In anticipation of its 60th anniversary, Ruy de Mello Miller Law Firm officially inaugurates the new headquarters and brand
July 6, 2021 is the 60th anniversary of Ruy de Mello Miller Law Firm (RMM). Among the milestones of the date are the official inauguration of the new office, with a panoramic view of the busiest container port in Latin America (Santos/SP/Brazil), and a new brand identity, in line with the growth and strategic positioning of RMM.
The new headquarters
With capacity for 60 attorneys and the holding of up to four simultaneous meetings, RMM's new headquarters is located at Tribuna Square (R. Amador Bueno, 333 - Centro, Santos, Brazil), with a panoramic view of the busiest container port in Latin America, plus its own gym and restaurant. Conceived to reflect the organizational values and identity of the Law Firm, the architectural design of the new headquarters reflects the concepts of transparency, sustainability, and leadership. The move marks the fourth expansion "wave" of RMM and doubles the operating capacity of the Law Firm.
“We had two meeting rooms and expanded to four; we had the capacity to serve 40 people at the same time in the 20 Minutos Restaurant and, now, the space accommodates up to 180 people”, explains the partner Lucas Miller, responsible for all the structural changes at the Law Firm over the past 20 years.
Among the main characteristics of the process conducted by the architect Camila Madeira (Emme Arquitetura), and portrayed in the video above (imagery and editing by Leonardo Cortez, of Henancius Digital), are:
Sustainability
The project also eliminated most walls in the office and prioritized the use of glass, which facilitates the entry of natural light into spaces and a reduction in electricity consumption.
From Santos to the world
The new headquarters brings symbols that reinforce the sense of community which RMM has been striving to preserve since 1961. The desks, for instance, are supported by structures resembling the shape of the parapets of the Santos canals.
"A survey recently concluded by A Tribuna Newspaper revealed that the parapets were elected as a visual sign of the Santista identity - a fortunate confirmation that we are on the right path", celebrates Lucas, who sees, in the symbolism of the city, a sense of belonging that should be constantly brought to mind, as the firm's performance takes on an international dimension.
Collaborative spaces
The main hall of the office gathers all professionals on the same plane, over seamless and unpartitioned workstations. This horizontality was conceived to facilitate the communication, the integration, and the professional development of the people, let alone stimulate the innovation process of the firm.
“We went from 600m² to 1,000m². But the use of space in a single environment is better than in a fragmented environment, as was in the previous office, in which we were divided into three floors of the Sulbanco Building, on Rua João Pessoa”, comments Lucas.
Social spaces and happy hours
To facilitate the development of the work of high intellectual vocation developed at RMM, as well as the healthy coexistence of the team, the new headquarters has a decompression lounge. In the space equipped with sofas, armchairs, minibar, and espresso coffee machine, the professionals can make use of a specific collection from the corporate library, with fiction, biographies, and poetry books. The "RMM Lounge" also includes a balcony with a landscaping project and a panoramic view of the Port of Santos.
Diversity and equity
As a sign of respect for transgender and non-binary people, the new RMM headquarters offers neutral bathrooms (which make no distinction between “male” and “female”).
Murals with humanitarian leaders
The unique trace of the Brazilian artist Vinicius Matsuei, known as @Vini_Meio, marks nine ambiences of the Advocacia, such as the “Malala”, “Gandhi”, and “Mandela” meeting rooms. The graffiti murals are an everyday inspiration and make reference to the organizational values of RMM and to the work of the Diversity and Equity Committee of the Law Firm. Those leaders were chosen on a vote made with RMM's professionals; the founder of the Law Firm, Ruy de Mello Miller, also has his face stamped at the front desk area.
“Malala, Gandhi, and Mandela are some of the inspirations that represent our organizational values and these leaders are ‘watching’ us daily. Ethics, justice, freedom, persistence, and social consciousness are among those pillars. Their identities also reflect the balance between seniority and the energy of youth, which is the profile of our team”, says partner Thiago Miller.
Digital technology and time optimization
Moving on with a digitization project that started more than 20 years ago, RMM has been hosting all systems and work processes in the cloud since 2018, using Google's technology, and relies on a team dedicated to ensuring digital security and remote performance of the office. All of the meeting rooms, prepared to physically accommodate up to 30 people simultaneously, have live broadcast systems, with smart TVs, high definition cameras, professional audio capture, and other touch screen softwares which facilitate the execution of webinars and meetings with external guests.
RMM Fit: health and well-being
RMM's new headquarters has its own own gym, with private showers, and a dressing room. On the walls of the “RMM Fit” space, where up to five people can work out at the same time, there are two murals featuring Muhammad Ali and Marta Silva, high-performance athletes and leading voices of social justice movements that are essential to the safeguarding of democratic values.
