Foley Adds Four to Latin America Practice

(January 31, 2014, Miami) – Capitalizing on Miami’s ties to Latin America and the increased corporate and transactional needs from multinational companies seeking to do business in the region, Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that effective February 1^st, it will have expanded its Latin America practice group with the addition of four attorneys, including Emil R. Infante, Carlos Abarca, and Daniel Diaz Leyva from Miami-based Infante Zumpano, as well as attorney Rosana Gutierrez. The group will join the firm’s Miami office.

“The timing is ripe to further expand our Latin America practice as Miami continues to evolve as a global center for international business,” said Francisco J. Cerezo, chair of the firm’s Latin America practice and co-chair of its International practice. “As we continue expansion of our transactional work across the globe, the wide-ranging corporate and international experience of Emil, Carlos, Daniel and Rosana will be a tremendous asset to our clients and a critical resource in expanding our reach and identifying new opportunities in the region.”

An industry veteran, Emil R. Infante joins Foley as a partner and will focus his practice on securities, financial regulation, banking, family office services and cross-border transactions. He is sought after for his representation of prominent businessmen, families and established companies doing business across the Americas and Caribbean. Infante previously served as chair of the Latin America Practice Group and Family Offices Services Group at Infante Zumpano, one of the nation’s largest certified minority-owned law firms that he founded in 2005.

Carlos Abarca also joins the firm as partner from Infante Zumpano, where he served as chair of the Corporate Department handling complex corporate, commercial, banking and international matters. He has worked alongside counsel from foreign jurisdictions and regularly advises clients on the legal systems, culture and business practices in Latin America. Abarca has worked with some of the largest firms in the country as well as Fortune 500 companies with corporate and commercial transactions with an emphasis on cross-border matters. Additionally, he served as vice president of corporate finance for Chase Manhattan Bank, where he led teams focused on structuring financing for domestic and international acquisitions, assisting clients with working capital needs and long-term assets financing, both in the U.S. and in Latin America.  

Daniel Diaz Leyva joins Foley as of counsel, having previously served as a partner at Infante Zumpano where he focused on a range of general transactional work, chiefly in real estate, business, corporate and public affairs. He also served as the firm’s director of business development. Prior to Infante Zumpano, Leyva served as Miami office managing partner of Southern Strategy Group, one of the largest government relations firms in the country. 

Joining the firm as a senior associate is Rosana Gutierrez, who most recently served as advisor to the president for the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, where she was responsible for providing counsel and strategic consulting on a variety of corporate matters. Prior to that, she served as a senior corporate associate at Greenberg Traurig in the firm’s Latin America Corporate Practice, in which she counseled U.S. and multinational companies on a variety of cross-border matters. Gutierrez obtained her Juris Doctorate from Columbia University School of Law and her Masters in Business Administration from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain.

Having launched its Latin America practice in 2011, Foley has become a major player among international law firms advising U.S. and multinationals on doing business in Latin America. The Latin America Practice focuses on complex financings, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets work and the structuring of deals.

“Multinational companies continue to look to Miami as their entryway to the U.S. market and the addition of these highly experienced attorneys, particularly in corporate and international matters, will help us better serve our clients and meet that growing demand,” said William Davis, managing partner of Foley’s Miami office. 

Signaling the growth of the Miami office, the addition of these new attorneys brings the office’s total number of attorneys to 31, including 10 that were hired within the past 12 months. The firm recently took on an additional half-floor of space (approximately 12,500 square feet) in One Biscayne Tower to accommodate this growth.

About Foley & Lardner LLP

With approximately 900 attorneys in 20 offices, Foley & Lardner LLP provides award-winning business and legal insight to clients across the country and around the world. Our team-based approach, innovative technology, and focus on value and client service are continually recognized by our clients and the legal industry. Foley has been recognized in a survey* of Fortune 1000 corporate counsel as an elite BTI Client Service 30 for 11 years — one of only seven law firms to hold this distinction for more than 10 years. In addition, Foley received 26 national first-tier rankings on the 2014 U.S. News – Best Lawyers^® “Best Law Firms” list and was named to the InformationWeek 500 list for seven of the past eight years for technological innovation that enhances business value. Learn more at Foley.com.

*2014 BTI Client Service A-Team survey, The BTI Consulting Group, Wellesley, MA