Most of the ministers of the (Superior Labor Court) taught or are listed among teachers of a course paid for by lawyers.
The situation bothered the president of the court, Luiz Philippe Vieira de Mello Filho. He stated that if they miss sessions to give paid lectures of this type.
Of the 25 ministers, at least 14 are listed in the Ieja (Institute of Applied Legal Studies) course announcements on how to work in court. According to the entity’s announcement, these courses have “renowned specialists who live the routine of higher courts” and “master the construction of winning theses”.
The course on labor law has already had editions in Belo Horizonte and São Paulo. It is scheduled to take place in Brasília this Wednesday (6) and Thursday (7). Interested parties must pay R$1,000 to attend classes virtually and R$1,500 in person.
The list of ministers included in the Ieja publications was initially revealed by the newspaper and confirmed by Sheet.
The ministers featured in the Ieja announcements are Guilherme Caputo Bastos, Ives Gandra Martins Filho, Douglas Alencar, Evandro Valadão, Alexandre Ramos, Morgana Richa, Sergio Pinto Martins, Breno Medeiros, Amaury Rodrigues, Hugo Scheuermann, Liana Chaib, Cláudio Brandão, Augusto Cesar and Antônio Fabrício Gonçalves.
When contacted through the consultancy, three of them responded.
Caputo Bastos stated that he would not speak. Cláudio Brandão said that, “because it is a class with legal content, I understand that there is no conflict of interests”.
Augusto César, in turn, stated that “there is no conflict of interest in teaching a class on a strictly legal topic, following an invitation from an educational institution.” “The class theme was consistent with my academic performance,” he said.
In an interview with Sheetthe president of the TST had already paid judges, to allow the parties to a process to request the judge’s impeachment due to conflict of interest.
In December 2025, he was cited by the president of the (Superior Military Court), as one of the presidents of higher courts in favor of what was proposed by the president of the (Supreme Federal Court), .
Mello Filho told the newspaper that he intends to cut the salaries of TST ministers who miss sessions to give paid lectures.
“There are court ministers giving lectures on courses paid for by lawyers teaching how to advocate in court. This is completely unethical. It is completely confrontational,” he stated. “Not to mention that I intend to do something rudely, I intend to send a letter to all ministers asking them to be absolutely clear [sobre as palestras]. If there is no justification, it will impact the subsidy,” he said.
The president of the TST mentioned the course, stating that it is coordinated by the vice-president of the court, Guilherme Caputo Bastos. He also said he had received slides from Minister Ives Gandra Martins Filho in a lecture on how to give oral arguments in court.
Also in the interview, Mello Filho rejected banning courses and lectures, but said he hopes to regulate this in a code of conduct. He stated that he has asked ministers not to offer paid lectures to “economic segments” that generate, according to him, a “generalized conflict”.
“For me it’s this: do you want to give a talk? You can do it, just tell me where and who will pay,” he said.
The Ieja said in a statement that the participation of magistrates as teachers is supported by Loman (Organic Law on the Judiciary) and that all teachers are paid per class hour.
“Ieja adopts institutional policy with objective criteria, aligned with the practices of educational institutions at the national level and in accordance with applicable legislation. This is a relationship of a private nature, formalized by specific contractual instruments between the parties”, stated the institute, in a note.
“For this reason, information about values, conditions and other contractual terms are restricted to contractors and protected by legal and contractual duties of confidentiality, including in light of the General Data Protection Law (LGPD), and are not subject to disclosure.”
The institute said that the course is “strictly academic, aimed at the technical study of labor law and the labor process with the TST, with an analysis of its jurisprudence and general content.” He stated that the students are not just lawyers.
“In our editions, we had among the student magistrates, judges, technical advisors, members of the Public Ministry, students and interns, and lawyers. Therefore, there is no conflict of interest.”
