Holland & Knight LLP

Alexandra Aguirre

Alexandra Aguirre is a corporate attorney in Holland & Knight's Miami office. Ms. Aguirre focuses her practice on international mergers and acquisitions (M&A), joint ventures and cross-border financing transactions, as well as private equity and venture capital investments throughout Latin America and the United States. Ms. Aguirre also advises families and their family offices in matters relating to running a privately held business by providing tailored corporate advice, including corporate and family governance structure, policies and procedures, succession planning, building and preserving business value, liquidity alternatives, and exit strategies.

Roger Aksamit is a tax and energy attorney in Holland & Knight's Houston office, where he focuses his practice on energy, natural resources, real estate and private equity taxation. He has significant experience counseling public, private equity and closely held clients in mergers and acquisitions, financing and joint venture transactions, as well as all other aspects of transactional tax matters and planning. Mr. Aksamit is Board Certified in Tax Law and Estate Planning and Probate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Linda Auerbach Allderdice

Linda Auerbach Allderdiceis a litigation attorney in the firm's Century City and San Francisco offices and heads the firm's Labor, Employment and Benefits Practice Group in California. Ms. Allderdice works with clients in a wide range of industries, including transportation and logistics, hospitality, entertainment, consumer products, commercial and residential real estate, event planning and production, banking, personnel services and staffing, data and asset protection, education, manufacturing and distribution, security services, technology, insurance, marketing, legal services, healthcare and retail. She is experienced in handling complex litigation in all aspects of labor and employment law, including wage and hour class action and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) litigation, discrimination, harassment and whistleblower claims, and trade secret litigation. Ms. Allderdice also advises clients on compliance with local, state and federal labor and employment laws, handles labor and employment due diligence as part of merger and acquisition (M&A) deal teams, works with clients on litigation prevention strategies and conducts workplace investigations. Ms. Allderdice represents companies and educational institutions in union representation, election and unfair labor practice proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), collective bargaining and negotiating project labor accords, and neutrality agreements.

Richard "Rick" Bange is a corporate, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity attorney who serves on Holland & Knight's Directors Committee and as executive partner for the Charlotte office. With more than 25 years of experience representing private equity sponsors and public and private companies, Mr. Bange has led transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $30 billion during the course of his career. He has consistently been ranked as a leading corporate, private equity and M&A attorney by publications such as Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers guide, The Best Lawyers in America guide, IFLR1000 and The Legal 500 USA. He has also been named as a Client Service All-Star by The BTI Consulting Group Inc. and a Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer for 2025. Clients consistently praise Mr. Bange's approach to complex transactions. As noted by one respondent to Chambers USA: "Rick is an excellent lawyer with highly practical advice." Financial sponsors and managers with whom Mr. Bange has worked on private equity transactions throughout his professional life include Apollo Global Management, Ember Infrastructure, Falfurrias Management Partners, Frontier Growth, GSO, Insight Venture Partners, Palladium Equity Partners, Pamlico Capital, Ridgemont Equity Partners, Sandton Capital Partners, Seaport Capital, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Warren Equity Partners. Mr. Bange has worked with a variety of strategic acquirers and corporations during his career on M&A transactions, including American Tire Distributors, Apex Tool Group, Barings, Consolidated Systems, Elements Brands (d/b/a Natural Dog Company), Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Metromont Corporation, Patagonia and Premier Healthcare. Mr. Bange's practice is focused on evaluating, structuring and negotiating M&A and investment transactions, including leveraged buyouts (LBOs), growth equity investments, mergers, stock and asset acquisitions and sales, mezzanine investments and recapitalizations. In the private equity space, he advises private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies throughout the full life cycle of their investment activities, including platform acquisitions, subsequent direct representation of portfolio companies in add-on acquisitions and other general corporate matters, as well as sales and other exit transactions. Mr. Bange also works with private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies on financings up and down the capital structure, including senior secured debt financings and issuances of mezzanine and hybrid securities and junior capital. He has also worked extensively with private equity sponsors as an external general counsel on day-to-day fund matters. Mr. Bange began his legal career more than 25 years ago in New York City, where he worked at a large, multinational law firm as well as a prestigious private equity-focused boutique law firm. Drawing from his extensive experience, he combines sophisticated technical knowledge with a relationship-focused approach that delivers tangible results for clients. In addition, he has forged connections during private equity's transformation into an institutional asset class and developed relationship-building skills and knowledge that allow him to attract and retain clients across numerous industries and transaction types.

Antonio Barrera

Seth Belzley is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Corporate, M&A and Securities Practice Group based in the firm's Denver and Houston offices. Mr. Belzley represents private equity sponsors, public and private companies, and management teams on acquisitions and divestitures as well as issues arising in the day-to-day operation of their companies. He emphasizes the development of close, long-term, value-added relationships with his clients, who often turn to him first for advice relating to a wide range of issues and ask him to coordinate a team of specialists within the firm to handle their most complex matters. Mr. Belzley has experience in a variety of industries including energy and natural resources, healthcare, aviation and aerospace, software, manufacturing and logistics. Mr. Belzley has significant experience in the energy industry that includes representing clients in the oil & gas, midstream, refining and downstream, renewable fuels, and renewable energy industries, including on carbon sequestration, wind and solar projects. He has served as lead counsel on the development of several significant energy infrastructure projects in the most important energy hubs in the country. In connection with his practice, Mr. Belzley often advises clients at the intersection of business, law and governmental affairs, whether in connection with matters before federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and others, before similar state agencies or in matters requiring the approval of local authorities. Mr. Belzley has been recognized by Chambers USA – America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide in Corporate/M&A as well as Energy & Natural Resources. He has been included in The Best Lawyers in America guide in the categories of Corporate Law as well as Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity. In addition, in 2024, Mr. Belzley led a transaction named "Energy Deal of the Year" (over $100 million) by The M&A Advisor. Mr. Belzley has had a longstanding commitment, both personally and as part of his legal practice, to helping business interests, government leaders and nonprofits navigate regulatory, policy and political issues on the local, state and national levels. He has served on the boards of several nonprofits, including The Denver Foundation, Teach for America Colorado, the Denver Scholarship Foundation, Mental Health Colorado and others.

Greg Binns is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Dallas office and serves as the co-leader of the Texas Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Binns represents clients in commercial, real estate and energy litigation, with a particular focus on oil and gas disputes. He has represented clients in matters pending or involving transactions in major oil-producing states and throughout the country as well as internationally. Mr. Binns represents companies and individuals in disputes involving commercial transactions, fraud, real estate transactions and other complex matters. His clients have included owners, developers, investors, lenders, partnerships, portfolio companies and private equity companies. He leverages his knowledge of commercial disputes not only with respect to the subject matter of the proceeding, but also to provide perspective on the commercial implications of litigation on the client's business. Mr. Binns has extensive experience in oil and gas and other energy disputes. He serves as the co-chair of the firm's Energy Controversies Pursuit Team within the Energy & Natural Resources Industry Sector Group. His energy clients include major oil and gas companies, independents, midstream companies, lessees, investment funds and various oil and gas interest owners. His practice involves disputes covering all aspects of the energy industry, including allocation wells, title issues, joint operating agreements, farmouts, DrillCo transactions, exploration and production activities, and sales transactions.

