Mateus Costa-Ribeiro, an international associate in the firm’s Global Capital Markets group, was profiled in the Wall Street Journal in advance of his admittance to the New York state bar.
Mr. Costa-Ribeiro, currently 21, will be one of the youngest people admitted to the New York State Bar in decades. This accomplishment follows his other record-breaking career highlights, including winning a case in front of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court at age 18 and attending Harvard Law School’s master of laws program at 19 as one of its youngest students. Despite his age, Mr. Costa-Ribeiro brings a sense of maturity and empathy beyond his years to his work. He notes, “The way you deal with a client, the way you explain a tough decision that came from a judge, the way you tell someone that he or she is going to jail, you need some kind of life backbone to be able to manage these situations.”
This maturity and sense of determination helped Mr. Costa-Ribeiro face the last challenge in his path to becoming a lawyer in New York: the age requirement for passage of the bar exam, which is set at 21. Wanting to avoid any disruption to his career, he petitioned the New York State Court of Appeals, was granted a waiver and has since passed the exam.
