Antonio Peña > Greenberg Traurig LLP > Miami, United States > Lawyer Profile

Greenberg Traurig LLP’s substantial Miami office has a long history of advising multinationals and Latin American businesses on cross-border corporate and M&A transactions. The Latin America group represents a variety of public companies, major family enterprises, private equity houses and venture capital funds. The firm has reinvigorated this emphasis in recent years with a shift in the leadership group that now sees Antonio Peña as co-chair of the Latin America group with co-managing shareholder of the Miami office, Yosbel Ibarra, who also has a key role in Latin America-related transactions. In conjunction with the additional platform provided by the firm’s substantial Mexico office (opened 2012), this has led to a wider geographical focus across Latin America, building on its longstanding links to Central America, and resulting -particularly- in an uptick in Brazil inbound and outbound deals; Brazilian Arnaldo Rego was promoted to shareholder in 2023. The Latin America team is also working on matters involving increased capital flows into North America from Chile and continues to stand out for its expertise in SPAC transactions. Veteran M&A practitioner Emilio Alvarez-Farré is immensely experienced; while Carol Barnhart  and Geiza Vargas-Vargas are both key corporate transactional partners who participate significantly in Latin America-related deals. Associate Anthony Fernandez is a rising star. All named individuals are based in Miami.

Greenberg Traurig LLP’s Miami office is the largest of all law firms in the city. Its roots in Miami have provided longstanding links to Latin America and the firm has long since developed a well grounded reputation for its capability and know-how regarding Central America (and to a lesser degree, the Caribbean), where it has worked extensively. More recently, the firm has continued to build out its practice capabilities for the region (not least with the establishment of a local Mexico City office back in 2011) and has now has expanded its geographical focus to the entirety of Latin America. It has strongly increased its engagement with Brazil, which has included a series of lateral hires and the promotion of Brazilian Arnaldo Rego to the partnership in Miami; indeed, the office is now benefitting from an inflow of capital not only from the region’s largest economy, but also from other countries such as Chile, and the Miami team now represents a range of public companies, private equity houses and venture capital funds. Co chair of the Latin America practice Antonio Peña, and co-managing shareholder of the Miami office Yosbel Ibarra, are the key figures for cross-border corporate transactions. Benjamin Greenberg is an experienced figure in FCPA, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and sanctions matters, including advising individuals who have been placed on the Engels List. Marina Olaman-Pal is building the firm’s presence in Latin America fintech, payment systems and crypto matters – including regulatory compliance and licensing, and the acquisition of businesses in the region. On the contentious front, Joseph Mamounas is part of a Miami team that is at the forefront of cross-border litigation and arbitration, particularly M&A disputes, project/infrastructure cases, and investor-state arbitrations.