Jonathan Blum is a nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations attorney in Holland & Knight's Dallas office. Mr. Blum's experience includes assisting nonprofit leaders in managing their legal matters on a broad array of issues affecting charities, foundations, trade and professional associations, advocacy groups, educational organizations and other nonprofit organizations. Mr. Blum recognizes the importance of concentrating on the key issues affecting clients and moving quickly to identify practical legal options in order for clients to stay mission-focused and make informed decisions. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Blum worked in the nonprofit practice group for a national Am Law 100 firm in Dallas, where he served as counsel and later as shareholder. He also spent nearly seven years serving as in-house counsel for tax-exempt organizations such as a national breast cancer foundation and a private family foundation. In addition, Mr. Blum served as a transactional attorney for an international law firm headquartered in New York City. He previously served as an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law. Mr. Blum is a frequent speaker on best practices in governance, fundraising, tax compliance and current developments for nonprofit organizations. In addition to his law and undergraduate degrees, Mr. Blum has completed course work at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Argentina and Universidad de Carabobo in Venezuela.

Cynthia Brittain

Cynthia "Cindy" Brittain is a private wealth services attorney in Holland & Knight's Los Angeles and Newport Beach offices. Ms. Brittain works closely with private clients in the U.S. and around the world, designing efficient strategies that maximize tax benefits for individuals and their companies while meeting personal wealth transfer and business succession needs. International Tax and Estate Planning. Ms. Brittain has decades of experience advising high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families on domestic and international income and estate tax planning strategies and philanthropic endeavors. Her practice offers significant cross-border experience for families whose members are multinational and whose companies have a global footprint. Ms. Brittain helps clients navigate complex issues relevant to international and domestic wealth and asset transfers. She also assists with pre-immigration planning and international corporate tax matters, leveraging her extensive experience with the cross-border regulatory laws that affect planning and compliance. She is frequently sought out by international private clients and their advisory teams in urgent, high-stakes situations to help mitigate legal and reputational risk. Hong Kong and United Kingdom. Ms. Brittain lived and worked in Hong Kong, where she served Chinese and Asian clients with their U.S. estate and tax planning. Having also lived in London, her experience in-country provides a solid foundation for U.S.-U.K. estate and income tax integration. International Charitable Giving. As part of Ms. Brittain's practice, she advises individual clients and large nonprofit organizations on cross-border philanthropy related to compliance and due diligence. She also designs effective tax deduction strategies using dual-qualified charities for U.S. citizens living abroad. Ms. Brittain is an instructor for the American Institute for Philanthropic Studies Certified Specialist in Planned Giving program. Sharia Law Estate Planning Compliance. Ms. Brittain has worked with many clients who wish to create desired estate planning when Sharia law generally applies to their estate assets. Private Trust Companies and Family Offices. Pooling family assets offers several advantages, including succession planning, access to investments that would otherwise be unavailable to certain family entities and individuals, centralization of assets management decisions and the resulting reduction of overall investment fees and potential creditor protection. Ms. Brittain creates such entity structures to accomplish those goals and works with each client's investment advisors to ensure that appropriate investment policies are developed focused on the objectives applicable to the client's taxable and nontaxable estate. Ms. Brittain uses private trust companies and family office structures to retain the historic legacies and family values inherent in generational wealth. Pre-Liquidity Event Planning. Prior to a sale of a business or a major liquidity event, there are several wealth transfer opportunities that should be considered. Such strategies focus on passing potential wealth to future generations in a tax-efficient manner. Ms. Brittain is often called upon to assist owners of businesses who are embarking upon such transactions to guide them in this critical pre-transaction planning process. Domestic Estate Planning. Ms. Brittain counsels clients and their advisors on the implementation of sophisticated estate planning techniques designed to increase, maintain and transfer wealth in a manner that is consistent with each client's intended legacy. As part of this process, Ms. Brittain creates estate plans and drafts a wide range of estate and tax planning instruments, including wills, revocable trusts, insurance trusts, dynastic trusts, charitable trusts, irrevocable defective grantor trust with related gifts and sales strategies and beneficiary deemed owned trust (BDOT) using Internal Revenue Code Section 678. Anti-Money Laundering and Enforcements. Ms. Brittain also provides hands-on guidance for financial institutions and corporate trustees who work with international clients, advising on global enforcement initiatives relevant to companies, accounting firms and law firms that handle international clients. She has assisted in development and implementing anti-money laundering compliance manuals and programs for financial institutions and other clients in connection with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act. In addition to her legal practice, Ms. Brittain is a frequent speaker on international estate and tax planning issues for beginners and advanced strategists. She also serves as an adjunct professor teaching International Estate Planning at California State University – Northridge and California Lutheran University Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Brittain was an attorney at a boutique private wealth services law firm in Los Angeles, serving as head of its international estate planning practice.

William P. Byrne practices primarily in the area of transportation, with extensive experience in rail, road, intermodal (multimodal) and ocean transportation, including federal/state compliance issues; motor carrier, broker, truckload, less than truckload and intermodal (multimodal) agreements; equipment management, i.e., chassis, container, railcar and trailer leasing, acquisition, interchange (AAR and UIIA) and M&R agreements; and charter parties. Mr. Byrne has similarly extensive experience in shared freight and passenger rail corridors and has represented buyers and sellers in mergers, acquisitions and restructuring transactions, including the sale and/or lease of rail lines for and on behalf of all classes of rail carriers. He has broad experience handling a wide variety of contract and corporate and commercial matters. Mr. Byrne also regularly assists clients involved with litigation and arbitration and uses his background to help them assess and solve business disputes. Mr. Byrne is a member of the firm's elected Directors Committee and serves on the leadership team of the firm's Transportation and Infrastructure Industry Sector Group. Mr. Byrne began his career in the transportation business in New York City in 1980 and has acted both as outside counsel as a maritime lawyer and on the business side as CEO of a New York based commercial representative of a Brazilian ship-owning and chemical group engaged in trade to and from the U.S., Europe and the Far East. Mr. Byrne has served as an arbitrator in a number of maritime arbitrations in New York and is a certified Circuit Court mediator in Florida. His active participation in industry organizations and his recognition by Chambers and others is identified under the Credentials tab. Upon passing the Florida bar exam in 1999, Mr. Byrne was invited by the Florida Supreme Court to speak on behalf of the candidates at the ceremony for the induction of candidates for admission to The Florida Bar at the Florida Supreme Court.

Lindsey R. Camp is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's West Palm Beach and Atlanta offices. Ms. Camp defends companies, fiduciaries and executives throughout the United States in Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), labor and employment, and business disputes. Ms. Camp has defended a number of class actions and ERISA breach of fiduciary duty actions. She also has experience with matters involving employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), 401(k) plans, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) notices, medical benefit plans, securities fraud, and trade secrets and covenants-not-to-compete. She has significant experience successfully litigating these cases to settlement, summary judgment and verdict. In addition, Ms. Camp is a frequent lecturer and writer on a wide range of ESOP, employee benefits, employment- and business-related issues, including ERISA compliance, and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) audits and investigations.

