Steptoe Adds Former World Trade Organization Attorney in D.C.

Steptoe & Johnson LLP has added a director to its international trade and regulatory compliance practice groups, the firm announced Thursday.

Pablo Bentes, formerly a legal officer in the Appellate Body Secretariat of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, joins Steptoe in Washington.

At his previous post, Bentes reviewed decisions rendered under the organization’s dispute settlement mechanisms. He also drafted legal opinions and supported the seven-member appellate body in the decision-making process.

One of his most notable cases involved the dispute between the U.S. and the European Union over subsidies paid to Airbus. The U.S. claimed that the subsidies cost American aerospace companies billions of dollars in lost revenue and are a violation of commerce rules.

Before joining the organization, Bentes was the chair of a Brazilian law firm’s international trade practice. Although he is not licensed to practice in the U.S., Bentes is licensed in Brazil. At Steptoe, Bentes will work with attorneys on the WTO litigation team.

Bentes said that demand for legal services in Brazil is ever increasing. “You have not only a lot of U.S. companies investing in Brazil, but Brazilian companies investing in the U.S.,” he said. “Brazil is becoming more and more important in the market.”