Maria Beguiristain > White & Case LLP > Miami, United States > Lawyer Profile

The white-collar team at White & Case LLP is headed by Joel Cohen, a highly experienced trial lawyer who routinely advises on matters relating to insider trading, money laundering, and securities litigation. Cohen is based in New York and joined the firm from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in February 2023.  Also practicing from the New York office, Tami Stark has a broad range of experience advising both individuals and companies on a variety of allegations, including accounting fraud, SPACs, market manipulation, and cybersecurity breaches. Located in Washington DC, Darryl Lew is skilled at handling internal and governmental investigations with a cross-border element. The firm also has a strong team in its Miami office, which includes Michael Garcia and Maria Beguiristain. Virginia Romano left the New York office in January 2023 and Kevin Bolan departed the Boston office in June 2023.

White & Case LLP has cemented its position in enforcement investigations, internal investigations and compliance matters. The Latin America-focused team has worked more intensively in sanctions-related matters, bankruptcy-connected matters, and in cryptocurrency and fintech. It is also increasingly active in supply chain ESG issues. The bilingual team is adept at conducting investigations in Spanish and frequently deals with the SEC, DOJ and other key regulators. It continues to work with clients in developing their compliance programmes and regularly assists private equity and strategic clients in assessing compliance risks as part of proposed investments and acquisitions. Maria Beguiristain is another leading practitioner with wide-ranging expertise in internal investigations and white-collar criminal defence cases, including those linked to bankruptcies and Ponzi schemes. Enrique Espejel is co-head of the disputes practice in Mexico and has extensive experience in white-collar defence and compliance matters. Named individuals are based in Miami unless stated otherwise. Michael Garcia  has left the firm.

White & Case LLP has the leading Latin America-facing Miami practice of the heavyweight international law firms. It is a dominant force in energy and infrastructure, including both project development and project finance, while remaining at the forefront of acquisition finance and structured financings. Moreover, it has a substantial team dedicated to white-collar crime and government enforcement investigations, along with further strength in international arbitration. In energy and infrastructure, the Miami team has a prestigious client base of sponsors, investors, banks and development finance institutions (DFIs). Carlos Viana has an outstanding reputation for large-scale and headline project financings in multiple jurisdictions, with Sean Goldstein providing further senior-level talent in project development and project finance; he is also a key relationship partner for IDB Invest. Anna Andreeva is further noted for aviation finance and equipment leasing financings, along with project finance and general bank lending. In white-collar crime and government enforcement investigations, Michael Garcia and Maria Beguiristain are top practitioners, achieving additional prominence in sanctions-related cases, cryptocurrency and fintech, along with anti-corruption due diligence in investments and acquisitions. Silvia Marchili, who splits her time between Houston and Miami, is another established name in commercial and investment arbitration in Latin America. Newly minted partner Estefanía San Juan is primarily focused on Latin America commercial and investor-state arbitrations. Head of the Latin America group Christian Hansen is now based in Mexico City.