Glynna Christian

Glynna Christian is a data strategy and business attorney in Holland & Knight's Chicago office and the head of the firm's Global Technology Transactions Practice. Ms. Christian helps clients navigate complex legal issues and mitigate business risks associated with emerging and transformative technology and data. Ms. Christian has more than 20 years of experience advising clients in corporate and commercial deals such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A), financings, public offerings, joint ventures and other strategic transactions across virtually all operational and strategic areas of their businesses, including: launching new technology and digital products, including blockchain, autonomous and connected vehicles, wearable devices, data products, payment solutions, mobile app services, and internet security and registry services transforming traditional business models and internal service delivery models to digital models relying on cloud, blockchain, mobility and data, including artificial intelligence (AI) serving as outside general counsel for several high-growth technology companies, including consumer-focused financial technology (FinTech) companies and providers of blockchain-based platforms for trading specialized securitized assets Ms. Christian also has government policy experience, having served as Senior Counsel and Chief Investigator to the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, where she led investigations focused on consumer fraud and testified before the subcommittee, as well as Counsel – Special Investigations for the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. In addition to her legal practice, Ms. Christian is an active and sought-out thought leader who regularly speaks with clients and professional organizations on technology and data matters. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Christian was an attorney at an international law firm in its New York office, where she co-led the Global Technology Transactions practice. During law school, she served as editor-in-chief of the University of Memphis Law Review.

Gustavo Cuberos

Camilo Cuervo Diaz

Andy Derman is an energy attorney in Holland & Knight's Dallas office, where he concentrates his practice on oil and gas investment projects and cross-border transactions. Mr. Derman is the leader of the firm's International Energy practice. He is Board Certified in Oil, Gas and Mineral Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Derman provides strategic commercial and business advice, as well as legal and commercial support, related to acquisitions, divestments, trades and mergers; large infrastructure projects, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), gas to liquids (GTL), geothermal, midstream, water purification and refineries; nationalization/expropriation; anti-corruption/Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and sanctions; unitizations; onshore and offshore boundary disputes; exploration, development and production operations; production sharing contracts; negotiations; and dispute resolution, including litigation, arbitration and expert testimony. Mr. Derman has assisted clients in more than 80 countries on six continents and offers clients a comprehensive understanding of oil and gas activities through experience with a broad spectrum of countries and companies. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, he served as in-house counsel and later an executive for a large international oil and gas company for nearly 20 years. In addition to traditional legal representation, Mr. Derman also counsels clients on business development and commercial matters, including the identification and capture of oil and gas opportunities. Mr. Derman is a frequent teacher and lecturer at conferences, seminars and universities on oil and gas-related topics. For more than 30 years, he has taught the full scope of oil and gas contracts, including host government contracts (production sharing, concession, license and service agreements) and industry contracts (joint operating agreements, accounting procedures, confidentiality agreements, study and bidding agreements, lifting agreements, farm-in and participation agreements, unitization agreements, infrastructure contracts, LNG contracts, etc.).

Robert Dougherty

Robert Dougherty is a business attorney in Holland & Knight's Dallas office, where he focuses his practice on acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures relating to energy assets. Mr. Dougherty is the leader of the firm's Oil and Gas Practice. Mr. Dougherty's energy experience includes advising clients on acquisitions and divestitures of upstream and midstream oil and gas assets and companies (domestic, foreign and offshore), drilling partnerships, mineral and royalty-buying partnerships, farmout agreements, participation agreements and other joint venture agreements. In addition to the foregoing, Mr. Dougherty has significant experience advising on and preparing agreements related to all facets of the energy industry.

Selene Espinosa

Gina Fonte is a transactional and litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Boston office. Ms. Fonte concentrates her practice in the areas of construction transactions and litigation, complex construction-focused real estate transactions (i.e., ground-up construction, mixed-use development and redevelopment, multifamily projects, core and shell with large tenant fit-out, office building towers and industrial projects), energy, renewable energy, insurance, commercial litigation and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) workplace safety and whistleblower claims. Ms. Fonte regularly advises clients within these industries and areas of law, including regionally and nationally based developers, owners, landlords, private equity firms and institutional lenders. Also, on OSHA, workplace safety and whistleblower matters, she advises and represents clients in all industry sectors, including nursing homes, rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities, medical industry, hospitality, retailers, educational institutions, product and food manufacturers and distributors, property owners and managers, financial services, critical infrastructure, and other private and public-sector clients with compliance, in investigations and dispute resolution, and through litigation. Ms. Fonte's construction law practice includes experience with transactional representation, including advising, drafting and negotiating industry form construction contracts (American Institute of Architects (AIA), ConsensusDocs, Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC) and Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA)), manuscript contract forms and many types of constructed-related documents, including master service agreements, design and architect agreements, professional services agreements, consulting and engineering agreements, letters of credit, indemnity agreements, owner-representative consulting agreements, public-private partnership agreements, project closeout resolutions, multiparty escrow agreements, nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements, and material purchase orders. She performs due diligence review and analysis of construction contracts and agreements in connection with lending, funding and financing construction loans and projects on behalf of developers, owners, landlords, private equity companies and lenders. Also, she represents clients in complex, multiparty mediations, arbitrations, litigation and settlements. Ms. Fonte frequently advises clients in assessing, preparing and defending construction-related claims, including delay claims, cost escalation, force majeure and other contract and equitable claims. Ms. Fonte is a member of the Construction Transactions Team at Holland & Knight, and she is co-chair of the firm's OSHA, Workplace Safety and Whistleblower Claims Team, which is nationally ranked by Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers guide. She is OSHA 10-hour and 30-hour certified and has lectured and written extensively on OSHA workplace safety and whistleblower issues and topics.

Juan Felipe Fontecha

Adrián Gay Lasa

Enrique Gómez‐Pinzón

Executive Partner

Aldo González Melo focuses in the areas of corporate, project, structured and public (sub-national) finance, as well as in the structuring of cross-border, international, infrastructure and energy transactions. Mr. González Melo mainly represents financial institutions acting as lenders, arrangers, bookrunners and agents in all kind of secured and unsecured financial transactions, including term loans, revolving lines, bridge loans, syndicate financings, environmental, social and governance (ESG) loans and discounting (factoring) products. In addition, he represents borrowers and other credit parties acting as developers and sponsors in the development, structuring and banking stages of infrastructure projects, including renewable energy power systems, pipelines, public-private partnerships (P3), roads and highways, hotels and ESG water projects.

Eugenio Grageda

José Gutiérrez Mestre

Edwin L. Hall is a construction attorney focusing on complex procurements, agreements and transactions, as well as litigation, including jury trials, arbitrations and mediations. He represents clients in transactions and litigation matters throughout the United States.

Jason E. Havens is a highly experienced business and tax attorney who uses creative problem solving and strategic insight to achieve planning objectives for high-net-worth individuals, families and charitable organizations. He specializes in complex estate and charitable gift planning (domestic and international), wills and trusts, probate and trust administration, and probate and trust litigation. Since 2009, The Florida Bar has certified Mr. Havens as a Board Certified Specialist in Wills, Trusts and Estates Law. Since 2010, the Estate Law Specialist Board has certified Mr. Havens as an Estate Planning Law Specialist in Tennessee, as listed on the Roll of Certified Legal Specialists of the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education. He also is a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Charitable Planning and Organizations. Tax law considerations, finance, and fundraising efforts are critical to the survival of nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations. Mr. Havens is committed to providing charitable planning advice for donors and private clients as well as entities of all types. He has extensive experience in partnership and S corporation matters revolving around the implementation of charitable gift planning for private clients. Mr. Havens also has extensive experience advising exempt organizations on planned giving issues, tax issues, donor advised funds, and asset protection issues, including the use of supporting organizations. He advises donors and exempt organizations on international activities and grants, including multiple charities focused on caring for orphaned children in central Africa. Complex Estate Planning for High-Net-Worth Clients. The intricate estate planning challenges encountered by many high-net-worth individuals and families require a high level of insight into the evolving state of tax laws, market conditions, and family business situations. As one of only two board certified attorneys in Wills, Trusts and Estates Law in the Destin and Rosemary Beach area, Mr. Havens has used his specialization and sophisticated estate planning advice to build a strong base of affluent clients from throughout the Southeast, including Atlanta, Birmingham, Dallas, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, and Nashville, with whom he works through the Tallahassee office. Mr. Havens has also advised domestic clients with international holdings as well as international clients who need business entities, trusts, or a combination of structures to achieve their planning objectives. Trust and Estate Administration and Litigation. Mr. Havens advises fiduciaries and exempt organizations in administering trusts and estates being probated, which generally is the implementation phase of the planning described above. He also has utilized Florida's judicial trust reformation provisions to modify numerous irrevocable trusts, including charitable trusts, due to changes in circumstances or tax laws. Mr. Havens has represented fiduciaries and, in limited circumstances, beneficiaries in state and federal courts, including coordination and leadership of internal and external counsel and other professionals to defend against or pursue litigation of complex tax and/or trust issues.

