Connecticut Law Tribune
Monday, October 11, 2010

Going To Bat For Thousands Of Brazilians

Danbury firm gets contract to represent consulate on wide array of issues

By DOUGLAS S. MALAN

Managing partner Agostinho Ribeiro said his firm will assist the Brazilian Consulate in Hartford by providing information to Brazilian nationals about their legal rights in America.

The Danbury firm of Ventura, Ribeiro & Smith has made a name for itself as one of the go-to firms for that city's Brazilian community.

Now the firm has become the primary counsel for an even larger segment of the Brazilian population. Late last month, the Brazilian Consulate in Hartford awarded Ventura, Ribeiro & Smith a one-year contract to serve as its local counsel for legal matters involving Brazilian nationals in Connecticut and Rhode Island, where the consulate has jurisdiction.

"We did an extensive search of about a dozen firms in Connecticut and Rhode Island, looking for a firm with a good reputation and a tradition of representing the Brazilian community," said Nestor Forster, the deputy consul general at the Brazilian Consulate. "We found both of those things in this law firm."

Forster would not reveal the value of the contract, but he said that Ventura, Ribeiro & Smith also was an attractive firm because it agreed to offer services at a particular price point.

The contract is renewable every year, and "our expectation is that the relationship will continue much longer than a year," Forster said.

Managing partner Agostinho J. Ribeiro said his firm has become well known among Connecticut residents of Brazilian, Portuguese and Hispanic heritage. The 12-lawyer firm focuses mainly on litigation, such as personal injury, motor vehicle and work injury cases, and four of the firm's lawyers speak fluent Portuguese.

The firm's attorneys also played an instrumental roles in the creation of the Portuguese Bar Association of Connecticut earlier this year.

"We have a history of representing the Brazilian community with compassion and commitment," Ribeiro said of his firm.

The consulate, which opened this past January, went through a search and interview process of about six months before selecting the Danbury firm. The consulate's recommendation then needed approval from the Brazilian government.

So far, said Ventura, Ribeiro & Smith attorney Rute A. Mendes, her firm's experience with the consulate has been limited, "although it has been exciting."

The scope of the firm's representation for the consulate is vast and can cover civil and criminal law, as well as administrative proceedings in which the Brazilian Consulate wants to voice an opinion on issues affecting Brazilian nationals.

The consulate also assists people traveling to Brazil who wish to obtain work or travel visas.

Brazil and Italy are two countries that operate consulate offices in Connecticut. Many other foreign nationals living in Connecticut are serviced by their country's consulate offices in New York.

Deportation Case

The one case in which the firm has gotten involved on behalf of the consulate so far pertained to a Brazilian national serving a one-year sentence for multiple motor vehicle-related charges and failures to appear, Mendes said.

A humanitarian group in Brazil contacted the consulate in Hartford when the man's brother was the victim of a drug-related massacre in Mexico. Because the brothers' father is in poor health in Brazil and no other relatives are in that country, the humanitarian group was interested in contacting the Brazilian national imprisoned here.

Mendes met with the man and ascertained that he was being treated properly in prison, was receiving adequate legal representation and that he understood what was happening with his case. The attorney also met with the public defender representing the man and determined that he was in good enough mental state to receive news of his brother's death.

"From there, I had discussions with the national about having the consulate initiate proceedings to have him deported as soon as possible so that he can return home and care for his father," Mendes said.

The Danbury firm is waiting for its first case in Rhode Island, and Mendes said the legal matters in that state likely will be similar to ones encountered in Connecticut.

Mendes said the law firm also "will be investigating administrative matters reported to the consulate." These would include complaints from a Brazilian national who paid a local agency for services related to renewing a passport, for example, and didn't receive that service.

Another area where the law firm will assist the consulate is in providing guides to legal rights in America for people coming here from Brazil.

"Part of this [relationship] is educational and community service," Ribeiro said. "We're assisting the consulate in supplying legal information they can distribute to Brazilian nationals to help them understand their legal rights."

He added, "It's important to the consulate that they know the law firm providing that information rather than allowing nationals to obtain information from attorneys they're not aware of."