AS T I G A R R A G A DAV I S TH E POW E R O F FOC U S Most law firm brochures read much the s a m e. They tout the firm s lawyers as highly ethical, cliet-orieted, solutiodrive problem solvers, apparetly implyig that other firms do t see themselves the same way. We do t kow a sigle law firm that would t say that about its lawyers. Our lawyers, too, are all that. But we are also more tha that.
THREE DIFFERENCES With this brochure, we explai three factors that differetiate us from other law firms: FOCUSED PRACTICE We have a highly focused practice. For years we have practiced day i ad day out i our selected areas. That gives us the kowledge ad skills that come oly from hads-o experiece. Our disciplied commitmet to focus o our selected practice areas empowers us to resolve our cliets busiess disputes effectively hece our belief i the power of focus. BOUTIQUE SETTING Our boutique settig eables us to esure that our etire firm shares our values. Because we are a cocetrated group of lawyers ad professioals who practice together closely, we ca esure our commitmet to focus ad to log-term relatioships. Ad, our boutique settig gives us greater flexibility i the fee arragemets we ca offer. LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE We are iterested i log-term relatioships with our cliets, believig that we ca best solve our cliets busiess disputes if we come to kow our cliets, their policies, their busiesses ad their competitive challeges. We have represeted most of our cliets for years. Our log-term perspective frees us from the short-sighted thikig that ofte creates coflicts of ecoomic iterests (subcoscious or otherwise) betwee a firm ad a sigle-time cliet iheret i the fact that resolvig a case quickly also meas that the firm s legal fees ed quickly. Hadlig our matters cost-effectively beefits our cliets ad serves our iterest i logterm relatioships. We udertake each egagemet with that midset. Beyod that, our corporate cliets disputes ofte have multiple aspects, both exteral (such as regulatory, crimial ad public relatios aspects) ad iteral (such as corporate itegrity, compliace ad policy issues). All these ca have a importat impact o a compay s ability to resolve a busiess dispute. By comig to kow our cliets, we ca factor i each of these elemets. That saves time ad simplifies the task of the compay s iteral cousel ad its persoel i maagig the dispute ad outside cousel. This combiatio of focused practice, boutique settig, ad log-term perspective empowers us to best serve our cliets.
THE FIRM S ORIGIN AND PHILOSOPHY Astigarraga Davis was fouded by seasoed lawyers from large-firm practices seekig a better way to serve their corporate cliets. We sought this better way i respose to ew factors affectig both the legal professio ad its corporate cliets: The globalizatio of commerce led (ad is leadig) cliets ito ew markets, requirig their lawyers to have kowledge of foreig rules, cultures, ad legal ladscapes. Regulatios ad laws have become more complex, requirig iformed legal advice from lawyers who have ot just kowledge of the law, but experiece i specific idustries ad fields. I a costatly chagig busiess eviromet, cliets eed to lear promptly about importat legal developmets that affect their ability to compete ad to foresee comig chages before it s too late. Corporate cliets face icreased pressure to be more productive to do more with less. More tha ever, cliets eed to sped cost-effectively, maximizig the retur o their expeditures, whether for capital equipmet or legal services. Iformatio techology has empowered cliets to better measure results ad productivity, eablig them to evaluate the value ad quality of their law firm s service. Telecommuicatios, icludig E-mail ad the Iteret, have made a law firm s office locatio less importat tha it oce was. Computerized legal research, documet maagemet software ad other iformatio techology, as well as efficiet paralegal use, have made it possible for boutique law firms to hadle large cases.
