Varella & Advogados Associados

Varella & Advogados Associados, a Brazilian law firm partnership based in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, provides asset recovery and debt collection legal services to the Export-Import Bank of the United States as a sole-source prime contractor on full-and-open federal purchase orders. The firm operates with no set-aside designation and exclusively serves EXIM Bank across its entire federal contract footprint.

Varella & Advogados Associados delivers international asset recovery and legal collection services concentrated on EXIM-financed export claims in Brazil. Representative work includes a $2.55 million sole-source purchase order awarded March 5, 2026, for comprehensive legal recovery services (asset searches, site visits, debtor negotiations, litigation support, asset embargoes, and execution) on three defaulted loan claims involving Brazilian borrowers, running through March 4, 2031; a $409,707 order awarded June 4, 2025, for asset protection and recovery services on contingency-fee terms through June 3, 2030; and a $328,239 order awarded April 14, 2025, for legal and asset recovery services through April 13, 2030. The firm has served as EXIM Bank's primary legal recovery partner in Brazil since April 2017, maintaining expertise in Brazilian legal procedures and established relationships with Brazilian courts at all levels.

Customer concentration is absolute: all 70 recent awards and the full $12.2 million combined potential value route through the Export-Import Bank of the United States. EXIM Bank is the sole funding agency across the vendor's federal footprint. Work is performed in Brazil and at EXIM Bank's Washington, D.C. headquarters, with administrative coordination at the firm's Clearwater, Florida address (2135 N Keene Rd). Varella & Advogados Associados competes 100% as a prime contractor; no subcontract work appears in the award record. EXIM Bank justifies sole-source selection under FAR 6.302-1 (only one responsible source) and FAR 16.505(2)(c) (continuation for continuity in complex, long-duration proceedings), citing the vendor's certification under Brazilian law, specialized expertise in international recovery matters, prior performance with EXIM Bank, and familiarity with U.S. Government administrative requirements.

Activity has been episodic: four awards in 2021, two in 2022, five in 2023, six in 2025, and four through August 2026, with no awards recorded for 2024. Seven awards (combined potential value $933 thousand) reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and face recompete. Service Contract Inventory data shows only $31 thousand in invoiced revenue in FY2022 with zero FTE reporting across all SCI fiscal years (FY2022–FY2025), indicating the firm reports minimal SCI-eligible service-contract activity above the $150,000 threshold; the majority of federal dollars flow through purchase orders structured below SCI reporting requirements or on contingency-fee or specific-transaction terms that fall outside SCI scope.