Kelly Hellmuth is a private wealth services attorney based in Holland & Knight's Jacksonville office, where she focuses on charitable and nonprofit issues on a national scale. She represents public charities, private foundations, trustees of charitable trusts, religious institutions, trade associations and other tax-exempt organizations, in addition to donors. Since 2019, The Florida Bar has certified Ms. Hellmuth as a Board Certified Specialist in Tax. Ms. Hellmuth guides her clients through all aspects of the complex world of nonprofit law and tax exemption. She assists with structuring tax-exempt entities, obtaining exemption from federal income tax, complying with tax rules, adopting good governance principles and best practices, and planning and substantiating gifts. She has significant experience with issues including unrelated business taxable income, private inurement and private benefit, excess benefit transactions, self-dealing, excess business holdings, taxable expenditures, minimum distributions, fundraising regulations and endowments. Ms. Hellmuth also provides advice regarding charitable gift planning and the charitable aspects of estate planning, probate administration and trust administration, including through the traditional use of charitable trusts, bargain sales, charitable gift annuities and conservation easements, as well as innovative tax strategies. In addition, as a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Taxation, Ms. Hellmuth served on a committee that submitted comments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding its Notice 2021-56 on the ability of LLCs to qualify as 501(c)(3) organizations. In this role, she shared principal responsibility for preparing the comments. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Hellmuth served as a legislative assistant for the late U.S. Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr. (R-Fla.).

Julia Hesse is a healthcare attorney in Holland & Knight's Boston office. Ms. Hesse advises physicians, clinicians and healthcare investors in the formation and expansion of management companies across various specialties, with particular emphasis focused on dental practices, women's health, fertility centers, reproductive health, menopause and dermatology. Ms. Hesse has deep experience and knowledge representing fertility providers in transactional and complex regulatory and investigation matters. She is a leading national authority on the regulation of dentists and dental support organizations (DSOs), and advises on the unique structural and regulatory issues for investors in the dental space. In addition, Ms. Hesse counsels private equity and venture capital funds, as well as strategic investors, on healthcare diligence and transactional issues. She works with investors to assess risk related to healthcare regulatory and compliance matters, structures transactions to comply with regulatory requirements, and provides advice in connection with government investigations and compliance remediation. Ms. Hesse works closely with clients in the healthcare industry regarding regulatory matters such as fraud and abuse, self-referral laws, licensing, compliance, insurance, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, and state law privacy and data security concerns, including data breach issues. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Hesse was the co-chair of the healthcare group for a Boston-based law firm.

Adolfo Jiménez

Adolfo E. Jiménez is a Miami litigation attorney whose practice focuses on international disputes. Mr. Jiménez leads Holland & Knight's South Florida Litigation Practice Group, which consists of more than 80 attorneys, and also leads the firm's International Arbitration and Litigation Team. He is Board Certified in International Litigation and Arbitration by The Florida Bar. He handles general commercial litigation matters in federal and state courts. His international experience, language abilities and management skills provide innovative and comprehensive representation to clients involved in complex cases. Mr. Jiménez represents clients in disputes across numerous industries, including infrastructure, transportation, hospitality, mining, construction, media, energy, maritime, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food distributors and technology. In the energy field, Mr. Jiménez has represented coal producers, oil and gas companies, and electric utilities. In infrastructure projects, he represents clients operating in public-private partnerships (PPP), canals, railroads, shipping, aviation, construction, toll roads, ports and mining. He represents buyers and sellers in yacht transactions and clients in maritime cases. In the media law area, he represents broadcasters, print and online media, producers, streaming companies and studios on programming and publications in English and Spanish, as well as disputes involving technology, copyright, entertainment, privacy and trademark claims. In addition to his civil litigation practice, Mr. Jiménez has extensive experience representing clients in international arbitrations in English and Spanish before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), American Arbitration Association (AAA), International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), China International Trade and Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and cases administered under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Arbitration Rules. He also has served in numerous cases as a sole arbitrator, panel chair and party-appointed arbitrator in ICC, ICSID, ICDR, PCA and AAA proceedings conducted in English and Spanish. Mr. Jiménez is co-chair of the Council for the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution. Mr. Jiménez also maintains an active federal and state court practice in which he represents clients in class actions, shareholder disputes, distribution agreements, mergers and acquisitions, unfair competition, fraud, trademark and copyright infringement, business torts and transportation disputes. From 2005 to 2010, Mr. Jiménez oversaw Holland & Knight's associate compensation, recruiting, mentoring, evaluations and partnership admissions process, as well as the training and attorney development programs. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Jiménez was a legal intern in the Office of the General Counsel of National Public Radio in Washington, D.C.

Mark Kalpin, co-leader of the firm's Renewable Energy Team, is an energy, environmental and natural resource attorney in Holland & Knight's Boston and Washington, D.C., offices. He advises clients on the financing, development and operation of energy, infrastructure and natural resource development projects throughout the United States. Mr. Kalpin is well-versed in the development and operation of offshore and onshore wind projects, solar generation projects, electric generation facilities, electric transmission facilities, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, natural gas pipelines and subsea telecommunication cables. He has represented companies before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as well as state public utility commissions, state environmental agencies, and electric regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs). Mr. Kalpin has negotiated purchase agreements, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreements, fuel supply agreements, and power purchase agreements for a wide variety of traditional and renewable energy generation projects. He also has assisted a number of renewable energy project proponents in obtaining and negotiating the terms of grants, loans and loan guarantees from the DOE. Mr. Kalpin provides counsel on all aspects of energy, environmental and natural resource law. He has successfully represented clients in federal and state environmental enforcement actions, administrative appeals and permitting proceedings arising under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Federal Power Act, Natural Gas Act and Jones Act. In the 2014 U.S. News – Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" rankings, clients recognized Mr. Kalpin for his "thorough work … on very complex environmental matters." Mr. Kalpin served as a senior project manager with FERC's Office of Pipeline and Producer Regulation from 1986 to 1993.