C osiderig those factors, we cocluded that for our fields of practice, we could provide tagible beefits for our cliets i a focused boutique settig: By focusig o oly selected practice areas, our lawyers ca cotiually hoe their kowledge ad stay at the forefrot of the legal developmets i our selected fields. To ehace that kowledge, we are committed to cotiual traiig for all our lawyers. We are more efficiet i a boutique settig. Rather tha hirig squads of recetly graduated, iexperieced lawyers who ofte are traied at the cliet s expese ad must be kept busy, we have ivested i iformatio techology, computers, telecommuicatios equipmet, ad legal educatio traiig for our focused team of experieced lawyers. This eables us to staff our cases more efficietly. By arrowig our focus ad icreasig our efficiecy, we keep our hourly rates ad costs lower tha those of may competig firms. Focus ad efficiecy also eable us to cosider alterative fee arragemets tailored to the eeds of our cliets ad logterm relatioships. Cliets ofte tell us that they hire lawyers, ot law firms. Whe oe of our lawyers takes o a case, that lawyer is persoally ivolved, hads-o, maitaiig a close relatioship with the cliet. Fially, our firm places a strog emphasis o teamwork ad cooperatio. We have a first-rate, experieced staff that cotributes meaigfully to our cliets experiece. Most of our persoel speak Eglish ad Spaish. I a boutique settig, our etire team lawyers, paralegals, ad staff shares our commitmet to cliet service. I short, through focus, we magify our stregths.
COMMERCIAL LITIGATION OUR ROOTS Rooted i years of geeral commercial litigatio, our lawyers prosecute ad defed a wide variety of cases, which ca be broadly labeled commercial litigatio ad busiess torts. Our lawyers have hadled a rage of cases ivolvig: AVIATION BANKING BANKRUPTCY CLASS ACTIONS COMMERCIAL LOANS CONTRACT DISPUTES DECEPTIVE AND UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES DEFAMATION DISTRIBUTORSHIPS EMPLOYMENT LAW FRAUD DEFENSE FORECLOSURE FRAUD PROSECUTION INSURANCE DISPUTES JOINT VENTURE DISPUTES LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LENDER LIABILITY CLAIMS MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT ISSUES OPEN GOVERNMENT LAWS POWER PROJECTS REAL ESTATE PROJECTS RICO SECURITIES LAW SHAREHOLDER DISPUTES TRADEMARK AND COPYRIGHT Our lawyers hadle cases throughout the State of Florida, havig litigated i courts i Tampa, Orlado, Jacksoville, West Palm Beach, Miami, ad elsewhere i the state, as well as all three of the state s federal district courts, the Souther, Middle ad Norther Districts. Beyod that, we are regularly egaged to hadle cases i courts i other states, icludig New York. We have prosecuted ad defeded appeals i federal ad state courts, icludig the Florida Supreme Court. Our lawyers are active i bar associatios ad groups focused o commercial litigatio. Our team icludes preset ad past officers of bar committees o iteratioal litigatio, civil procedure rules, appellate rules, ad media ad commuicatios law.
AS T I G A R R A G A DAV I S TH E POW E R O F FOC U S OU R PR A C T I C E FO C U S W hile our practice ecompasses a broad rage of geeral commercial litigatio, our c o re practice focuses o select areas i which we have extesive experiece. A s explaied i the followig pages, we have the kowledge, cotacts ad experiece to help our cliets especially i these fields: Iteratioal Litigatio ad Arbitratio, icludig: Litigatio i U.S. federal ad state courts Arbitratio i the U.S. ad abroad Supervisio ad maagemet of litigatio i foreig coutries Fiacial Services Litigatio i the U.S. ad Lati America, icludig: Bak litigatio Bakruptcy, reorgaizatio, isolvecy ad loa workout Class actio defese Commercial loa eforcemet Creditors rights Ivestmet litigatio Leder liability Letter of credit litigatio Securities litigatio Commercial Fraud Prosecutio i the U.S. ad Abroad, icludig: Public Corruptio Ivestigatios ad Civil Prosecutios Asset locatio ad recovery Fraud prevetio programs ad audits
OUR LATIN AMERICAN CAPABILITIES I litigatio, arbitratio or egotiatio, uderstadig a oppoet s midset is critical to success. This is particularly challegig i iteratioal cases. Astigarraga Davis lawyers are accustomed to dealig with foreig parties. May of our iteratioal lawyers are multicultural ad fully biligual, allowig them to evaluate ad measure commuicatios without the filter of a traslator, reducig the risk of misiterpretatio.
