News & Events

Partner Fernando Tamayo appeared on CNN Espanol on July 8, 2023,  to provide in-depth analysis on Florida’s new immigration law, SB 1718.

The full interview can be found here.

Partner Fernando Tamayo appeared on CNN Español on April 4, 2023 to provide immediate legal analysis on the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Indictment of Former President Donald Trump.

The full interview can be found here.

Coffey Burlington Partner Fernando Tamayo was elected as the Publication and Newsletter Editor of the International Bar Association Business Crime Committee for the term of 2022-2024 period.

Law.com published article titled "Virginia Key Marina Proposal Could go to ballot in November After Eleventh Circuit Ruling?" discussing Judge Alan Fine's ruling that the City of Miami made a decision based on favoritism and personal preference when rejecting a prevailing bidder’s request for a proposal for the redevelopment of a marina in Miami.

As Kendall Coffey of Coffey Burlington, it’s a case that serves as a reminder that there should be a level playing field when attempting to do business with the city. Coffey represented Virginia Key LLC in the case. “If you think about it from the city’s standpoint, it’s a terrible message to send. We rightfully believe that this is the most exciting city in America, but it’s important to have private companies want to invest, contribute, and want to do business with the City of Miami,” said Coffey. “To have rank favoritism prevail over merits is a hugely discouraging message to private companies. We need a message that the rule of law, not avoritism prevails in the City of Miami’s processes.”

A copy of the full Miami Herald article can be found here.

Miami Herald published article titled "Judge rules against city in suit over bid to overhaul Rickenbacker marina. Now what?" discussing Judge Alan Fine's Order for the city of Miami to hold a new voter referendum on a plan to redevelop the Rickenbacker Marina because the city did not follow competitive bidding rules and played favorites during a hotly contested solicitation to lead a $100 million overhaul of the west end of Virginia Key.

“Our goal is to get on the ballot in November,” said Kendall Coffey, attorney for the RCI/Suntex team. “We don’t want more delays. We don’t want more taxpayer expense.”

A copy of the full Miami Herald article can be found here.

Artnet published article titled "Park West, the Gallery Best Known for Selling Art on Cruise Ships, Wants to Turn the Tide After Years of Legal Battles. Will a New York Outpost Help?"

In the article, Coffey Burlington Partner Paul Schwiep discussed the legal battles faced by Park West Galleries and how it prevailed. “Those cases were all settled on terms that are confidential but very favorable to Park West,” said the company’s attorney, Paul Schwiep. “The plaintiffs’ lawyers essentially threw in the towel and they were resolved. That was around the 2009 time frame.” “Park West sells hundreds of thousands of works of art a year,” Schwiep added. “They have no client right now that has filed a lawsuit against them. That’s pretty amazing.”
 
A copy of the full Miami Herald article can be found here.

Law360 published article titled "State Questions Miami-Dade Approval Of Controversial Project?" regarding Miami-Dade's County recent controversial decision to expand its developmental boundaries to allow constructions of an industrial park.

In the article, Coffey Burlington Partner Paul Schwiep, one of the attorneys representing Lewis, told Law360 on Friday his view is the ordinance is void for the reasons stated in the DEO's letter and the matter needs to return to the county commission.

"This project continued to shape-shift, and the county commission kept aiming at a moving target," he said. "The plan amendment that was ultimately adopted was materially different than the amendment initially transmitted to the department for comment as required by state law. What the department is saying, which is appropriate, is that the county can't submit one plan amendment for comment, but then adopt a materially different one. This is a problem of the applicant's making for repeatedly altering its chameleonlike project and then requesting repeated deferrals."

A copy of the full Miami Herald article can be found here.

Congratulations to the following Coffey Burlington attorneys who were recognized by U.S. News & World Report The Best Lawyers in America for their accomplishments.

According to the publication's website, The Best Lawyers in America highlights the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the US, and is based on more than 7.4 million evaluations. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Their methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.

Robert Burlington, Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Action - Defendants - Best Lawyer and Lawyer of the Year for Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants

Kendall Coffey, Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants

Albert Caruana, Family Law

Kevin Kaplan, Commercial Litigation

Andrew Marks, Arbitration, Commercial Litigation, Litigation - First Amendment

 Paul Schwiep, Litigation - Environmental

Partner Fernando Tamayo, an Officer with the International Bar Association’s Business Crime Committee, presented at the IBA’s annual Transnational Crime Conference in London as a panelist on the topic of ‘Companies, Individuals and Legal Fees Relevant to a White Collar Practice’. Mr. Tamayo and the panel addressed issues and questions regarding the management and regulation of legal fees in white-collar cases, and explored joint defense arrangements, cooperation and coordination with ongoing Directors & Officers (D&O) policies, conflicts of interests, and more.

The Florida Bar Journal published the article titled "Florida’s New Commercial Real Estate Receivership Act A Roadmap For Judges And Practitioners" written by Kendall Coffey and David Freedman.

In the article Coffey Burlington Partners Kendall Coffey and David Freedman discuss and analyze Florida's adaptation of the Uniform Commercial Real Estate Receivership Act.

A full copy of the Florida Bar Journal's article can be found here.