Michael J.A. Karlin is a private wealth services and tax attorney in Holland & Knight's Century City office. Mr. Karlin advises corporate and individual clients on tax, estate planning and business matters involving a cross-border element. For more than 45 years, Mr. Karlin has focused on private client work. He advises individuals and families from abroad who invest in or move to the U.S., as well as U.S. individuals and families who invest and move abroad, including the ever-increasing regulatory and reporting obligations associated with such activities. Pre-immigration and expatriation planning are an important part of his practice. Mr. Karlin also advises individuals and closely held businesses on the tax and business aspects of operating outside their home jurisdiction. He has helped to establish corporations, companies, partnerships and joint ventures in many parts of the world and worked extensively on foreign and domestic trusts. In recent years, Mr. Karlin has helped many taxpayers deal with the tax and reporting consequences of foreign financial accounts and holdings, including through offshore voluntary disclosures, streamlined disclosures and other ways of handling noncompliance. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Karlin is a regular speaker on tax, estate planning and business issues, and has contributed articles to a variety of professional publications, including Tax Notes, Tax Lawyer, Journal of International Taxation, Tax Management International Journal and Major Tax Planning. Mr. Karlin has also been involved in the submission of many comments on tax legislation, regulations and tax reform, including leading a national group that obtained relief from the IRS on the application of U.S. tax residence rules for noncitizens stranded in the U.S. because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Karlin was a founder and an attorney at a boutique private wealth services law firm in Los Angeles.

Tammy L. Knight is a partner in Holland & Knight's Fort Lauderdale office. She practices in the areas of corporate, securities and franchise law. Ms. Knight is experienced in a wide range of corporate and securities matters with an emphasis on advising clients in public offerings, private placements, M&A transactions, periodic reporting and compliance matters, and proxy contests. Her experience also includes advising boards of directors and their committees on disclosure, governance and compliance matters arising out of Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, stock exchange rules and corporate laws. Ms. Knight also represents franchisors in a broad range of legal services, including organizing and structuring franchise and other distribution programs, negotiating and preparing franchise agreements, representing franchisors in compliance with franchise disclosure and registration law, including preparation of franchise disclosure documents, registering, amending and renewing franchises with state authorities; mergers and acquisitions; preventing and resolving franchise disputes; assisting in franchise termination and renewal issues; and handling various other related corporate and business matters.

Alejandro Landa

Regina Legorreta

Kristine Little

Kristine O. Little is a Washington, D.C.-based transportation attorney who focuses her practice on a broad range of international and domestic, transactional, litigation and regulatory compliance matters in the areas of maritime, rail and trucking. Ms. Little represents clients on regulatory and commercial issues pertaining to international trade and transportation. Ms. Little's experience includes: drafting, negotiating and providing guidance regarding shipper, carrier and broker transportation and logistics agreements, and commercial contracts providing guidance on federal transportation regulations and statutes with the Surface Transportation Board (STB), Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) commercial negotiations and dispute resolution involving transportation-related agreements, including those related to demurrage and detention representing clients in federal, arbitration and agency proceedings, primarily involving transportation issues Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Little worked as a transportation attorney for a Washington, D.C.-based firm. During law school, Ms. Little was an articles editor for the American University Business Law Review, a student attorney for the Washington College of Law's Disability Rights Law Clinic and served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Gary Bair of the Montgomery County Circuit Court.

Cynthia Liuis an asset finance attorney in Holland & Knight's Dallas office, where she focuses on commercial aircraft finance. Ms. Liu represents commercial banks, leasing companies, borrowers, lenders, initial purchasers, arrangers, private equity investors and airlines in connection with secured and unsecured lending, simple and complex bank loans, sale/lease transactions and other financing transactions in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, Ms. Liu has extensive experience in international trade, including U.S. export controls, sanctions, trade policy, World Trade Organization (WTO) litigation and trade remedies. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Liu was an attorney at an international law firm in its Washington, D.C., office.

Lorena Martinez

Chelsea Ashbrook McCarthy

Chelsea Ashbrook McCarthy is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Chicago office. Ms. McCarthy routinely handles highly complex financial-based litigation matters under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and in the areas of real estate and class action defense. As a partner in the firm's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice and member of the ERISA Litigation team, Ms. McCarthy blends nearly two decades of experience in complex litigation matters with a keen interest in each client's business objectives to create a tailored approach to achieve them. Her experience advocating through all phases of litigation helps ensure that she advises on the best strategy – be it the means for obtaining a quick resolution or driving trial-focused litigation. With a particular focus on ERISA litigation, Ms. McCarthy defends plan sponsors, company boards of directors, selling shareholders and fiduciaries in ERISA putative class actions involving employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and 401(k) plans alleging claims of breach of fiduciary duty and engaging in prohibited transactions. She also represents clients in regulatory investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for alleged violations of ERISA. Ms. McCarthy is a member of the ESOP Association's Legal and Regulatory Committee, the American Bar Association's (ABA) Labor and Employment Section Employee Benefits Committee and a frequent speaker and publisher on ERISA issues. She is a chapter editor of the Bloomberg ABA Treatise: Employee Benefits Law. Ms. McCarthy's class action experience extends beyond the ERISA space. She has defended clients in putative class actions involving claims under the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act (ICFA), Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and other state comparable statutes, as well as federal Truth-in-Leasing Regulations governing motor carriers. Ms. McCarthy also has significant experience handling claims for breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and other business torts across a variety of industries. She represents companies and individuals in the prosecution and defense of restrictive covenant and trade secret claims, frequently representing clients in expedited injunction proceedings. She routinely advises clients in financial services disputes, with a particular focus on distressed real estate and commercial foreclosures. Her real estate experience extends to commercial lease disputes. And, as the client development leader for Holland & Knight's Real Estate and Hospitality Industry Sector Group, Ms. McCarthy utilizes her years of experience with real estate disputes to collaborate with attorneys across practice areas to support clients in the real estate and hospitality industries. Ms. McCarthy advocates for clients through all phases of litigation, from pre-suit counseling through appeals. She has successfully prevailed on and defended claims for preliminary injunctive relief and has tried cases to verdict in state and federal court. She is a member of the trial bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and has argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In addition to her legal practice, Ms. McCarthy is an active community volunteer and serves as a member of the board of directors of the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. McCarthy clerked for the Honorable Richard L. Young in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Mary McNulty is a tax attorney in Holland & Knight's Dallas office. Ms. McNulty represents large business taxpayers in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits, appeals and tax litigation, with emphasis on federal tax procedural issues, interest, penalties and partnership audits. She has significant knowledge and experience in partnership tax issues relating to private equity, energy, real estate, and exempt organizations.