MIAMI THE FIRM S BASE OF LATIN AMERICAN OPERATIONS Astigarraga Davis hadles cases throughout the U.S. ad Lati America from our office i Miami, ofte regarded de facto as a Lati America city. For years, our lawyers have hadled matters throughout Lati America without offices i those coutries. I fact, we ejoy oe advatage over firms with foreig offices. A firm with its ow offices i a coutry will wat to egage its ow persoel i that office, eve though aother local firm might be more suited for the cliet s particular problem. Our idepedece from such pressures allows us to provide a objective recommedatio of the best local cousel for the situatio at had. LATIN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Our lawyers have experiece with busiess disputes throughout the hemisphere, icludig: ARGENTINA HONDURAS THE BAHAMAS EL SALVADOR BERMUDA MEXICO BRAZIL NICARAGUA BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS PANAMA CANADA PARAGUAY CHILE PERU COLOMBIA COSTA RICA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ECUADOR GUATEMALA PUERTO RICO TRINIDAD & TOBAGO URUGUAY U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS VENEZUELA Whether i a dispute beig litigated i more tha oe coutry, or i a case pedig i a sigle Lati America jurisdictio, we ca serve our cliets well from our base i Miami, the Gateway to Lati America.
OUR LATIN AMERICAN CAPABILITIES REGIONAL LEGAL EXPERIENCE Our lawyers kow the foreig systems, their rules, ad the right questios to ask. That familiarity with the procedures ad ways of foreig jurisdictios provides our cliets a clear advatage. Described by Chambers Global Guide to the World s Leadig Lawyers as a major figure i Lati America litigatio ad arbitratio, José Astigarraga has bee cosulted by the World Bak o Lati America legal reform ad is ivolved i a variety of Lati America legal projects, as are our other lawyers. LEGAL KNOWLEDGE COMBINED WITH LANGUAGE CAPABILITY Eve whe the two sides speak a commo laguage, such as Eglish, miscommuicatios ca occur where oe of the participats is ot totally fluet. Cocepts such as liquidació, pagaré ad embargo, might be subject to literal traslatio but are ot idetical to correspodig America or Europea legal cocepts. Havig oversee litigatio i may Lati America jurisdictios as well as i the U.S., our lawyers are able to traslate ad commuicate the issues to our cliets ot just literally, but coceptually as well. MULTICULTURAL ADVANTAGE I additio, our legal team is multicultural, icludig some who were bor or have lived abroad. Whether assistig a multiatioal busiess egotiatig a settlemet with a Lati America compay, or a Europea or Lati America compay litigatig with a America firm, our lawyers uderstad the cultures ad systems that affect the dispute. Our firm is kow to have such skills. José Astigarraga has lectured, particularly i Lati America, o issues such as the impact of culture o the resolutio of busiess disputes. EXPERIENCE WITH SENSITIVE CASES I may coutries, corruptio, political forces ad ati-foreiger resetmet are importat factors that impact a dispute. Opposig parties may iitiate crimial proceedigs i their home coutry to itimidate the foreig compay ito settlig. We are experieced i couterig such tactics. As well, we have extesive experiece dealig with high-profile cases that require sesitivity to public perceptio ad political cosequeces. For example, we have advised a Europea state-owed compay trasportig uclear waste through the regio. I additio, we represet foreig govermets. Such assigmets require ot just legal kowledge but a i-depth uderstadig of the political ladscape, court systems, importat players ad public relatios, as well as soud judgmet bor of experiece.
INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION Whe a dispute develops over a iteratioal busiess deal, it ca wid up i egotiatio, i litigatio i a foreig or U.S. court, or perhaps i arbitratio. Our team is well positioed to assist cliets with such disputes.
INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION EXPERIENCE U.S. COURTS INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DISPUTES Whe it comes to iteratioal busiess disputes, our lawyers assist our cliets i three ways: We litigate i U.S. federal ad state courts. We prosecute ad defed arbitratios i the U.S. ad abroad. We supervise litigatio i courts outside the Uited States. INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION U.S. COURTS We represet compaies i federal ad state courts i the U.S. i litigatio arisig out of their Lati America busiess trasactios ad operatios. Our lawyers have deep experiece with the doctries particular to iteratioal litigatio, such as forum o coveies, jurisdictio over the perso, coflicts of laws ad gatherig evidece abroad. We are accustomed to dealig with cases where litigatio is pedig i more tha oe coutry ad the related legal questios, such as the power of a U.S. court to ejoi a party from proceedig with foreig litigatio, ad witesses ad evidece are ofte located i Lati America or other locatios. Our iteratioal capabilities, icludig our familiarity with the cultures, laguage ad systems, empower us to gather the facts ad evidece effectively ad efficietly. GOVERNMENT LITIGATION EXPERIENCE Our lawyers have experiece with sovereig immuity issues ad govermet litigatio. For example, we have represeted Lati America govermet-owed etities i arbitratio as well as litigatio. We have advised foreig govermet-appoited bak liquidators i failed bak litigatio. Coversely, we represet private-sector compaies i ivestmet ad other disputes with govermets. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES Our lawyers are ofte asked to speak i the U.S., Europe ad Lati America o iteratioal litigatio, ad have chaired programs ad committees such as The Florida Bar s Iteratioal Litigatio ad Arbitratio Committee. They are ivolved i a variety of iteratioal iitiatives, servig for example, o the board of directors of the Natioal Law Ceter for Iteramerica Free Trade.
INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION EXPERIENCE LATIN AMERICAN COURTS INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION LATIN AMERICAN COURTS Compaies doig busiess i a foreig coutry face the risk of suit i the local courts of that coutry. Because we regularly deal with Lati America legal systems, we are able to help our cliets develop ad implemet the best strategies for the problem at had. LATIN AMERICAN COURTS SELECTION OF IN-COUNTRY COUNSEL A importat part of ay litigatio strategy is the selectio of the best i-coutry cousel for the particular case. A compay s regular or historical cousel i the coutry might ot be the most suitable for the specific problem. Such cousel might ot have the best expertise or the political or other resources eeded. Assessig such qualificatios from afar is difficult. As a result of may years of practice ad experiece, we have a broad kowledge of the law firms i the regio ad ca help our cliets make the best selectio. COUNTERING UNCONVENTIONAL TACTICS EXPERIENCE May coutries i the regio have procedures, such as querellas, permittig a private party to file a crimial proceedig for what is a commercial dispute. This procedure is exploited to pressure a foreig compay ito settlig a dispute to avoid the risk that a arrest warrat will be issued agaist oe or more of its executives. Our lawyers have experiece i couterig such tactics. COUNTERING CORRUPTION EXPERIENCE I some coutries, corruptio is a sigificat factor that affects a cliet s prospects of achievig a successful result. The Foreig Corrupt Practices Act ad moey-lauderig legislatio ca embroil a compay doig busiess abroad. As oted i a feature article i Florida Lawyer ad other publicatios, our lawyers are experieced at dealig with troublesome issues ecoutered i some developig coutries, icludig corruptio, as well as accusatios of illegal activities. STRATEGISTS MANAGERS Because litigatio i a iteratioal deal ofte wids up i the courts of more tha oe coutry, coordiatio amog the various local cousel is essetial. What is helpful to the case i oe coutry might damage the case i aother. I additio, eve where the dispute is i oly oe coutry, a stace take abroad may have broader implicatios for the cliet from a regulatory or other perspective at home or elsewhere. Our lawyers are accustomed to coordiatig ad maagig such disputes.
INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION Traditioally, Lati America coutries embraced policies favorig the resolutio of disputes through litigatio i atioal courts rather tha arbitratio. The growth of iteratioal busiess trasactios has chaged that. Today, arbitratio is spreadig rapidly as a meas of dispute resolutio i the regio.
INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION EXPERIENCE ARBITRATION EXPERIENCE Our team is fully familiar with iteratioal arbitratio.we have experiece i arbitratio uder the rules of the America Arbitratio Associatio (AAA), the Iteratioal Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Iteramerica Commercial Arbitratio Commissio (IACAC), the Uited Natios Commissio o Iteratioal Trade Law (UNCITRAL) ad the Iteratioal Ceter for Settlemet of Ivestmet Disputes (ICSID). LEADERS IN THE FIELD Our lawyers are leaders i the practice of arbitratio. José Astigarraga was oe of the eight Americas first appoited by the U.S. Govermet to advise the NAFTA Commissio o the resolutio of private iteratioal commercial disputes. I the course of the ogoig egotiatios for the Free Trade Agreemet of the Americas, the Orgaizatio of America States asked him to speak to the govermet egotiators about iteratioal arbitratio ad dispute resolutio. He serves o the Lodo Court of Iteratioal Arbitratio. The UK-based Chambers USA Guide to America s Leadig Busiess Lawyers reported that his peers view him as the [Uited States ] leadig Spaish-speakig [iteratioal] arbitratio practitioer. Similarly, Ed Davis has chaired The Florida Bar s Iteratioal Arbitratio ad Litigatio Committee. DRAFTING COUNSEL Havig litigated problems caused by poorly drafted clauses, our lawyers cousel cliets o the draftig of suitable arbitratio clauses for their busiess trasactios. We have lectured extesively to corporate cousel groups o draftig ad strategy cosideratios with respect to arbitral clauses. EXPERIENCE AS ARBITRATORS Whe servig as cousel i arbitratio, we brig to the table our perspective as arbitrators as well as advocates. For example, José Astigarraga has served as chair, co-arbitrator or sole arbitrator i iteratioal disputes. That uderstadig of the arbitral process from the iside is useful whe presetig a case as a advocate. José is a traied arbitrator who is o the rosters of multiple arbitral istitutios, icludig the America Arbitratio Associatio pael for iteratioal disputes, the Commercial Arbitratio ad Mediatio Ceter of the Americas, the Lodo Court of Iteratioal Arbitratio (LCIA) ad the Cetro de Arbitraje de México. ARBITRATION LITIGATION EXPERIENCE Arbitratio ofte spaws litigatio. At times, litigatio is ecessary to compel arbitratio. At other times, a party will sue i court seekig to circumvet the arbitral agreemet. A award, too, ca geerate litigatio such as a suit to vacate the award. Our lawyers have litigated all such cases.
FINANCIAL SERVICES LITIGATION INCLUDING CREDITORS RIGHTS, CLASS ACTIONS AND BANKRUPTCY IN THE U.S. AND IN LATIN AMERICA I recet years, the umber of disputes arisig from fiacial trasactios ad the fiacial services idustry, such as ivestor disputes, creditors rights cases ad bakruptcies, has icreased sigificatly. Our firm has extesive experiece represetig fiacial istitutios, leders ad other creditors i the U.S. ad abroad.
FINANCIAL SERVICES LITIGATION EXPERIENCE Our lawyers have extesive experiece i litigatio arisig from the fiacial services idustry. As described i the followig pages, that experiece icludes eforcemet of loas, represetatio of creditors ad leders i bakruptcy, as well as the defese of cosumer class actios. But our experiece icludes the other aspects of fiacial services litigatio as well. SECURITIES/INVESTMENT DISPUTES DOMESTIC Litigatio agaist fiacial istitutios over failed ivestmets has become commoplace. As markets have cycled, ad corporate scadals have spread, ivestors have brought a variety of claims agaist their fiacial advisors ad fiacial istitutios. The firm s experiece icludes the defese of claims by domestic ivestors for breach of fiduciary duty, mishadlig of ivestmet istructios, disputes over custodial accouts, suitability disputes as well as claims premised o the fiacial istitutio s alleged egligece that eabled others to defraud the claimat. The firm has substatial experiece defedig claims brought o accout of the activities of rogue brokers or other fiacial represetatives, ragig from egligece to cospiracy to defraud. SECURITIES/INVESTMENT DISPUTES INTERNATIONAL Give its iteratioal practice, the firm represets fiacial istitutios agaist claims brought by foreig claimats arisig out of their iteratioal ivestmets. The firm s iteratioal kow-how has bee useful i defedig such claims, icludig i dealig with the cultural ad foreig law issues that arise i the cotext of such disputes with a foreig plaitiff as well as utilizig the firm s substatial experiece i addressig jurisdictio ad forum o coveies issues. BANK LITIGATION The firm s broad experiece i fiacial services has eabled it to hadle a broad rage of litigatio to which baks are exposed arisig out of their operatios ad relatioships with customers, icludig claims for accout fraud, check fraud, wire trasfer fraud, credit card fraud, ATM fraud, credit defamatio, fiacial privacy, accout iterpleader actios, ad for violatios of check hadlig procedures. The firm represets baks ad fiacial istitutios i a variety of actios i state ad federal trial ad appellate courts ad bakruptcy courts. LETTERS OF CREDIT Give the high level of iteratioal trade activity i Miami, commercial ad stadby letters of credit represet a importat compoet of bakig services. The firm has extesive experiece i letter of credit disputes, particularly i the iteratioal cotext agaist accout parties ad beeficiaries as well as claims agaist itermediary baks.
