Francisco Cerezo > DLA Piper LLP (US) > Miami, United States > Lawyer Profile
DLA Piper LLP (US) Offices

200 SOUTH BISCAYNE BOULEVARD
SUITE 2500
MIAMI, FL 33131-5341
FLORDIA
United States
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Francisco Cerezo

Work Department
Corporate; Finance; Private Equity
Position
Partner; Chair, Latin America Corporate & Finance
Career
Francisco Cerezo is the firm’s Chair of Latin America Corporate & Finance. He focuses his practice on corporate and international matters, advising US and foreign companies, private equity funds, family groups and sovereigns doing business globally and with a focus in the Americas and the Caribbean.
He has extensive experience in corporate and financial services, cross-border transactions, strategic corporate counseling, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and public-private partnerships. He regularly counsels global companies and private equity funds doing business in the Americas on matters ranging from complex transactions and market entry issues to compliance and general corporate strategic counsel.
Francisco also serves as principal outside counsel to several significant family groups on matters ranging from corporate governance and succession planning to representing their underlying portfolio companies in billions of dollars of transactions, ranging from banking and energy to telecom and retail.
Languages
English, French, Spanish
Memberships
Council of the Americas; Consejo Empresarial de América Latina (CEAL)
Education
LL.M., Universidad Complutense de Madrid; J.D., Columbia University School of Law; Graduate Fellow, University of Virginia; B.A., Washington University
Lawyer Rankings
Latin America: International firms > City focus - Miami
DLA Piper LLP (US)‘s Miami office is well-connected to Latin America and has an especially strong record in M&A and corporate transactions. The Miami team works closely with the firm’s seven offices in Latin America, which includes a large team in Puerto Rico. The group has established links to US corporates with interests in the region, along with multi-latinas, family offices, private equity investors and sovereigns. Francisco Cerezo is chair of the Latin America corporate and finance group, and is a prominent name in Latin America M&A and corporate deals, including acquisitions and the development of energy projects; he has also led teams on a number of significant litigation matters over the past two years. In 2021, he continued to lead the team advising Luma Energy as winning bidder in the $1.6bn public-private partnership (PPP) transaction to operate and maintain the transmission and distribution assets of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), an integral part of the transformation and modernisation of Puerto Rico’s energy system. Harout Samra is active in litigation, arbitration and investigations in the region. At associate level, dual-qualified (Puerto Rico/Flordia) Joseline Rodríguez is noted for corporate matters including cross-border M&A, joint ventures, divestitures and PPP matters.
Latin America: International firms > Corporate and M&A
DLA Piper LLP (US)‘s wide-ranging presence in the region itself, along with Latin America-facing offices in the US, ensure that it is well positioned for cross-border acquisitions, investments and divestments. The Latin America team represents a range of multinationals and an increasing number of private equity houses and other financial sponsors. The firm has a particularly strong Bogota office that has landed a number of big engagements from international clients. The Miami and San Diego offices are also regularly mandated on big-ticket deals. Miami partner Francisco Cerezo is chair of the Latin America corporate and finance practice, and has extensive deal experience in the region. San Diego partner Raul Farias provides further senior level expertise in energy and financial services deals in particular. At associate level, dual-qualified (Miami/Puerto Rico) Joseline Rodríguez is noted.
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Dispute resolution > International litigation
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Real estate > Real estate
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: transactional and regulatory
- Industry focus > Cannabis
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Industry focus > Energy: renewable/alternative power
- Tax > Financial products
- Media, technology and telecoms > Fintech
- Tax > International tax
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing)
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
- Industry focus > Healthcare: life sciences
- Industry focus > Healthcare: service providers
- Industry focus > Insurance: advice to insurers
- Industry focus > Insurance: non-contentious
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions): defense
- Labor and employment > Labor-management relations
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Real estate > Construction (including construction litigation)
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Intellectual property > Patents: prosecution (including re-examination and post-grant proceedings)
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Finance > Project finance