Lawyers &
Tax Advisors
We are leaders and active participants in the community at large and the international tax and legal environment.
Profile
Levene is a boutique professional firm that offers tax and legal advice tailored to clients of all sizes and stages of the business. We consider ourselves a boutique firm because our clients deal with senior professionals only.
We advise clients on their business and personal needs both at home and abroad. In this globalized, fast moving and increasingly regulated world the need for integrated and timely advice has never been more important for managing businesses and wealth.
We focus on maximizing value for our clients while remaining mindful of professional expenses. Our team obtained tax and legal education in EU and the US and were trained working for top local and international professional firms dealing with complex issues for multinationals, entrepreneurs and high wealth individuals.
It takes two
2 tango
Practice Areas
Crypto & Blockchain
Corporate
Private Clients
Corporate
We frequently act as general counsel, advising on all legal aspects of their day-to-day operations
and deal flow. Like most firms we have a corporate department that provides broad legal advice on
commercial issues, including IP and employment and labor law issues. What makes our team different
is that we provide a unique combination of corporate experience integrated with local and
international tax advice.
Clients include entrepreneurs, privately owned businesses operating across numerous business
sectors
such as brands, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, services, hospitality, information technology
and
media.
Key to our advice is gaining a detailed understanding of each client's business goals. Thanks to
our
close working relationship with clients, we understand the interrelated nature of legal and
business
and cross border consequences, and the effect that these factors can have on our clients'
corporate
legal needs.
We have a particular focus on cross-border investment strategy and with correspondents worldwide,
including US and European qualified lawyers, accountants and other service providers, we are able
to
work with global clients in a seamless, integrated and efficient manner.
We regularly advise fund managers on all aspects of the formation, structuring and financing of regulated and unregulated funds in a cost-effective way. We have experience in setting up different kind of pool in vehicles in the onshore or offshore world for different lines of business-like private equity, film industry, real estate, hospitality industry, crypto currencies, green bonds, etc. Our expertise includes:
- Design, establishment and management of pool in investment vehicles, including limited partnerships, companies, investment trusts and venture capital funds for investing in both established and emerging markets.
- Experience in transactional private equity work, regularly advising on leveraged buyouts, take-privates, joint venture investments, consortium deals, secondary transactions and recapitalizations. Due diligence projects relating to the underlying investments of private equity vehicles.
- Fund management tax and legal planning.
The firm advises on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships, and strategic
alliances.
We are engaged in private M&A and private equity transactions. Our clients include large and small
companies and private equity firms and other participants in corporate transactions.
What differentiates our practice from that of other M&A law firms is that we are a tax driven
firm,
being local and international taxation a very important factor for this type of transactions.
Unlike a lot of firms that simply assign junior corporate lawyers to large due diligence
exercises,
we are able to deploy a cost-effective team of senior professionals well versed in the legal and
tax
aspects of an acquisition target’s businesses. We have the experience and know-how to assist the
client in drafting and negotiating the most appropriate representations and covenants for each
transaction agreement.
For large transactions that may exceed our size we will team with highly specialized and senior
professionals being the priority the best result for our clients.
We are a tax driven firm. Our tax team provides innovative tax analysis solutions in all areas of
taxation, both domestically and internationally. Tax planning is a dynamic area where advanced
planning is fundamental when optimizing results and minimizing adverse consequences.
A key area on which we regularly advise clients is that of taxation of cross border transactions
of
goods and services (e.g., double taxation agreements, transfer pricing, exchange of information,
etc.). We have extensive knowledge of this complex and every day changing area and are able to
guide
clients efficiently and thoroughly in order to minimize the incidences of the applicable tax
rules.
In particular, we have experience with the relevant cross border tax issues arising in the most
important jurisdictions like the US, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay,
Italy, Spain, UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, etc.
We assist clients in the negotiation and closing of real estate acquisitions and sales, including
the preparation of purchase agreements, financing documents, tax-deferred and multiple-party
exchange agreements, escrow instructions and other related documents.
Our firm represents both landlords and tenants and has significant experience in leasing
transactions, including retail leases, office leases, industrial leases and subleases.
Our team assists clients in all types of real estate development, including industrial,
residential, hotel and downtown developments. We have experience in the creation and operation of
residential, commercial and mixed-use condominiums and planned unit developments.
We represent clients seeking financing. Our team advises clients on current methods and
alternatives in real estate financing and assists in the structuring and documentation of real
estate mortgages, fiduciary structures, contracts of sale and other financing transactions, such
as sale-and-leasebacks. Partnership, joint venture, and real estate investment.
We assist clients with real property issues and projects abroad, including acquisitions, leases,
secured transactions and lending.
We deal with land use regulation and in project permitting before government entities. Together
with special counsel our practice includes the preparation and processing of all local, state, and
federal permit applications relating to land use and environmental regulation of development
projects.
Entrepreneurs
Experience tells us that an entrepreneur is always a busy person with too many complex issues to
attend with never sufficient resources. Since we understand this, we have a practical and
cost-effective approach towards tax and legal needs of our entrepreneur community of clients.
Our team regularly advises entrepreneurs and their businesses and families by providing commercial
and tax planning solutions at all stages of their endeavors across many international markets. We
advise entrepreneurs on:
- early-stage mentoring
- start-up legal and tax structures
- commercial arrangements
- corporate structuring
- management and governance
- raising capital
- joint ventures
- strategic alliances
- mergers and acquisitions
- networking within our community of clients and network of angels
- incentive plans for employees (stock option plans, phantom stock, etc.)
- IP protection in Latin America, US, Europe, China, etc.
