Michael Royster

Subject studied: Visiting Fellow (1992) Constitutional Law, Comparative Government Systems

Location: Brazil

Michael R Royster is a founding partner of Royster Advogados Associados, a Brazilian law office. He received his
BA from Princeton University (1964) and his JD from Indiana University School of Law (1967). During 1992-93, he was a Mid-Career Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford, researching Brazilian constitutional law, in particular presidential vs. parliamentary systems of Government.

Michael was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Brazil from 1968-71, married a Brazilian, then returned to practice law in New York and New Jersey. From August 1977 to December 2018, he lived and worked as a consultant and lawyer in Brazil, as a partner in medium-sized law firms. His professional focus was on foreign clients (companies and individuals) doing business in Brazil or with Brazilians. He is licensed to practice law in both Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. He is fluent in English and Portuguese, with a working knowledge of Spanish, French, German and Italian.

Until his retirement in late 2018, when he moved to Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Michael was a member of many organisations within the English-speaking community in Rio—he has been Chairman of the Board of the American School, and President of the American Society of Rio de Janeiro. From 2012 to 2017, he was the editor of The Umbrella, a monthly newsletter published by Rio’s British and Commonwealth Society. From 1998 to 2019, he had a regular op-ed column (byline “Curmudgeon”) in The Rio Times.