The quiet corridors of Arnold & Porter’s Washington offices are about to echo with the weight of international trade drama. Fresh filings under the Foreign Agents Registration Act reveal the U.S. legal powerhouse has inked a deal with Brazil’s government, just as the South American nation eyes a courtroom clash with the Trump administration over punishing tariffs.
Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office is set to pay up to $3.54 million over four years for the firm’s expertise. Leading the charge: Eli Whitney Debevoise II, a veteran of the World Bank, and Gregory Harrington, the firm’s sovereign finance chief. Their mandate, according to the filings, is to navigate U.S. “administrative sanctions and similar measures” aimed at Brazilian goods.
The timing is no coincidence. President Trump’s July decree slapped 50% tariffs on most Brazilian exports, exempting only politically convenient sectors like energy, aircraft, and orange juice. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has already signaled that suing in U.S. courts is on the table.
Arnold & Porter is no stranger to Brazil—its legal fingerprints on the nation’s affairs stretch back to 1981. Beyond Brazil, its client roster has included governments from Israel to Honduras. In one high-profile win, the firm helped Panama settle a $120 million investment dispute in 2021.
While FARA doesn’t always capture litigation, it does require disclosure when law firms cross the line into lobbying—a line that often blurs when foreign governments spar with Washington. Debevoise himself declined to expand on the filings, while Brazilian officials remained silent.
The filings land against a backdrop of legal and political theater that seems tailor-made for Arnold & Porter. The firm has challenged Trump-era immigration curbs, joined lawsuits defending birthright citizenship, and even taken the unusual step of siding with rival law firms targeted by Trump’s executive orders.
Meanwhile, the legal world is buzzing elsewhere. Rudy Giuliani has been ordered to pay $1.36 million in unpaid legal fees, Trump has unleashed a $15 billion defamation suit against media giants, and firms behind a $700 million Google settlement are asking for a cool $85 million slice in fees.
But in the Brazil case, the stakes reach beyond billable hours. With tariffs threatening billions in trade and Bolsonaro’s conviction casting a shadow back home, Arnold & Porter’s latest assignment reads less like a contract and more like a front-row seat in a geopolitical storm.
