MARIA APARECIDA SEABRA FAGUNDES, partner in charge of the Rio de Janeiro office. Born in Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro. Admitted to Brazilian Bar Association in 1976. Educational Background: Bachelor of Laws from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (1973); Career advancement course on Public Policies and Government from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (1997). From 1999 to 2007, she worked as General Legal Advisor for Eletrobrás. She worked as a lawyer for Furnas (1978 to 1998) and for Seabra Fagundes Advogados, a law firm (from 1974 to 1978). She has a broad background on preventive law practice, chiefly in the contract and regulatory areas. She contributed to the new regulatory models for the electric sector, which were given effect in 1998 and in 2003-2004. She has taken part in the negotiation and drafting of agreements of international and domestic scope and in the structuring of projects for the energy area. She was the coordinator of the Legal Module of MBA aimed for the energy area, sponsored by the Universidade Federal of Rio de Janeiro, by the IAG-PUC-RJ and by IBMEC, as well as in the faculty of these institutions and similar courses sponsored by Fundação Getúlio Vargas and by Universidade Gama Filho. A Member of the Brazilian Lawyers’ Institute; A Member of the Decision-Making Body of the Brazilian Institute for the Studies of Energy Law (IBDE); A Member of the following Boards of Directors: Companhia de Geração Térmica de Energia Elétrica– CGTEE – from 1999 to 2002; Centrais Elétricas Matrogrossenses S.A. – CEMAT – from April 2001 to 2002; Boavista Energia S.A. – from January to April 2001; Bandeirante Energia S. A. – from 1999 to 2000. Published Articles: Paper on “Communication, Law and Development,” published in the “Revista de Pós-Graduação da Pontifícia Universidade Católica”; Article on “Controversial Matters of the Statute on Concessions and Permits for the Provision of Public Services,” published in the “Revista de Direito Administrativo”, volume 205; Article “Electricity Law’s new directions,” published in the “Revista de Direito Administrativo”, volume 224; Article “Partnerships in Infra-structure Projects,” published in the “Revista de Direito Administrativo”, vol.233. Areas of Practice: Corporate, Contract and Energy Law. Languages: Portuguese and English, and reading and comprehension skills in Spanish and French.