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Canada’s network of legal professionals of Brazilian origin.

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About us

Since 2017, the BCBA Founders have been working to advance networking opportunities and bring multi-cultural and educational awareness to the growing community of legal professionals of Brazilian origin in Canada.

BCBA was born from the initiative of seven Brazilian lawyers who share a vision to develop professional excellence among legal practitioners of Brazilian origin in Canada. The Association’s purpose is to represent and advocate for the Brazilian legal community in Canada.

The Association aims to strengthen bonds within the Brazilian Canadian legal community by advancing its members’ well-being and education, bringing awareness to legal professional standards, and promoting equitable opportunities.

Network

The BCBA’s goal is to connect legal professionals of Brazilian origin. BCBA serves as a platform for members to advance professional opportunities and share experiences.

Educate

BCBA provides and participates in ongoing educational programs, seminars, and courses to promote legal education to the Brazilian community to attain new heights of professional success and achievement in Canada.

Advocate

BCBA serves an advocacy group for the protection and promotion of legal professionals of Brazilian origin by fostering dialogue and promoting initiatives relating to the advancement of diversity, equality and inclusion in the legal community.

Meet our Team

Lais Gonçalves

Director

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Natalia Back Gosende

Director

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Wanessa S. de Oliveira

Director

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Eliane Leal da Silva

Director

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Priscila Atkinson

Director

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Everton Torres

Director

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Eduardo Oliveira

Director

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Directory

Natalia Back Gosende

Company:Manulife Investment Management

Area of practice: Environmental, Indigenous & Energy Law.
Location: Toronto
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Eliane Leal da Silva

Company: Gardiner Roberts LLP

Area of practice: Corporate, M&A and Securities Law.

Location: Toronto
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Wanessa Oliveira

Company: Boston Scientific

Area of practice: MedTech, Business Law.

Location: Mississauga
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Priscila Jales P. Atkinson

Company: Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General

Area of practice: Constitutional law and Civil litigation.

Location: Toronto
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Eduardo Matos Oliveira

Company: Nazami & Associates

Area of practice: Family Law, Estate Planning and Immigration Law.
Location: Toronto
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Celso Sakuraba

Company: RV Law LLP

Area of practice:  Immigration, landlord and tenant, litigation, wills and estates, guardianship,  and corporate law.
Location: Toronto
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Lara Merjane

Company: The Ross Firm Professional Corporation

Area of practice: Corporate and Commercial.

Location: Toronto
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Barbara Vaz

Company: Garson Immigration Law

Area of practice: Canadian Immigration.

Location: Toronto
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Elisa Rabello

Company: McLennan Ross LLP

Area of practice: Corporate Commercial and Wills & Estates.
Location: Edmonton
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Camila Motta

Company: Revive Law Professional Corporation

Area of practice: Barrister, Solicitor, and Notary Family Law And Wills

Location: Toronto
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Maria Eduarda Gouveia Goncalves de Oliveira

Company: TD Insurance

Area of practice: Civil Litigation.

Location: Toronto
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Kelin Algayer

Company: WeirFoulds LLP

Area of practice: Litigation, Municipal and Regulatory.

Location: Toronto
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Tali Viegas Borges

Company: Richards Advocacy

Area of practice: Litigation, Workplace investigation, Insurance coverage

Location: Toronto
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Viviane Albuquerque

Company: Mobilitys

Area of practice: Immigration Law

Location: Toronto
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Luciana Andrade

Company: Philips Electronics

Area of practice: Privacy, compliance and civil litigation.

Location: Mississauga

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Partners & Sponsors

We are grateful to our generous Partners for choosing to support our mission to support the Brazilian legal community in Canada.

Contact us

  • Practicing lawyer: CAD$ 80
  • Paralegal: CAD$ 50
  • Student: CAD$ 30
  • Other individual members: CAD$ 30
 

The BCBA is where Brazilian legal professionals’  meet and interact with fellow lawyers, paralegals, educators, articling and law students, and other members of the legal profession across Canada.

