Notre Dame Law School Delegation Visits Insper in São Paulo, Brazil for Joint Faculty Workshop and Scholarly Exchange

This week, a delegation from Notre Dame Law School is embarking on a three-day visit to São Paulo, Brazil, from March 9 to 11. Led by G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean of Notre Dame Law School, the delegation aims to strengthen the Law School’s relationship with Insper, Notre Dame Law School’s partner institution in São Paulo since March 2025. A major part of the visit will be a joint workshop hosted by Notre Dame Law School and Insper, where Notre Dame Law professors Michael Addo and Francisco J. Urbina will present their papers alongside Insper colleagues, reinforcing the importance of scholarly exchange between the two institutions. Workshop participants will also discuss a working paper authored by Vincent Phillip Muñoz, the Tocqueville professor of political science and concurrent professor of law. The working papers examine foundational questions of law and governance, reflecting the breadth of academic interests shared among Notre Dame Law School and Insper faculty.

This trip supports the objectives of Notre Dame Law School’s Global Lawyering Initiative, a key priority of the Law School that fosters meaningful dialogue on complex legal challenges through collaboration with scholars and institutions around the world. The initiative expands global partnerships by creating opportunities for research collaboration and faculty and student exchanges.

“Our mission calls us to pursue truth wherever it may be found,” said Dean Cole. “Our partnership with Insper allows our faculty to learn from one another, refine our scholarship, and contribute to conversations about law that extend far beyond any one country.”

Accompanying the decanal delegation are Paul B. Miller, the Robert and Marion Short professor of law and associate dean for International and Graduate Programs; Michael Addo, professor of law and director of the Notre Dame London Law Programme; Francisco J. Urbina, associate professor of law; and Gillian Harris, director of International and Graduate Programs. Thaïs Burmeister de Campos Pires, director of Notre Dame São Paulo, one of the global centers within Notre Dame Global, will also join the delegation.

On March 9 and 10, there will be a joint workshop highlighting new scholarship authored by professors from both Notre Dame Law School and Insper.

“Dean Cole and I are delighted to be returning to São Paulo for the inaugural Insper-NDLS works-in-progress workshop,” said Miller. “These workshops are meant to provide an opportunity for our faculty to showcase their work and to get to know the scholarship of our colleagues at Insper.”

Presentations from Notre Dame Law School faculty include:

• Professor Michael Addo, The Integrity of the Reconciliation Principle in Business and Human Rights

• Professor Francisco J. Urbina, The Force of Separation of Powers

• Professor Vincent Phillip Muñoz, The Founders’ Common Good Constitutionalism (paper to be discussed)

Presentations from Insper faculty include:

• Professor Gabriela de Oliveira Junqueira, Corporate Sustainability at the intersection of human rights, environment, corporate social responsibility, and global value chains

• Professor Diego Werneck Arguelhes, A Powerful and Independent Court, If You Can Keep It: Dysfunctions and Dilemmas of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court

• Professor Rafael Bellem de Lima, Positive Legislator: From Conceptual Irrelevance to Legislative Irrelevance

• Professor Ivar Hartmann, Between Courts and Congress: The STF Decision on the Marco Civil da Internet and the Future of Platform Regulation in Brazil

• Professor Mariana Chies-Santos, I’m Still Here: Torture of Youth and State Violence in Brazil in Dialogue with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

The moderators for the joint workshop’s panel discussions include Professors Clio Nudel Radomysler, Ana Laura Pereira Barbosa, and Guilherme Almeida.

In addition to the joint workshop, Dean Cole, Professor Miller, and Gillian Harris will meet with Insper president Guilherme Martins; Insper vice president of academic affairs Sérgio Giovanetti Lazzarini; associate dean for international development Flavia Ferreira Piazza; and unit of law academic director Diego Werneck Arguelhes. Members of the Notre Dame Law School delegation will meet with other Insper colleagues, as well, to further discuss the global partnership between the two institutions and explore future opportunities for collaboration in research, teaching, and student engagement.

“The decanal delegation marks a pivotal milestone in the first year of our official partnership with Insper and reinforces our shared commitment to global legal education,” said Harris. “The roundtable allows our faculty to build the personal and professional connections that serve as the essential foundation for successful faculty and student exchange programs.”

Miller added, “Insper is a thought leader in Brazil and beyond and we are excited about the prospects for deeper collaboration held by this meeting and our partnership more generally. We are grateful to President Guilherme Martins for hosting the first workshop and we look forward to reciprocating in the near future.”

Another highlight of the trip will take place on March 11. The Notre Dame Law School delegation will meet with Notre Dame alumni and law firms based in São Paulo.

Although Notre Dame Law School entered into a historic partnership with Insper through an official Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing just last March, the relationship between the two institutions has already demonstrated strong momentum. Notre Dame Law School recently welcomed Professor Rafael Bellem de Lima to the Law School in February and March as a global visiting associate professor of law, during which he taught the course “Constitutional Justice in Brazil.”

This trip to São Paulo underscores Notre Dame Law School’s commitment to advancing rigorous legal scholarship through engagement with scholars and institutions around the world. It also highlights that the Law School is not only creating global opportunities for its students but for its faculty as well.

Learn more about Notre Dame Law School's Global Lawyering Initiative here: law.nd.edu/global.