Seyfarth Shaw announced the launch of a new office in Miami, expanding the firm’s national and international reach in a key market for global clients operating in the Americas, where business strategy, regulatory exposure, and dispute risks frequently converge in a single set of business decisions. The Miami office is the firm’s fourteenth in the United States and eighteenth globally, reinforcing Seyfarth’s presence in the New York–Miami–Latin America business corridor.
Designed to grow with clients’ needs, Seyfarth opens in Miami with a senior team specializing in cross-border operations and a comprehensive offering of legal services in Florida, led by Juan Carlos Varela, a prominent international lawyer and leading advisor on business and human resources strategy related to Latin America. Varela, whose extensive regional experience and cross-border perspective strengthen the firm’s strategic expansion in South Florida, joins Seyfarth as managing partner of the Miami office and president of the firm’s Latin American practice.
His work encompasses multi-jurisdictional workforce strategy, regulatory complexity, and risk management for global organizations. Varela holds law degrees from four countries and is licensed to practice in Florida, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. He has played a leading role in building and strengthening 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 strengthening its ability to assist 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 global business corridors where clients increasingly require multinational and integrated advice that connects strategy, execution, and risk management across jurisdictions.
“The opening of our Miami office reflects where our clients are headed and how Seyfarth is growing to support them,” said Lorie Almon, president and managing partner of Seyfarth. “Miami is at the heart of an increasingly important business corridor connecting the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Our expansion in this market is driven by the confluence of client demand for deeper transactional and litigation expertise in Florida, cross-border business activity, market dynamism, and strong leadership. With an experienced Miami team led by Juan Carlos and our firm’s comprehensive service capabilities, we are entering the market with a solid foundation from day one, which will soon be further strengthened by new additions.”
“Miami is a natural hub for clients whose business interests transcend borders,” Varela noted. “For companies operating in the Americas, this market has become increasingly important as they navigate complex regulatory, commercial, and geopolitical issues, including decisions about whether, when, and how to move in different markets. Seyfarth combines strong capabilities in disputes, real estate, construction, transactions, and regulatory matters with a world-class global employment platform and a business focus that aligns with the New York–Miami–Latin America business corridor. That combination makes Seyfarth the ideal place to serve clients with the breadth and sophistication they increasingly require in Miami and throughout the region.”
The Miami office will support clients with an articulated set of capabilities in South Florida and internationally, including commercial risk management, real estate, corporate and mergers and acquisitions transactions, infrastructure and projects, regulatory compliance and investigations, litigation and arbitration, and workforce strategy.
The office also expands Seyfarth’s ability to serve clients in sectors with a significant presence in South Florida and Latin America, such as financial services and private equity, commercial real estate and construction, infrastructure and development, manufacturing, renewable resources, hospitality and tourism, and technology.
The opening also strengthens Seyfarth’s New York–Miami–Latin America business corridor with the addition of Daniel Vielleville, who joins the firm as a litigation partner and will have offices in both Miami and New York to serve clients operating in different markets and legal systems, where dispute strategy and business decisions are closely linked.
Vielleville, admitted to practice in Florida, New York, and Venezuela, brings extensive experience in common law and civil law systems, with a particular focus on international business transactions and high-profile litigation and dispute resolution. He has represented corporations, sovereign entities, public bodies, and governments before U.S. courts and international arbitration forums, experience that supports Seyfarth’s work in disputes with Latin American connections, international arbitration, project-related matters, and cross-border issues. He has also advised on complex international finance, mining, energy, shipping, and oil and gas transactions.
Victor Guerra joins the Miami office with over 20 years of experience as a senior in-house counsel at Fortune 500 multinational corporations, leading complex legal initiatives and managing cross-border transactions in Latin America, Europe, and Africa. His roles at Philip Morris International, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), and CANTV (a Verizon subsidiary) encompassed regulatory compliance, sanctions, investigations, anti-corruption, regulatory litigation, and dispute resolution strategies in the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe, as well as managing both in-house and external legal resources globally.
At the beginning of his career, Guerra was a senior associate in the International Practice of Squire Patton Boggs (formerly Steel Hector & Davis). He joined Seyfarth as a consultant. He holds prestigious certifications in regulatory compliance, anti-money laundering (AML), and crime prevention from CAMS (ACAMS), the United Nations University for Peace (UPEACE), and the World Bank Group, and is currently licensed to practice in Venezuela and Colombia.
The Miami office also has the support of Seyfarth’s lawyers already established in Florida: since the launch, a group of 20 existing lawyers from the firm have aligned themselves with the new office, providing depth and continuity in the firm’s established Florida-related matters and in working with clients linked to Latin America in multiple practice areas.
“The opening of the Miami office creates a key new connection point for our New York clients and for companies whose business strategies extend throughout the Americas,” said John Napoli, managing partner of Seyfarth’s New York office and co-chair of the firm’s Tax practice. “New York and Miami are deeply interconnected business markets. This expansion provides us with a powerful new avenue to leverage Seyfarth’s capabilities to serve clients wherever they are growing.”
“Miami is an increasingly important forum for complex cross-border disputes and investigations involving Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Giovanna “Gina” Ferrari, president of Seyfarth’s Litigation Department. “With Juan Carlos at the helm and a team with extensive experience in international arbitration, regulatory compliance, pre-dispute positioning, and high-impact commercial litigation, Seyfarth is well-positioned to assist clients facing sophisticated disputes in multiple jurisdictions.”
“As clients expand and operate beyond borders, they need legal teams that understand in real time how regulatory, business, and workforce considerations intertwine when management teams make decisions,” said Darren Perry, president of Seyfarth’s International Labor Law practice. “Miami strengthens our ability to collaborate across disciplines and geographies, helping clients manage risk and operate effectively throughout the region.”
