Biography

Vanessa studied Law at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and and Business Administration at the State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC), in Florianópolis, Brazil, and in 2015 completed a specialization course in Business and Corporate Law. In 2016, she obtained her LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS), at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) with the University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Having been admitted to the Brazilian Bar Association in 2013, Vanessa started her professional career in Brazil, as an In-House counsel at the Legal Department of a multinational engineering and construction company. In August 2016, Vanessa joined the independent dispute resolution boutique Borris Hennecke Kneisel in Cologne, Germany, as a Foreign Associate.

At Borris Hennecke Kneisel, Vanessa has been practicing in international commercial arbitration proceedings and in dispute adjudication boards, both ad hoc and before institutions, such as the ICC International Court of Arbitration and the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS), acting as counsel and assistant or secretary to arbitral tribunals. A particular focus of her practice has been on disputes arising from cross-border M&A and sales transactions, in the sectors of construction, energy, oil & gas and others.

Vanessa is fluent in Portuguese (native language), English and Spanish; she also has a working proficiency in German and French.