Gregory R. Meeder is a nationally recognized construction attorney who handles civil trial matters in state and federal courts on a local and national basis, proceedings before governmental and administrative agencies, and arbitration and mediation proceedings. Mr. Meeder was named the 2023 "Lawyer of the Year" for Litigation – Construction in Chicago by The Best Lawyers in America, but his practice is national in scope. Notably, Mr. Meeder has more than 10 years of experience handling construction conflicts in Texas. His neutral experience and training, together with his relationships with key subject matter experts throughout the country, bring added value to his representations. Mr. Meeder's legal career focuses on complex construction procurements, litigation, arbitrations, mediations and the representation of public owners, property developers, underground contractors, construction companies, commercial banks, corporations, partnerships, not-for-profits and individuals with regard to multimillion-dollar construction matters. General Construction. Mr. Meeder's general construction experience includes structuring project delivery methods and reviewing, structuring and negotiating construction, design and construction management contracts; advising clients on contract interpretation and contract and project administration for commercial, institutional and public building projects and public works projects; claim avoidance counseling; public procurement laws and bid protests; construction industry labor and employment issues; Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) matters; change order management; project close-out management; assessment, preparation and defense of claims; litigation and arbitration of construction-related disputes; and providing general business advice to premier construction industry clients. Mr. Meeder has handled projects including hydroelectric power plants, federal buildings, manufacturing facilities, fast-track office buildings, commercial and residential buildings, nationally known golf courses, highway construction, hospitals, wastewater treatment plants, airports, senior housing projects, tollway systems, underground utility, cable, electric, gas, fiber optic, telephone, water, stormwater and sewer projects, including tunneling, horizontal boring, directional drilling and other specialty work related to underground infrastructure projects. Construction Defects. Mr. Meeder has developed a niche in handling construction defect and design matters involving geotechnical issues involving hydroelectric power plants, industrial developments, transportation terminals, elevated highways, high-rise building and underground infrastructure. He also handles preliminary injunction matters on an emergency basis on behalf of construction clients involving asbestos regulation and environmental issues, seal orders and remediation actions brought by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). Construction Disputes. Clients turn to Mr. Meeder to resolve construction disputes throughout the country, as he is known for his ability to quickly identify and address complex legal and business issues at the contract level prior to litigation, including multimillion dollar projects. As a member of the Panel of Neutrals for the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Industry, ADR Systems of America and the International Court of Claims (ICC), acting as an arbitrator and mediator in construction disputes, he has served as an arbitrator and mediator in 120 to 150 matters involving construction disputes, delay claims, differing site condition claims, terminations for default, construction defect claims, mechanics lien cases and geotechnical claims. His mediations and arbitrations have included mega-construction cases involving parties such as energy owners, national physics laboratories, national general contractors, large material suppliers, nationally known golf courses, specialty contractors and sophisticated owners of commercial, retail and public projects, including national developers. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Meeder has authored legislation on behalf of the Underground Contractors Association (UCA) and the Illinois Construction Industry Committee (ICIC) requiring differing site condition clauses in public construction contracts in excess of $75,000. See 30 ILCS 557/1 et seq. Mr. Meeder co-authored the first-ever strategic partnership agreement between OSHA and the UCA. The agreement employs a third-party administrator to significantly reduce exposure of construction companies and their employees to safety risks. Further, Mr. Meeder has held key positions within the industry that have provided him with strong personal and professional construction industry ties, experience and knowledge. He holds the distinction of being only the second attorney member of the Chicago Building Congress (CBC) to serve as president in its 80-year history. He also has served as a past board member as well as general counsel to the Underground Contractors Association.

Mark Melton is a tax attorney in Holland & Knight's Dallas office and serves as the co-chair of the Tax, Executive Compensation and Benefits Practice Group. He focuses on federal income taxation issues related to domestic and international transactions of private equity and hedge funds, as well as other investment partnerships, joint ventures, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and operating businesses. More specifically, Mr. Melton assists clients with investment fund formation, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), real estate investment and development, and financial instruments and derivatives. He is experienced in a broad spectrum of tax issues such as complex partnership allocations, inbound and outbound cross-border investments, and investments by sovereign wealth funds, tax-exempt entities, international organizations and other institutional investors. Mr. Melton also advises on Section 1202 qualified small business stock (QSBS) issues. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Melton served as a fund tax manager for a multibillion-dollar international private equity group. He is a certified public accountant (CPA) and a Level II candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program.

Lee Meyercord is a Dallas tax attorney who represents taxpayers in all stages of a federal tax dispute, including audits, administrative appeals and federal income tax litigation. She has represented a broad range of clients, including Fortune 100 companies, large partnerships, closely held businesses, exempt organizations and high-net-worth individuals. She has significant experience in partnership tax issues relating to energy, real estate and private equity. She also represents taxpayers in Texas property tax disputes. Ms. Meyercord is Board Certified in Tax Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Jeffrey Mittleman

Jeffrey W. Mittleman is an attorney in the Healthcare Section of Holland & Knight. He is also co-leader of the firm's Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry Group and the Healthcare Regulatory and Enforcement Practice Group. He practices in the areas of health, regulatory and corporate law. With more than 25 years of experience, he represents clients in a variety of sectors within the healthcare industry, including health plans (both fully and self-insured), PPOs, HMOs, insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, pharmaceutical manufacturers (including a number of companies specializing in oncology medicine), medical device companies, retail pharmacies, long-term care pharmacies, specialty pharmacies, infusion pharmacies, compounding pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, wholesale drug distributors, dialysis companies, e-health, disease management and healthcare technology companies. Mr. Mittleman counsels clients in a variety of corporate and contractual transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing, financing and services-related transactions. He also advises clients on fraud and abuse issues including the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law and the Corporate Practice of Medicine, and the structuring of compliance and ethics programs, Medicare, Medicaid, ERISA, HIPAA, licensing, state insurance and managed care law. In addition, Mr. Mittleman has significant experience advising health plans in connection with the drafting of plan documents, ASO contracting and other regulatory issues. Mr. Mittleman represents private equity firms in connection with investments in portfolio companies that are engaged in the healthcare and life sciences industries. He guides private equity clients through every stage of an acquisition, from evaluation of the opportunity and due diligence to deal structuring and negotiation to closing. Mr. Mittleman has published several articles and spoken at conferences regarding various health law issues, including compliance, fraud and abuse, pharmacy law, drug distribution and managed care. Mr. Mittleman holds various leadership positions within the firm, including serving on the firm's Directors Committee. From 2007-2017, he served as the Boston office Public & Charitable Services Partner and from 2009-2017, he served as the co-chair of the Boston office's Diversity Committee.

Maria-Soledad Otero

Maria Otero is a private wealth services and tax attorney in Holland & Knight's Century City office. Ms. Otero focuses her practice on international income tax planning and compliance matters for high-net-worth private clients and multinational businesses. Ms. Otero has experience advising on a broad range of international tax and estate planning matters, working with individuals and families with cross-border businesses and investments. She also advises corporate clients seeking to optimize their worldwide effective tax rate and to reduce foreign taxes through tax-efficient financing, efficient cash management, repatriation of earnings to the U.S. and transfer pricing analyses. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Otero was an attorney at a boutique private wealth services law firm in Los Angeles. Previously, she worked for a national firm of certified public accountants and concentrated her practice on cross-border tax planning and compliance. Ms. Otero began her career at a Big Four accounting firm in Switzerland, where she consulted with individuals involved in multiple taxing jurisdictions. She also worked with a broad range of clients such as corporate executives on international assignments, as well as multinational high-net-worth individuals and families, business owners and investors.

Kevin E. Packman is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Private Wealth Services Group. He co-leads the firm's International Estate Planning Group as well as the Tax Controversy and Litigation Team. Mr. Packman's practice includes advising high-net-worth private clients (whether U.S. or foreign) with tax, trusts and estates. This also includes pre-immigration planning and expatriation planning. He also helps clients come into compliance and resolve tax controversies. He represents clients daily before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and has represented clients before the U.S. Tax Court. Mr. Packman is a fellow of the American College of Trusts & Estates (ACTEC), is a frequent writer and regularly speaks at national and international tax conferences. He is also frequently quoted by the national media.

