Seyfarth Shaw opens office in Miami

The Miami office is the firm’s 14th in the US and 18th globally, reinforcing Seyfarth’s presence along the New York–Miami–Latin America business corridor.

Designed to scale with client needs, Seyfarth is launching in Miami with a senior, cross-border team and a full service Florida-based offering led by Juan Carlos Varela, a leading international lawyer and trusted advisor on Latin America–related business and workforce strategy.

Varela, whose deep regional experience and cross-border perspective strengthen the firm’s strategic expansion into South Florida, joins Seyfarth as a partner, the office managing partner of the Miami office, and the chair of the firm’s Latin America practice.

His work spans multijurisdictional workforce strategy, regulatory complexity, and risk management for global organizations. Varela has law degrees in four countries and is admitted to practice in Florida, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. He has played a leadership role in establishing and growing legal teams in international markets.

The new Miami office will serve clients from one of the world’s most dynamic business centers, deepening Seyfarth’s presence in South Florida, and enhancing its ability to support clients throughout the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

The opening reflects the firm’s deliberate, long‑term investment in key regional markets and the global business corridors where clients increasingly need integrated, multinational counsel that connects strategy, execution, and risk across jurisdictions.

“The launch of our Miami office reflects where our clients are going and how Seyfarth is growing to meet them there,” said Lorie Almon, chair and managing partner of Seyfarth. “Miami sits at the center of an increasingly important business corridor linking the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Our expansion into the market is driven by a convergence of client demand for greater transactional and litigation depth in Florida, cross-border business activity, market momentum, and strong leadership.”

“With an experienced Miami team led by Juan Carlos and our firm’s full-service capabilities, we are entering the market with a strong foundation from day one, soon to be followed by additional lateral growth,” he added.

“Miami is a natural hub for clients whose business interests move across borders,” said Varela. “For companies operating throughout the Americas, the market has become increasingly important as they navigate complex regulatory, commercial, and geopolitical issues, including questions of whether, when, and how to move forward across markets. Seyfarth combines deep capabilities across disputes, real estate, construction, transactions, and regulatory matters with a premier global employment platform—and a commercial focus that fits the New York–Miami–Latin America business corridor. That combination makes Seyfarth the right place to serve clients with the breadth and sophistication they increasingly need in Miami and throughout the Americas.”

Miami will support clients with a connected set of capabilities in South Florida and internationally, including commercial risk management, real estate, corporate and M&A, infrastructure and project-related matters, regulatory compliance and investigations, litigation and arbitration, and workforce strategy.

The Miami office also expands Seyfarth’s capabilities to serve clients in industries with significant South Florida and Latin America connections, including financial services and private capital, commercial real estate and construction, infrastructure and development, manufacturing, renewable resources, hospitality and travel, and technology.

The launch also reinforces Seyfarth’s New York–Miami–Latin America business corridor with the addition of Daniel Vielleville, who joins as a litigation partner and will have offices in Miami and New York to serve clients operating across markets and legal systems, where disputes strategy and commercial decisions are closely linked.

Vielleville, admitted in Florida, New York, and Venezuela, brings extensive experience with common law and civil law systems, with a focus on international business transactions and high-profile litigation and dispute resolution. He has represented corporations, sovereign entities, public entities, and governments in US courts and international arbitral forums, experience which supports Seyfarth’s work for clients in Latin America-connected disputes, international arbitration, project-related matters, and cross-border business issues. He has also advised on complex international finance, mining, energy, maritime, and oil and gas transactions.

In addition, Victor Guerra joins the Miami office with more than 20 years of experience as in-house senior counsel for multinational Fortune 500 corporations leading complex legal initiatives and navigating cross‑border transactions in Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Guerra’s in-house roles at Philip Morris International, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and CANTV (a Verizon subsidiary) involved compliance, sanctions, investigations, anti-corruption, enforcement, dispute resolution and regulatory strategies across the US, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe, as well as managing both in‑house and external legal resources on a global scale.

The Miami office also draws on Seyfarth’s existing Florida‑admitted lawyers, launching with an immediate bench of 20 existing Seyfarth attorneys aligned with the Miami office, providing depth and continuity for the firm’s established Florida‑related matters and Latin America‑connected client work across multiple practices.

“The Miami launch creates an important new connection point for our New York clients and for companies whose business strategies extend across the Americas,” said John Napoli, office managing partner of Seyfarth’s New York office and co-chair of the firm’s tax practice. “New York and Miami are deeply connected commercial markets. This expansion gives us another powerful way to bring Seyfarth’s capabilities to clients where they are growing.”

“Miami is an increasingly important venue for complex, cross‑border disputes and investigations involving Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Giovanna ´Gina´Ferrari, chair of Seyfarth’s litigation department. “With Juan Carlos at the helm and a team with deep experience in international arbitration, regulatory enforcement, predispute positioning, and high‑stakes commercial litigation, Seyfarth is well positioned to support clients facing sophisticated disputes across jurisdictions.”