CREDITORS RIGHTS AND BANKRUPTCY EXPERIENCE CREDITORS REMEDIES Domestically, we represet creditors i state ad federal court litigatio i Florida ad other states agaist borrowers ad other debtors. We hadle a broad variety of creditors rights litigatio that icludes pre-judgmet remedies such as replevi, garishmet, attachmet ad ijuctive relief. We are also experieced i a wide array of litigatio uder the Uiform Commercial Code. BANKRUPTCY LITIGATION Our bakruptcy practice rages from litigatio with trustees seekig to recover allegedly preferetial trasfers received by our creditor-cliets to fraudulet trasfer litigatio brought by our cliets seekig to recover assets trasferred by debtors to thwart their creditors collectio efforts. Our team has cotested bakruptcy reorgaizatios, icludig plas of reorgaizatio ad attempted cramdows. We have litigated with foreig trustees seekig to elist the aid of the U.S. bakruptcy courts to bar our creditor-cliets from seizig collateral or other assets i the U.S. DOMESTIC BANKRUPTCY EXPERIENCE Foudig shareholder Greg Grossma bega his career i bakruptcy law as a law clerk for oe of the leadig bakruptcy judges i Florida. Cocetratig his practice i bakruptcy ad other creditors rights issues, Greg has lectured at semiars for The Florida Bar ad other groups ad is a active member of the bakruptcy bar. He hadles cases i bakruptcy courts both i ad out of Florida. INTERNATIONAL INSOLVENCY EXPERIENCE Iteratioally, we represet leders ad creditors throughout Lati America. O behalf of our cliets, we have coducted comprehesive surveys of the credit laws i multiple Lati America coutries to evaluate the possibility of offerig asset-based fiace products, such as accouts receivable ad ivetory fiacig. Our recogized experiece i this area led the World Bak to egage José Astigarraga as a cosultat to assess the regio s isolvecy systems. INTERNATIONAL DEBT ENFORCEMENT The U.S. Govermet appoited José Astigarraga to represet it at the meetigs of experts coveed by the Orgaizatio of America States to prepare a model secured ledig law for adoptio i Lati America. Beig biligual, bicultural ad experieced i Lati America isolvecy issues, our lawyers oversee eforcemet of debt obligatios ad other fiacial trasactios throughout the regio. That fluecy ad kowledge have eabled our lawyers to participate actively i multi-party egotiatios i Spaish with Lati America debtors, trustees, baks ad other leders o behalf of our creditor cliets, ad to devise strategies for the eforcemet of these obligatios.
