Marcelo Terra gained his bachelor’s degree from the University of São Paulo Law School (USP) in 1978.

He is a founding partner of Duarte Garcia, Serra Netto e Terra - Sociedade de Advogados; a member of the legal counsel of the Association of Business Purchase, Sale, Rental and Commercial Property Management; and a former counsellor and director of the São Paulo Lawyer's Institute (1991–1993).

Marcelo is the founder of the graduate course in real estate business at SECOVI-SP. He also founded the specialisation course in corporate real estate law, organised by SECOVI-SP, and is professor of the University Extension Centre.

He is the founding counsellor of SECOVI-SP, a career path that illustrates the outstanding services he has provided to the real estate industry.

He is honorary member of the Brazilian Institute of Real Estate Law (Ibradim). 

He has won the FIABCI-Brazil Master of Real Estate award, in the legal consulting category, for his work on land bartering for construction of a unit. The same association appointed him as deputy director for the 2015-2017 biennium of the board of directors.

Sources cited by Chambers and Partners – Latin America (2018) affirmed, “Marcelo is a respected name across the real estate sector and is widely considered one of the leading minds in this field.” The same publication recommended him as a “star individual” in real estate law in the last eight editions (2011-2018). He was appointed as a “leading practitioner” in real estate law in the 2010-2018 editions of WWL: Brazil.

WWL says: The "excellent" Marcelo Terra is a "great name in real estate in Brazil", according to impressed peers.