Bryan Cave Opens Office in Miami

MIAMI (March 13, 2014) – The international law firm Bryan Cave LLP announced today the opening of an office in Miami, Fla. Located at 200 South Biscayne Blvd., the office will be led by Partners Pedro J. Martinez-Fraga, who will serve as co-leader of Bryan Cave’s International Arbitration Practice, and C. Ryan Reetz, the managing and hiring partner for the office.

Martinez-Fraga and Reetz are a significant addition to Bryan Cave’s International Dispute Resolution Practice. The Miami office also enhances the firm’s ability to handle legal matters for clients with business interests in Latin America and in Florida, particularly with respect to Florida-based litigation.

“Miami is a global center for international law and the principal U.S. nexus to the Latin-American business community,” said Don G. Lents, chair of Bryan Cave. “Pedro and Ryan have a strong practice handling international arbitration cases and a wide range of matters for clients with interests in Latin America. Together with our presence across the U.S., Europe and Asia, this new office furthers our commitment to serve our clients globally.”

Martinez-Fraga is a leading specialist in the field of international litigation and transnational arbitration, including complex jurisdictional disputes concerning common law and civil law issues. He has represented seven sovereignties in Latin America, in addition to the Kingdom of Spain, together with geopolitical subdivisions and state instrumentalities. His arbitration experience includes arbitral disputes under the following institutions and rules: ICSID (World Bank), ICC, LCIA, ICDR, DIS and the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce.

His more notable representations include serving as lead U.S. counsel on behalf of the Republic of Chile in the case against former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet. He also has represented the Republic of Argentina, the Republic of Guatemala, the Republic of El Salvador, the Federated Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Ecuador, the Republic of Honduras, St. Kitts and Nevis and instrumentalities of the Kingdom of Spain.

Martinez-Fraga also maintains an active international human rights practice, serving as lead counsel in a landmark case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He currently serves as a member of the Center for Human Rights Advisory Counsel of the American Bar Association.

Martinez-Fraga graduated from St. John’s College in 1984, summa cum laude, and earned his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1987 where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He also holds Licenciatura (J.D. equivalent) and Magister (L.L.M. equivalent) degrees in private and public international law from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in addition to a Diploma de Estudios Avanzados in International Law from the same institution. He is admitted to practice in Florida, Washington, D.C., and the Kingdom of Spain.

Reetz represents clients as trial counsel in international and domestic commercial and regulatory disputes. His litigation and arbitration practice ranges from investment disputes and sovereign immunity challenges to class actions, unfair trade practice cases, fraud and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act claims and contract disputes. He also serves as an arbitrator in international commercial disputes.

Reetz has taught transnational civil litigation and arbitration as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law and presently serves as a visiting professor at the University of Navarra School of Law in Pamplona, Spain. He is also an instructor for the Florida Regional Program of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and has lectured at the Swiss Arbitration Academy and at the law schools of Doshisha University, Marmara University, Istanbul Bilgi University and Istanbul Kültür University.

Reetz currently serves as chair of the International Law Section of the Florida Bar. He is a member of the American Law Institute and has served on the Civil Procedure Rules and Rules of Judicial Administration Committees of the Florida Bar. He graduated from Harvard University in 1984, magna cum laude, and earned his J.D. from Boston University in 1987, summa cum laude.

Bryan Cave LLP has a diversified international legal practice. The firm represents a wide variety of business, financial, institutional and individual clients, including publicly held multinational corporations, large and mid-sized privately held companies, partnerships and emerging companies. Aided by extensive investments in technology, Bryan Cave’s approximately 1,000 lawyers across the United States, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe and Asia efficiently serve clients’ needs in the world’s key business and financial markets.