avenue) can be seen in the background.

To the extent that it raises awareness, values citizenship and contributes to citizens’ formation, the Artigo Quinto project allows people to be more aware of their rights and the existing mechanisms for their implementation.”

Rogério Taffarello, partner and sponsor of the Artigo Quinto project

Artigo Quinto project

By the time the project was completed in November 2020, there were:

1.8
million
site hits
101,000
video views
227,000
podcast plays

Partnerships to promote the exercise of citizenship and diversity

In 2020, Instituto Mattos Filho commenced work on initiatives that promote diversity and citizenship in society, in line with its fourth pillar.

In the context of the municipal elections, and being aware of the gender inequality in national politics, the Institute supported the production and dissemination of “Women in Politics”, a research project carried out by the Escola de Direito de São Paulo da Fundação Getulio Vargas. The study highlights the importance of women’s participation in the country’s politics for maintaining effective democracy.

In another partnership with Politize!, the Institute also collaborated with Escola de Cidadania Ativa, producing content that will be taught in public schools across Brazil. The initiative aims at contributing to the improvement of teaching, providing knowledge about citizenship, democracy and leadership to students.

A photo of the cover of the publication "Candidatas em jogo" (‘Candidates in Play’). The cover is purple, with a dotted texture and checkered in white. There is a drawing of three stairways and three paths distributed in a graphic composition.
Instituto Mattos Filho supported the production and release of Mulheres na Política (‘Women in Politics’), a research project carried out by the Fundação Getulio Vargas Law School in São Paulo