James Paine is an Atlanta business attorney who focuses his national technology transactions practice on information technology and business process outsourcing matters, enterprise resource planning (ERP) licensing, implementation and support, cloud solutions, including software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and other technology transactions. In addition, he has experience with marketing and e-commerce arrangements, technology transition services agreements, information technology (IT) licensing and commercialization transactions, joint ventures and strategic alliances, and other large commercial contracts. Mr. Paine advises clients on a broad range of strategic information technology and business process outsourcing arrangements, including IT infrastructure operations and support, application development and support services, IT help desk and desktop support, co-location and managed network services. Mr. Paine also handles strategic business process outsourcing arrangements, including outsourcing of finance and accounting services, benefits and human resources administration, procurement supply chain and logistics, customer relationship management, call center operations and back office support. In addition, Mr. Paine has handled engagements in the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, EU, India, Mexico, India, Philippines and China. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Paine was a corporate attorney for an international law firm in its Atlanta office. Previously, Mr. Paine served as corporate counsel of information technology and data privacy for The Home Depot.

Gustavo Pardo Ardila

Estefanny Pardo G

Allie Parnell is a business attorney in Holland & Knight's Dallas office. Ms. Parnell focuses her national technology transactions practice on complex technology and commercial deals, including global information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) transactions. She also has in-depth knowledge of, and experience with, security, digital transformation, analytics and engineering, and managed and cloud services, including platform as a service (PaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), device as a service (DaaS) and software as a service (SaaS). Ms. Parnell advises her clients through every stage of their deals, from procurement of technology and technology services or development of requests for information and proposal (RFIs and RFPs) through negotiations and closing. She also counsels her clients on post-closing matters, including resolving complex scope, performance and financial disputes. In addition, she advises clients in technology acquisitions, divestitures, licensing and commercialization transactions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and global procurement. Additionally, Ms. Parnell has knowledge of, and experience with, data privacy, security, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property (IP). She also has in-depth familiarity with laws affecting multinational contracting, including General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Acquired Rights Directives (ARD), Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Parnell was an in-house attorney for a Fortune 500 global IT services provider, where she provided legal support on complex technology and outsourcing deals. Previously, Ms. Parnell was a corporate attorney for an international law firm in its Houston office, as well as with a national law firm in its Houston and Dallas offices, where she advised corporate clients in complex business transactions, including drafting and negotiating primary and ancillary documents for public and private mergers and acquisition (M&A) transactions on the buy-side and sell-side, and prepared relevant U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings and private placement memorandum.

Claudio Rodríguez Galán

Danilo Romero Raad

David Rosenberg

David Rosenbergis a business attorney in Holland & Knight's Dallas office. Mr. Rosenberg focuses his practice on federal, state and local taxation of, and corporate governance matters for, nonprofit organizations, as well as sophisticated charitable giving techniques. His experience includes the organization, operation and termination of nonprofit corporations and trusts. Additionally, he has significant experience in obtaining and maintaining exemptions for these organizations from federal income, state franchise, sales and use, unemployment and local ad valorem taxes. Mr. Rosenberg also counsels clients on the federal income tax treatment of charitable contributions and on planned charitable gifts and bequests.

Luis Rubio Barnetche

Executive Partner - Mexico

Abbey Ruby is a financial services attorney in Holland & Knight's Nashville office. Ms. Ruby brings insight to lenders, agents, private equity sponsors and corporate borrowers in complex financings and related transactions, including acquisition financings, first and second lien facilities, bridge loan facilities, mezzanine loans, asset-based lines of credit, real estate and construction financings, cash flow loans, capital call/subscription facilities, restructurings and workouts. Ms. Ruby represents lenders, agents and borrowers in finance transactions spanning a wide range of industries, with particular emphasis on healthcare including loans to owners and operators of senior living, post-acute care and behavioral health facilities, as well as multifamily real estate loans. Her experience also includes complex cross-border and multi-currency facilities. Ms. Ruby also has extensive experience representing private equity firms and their portfolio companies on a wide variety of financing transactions.

Rodolfo Rueda Ballesteros

María Juliana Saa

Alejandro Sánchez Mújica

John Saran is a healthcare attorney in Holland & Knight's Chicago office. Mr. Saran focuses his practice on healthcare transactional and regulatory matters. Mr. Saran regularly advises healthcare companies and private equity investors on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), finance and restructuring transactions and public offerings in the healthcare industry, including independent practices, management/dental support organizations, hospice/home health companies and digital health companies. In addition, Mr. Saran has experience in assisting provider platforms with their daily operations and growth strategy, including add-on acquisitions, complex service arrangements and joint ventures. Mr. Saran's regulatory practice helps clients navigate the new state healthcare transaction laws and matters related to the corporate practice of medicine, fraud and abuse laws, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and state licensure. Moreover, he assists clients in the development and implementation of regulatory compliance programs and the assessment of ongoing enforcement actions and audits. More recently, he has advised healthcare clients on homeland security and immigration enforcement matters. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Saran worked as a healthcare attorney for a global law firm in its Chicago office.

Richard Sharman

Senior Associate

William Sharp is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Atlanta, Tampa and San Francisco offices (residing in Atlanta and San Francisco) with more than 35 years of experience representing clients in a wide variety of international tax planning and tax controversy cases. Mr. Sharp provides international and domestic tax advice to numerous U.S.-based and foreign-based clients, including publicly traded and closely held entities. His tax practice also focuses on globally oriented high-net-worth clients, including many U.S. and foreign-based family offices. Mr. Sharp has served as lead counsel with respect to U.S. Tax Court proceedings, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) appeals and examination cases. He also has served as lead counsel or co-counsel to more than 1,500 IRS voluntary disclosure cases. Mr. Sharp advises financial institutions and their clients on international tax enforcement and compliance initiatives. In addition, Mr. Sharp represents several Swiss-based banking institutions in connection with the U.S. Department of Justice Swiss Bank Program, including the largest bank participating in the program and one of the major cantonal banks (both cases were resolved under Category 3 of the program). Mr. Sharp also has extensive experience in handling matters related to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and other cross-border compliance and disclosure initiatives. Mr. Sharp has served as an adjunct professor at the Stetson University College of Law and a lecturer at the University of South Florida Executive MBA program. He is a frequent speaker on international tax and business law matters. In addition, Mr. Sharp has been featured as well as quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Reuters, USA Today and other media on international tax issues. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Sharp was founding and managing partner of a boutique international tax law firm with offices in Tampa, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Zurich, Switzerland.

William Sherman

William B. Sherman is a partner in Holland & Knight's Miami and Fort Lauderdale offices. Mr. Sherman concentrates his practice in the area of domestic and international taxation. He provides sophisticated tax planning for mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, joint ventures and investments for clients in diverse industries, such as private equity, healthcare, hospitality, petrochemicals, aluminum, real estate, transportation, telecommunications, retailing, investment management, pharmaceuticals and numerous others. In addition, Mr. Sherman has experience in a broad range of transactions involving United States investment overseas, foreign investment in the U.S., as well as international, federal, state and local taxation issues involving structuring investment management funds, corporate reorganizations, partnerships, equipment leasing, Subchapter S, executive compensation, stock options, and trusts and estates. Mr. Sherman is a well known lecturer and chairs the New York University's Summer Institute in Taxation's Introductory and Advanced International Tax Seminars and its Institute on Federal Taxation International Tax Program. For 12 years, Mr. Sherman was an adjunct professor of Tax Law at the University of Miami, Graduate Tax Program. He is admitted to practice in New York and Florida and has served on numerous panels with The Florida Bar and the American Bar Association, where he is a past chair of the American Bar Association's Tax Section Committee on U.S. Activities of Foreigners and Tax Treaties.

