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 central to its Latin America ambitions with partner Francisco Cerezo as chair of both the US-Latin America and the Latin America corporate and finance practices. Cerezo has played a pivotal role in developing the firm’s network of offices in Latin America, and subsequently deepening their connections with relevant US offices; he can also take substantial credit for solidifying the corporate team with significant lateral hires in New York and São Paulo. Cerezo and the wider Latin American team are working closely with Colombia and Chile, in particular, relating to outbound investments into the wider region and into the US. The group is also active in fund establishments and relocations. Additionally, the Miami team continues to work with the a range of US corporates, multi-latinas, family offices, private equity firms and sovereign governments.
Latin America: International firms > Corporate and M&A
DLA Piper LLP (US) has made rapid progress over the last five years with sizeable corporate and M&A teams in Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Mexico and Puerto Rico, along with Latin America-focused practitioners in Miami and New York. It continues to advised North American corporates, multi-latinas, family offices, private equity firms and sovereign governments. TMT, industrial manufacture, and energy and natural resources are key sectors. The firm’s strong connections in the region have resulted in a mounting number of cross-border engagements involving Latin American businesses looking to invest into other regional markets and into North America. The group is also active in fund establishments and relocations. Miami and New York-based Francisco Cerezo is chair of the US-Latin America practice and chair of the Latin America corporate and finance practice. Senior figure Marcello Hallake joined the New York office in January 2023 from Jones Day, bringing extensive experience in cross-border M&A – particularly in relation to Brazil; joining alongside him was Michael McGuinness, another senior name with a major focus on Latin America cross-border M&A. San Diego and New York-based Raul Farias is another recent hire, who has boosted the firm’s record in Mexico, Peru and Chile-related transactions. Puerto Rico associate Joseline Rodríguez is also highly rated. Since research concluded, the firm has strengthened its New York offering with the hire of Amadeu Ribeiro, a compliance, investigations and Brazilian competition law-focused practitioner (formerly at Mattos Filho), with effect from September 2023.
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Tax > International tax
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Investment fund formation and management > Alternative/hedge funds
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Real estate > Real estate
- Government > State attorneys general
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: transactional and regulatory
- Industry focus > Cannabis
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Tax > Financial products
- Finance > Fintech
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- 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
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
- Insurance > Advice to insurers
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions)
- Labor and employment > Labor-management relations
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- 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
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Intellectual property > Patents: prosecution (including re-examination and post-grant proceedings)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Healthcare > Service providers
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Finance > Project finance
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense