We commenced 2018 with a great deal of activity at the firm both internally, as we  restructured and changed our firm name, and for our clients with their many exciting projects.

We kicked off preparations for our relocation to Coral Gables at the beginning of the second- quarter of 2019, selected a location, and are continuing to plan for our new offices. We look forward to moving into our new space at 355 Alhambra Circle, Coral Gables on April 1 and celebrating this step with our clients and friends.

For our clients, we continued to build on our delivery of excellent corporate, real estate and immigration services and to expand and deepen existing relationships.

On the mergers and acquisition front, the firm was fortunate during the year to work on some very exciting transactions, including:

• Representing a leading developer of senior housing communities in the creation of several joint ventures with an established private equity fund;
• Continuing our representation of a Central American wind farm operator in its financing transactions with a World Bank syndicate;
• Representing a Mexican based company in its acquisition of an IT services firm with operations in the United States and Mexico; and
• Representing a Mexican group in its concession of operating a marine mammal park in Florida.

Real estate continued to be a significant part of our practice. 2018 brought with it some exciting engagements including:

• Representing a leading real estate developer in connection with the negotiation of a development agreement for the acquisition and development of a mixed-use project consisting of affordable housing, retail and office uses;
• Representing a Florida municipality in connection with the ground lease and development of an 800-room convention center hotel;
• Representing a leading real estate developer and operator of commercial properties in connection with two refinancings totaling approximately $100 million for two Florida commercial office-building portfolios; and
• Representing a leading real estate developer in connection with the acquisition and financing of approximately 15 acres of land in South Florida for the development of a Class A senior housing

During 2018, we also were fortunate to add new lawyers in both the real estate and corporate practices. Krista DeCastro joined as Counsel in our real estate practice. Krista is an exceptional real estate lawyer with a wide range of real estate transaction experience. She has focused her work on the financing, acquisition, disposition, development, leasing and management of real property. Prior to joining the firm, Krista practiced at White & Case LLP  and Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price and Axelrod LLP. Florida Super Lawyers has recognized her on numerous occasions as a Rising Star.

Monica “Mona” Betancourt joined our corporate practice late this year. Mona is a graduate of The University of Chicago Law School and will be engaged principally in assisting our clients on corporate matters.

Our Women’s Initiative, which is a joint initiative with the women lawyers of León Cosgrove LLP, continued its important work to improve diversity and meaningful inclusion of women lawyers at the two firms. This year the Initiative co-hosted a Non-Obvious Diner at the Biltmore Hotel with Ben du Pont. This event gathered 100 leaders in business, non-profit and education together to share ideas of how the world would change in the next five years. If you are interested in reading about some of the ideas discussed during the event, reach out to Colleen Grady at cgrady@adsllp.com.

Finally, the firm’s work continued to be recognized in the marketplace. The firm received two further designations that reflect its commitment to excellence. On November 1, 2018, the Daily Business Review, a publication of The American Lawyer announced its 14th Annual Most Effective Lawyers list, recognizing the achievement of lawyers who delivered impressive performances in the past year. Among the honorees, our partner, Colleen Grady, received recognition for her work in international transactions.

In addition, this past year, U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers announced the Ninth Edition of the “Best Law Firms.” We received two important regional rankings of which we are very proud and which recognized the firm’s work in both real estate and corporate law. These recognitions are in addition to the firm’s existing rankings by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 and continue to confirm our firm’s commitment to excellence.

Alvarez & Diaz-Silveira LLP is a Miami based transactional law firm focused on international and domestic M&A, finance, real estate and corporate immigration, serving leading companies, family offices and high net worth individuals.