As a BCBA member you will enjoy benefits, including: 

  • BCBA’s Lawyer Referral Network, a directory of participating lawyers who may be referred by the BCBA or other members to prospective clients.
  • Access to the BCBA’s LinkedIn Group for networking opportunities.
  • Participation in the BCBA’s Mentorship Program, as a mentor or mentee.
  • Invitations to a number of Networking and Social Events, such as: (i) Annual General Meeting with a Guest Speaker Presentation and potential CPD, (ii) Christmas Cheer, annual Christmas event for BCBA members to get together and celebrate the holidays, (iii) Annual Professionals’ Gala, (iv) Social events and networking.
  • Educational Seminars, sometimes held in conjunction with other legal organizations and eligible for CPD credits.

 

These and other events held by the BCBA provide great networking opportunities to exchange ideas, opinions, knowledge, and expertise with other members and to develop strong personal and professional relationships. For students, the BCBA serves as a valuable forum to meet practicing lawyers and other legal professionals who can provide career advice and assistance as they start their journey in the legal profession.

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BCBA is a non-profit organization with the purpose of developing professional excellence among legal practitioners of Brazilian origin in Canada.

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Lais Gonçalves

Lais Gonçalves has been practicing law for over 20 years in several areas, including: government (as a part of Prosecutor’s legal counsel and, as a Judge-appointed attorney), immigration, criminal, civil litigation, mediation, family law and corporate litigation at a large multinational bank. The last 9 years she dedicated her practice to corporate immigration at her boutique law office. Lais has assisted a many clients with visa applications, was responsible for assisting employees of multi-national companies in obtaining business visas and work permits in a timely and efficient manner for more than 27 different countries. 

Her passion for people motivated her to create a Professional networking group of over 200 Brazilian lawyers now living in Canada to assist them with career development and re-qualification.

Lais hold an LL.B. and MBA in International Trade and Finance from Brazil. In Canada, Lais earned a Global Professional Master of Laws (GPLLM) at the University of Toronto. Lais is called to the Bar in Brazil and is a licensing candidate in Ontario. 

Natalia Back Gosende

Natalia Back Gosende is an environmental and indigenous lawyer, a social scientist, and a corporate sustainability expert. Natalia is the Manager ESG Reporting and Disclosures at Canada Post, the primary post operator in Canada. 

Prior to joining Canada Post, Natalia practiced law in Brazil for 8 years, providing legal advice to public issuers and clients from various industries, including capital infrastructure, natural resources, and real estate. In Canada, Natalia was an environmental lawyer at Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP. She supported clients in understanding and meeting compliance requirements under federal, provincial, and municipal environmental and regulatory laws. 

Natalia holds a B. Soc. Sc. and B.C.L in Brazil and an LLM in Environmental Law in Brazil. In Canada, Natalia earned a B.C.L/J.D. at McGill University. Natalia is called to the bar in both Brazil and in Ontario.

Wanessa Santana de Oliveira

Wanessa Santana de Oliveira practices M&A, Corporate Law and Real Estate in Brazil since 2011, advising local and foreign clients about legal aspects of investing and doing business in Brazil. She has vast experience in mergers and acquisitions across multiple industries, with recent focus in the health sector. 

Wanessa landed in Canada in the Fall/2019 to pursue a Master’s degree in Innovation, Law & Tech at the University of Toronto. Aiming to become a lawyer in Canada, she obtained a certificate of qualification from the Federation of Law Societies of Canada through the National Committee on Accreditation (2020), and passed BAR exams of the Law Society of Ontario (2021), being called April-2022.

Currently, Wanessa is a Legal Counsel at Boston Scientific. 

Wanessa holds a bachelor’s in civil law and post-graduation in civil proceedings from a leading law school in Brazil. In Canada, she earned a master’s degree from University of Toronto and holds a certificate of qualification from the National Committee on Accreditation. 

Eliane Leal da Silva

Eliane Leal da Silva has been practicing law in São Paulo, Brazil for 10 years in a variety of areas, including government procurement, administrative law, civil litigation and business law. Prior to moving to Canada, Eliane served as corporate legal counsel at one of the world’s leading software and content companies.

Eliane is a Corporate, M&A and Securities Lawyer at Gardiner Roberts LLP. Eliane has an active practice in corporate, commercial and securities law. Her practice focuses on domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, corporate governance, corporate finance and includes strategic support for emerging growth companies. She is also involved in advising Canadian and foreign companies on investment, trade issues and cross-border matters. Eliane routinely advises International clients on how to do business in Canada.

Eliane holds an LL.B and two postgraduate degrees in public law and civil law in São Paulo, Brazil. In Canada, Eliane earned a Global Professional Master of Laws (GPLLM) degree at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Eliane is called to the bar in São Paulo, Brazil and Ontario, Canada.

Eliane believes that the BCBA will play an essential role in promoting equality in the legal profession by improving and promoting the knowledge, skills, ethical standards and well-being of its members.

Priscila Jales P. Atkinson

Priscila Jales P. Atkinson is Crown Counsel at the Constitutional Law Branch of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, where she practices exclusively constitutional litigation. Her work consists in litigating constitutional challenges at all levels of court and advising the Ontario government regarding constitutional issues.

In Brazil, Priscila clerked at the Brazilian Federal Court of Appeal and Brazilian Electoral Court of Appeal. She also worked at the homicide division of Pernambuco’s Duty Counsel Office and at the civil litigation sector of a Boutique law firm.

Priscila holds a LL.B. (Gold Medal) from the Federal University of Pernambuco in Brazil. In Canada, she earned a LL.M from Osgoode Hall Law School. Priscila is called to the Bar in Brazil and Ontario, Canada.

In 2020, amidst the global pandemic, Priscila’s passion for helping internationally trained lawyers inspired her to found the ITLNCA NetworkS. Now, her passional for helping Brazilians urged her to found the BCBA. She hopes the BCBA will make the career transition of Brazilian lawyers in Canada smoother.

 

Everton Torres

Everton Torres is a Licensed Paralegal/Law Clerk at Blakeney Henneberry Murphy and Galligan. He dedicates his work to civil litigation cases, with emphasis on insurance defence, coverage, and compliance issues, including personal injury, motor vehicle accident litigation, occupiers’ liability, construction litigation, property damage, institutional defence, defence of professionals, and estate litigation.

Prior to moving to Canada, Everton worked as Municipal Attorney in Brazil, representing the City of Conceição do Jacuípe, in the State of Bahia, where he was the head of the civil and tax litigation department for five years. He also had his own firm for seven years, where he devoted his practice on civil litigation.

Everton holds an LL.B., two post-graduation degrees in Tax Law in Brazil. In Canada, he earned a Diploma in Paralegal Studies with Honours from Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.

Currently, Everton is a National Committee on Accreditation candidate in order to be admitted to the Law Society of Ontario as a Licensed Lawyer.

Eduardo Matos Oliveira

Eduardo Matos Oliveira is a licensed lawyer in Ontario dedicating his practice to Family Law, Estate Planning and Immigration Law. Eduardo has finished his articling placement at Davis Spina Falquez LLP, and he continues to serve the Portuguese and Spanish-speaking communities in Ontario. Eduardo had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of family law cases, including a trial preparation for a relocation claim according to the new Divorce Act provisions, complex financial issues, and domestic abuse cases.

Before arriving in Canada, Eduardo completed a Ph.D. in Political Science. His academic work addressed public policy analysis in the access to justice literature and food security/food sovereignty topics. Eduardo has published papers in high-impact Brazilian journals. He also coordinated the organization of the Brazilian National Seminar about Food Security and Land Grabbing in 2018. Eduardo is also licensed as a lawyer in Brazil.

Eduardo holds an LL.B., Master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil. In Canada, he earned an LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School.