Direct personal involvement
Strategy development and direct oversight by Daniel Astone.
André Deak / Arte Fora do Museu · source (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab) · cropped and converted to black and white
Daniel Astone | Strategic Legal Counsel
Strategic legal counsel for highly complex matters.
A boutique practice with a limited number of engagements, enabling close and genuinely tailored counsel on every project.
São Paulo, Brazil
Approach
A practice deliberately structured around a limited number of clients.
The firm is not volume-driven. Whether assisting law firms with specific matters or working directly with clients, it limits the number of active cases and projects to ensure Daniel Astone’s direct involvement, in-depth study of every issue, and clear, prompt, and effective client communication.
Research
Analysis of the sources, precedents, data, and scholarship relevant to each matter.
Tailored legal structuring
Legal instruments selected to serve the specific purpose of the engagement, rather than a standardized solution.
Specialist coordination
Tailored teams assembled whenever a matter calls for additional technical expertise.
Next step
Find the right legal strategy for your matter or project.
Schedule a conversation (opens in a new tab)Practice
Sound legal strategy begins with framing the problem correctly.
Some matters do not fit neatly within a predefined practice area. They require identifying the core of the issue, assessing scenarios, selecting the appropriate legal instruments, and providing the client with a high-value decision framework. The firm is structured for precisely this kind of work. Examples include:
Strategic litigation and interim relief
Structuring and conducting matters in which timing, technical evidence, the identification of the relevant parties, and the choice of procedural mechanism are decisive to the effectiveness of the legal response.
Public law, regulation, and innovation
Advice, legal opinions, and representation in matters involving public procurement, governance, oversight, institutional design, and regulation, including projects at the intersection of law, technology, and public policy.
Economic law and asset structuring
Legal analysis and structuring of asset, corporate, and tax arrangements in situations requiring the coordinated consideration of risk, governance, succession, and economic implications.
Legal opinions and transnational matters
Research and preparation of legal opinions on public international law, international economic law, trade, investment, debt, climate governance, and cross-border regulatory frameworks.
Profile & Career
Daniel Pinheiro Astone
Daniel Astone is a lawyer, professor, and researcher. He holds a PhD in Public International Law from Stockholm University, a master’s degree in Economic and Financial Law from the University of São Paulo, a postgraduate qualification in Economic Law from Fundação Getulio Vargas, and a law degree from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie.
From 2008 to 2019, he held roles spanning governance, labor relations, technology-procurement strategy, transparency, and institutional innovation. He subsequently conducted applied research and policy studies for public institutions, foundations, and civil society organizations.
He currently teaches International Law at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, where he ranked first in the competitive faculty selection process. He is also a Global Fellow at FGV Direito SP, with a research focus on empirical legal methods.
Following postdoctoral research at Harvard Law School (2023–2024), he has served on the faculty of its Institute for Global Law and Policy since 2024. He is a Senior Fellow at the Stockholm Centre for International Law and Justice. Between 2024 and 2026, he was a Global Academic Fellow at the Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong. As a visiting researcher or participant in academic events, he has also presented his work in countries including South Africa, Germany, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
His work brings together academic research, teaching, and applied experience in complex matters, negotiation, financial and capital markets, institutional design, innovation, and regulation.
Scholarship
Selected Research and Publications
His current research spans law and political economy, international economic governance, the climate transition, finance, inequality, and empirical legal methods.
The Legal Tragedy of Exploitation: Irresponsibility and the Complicity of Law (opens in a new tab)
Journal of Law and Political Economy, 2026.
Living as a Commodity: Law, Exploitation, and the Trade on Human Lives
Doctoral dissertation, Stockholm University, 2024.
In the Press
Professional inquiries
Brazilian lawyer · OAB/SP 293.707
Direct, strategic counsel on complex legal matters, grounded in rigorous research and a deliberately limited number of engagements.
Geographic coverage
- São Paulo — capital and throughout the state
- Belo Horizonte
- Rio de Janeiro
Other cities through local counsel or by prior arrangement.
An initial inquiry does not constitute an engagement or create a lawyer–client relationship. Please do not send confidential documents until representation has been confirmed.