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Ricardo H. Puente is a partner at the law firm. Mr. Puente represents and counsels individuals, businesses and financial institutions from the United States, Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean Islands, in domestic and international disputes before state and federal tribunals, and arbitration panels. He served as investigating member, Vice-Chair, and later Chairman, of Judicial Grievance Committee 11M of the Florida Bar, which is in charge of investigating allegations of legal ethics violations by attorneys (2008-2011). In 2010, Mr. Puente was selected by his peers for inclusion in Florida Trend® magazine’s Florida Legal Elite™ 2011 list in the area of commercial litigation. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Miami Chapter of the Club Español del Arbitraje (CEA), which is based in Madrid, Spain. Mr. Puente has earned an "AV" peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell®, which is the highest rating issued by this agency. The following is a list of representative cases:
• Represented plaintiff investors from Latin America in commodities investment fraud (obtained confidential settlement sum for the plaintiff);
• Represented plaintiff private investment company against Edge Act bank for breaches of fiduciary duty and fraud;
• Defended securities broker dealer, clearing house, and stockbroker in FINRA arbitration involving allegations of fraud and churning;
• Represented plaintiffs in state circuit court up through final jury verdict in negligence case against national corporation (obtained judgement and recovery for the plaintiffs, including an award of all costs);
• Represented national banks in arbitrations involving breaches of commercial loans (court confirmed arbitration awards, including judgement for attorney’s fees and costs);
• Defended the State of Florida’s Auditor General General’s Office in federal court litigation involving allegations of employment discrimination and retaliation - obtained summary judgement on all claims and final judgement for costs against the Defendant ((Alford v. Florida 390 F.Supp.2d 1236 (S.D. Fla. 2005));
• Represented plaintiffs in financial fraud case against private bank involving fraudulent wire transfers originating from Venezuela (obtained confidential settlement sum for the plaintiffs following mediation);
• Defended Edge Act Bank in federal court in wire fraud case involving a Grand Cayman private trust account;
• Defended general contractor of a luxury hotel/condo in multi-million dollar construction case - obtained summary judgement on all claims against general contractors (DRI The Voice, Volume 7 Issue 49);
• Represented investors against private bank for the sale of unregistered securities;
• Defended government officials in federal court litigation filed under Section 1983 involving alleged constitutional violations
Mr. Puente received his B.B.A., with a concentration in Finance, from Florida International University's College of Business Administration in 1993. He was a member of the Financial Management National Honor Society and received the National Dean’s List Multiple Year Award. Mr. Puente received his Juris Doctor and a Certificate in International Legal Studies from Loyola University College of Law in 1996. He was elected Vice Magister of the International Legal Honor Society, Phi Delta Phi. Mr. Puente served as a senior research assistant in the area of International Financial Policy and Regulation and published a law journal article in this area.
Mr. Puente is admitted to practice law in all Florida state courts and in the following federal courts: United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh
Circuit, United States District Court, for the Southern and Northern Districts of Florida, and the United States Tax Court. He is fully fluent in Spanish.
Publications:
"The Securities Market in Mexico Under NAFTA & GATT," The Journal of International Regulation of Finance & Investment, Oceana Publications, Inc., Dobbs Ferry, New York, 1995.
"Costa Rica's New International Arbitration Law", American Arbitration Association (Dispute Resolution Journal, New York, N.Y.), Vol. 66, no.2 May-July 2011
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