Judicial reorganization is, above all, a process of deep corporate reorganization. That said, Dr. Rodrigo Gonçalves Pimentel, partner at Pimentel & Mochi Advogados Associados, emphasizes that limiting the strategy solely to debt renegotiation often creates a false sense of relief.
Without consistent internal adjustments, the risk of relapsing into crisis remains high. After all, judicial reorganization requires a broad assessment of the operation, the market, and the company’s real cash-generation capacity. With this in mind, below we explore how internal adjustments can be decisive in this context.
Does Judicial Reorganization Go Beyond Debt Renegotiation?
Judicial reorganization is governed by Law No. 11,101/2005 and aims to preserve business activity, jobs, and the company’s social function. In practice, this means creating conditions for the business to become viable again. According to the judicial reorganization team at Pimentel & Mochi, renegotiating debts is an essential part of the process, but it does not solve structural problems such as uncontrolled costs, low productivity, or management failures.
That said, companies that enter judicial reorganization without reviewing their operations often face difficulties soon after the judicial protection period ends. A common example is an entrepreneur who secures extended deadlines to pay creditors but maintains inefficient contracts, oversized teams, or unclear processes. As noted by attorney Rodrigo Pimentel, the result is the continuation of operational losses, now with less room to maneuver.
In this context, operational restructuring works as an indispensable complement to the legal plan. Adjusting how the company produces, sells, and manages its resources increases the chances of complying with the approved plan and reduces the risk of conversion into bankruptcy.
Which Internal Adjustments Are Most Relevant in Judicial Reorganization?
Operational analysis during judicial reorganization involves decisions that impact the company’s day-to-day activities. According to Dr. Lucas Gomes Mochi, also a partner at the firm, these adjustments vary by sector, but certain points are common in both urban businesses and rural enterprises. Among the most recurring adjustments are:
Review of fixed and variable costs: renegotiation of leases, service contracts, inputs, and administrative expenses that no longer match cash-flow reality.
Adjustment of personnel structure: redistribution of roles, review of working hours, and elimination of overlaps, always respecting legal limits.
Optimization of production processes: in rural operations, this may involve harvest schedules, logistics, and machinery use; in industry or commerce, production flows and inventory management.
Review of the product or service portfolio: focusing on what generates margins and discontinuing loss-making operations.
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These internal adjustments allow the company to operate more efficiently during judicial reorganization. As a result, by the end of the process, the business tends to emerge more organized and better prepared to compete, which strengthens credibility with creditors and the Judiciary itself, as noted by Dr. Lucas Gomes Mochi.
How to Align Operational Restructuring With the Judicial Reorganization Plan?
According to attorney Rodrigo Pimentel, one of the most common mistakes is treating operational restructuring as something separate from the plan submitted to the court. Judicial reorganization works best when internal measures are aligned with financial projections and the obligations assumed with creditors. This requires planning and ongoing monitoring.
Therefore, the plan must reflect the operational reality. Unrealistic revenue projections or cost-reduction targets often lead to future noncompliance. For this reason, a prior analysis of the company, based on concrete data, is essential to define achievable goals. In this scenario, operational restructuring becomes an instrument of legal certainty. By demonstrating that the company is adopting consistent internal measures, the entrepreneur conveys seriousness to the process and reduces the risk of challenges from creditors or the court-appointed administrator.
Operational Restructuring as a Path to Overcoming the Crisis
Ultimately, judicial reorganization should not be viewed merely as an emergency response to a crisis, but as an opportunity for reorganization. Companies that seize this moment to correct internal failures tend to emerge stronger and better prepared for the future. In other words, the combination of operational discipline and legal strategy is what separates companies that merely postpone the problem from those that truly manage to recover.
Author: Vania Quimmer