20 Minutos Restaurant
The project that was created to offer healthy, safe, and free meals to attorneys, interns, and collaborators of RMM takes on a new dimension at the Tribuna Square. The 20m operates with a rotating menu that includes natural juices, salads, vegetables, grains, and animal and plant-based proteins; on Mondays, the restaurant offers special options to stimulate people to adhere to the #MeatlessMonday movement. The kitchen is equipped with state-of-the-art cooking systems (combined oven and cooler), which allow for advanced preparation techniques and periodic control of critical points. The corporate environment stamps the face of the French Chef Paul Bocuse at the reception, a sign of respect for gastronomic culture and commitment to ensuring the quality of the catering service offered by the Restaurant. The space also has air conditioning and an odor control system. In addition to operating at lunchtime on business days, the 20 Minutos functions as a space for the events of RMM - it is used for brunches with clients, lectures for up to 180 people, and the monthly happy hours thrown by the Firm to celebrate the birthdays of team members.
The new house, according to the senior partners
Among the attorneys who have participated in the history of RMM for over 15 years, are the partners Fernando Moromizato, of the Civil Law Team, and Lucas Rênio, of the Labor Law Team. In a few words, they describe the feeling of witnessing this new wave of expansion of the Firm.
“In the visitation held for the partners, before the official opening, I made a point of putting the 'right foot' down, as I did in 2004, when I started at RMM. The entrance hall of the new headquarters welcomes you with green grass, a reference to the gardens on the shore line, but which reminded me of the old carpet of the office, before the renovation in 2006. The new house is very spacious, with panoramic views and plenty of natural light. It mixes the classic and the modern. An excellent incentive for the next 20 years!” stated Fernando Moromizato.
"I started my career at RMM 18 years ago. At that time we were seven people in a small commercial complex and, from day one the components of the 'RMM DNA' were very clear to me: probity, dedication to the client, passion for law, and a focus on the Maritime-Port legal axis. The process of innovation does not stop at RMM, and many structural reforms have already been carried out (with emphasis on the entrepreneurship of Lucas Miller). Today, a new phase is officially begun. The team already has more than 60 people. The structure has been amplified in a colossal manner, including a restaurant (which we already had) and a gym (that is a novelty). We are opening a new house at Tribuna Square, but the 'RMM DNA' remains untouchable, in the form of a perennial tradition: probity, dedication to the client, passion for law and focus on the Maritime-Portuary legal axis! And now we have 'eyes set on the Port' even more, with a view that stretches from Saboó to Ponta da Praia”, said Lucas Rênio.
Protection and safety during challenging times
On account of the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, RMM adopted the home office system in March 2020 and, still, operates mostly under that regime, supported by the strong technological apparatus that has been marking the performance of the firm for years. The official inauguration of the new headquarters in this moment takes place under restrictions; access to the office is scheduled in advance with the management, and all of the measures recommended by the health authorities, such as wearing masks and using hand sanitizers, are required to ensure protection and preserve the health of everyone. To contact us, please, send an e-mail to miller@miller.adv.br.
The new brand
A month short from its 60th anniversary, RMM takes an important step towards updating its brand identity. The logo that has defined Law Firm over the past 20 years gives way to a new brand, created to more accurately synthesize the concepts of avant-gardism, expertise, scalability, and reliability imprinted on the work of RMM.
“This process started in 2017, when we began to use the acronym RMM to identify the Law Firm, and we noticed a quick adherence of the people who we interact with on a daily basis, such as lawyers and clients. Our digital marketing efforts, such as LinkedIn, called for a more minimalist brand, which would have us set off in the national and international markets, and which would resonate with the logistics sector. We also needed a color palette that would translate our solidity and methodology of work, very focused on quality and efficiency. In strategy meetings over the past six months, we have revisited our purpose, mission, vision, and values to provide the basis for this process of aesthetic transformation,” explains Amanda Denti, Public Relations, who started working with RMM more than 10 years ago.
Created by the designer Bruno Loos, based on the organizational pillars of the Advocacia, the new visual identity of RMM has the container as its visual metaphor, a structure that transformed foreign trade and which represents a scalable, safe, and standardized solution.
“The former logo made reference to the ship and the horizon, symbols of navigation. The starting point of the proposal for the new brand is to move that focus, from modal to content, whilst following the expansion of the practice areas of the Law Firm. The rectangles, on the other hand, in addition to visually complementing the idea of a container, have the function of symbolic pillars. They represent the spine of books (knowledge production), the Greco-Roman columns of Law (tradition) and the values instilled in RMM by its founders. It is also through the rectangles that the values of flexibility, transparency, and modernity will be further put to practice: one of the pillars works as a window, which moves to accommodate different contents”, concludes Bruno.
The new visual identity also includes the commemorative stamp of the 60th anniversary of RMM. Ruy de Mello Miller Law Firm was founded on July 6th of 1961, and it is preparing a sequence of virtual events to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2021.
“That work has been done with great care and attention, conceived to optimize our communication with our professionals, colleagues, clients, and partners”, concludes the partner Thiago Miller.
A few images of the new office