Aaron T. Slavens serves as the co-head of Holland & Knight’s Private Equity practice in the Miami office. Mr. Slavens is a corporate attorney who represents both public and private companies, including private equity funds, strategic investors and founders. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, including public and private acquisitions, dispositions, co-investments, joint ventures and other general corporate matters. In addition, Mr. Slavens represents both insureds and underwriters in connection with transactional risk products, including the issuance of representations and warranties insurance policies.

Mark Sloan is the vice chair of Holland & Knight's Practice & Operations Committee, and previously served as the managing partner of Thompson & Knight. Mr. Sloan is a national real estate attorney with nearly 30 years of experience advising clients on various types of real estate finance transactions, real estate acquisitions, dispositions and real estate development. Based in Holland & Knight's Dallas office, Mr. Sloan has represented lenders in virtually all types of real estate financing transactions, including construction loans, interim bridge loans, permanent loans, mezzanine loans, conduit mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans and revolving loan facilities, as well as preferred equity transactions. He has also represented various financial institutions in their capacity as both administrative agent and participant in connection with syndicated loan transactions. Mr. Sloan also has extensive experience representing lenders in connection with workouts and foreclosures. He also represents several real estate companies in connection with their acquisition, development and operation of retail shopping centers, including the negotiation of joint venture agreements with preferred equity providers. Another major part of his practice focuses on multifamily development, including mixed-use "lifestyle" centers.

Ram Sunkara is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Houston and Atlanta offices. Mr. Sunkara has an industry-leading multidisciplinary practice advising clients on complex mergers and acquisitions (M&A) (buy- and sell-side processes), joint ventures, tax equity and project finance transactions, project development, build-own-transfer and construction matters, as well as structured commodity hedge transactions across the electric energy, oil and gas, transmission and storage, carbon capture and sequestration, mining and metals, timber, chemicals and natural resources industries. Mr. Sunkara has one of the market's leading data center, power and utility practices in the country, having represented some of the largest hyperscalers in the world in negotiating "first-of-their-kind" energy procurement arrangements for high-power factor, high-peak load data centers. For example, Mr. Sunkara represented a leading hyperscaler in negotiating the very first large-load, high-power green tariffs (sourcing 100 percent renewable energy) in states such as New Mexico and Utah with incumbent utilities. Mr. Sunkara has also represented developers and sponsors in developing, constructing and financing many of the largest hyperscaler data center campuses in the world. His experience includes negotiating and documenting a range of innovative structures in the industry, including "powered land," "powered pad and campus" and "powered shell" structures. He also has structured fiber connectivity arrangements, secured firm gas supply and transportation, and structured power and water supply under local regulatory frameworks, including in open access markets as well as utility jurisdictions and real estate investment trusts (REITs). Additionally, Mr. Sunkara procured and negotiated arrangements on a wide array of power equipment (including transformers, substation facilities, gen-tie lines, power conditioning equipment and heating and cooling infrastructure), as well as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for all phases of data center development, including civil works, trenching, fiber connectivity, behind-the-meter generation of all types – nuclear/small modular reactor (SMR), solar, gas-fired (simple and combined cycle configurations) and battery storage collocated with generation – and coordinated permitting processes for all of the foregoing as lead project counsel. Further, Mr. Sunkara has represented data center developers, owners, operators, utilities, cooperatives, municipalities and other load-serving entities regarding the negotiation of retail service and issues surrounding the design, development and construction of interconnection facilities to provide retail electric distribution service to data centers and data center campuses. He also has addressed matters related to cost reimbursement for such infrastructure, load ramp timelines, demand, generation and transmission charges and cost allocation, distributed generation and behind-the-meter solutions for data center load ramp growth demands and other nuanced issues impacting the rapid deployment of data center infrastructure across North America. Mr. Sunkara regularly represents a broad range of energy, timber and industrial sector clients, including renewable energy sponsors and developers, diversified publicly traded companies, electric and gas utilities, independent power producers (IPPs), electric cooperatives, private equity and hedge funds, oil and gas companies in midstream and downstream project matters, commodity trading companies, financial institutions, timber investment management organizations (TIMOs), and chemical and petrochemical producers and other industrials. Mr. Sunkara's experience spans the entire energy spectrum. In his oil and gas practice, Mr. Sunkara represents clients in upstream oil and gas matters, midstream projects – including the acquisition of intrastate and interstate pipelines, as well as a number of underground gas storage facilities across North America – liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and regasification terminals and related infrastructure, compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations and processing facilities, the acquisition and operations of maritime port and rail terminals, crude and natural gas liquids (NGLs) gathering systems and pipelines, and the development and financing of hydrocarbon blending, refined products and processing facilities. Mr. Sunkara has also advised oil and gas clients and financial institutions on gas and crude "prepay" transactions and routinely advises clients on commodity trading transactions effected on master agreements such as International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) and bespoke arrangements. Mr. Sunkara also has one the leading renewable natural gas (RNG) and responsibly sourced gas (RSG) practices in North America, having worked on dozens of landfill gas, dairy digester, wastewater and coal mine methane capture projects in his more than 20 years of practice, and he is routinely called upon by clients in the RNG and RSG space to represent them in the largest transactions involving such facilities. In addition, Mr. Sunkara has extensive experience with the full array of power generation, traditional baseload generation and renewables/energy storage technologies, including wind (onshore and offshore), solar and solar-plus-storage projects, RNG, biomass and cogeneration facilities, hydropower and geothermal projects. In this space, he guides clients through M&A transactions, tax equity investments (sponsor-side and investor-side representations), power purchase agreements (PPAs), engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, operation and maintenance (O&M) and balance of plant (BOP) agreements, turbine supply (TSAs) and solar panel and related equipment procurement arrangements (including for the procurement of "safe harbored" equipment), purchase and sale agreements for steam, chilled water and other cogeneration offtake contracts, advising on the generation and purchases and sales of environmental attributes, such as renewable energy certificates (RECs), carbon offsets, renewable identification numbers (RINs), and trading agreements involving physical and financially settled purchases (including secured and unsecured hedges), and sales of electric power and related products. He has a market-leading practice advising Fortune and Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE)-listed corporations in achieving their sustainability and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives and project developers globally in the negotiation of physically settled and financially settled renewable PPAs and virtual PPAs and has been involved in that space from its inception more than a decade ago. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Sunkara was the leader of a number of energy teams for a global law firm in its Houston office. Additionally, Mr. Sunkara provides pro bono contractual advice to a charity focused on providing memorable trips for chronically and terminally ill children.

Guillermo Uribe Lara

Juan Carlos Valencia

Julia Velásquez

Ines Elvira Vesga

José Luis Villareal

Todd D. Wozniak is a trial attorney and the leader of Holland & Knight's ERISA Litigation Team and Atlanta Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Wozniak defends companies, fiduciaries and public institutions throughout the United States in Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), labor and employment, and business disputes. Mr. Wozniak is also experienced in wage-and-hour litigation, state and federal whistleblower statutes, non-discrimination laws, plant closing and mass layoff laws, collective bargaining and traditional labor relations, executive contracts and compensation, non-compete and trade secrets litigation, and partnership/business disputes. During his career, Mr. Wozniak has defended dozens of class or collective actions and tried more than 40 cases or arbitrations to verdict. In addition, Mr. Wozniak is a frequent lecturer and writer on a wide range of ESOP, employee benefits, employment and business-related issues, including ERISA compliance and preemption, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) audits and investigations, protecting trade secrets, implementing reductions-in-force, pre-dispute arbitration agreements and programs, class action defense, eDiscovery, and wage-and-hour compliance.

Jose Vicente Zapata