Octavio Sampaio de Moura Azevedo

Octavio Azevedo is a Ph.D. candidate in law at the University of São Paulo (USP), the same institution where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degree, the later in Philosophy of Law. He is also part of Constitution, Politics and Institutions (COPI) group, a research group at the University that gathers fellow researchers in constitutional law and has been a mentor at the Program to the Promotion of Dedication to Academics (“PPDA”), assisting students in the first years of their academic life at the University.

His research, titled "Free speech and role obligations: a theory of free speech for the Judiciary", focuses on the free speech of members of the Judiciary, particularly Justices of the Supreme Court. He is investigating the limits to which judges are subjected to when exercising their right to freedom of expression, considering the role they play in a constitutional democracy.

In conjunction with his Ph.D., Octavio worked as a lawyer at a prestigious law firm in São Paulo, specializing in nonprofits and third sector law. Previously, he worked seven years at a nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of access to justice through the work of pro bono lawyers.