CLASS ACTION DEFENSE Our attoreys have defeded umerous class actios i state ad federal courts ivolvig claims o state ad atioal levels. Recetly, o idustries have bee more proe to the specter of massive class actios tha the fiacial services ad isurace idustries. Foudig shareholder Ed Mullis has defeded fiacial istitutios ad isurace compaies i claims ivolvig the Truth-i-Ledig Act, ufair busiess practices laws, ad isurace statutes. Our firm s experiece i the field of arbitratio has beefited our class actio defese practice. May of our cliets, recogizig the high cost of litigatig i court, especially cosumer class actios, have icorporated arbitratio clauses i their stadard cosumer cotracts. That makes it difficult for eterprisig plaitiffs lawyers to brig a class actio i federal courts. We have bee at the forefrot of such issues, icludig litigatig at the trial ad appellate levels whether arbitratio clauses i cosumer cotracts are ucoscioable or otherwise should ot be eforced. EXAMPLES OF OUR LAWYERS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE DEFENDING CLASS ACTION CASES: Represetatio of a bak ad isurace compay i federal district court i class actio brought o behalf of 340,000+ cosumers for alleged violatios of the Truth-i-Ledig Act ad the state isurace code. Represetatio of a cosumer bak i federal district court ad federal court of appeals i a class actio arisig out of retail istallmet fiace cotracts cotaiig a clause requirig arbitratio of disputes upo demad. Represetatio of a isurace carrier i multiple class actios pedig i Florida state court arisig out of the paymet of beefits ad the viability of a release give to a medical services provider. Represetatio of a isurace carrier i multiple class actios pedig throughout the State of Florida arisig out of alleged violatios of the Florida Isurace Code ad alleged breaches of cotract regardig the refud of allegedly overcharged premiums for isurace.
COMMERCIAL FRAUD PROSECUTION AND ASSET RECOVERY For most compaies, the actios take i the first days followig the discovery of a fraud ofte will determie whether the misappropriated fuds or other property are ultimately recovered. Our team respods quickly to such frauds, usig emergecy ijuctios, expedited depositios, subpoeas of bak records, ad other procedures to locate the assets before they dissipate.
COMMERCIAL FRAUD PROSECUTION AND ASSET RECOVERY FRAUD RESPONSE ADVICE The surprise caused by the discovery of a fraud ofte creates a crisis-like atmosphere withi the defrauded compay, resultig i mistakes that destroy evidece eeded i court or ifrige o the suspect s rights. Such mistakes ca later impede the prosecutio of the fraudster ad the recovery of the stole assets. We advise ad guide our cliets i avoidig such costly mistakes. FRAUD PREVENTION ADVICE Foudig shareholder Ed Davis is a Certified Fraud Examier ad a member of the Associatio of Certified Fraud Examiers. He has lectured regularly o issues such as fraud prevetio ad civil prosecutio, icludig presetatios to The Florida Bar, bak groups ad other associatios. We advise cliets i establishig fraud prevetio ad detectio programs, ad assist cliets i establishig fraud crisis respose plas i aticipatio of possible frauds. We also advise bak audit committees o how to mitigate fraud risk. Beyod that, our team cousels compaies that suspect they are beig defrauded. By workig with ivestigators i establishig proper surveillace, ivestigative procedures ad limits, our lawyers assist cliets i determiig appropriate resposes to such situatios without creatig additioal liability. WIDE NETWORK OF RESOURCES Our lawyers have developed a wide rage of cotacts who ca assist i the ivestigatio of a fraud i the U.S. or abroad. Our lawyers work closely with ivestigators, computer foresic experts, foreig lawyers, foresic accoutats, hadwritig experts ad other forged documet experts. Ofte these other professioals are key resources i a rapid respose to a discovered fraud. Our group works closely with federal ad state authorities, assistig i the prosecutio of fraudsters. INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE Our work beefits from our iteratioal capabilities. Our ability to commuicate easily i Spaish ad our etwork of cotacts i the Caribbea ad Lati America are ofte useful resources whe respodig to a fraud. EFFECTIVE TOOLS Whe the fruits of a fraud remai i the victim s jurisdictio, we resort to the local courts to freeze the fuds ad trace the assets. If the fraud proceeds are trasferred to aother jurisdictio, such as the Caribbea, we have used a paoply of remedies available to freeze the fuds, icludig ijuctios (freeze orders). Whe swiftess is critical, our experiece, cotacts ad resources allow us to move quickly.
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