Past Chapter Spotlight - Brazil

WWCDA spotlights the WWCDA Brazil Chapter and Leaders, including Shin Jae Kim, who share their inspirational and impactful experiences as members of the WWCDA. Shin Jae shares the path that led to her career in law, inspirations, the importance of her work and WWCDA’s role in her journey.

Welcome to the Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA) blog post series profiling its diverse, talented membership. A global group of more than 3,000 accomplished women attorneys and other professionals, members are from 48 chapters who specialize in the representation of clients facing criminal or civil enforcement, regulatory, and administrative actions, and in need of internal investigations and compliance counselling.

Shin Jae Kim, Brazil Chapter Leader

TozziniFreire Advogados

São Paulo, Brazil

Tell us a little about your practice/firm and any specializations you have cultivated.

I have been a partner at TozziniFreire Advogados, a full-service firm in Brazil, for more than 26 years and a member of the Executive Committee of the firm for more than a decade. I started my career as a corporate lawyer, with focus on mergers and acquisitions and advising investors from different countries on their inbound and outbound investments. In early 2000, I decided to set up a new practice group after assisting a client with a FCPA related matter. Since then, I have been heading our Compliance & Investigation practice group of 5 partners, a group that makes me extremely proud for all their stellar accomplishments and recognition such as Band 1 by Chambers Brazil and Global.

Since 2006, I have been dedicating my time to the development of Compliance in Brazil. To such end, I have been involved in various educational courses, international and national conferences, various international forums and events focused on anti-corruption, corporate governance, and investigative issues. And I am also head of the Asia Practice Group, directly coordinating the Korea Desk.

I am also very proud to co-chair the WWCDA Brazil Chapter and co-head the creation of LACIL (Latin American Compliance & Investigation League), which involves the leading Latin American law firms in this practice.

I have also been serving as a member of the Finance, Compliance, and Audit Committee and member of the Advisory Board of SCCE (Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics) & HCCA (Health Care Compliance Association).

Who/what inspired you to pursue white collar law?

My inspiration came from the actual cases and clients in early stages of my carrier.  After witnessing so many instances of investment lost due to the absence of prevention, I started with my partner Renata Muzzi to evaluate and develop the field of compliance to help and mitigate risks and challenges in the complex Brazilian business environment.

Additionally, another turning point was Operation Car Wash and the issuance of the Brazilian anticorruption law also known as Clean Company Act.  They changed corporate enforcement and included Brazil in the international enforcement road map, increasing the importance of corporate investigations and cooperation with domestic and foreign authorities.  In addition they created and expanded the scope of white collar and compliance fields for companies. 

Who is the most influential person in your law career?

José Luis de Salles Freire, TozziniFreire's founder, had most influence in my career. He was the first person who believed in my potential as a lawyer. Being an immigrant, with no connections in the field and limited opportunities, he was my mentor who showed me the importance of open mindedness, innovation and to put trust on abilities without discrimination of gender, race or age or background. 

How long have you been a member of WWCDA and what drew you to the organization?

I have been a member of WWCDA since 2019 and the top reason that drew me to the organization was its purpose of supporting women in a field that is still dominated by my male colleagues and for the opportunities of networking and meeting great minds and inspirational women. Another reason is structure and governance of the organization that is beyond Americas centric, reaching out to different countries. 

Can you tell us more about your WWCDA leadership role and how it has helped or advanced your practice?

With a career of more than 30 years, the role of co-chair of WWCDA Brazil gives me the opportunity to contribute to the enhancement and development of compliance and white-collar practices locally and helps to build an important forum of networking and business development for the members. This also helped us to stay connected and build bridges with other leaders in Brazil and overseas to mentor, inspire and motivate personal growth and achieve the goals of our members.

Tell us something about you that might surprise us.

I was once an entrepreneur, fashion designer, and owner of a clothing company in São Paulo. It was a quite successful business, but my desire to build a carrier was stronger. 

What are your favorite activities to do outside of the office (hobbies, interests)?

I love to try out different activities particularly the ones that keep my mind busy, such as painting and pottery. In addition, I have been interested in exploring new places in São Paulo. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the bike path along the Pinheiros River. It is a beautiful waterfront where it is possible to enjoy the urban view of São Paulo that has been in constant development and has become a global and welcoming city.