Our experience representing angel and venture capital investors enables us to provide valuable guidance to companies involved in capital raising transactions, exit strategies, including best practices for managing relationships with boards of directors and investors. We have represented emerging companies from the start-up phase through final rounds of capital and M&A transactions. We advise on a daily basis to entrepreneurs dedicated to e-commerce, online advertising, software development, online gaming, online financial services, international trading of goods, fashion and design business, hospitality industry, among many others.
Crypto and blockchain-based startups
We are one of the leading firms in crypto and blockchain-based startups in the region.
We have been working as legal & tax advisors of crypto project since 2012 and we have developed a
specialized team in this field.
We have a lot of experience in the most common jurisdictions relevant for the industry (e.g., . US at the
federal level, Cayman, Gibraltar, Malta, BVI, Latam, Estonia, Singapore, Bahamas, Bermuda, UK, Spain,
Switzerland, Uruguay, Argentina, Wyoming, etc.). To our long experience in international legal structuring
for entrepreneurs in general, in most international legal centers we have applied the particularities of
the Crypto industry.
We know how to get in of a jurisdiction and structure but also consider the way out, since the ecosystem
is in constant development and the laws and regulations for this industry are rapidly changing. Also,
there is a structure and jurisdiction for different stages of the project.
We work with our clients on an exhaustive approach, offering advice since the beginning of the project,
analyzing the regulatory strategy and compliance, corporate structure, funding alternatives, governance,
intellectual property, data protection, Know your Client (KYC), Know your Partner (KYP), tokenomics, tax
considerations from the founder and business perspective, etc.
We have advised our clients on, among others:
- Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchains or sidechains,
- Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), with or without legal structure, Purpose Trust and Foundations,
- OTC structures,
- Crypto Funds,
- VC Crypto,
-
Tokens issuance (utility tokens vs. security tokens), including:
- Drafting and advising on the terms of contribution agreements to issue coins and tokens;
- Reviewing and advising on the terms and conditions of coin and token platform exchanges;
- Anti-money laundering (AML) and KYC risk assessment and compliance advice,
- Real Assets Tokenization (real estate, commodities, securities, equity, debt, etc.)
- DEFI, CEFI,
- Crypto exchanges ,
- Custodial and non-custodial wallets,
- Web 3 in general,
- NFTs projects,
- Crypto based games,
- Bitcoin mining,
- Dapps,
- Bridges, centralized, syndicated or decentralized,
- Software factoring B2B and B2C,
- Stablecoins,
- Other projects that involve crypto.
Private Clients
As one of the most experienced private client practices, we are fully integrated into complex, multi-faceted projects with clients on a global stage. We provide the following services:
A family office may be an entity set up to run a family's affairs which has separate legal
personality from the family or just be a place where the family manages its affairs or it may be a
network of employees and advisors in a number of different places who work together to run the
family's investments.
We have real insight into the concerns of wealthy families. This insight helps us when we assist
our
clients to set up and operate their family offices.
We work on the establishment and governance of single and multi-family offices and provide advice
as they expand. Whether the family office is large or small, domestic or international, we provide
the comprehensive and integrated legal and tax service required.
We usually work closely with other leading service providers in finance and investment, as well as
accounting management.
We commonly advise on establishing and restructuring trusts, fiduciary structures and foundations
both local and overseas. We have a wealth of experience in setting up private trust companies,
purpose trusts, protectorship vehicles and foundations, all with an eye to applicable tax
requirements and the areas of conflict between common law and civil law.
We have experience managing disputes whether for settlors/grantors, beneficiaries, trustees or
protectors.
The long-term viability of commercial operations depends on a plan for orderly succession.
Our team advices individuals and families who own businesses. Our experience in estate planning
and the inter-related areas of business and tax law gives us the know-how to offer a sound but
practical advice. We work with clients to develop a succession plan to transfer management
responsibility and financial assets, help protect the estate and business from legal disputes.
Our team helps successful families and entrepreneurs around the world structure their assets in a
way that will preserve their wealth now and for future generations.
We advise on all aspects of wealth structuring, using domestic and international trusts and
foundations, private trust companies in local as well as other jurisdictions and we co-ordinate
the
acquisition of appropriate investments.
Our advice covers the design and implementation of new structures, as well as reviewing existing
structures. We also assist them in complying with the complex rules surrounding investments,
accounting, taxes and compliance.
Some of our clients are local and others are international families with family members who have
European or US connections and want to mitigate their exposure to tax.
We have acted for successful people and their families. We have built up an in-depth understanding
of the personal tax needs of our high net worth clients, and we can help them mitigate their
exposure to tax both during their own lives and for future generations.
Our tax team can bring valuable cross-border experience and knowledge to complex scenarios for
clients with multi-jurisdictional interests.
Our role often involves structuring business affairs and family investments, investing in
financial
products, using trusts and other vehicles to structure investments, dealing with tax issues
arising
on divorce, and reducing inheritance and gift taxes.
Additionally, we help international clients to achieve significant tax benefits through our
understanding of the cross-border regime regarding residence and domicile.
We have experience in dealing with US tax and compliance issues when there are US situs assets, US
citizens, US green card holders, etc.
Our clients span a broad range of professional and entrepreneurial individuals, families, and
landowners. We represent their interests in multiple jurisdictions.
Our specialized team of accountants with local and international expertise will help you with:
- Annual tax planning for high wealth individuals.
- Preparation and/or review of tax returns.
- Support tax audits carried out by national, provincial and municipal tax authorities.
- Load and control efficiency of the tax variable in the administrative processes at a personal or company’s level.
- Certifications and accounting reports: Revenue, Sales, Source of Funds (fixed assets and properties), Income and Expenditure for Tax Purposes.