Our managing partner, Thomas Dulac Müller, took part on April 10, 2026, in the First Corporate Restructuring Seminar of the Coastal Region of Rio Grande do Sul, held in Torres/RS, in a program organized by the OAB/RS through its Bankruptcy and Judicial Reorganization Committee.
On the third panel, dedicated to the Economic Analysis of Law Applied to Judicial Reorganization, Thomas discussed a topic that has gained particular relevance in the Brazilian corporate environment: the effects of the changes introduced by Law No. 14,112/2020 to the judicial reorganization and bankruptcy regime, in parallel with the recent understanding of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) recognizing that the Public Treasury may file for bankruptcy in cases of unsuccessful tax enforcement proceedings.
In practical terms, this represents a significant change in how tax claims can affect companies in financial distress. If, historically, the Public Treasury pursued collection through the specific route of tax enforcement proceedings, legislative changes and the STJ’s more recent case law have come to allow, in specific situations, the filing of a bankruptcy petition as a subsidiary measure when such enforcement proves ineffective.
Alongside André Estevez, a professor at PUCRS, attorney, and court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, and Marcelo Guimarães Silva, a National Treasury Prosecutor, with moderation by Jéssica Suris Carvalho (professor and secretary of the local OAB committee), Thomas took part in a panel that was particularly rich from a technical standpoint. The panel’s composition allowed the audience to follow the contrast between distinct yet complementary perspectives: the view focused on restructuring and preserving companies in distress, the oversight and monitoring of insolvency proceedings, and the role of the tax authorities in collecting tax claims.
In this context, Thomas’s presence on the panel brought to the debate the perspective of a practitioner who works directly with corporate restructuring, insolvency, and special situations, focusing not only on the literal wording of the law, but also on its real effects on companies subject to financial pressure, complex negotiations, and highly sensitive strategic decisions. His approach helped frame the discussion beyond the abstract level, highlighting how changes of this nature affect risk assessment, crisis management, and the very preservation of business activity.
More than merely examining a legislative change or a new precedent, the panel highlighted how Brazilian insolvency law is currently undergoing a phase of practical redefinition. In an environment where companies, creditors, and the public sector are beginning to operate under new parameters, discussions such as this gain particular relevance, as they anticipate impacts, clarify boundaries, and enhance decision-making in crisis scenarios.