Partner David Freedman presented as a Panelist at the American Inns of Court Bench and Bar Conference held in Miami on February 18, 2022 in “Business Claims: A Conversation With the Legends."

On September 23, 2021, Partner Fernando Tamayo was a speaker at the Federal Bar Association's annual meeting on a CLE-approved panel titled "Emerging Frontiers of INTERPOL Abuse". Mr. Tamayo discussed recent trends of Interpol member nations' abuses of the Interpol Red Notice system, including discussions of ethical issues regarding Interpol Red Notices and the impact that Red Notices can have on an individual's liberties. Mr. Tamayo also provided advice to attorneys in attendance on how to properly represent clients dealing with Red Notice issues. Mr. Tamayo and Coffey Burlington have an active Interpol Red Notice removal practice, having recently achieved success removing Red Notices improperly issued by foreign nations against Coffey Burlington clients.

Mr. Tamayo was joinded by Evelyn Sheehan, Theodore Bromund, Michelle Estlund, and Sandra Grossman.

Partner Kendall Coffey was a guest speaker at the Annual Conference of International Section of American Bar Association and Russian Arbitration Association on a hybrid panel titled “Anti-Suit Injunctions: A Comparative Law Perspective, Including Russia, With Practical Tips”.

Congratulations to the following Coffey Burlington attorneys who were recognized by U.S. News & World Report The Best Lawyers in America for their accomplishments.

According to the publication's website, The Best Lawyers in America highlights the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the US, and is based on more than 7.4 million evaluations. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Their methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.

Kendall Coffey

Robert Burlington

Susan Raffanello

Daniel Blonsky

Kevin Kaplan

Albert Caruana

Andrew Marks

Partner Kendall Coffey was a guest speaker at the Kendall Coffey Guest Speaker at St. Petersburg International Legal Forum on Panel: “Criminal Risks of Business, its Owners and Management.”

The St. Petersburg International Legal Forum has emerged as a foremost international platform for discussing a broad range of urgent questions confronting the contemporary international community of legal professionals

Coffey Burlington partner Kendall Coffey will be moderating this year's ABA / International Law Section Annual Meeting - The Americas and Beyond: Navigating Legal Changes and Challenges on "The Battle of Home Court Advantage Strategies and Pitfalls."

For a full detailed look at conference and program click here.

Partner Fernando Tamayo Profiled on Cover of HolaLatinos Magazine as elite international attorney. Click here for full article.

Partner Kevin Kaplan Profiled on Cover of Florida's Best Top 100 Lawyers as 2020 Top Lawyer. Click here for full article.

Kevin Kaplan obtained a $1.4 Million Attorney Fee Award for his client. U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams entered the order in the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday awarding engineering firm Pliteq Inc. more than $1.4 million in attorney fees and nearly $37,000 in costs.

A copy of the full Daily Business Review article can be found here.

Paul Schwiep was presented with the "Porter Prize" Award by Miami Waterkeeper. The award was presented to Mr. Schwiep for going above and beyond in the service to and protection of the environment.

The Miami Herald published article titled "Gaming the System - The U.S. keeps erecting immigration barriers. Rich elites can maneuver around them".

In the article, Coffey Burlington Partner Fernando Tamayo discussed how Ecuadorian criminal law differs from U.S. law, in that under Ecuadorian law, a defendant is presumed innocent until his or her criminal conviction has been upheld by all appellate courts.

A copy of the full Miami Herald article can be found here.

Coffey Burlington partners Kendall Coffey, Daniel Blonsky, and Paul Schwiep were speakers at a Webinar in conjuction with CPA and Advisors Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra titled "Coronavirus Business Disruption: Opportunities Beyond Litigation" discussing immediate issues, challenges, and opportunities arising out of the COVID-19 outbreak. They were joined by Marta Alfonso and Hernando Gomez of Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra.

For a full detailed look at the webinar including literature and recording click here.

Coffey Burlington partner Kendall Coffey was a speaker this month at the ABA / Russian Arbitration Association Conference of the Resolution of CIS-Related Business Disputes on "Seeking protection through interim relief: A multi-jurisdictional toolbox for CIS-related disputes -Library Hall" analyzing the use of attachments, injunctions and other remedies to freeze and secure assets. He was joined by Alexander Troller of Lalive, Peter Ferrer, and Artem Doujko of Osborne Clarke.

For a full detailed look at conference and program click here.

The Daily Business Review published article titled "Florida Judge Warns Against Using Case Law, Not Statutes, to Support Hearsay Exceptions" analyzing arguments that overlook Florida Statutes governing hearsay in favor of focusing on broader case-law analysis.

The article reads "This issue crops up often, according to Kendall Coffey of Coffey Burlington, who teaches Florida constitutional law at the University of Miami. He said that’s because the many exceptions to the hearsay rule mean case law can develop a life of its own."

One of the cases cited in the Fourth DCA’s opinion, Moscatiello v. State, is pending before the Florida Supreme Court, as are others involving similar issues. That means things could get interesting, as Coffey sees it, because there are three new justices on the bench.

“In times past, Florida’s Supreme Court has, in significant respects, been more sensitive to the rights of the accused than the U.S. Supreme Court, because we have our own state Constitution,” Coffey said. “The Supreme Court of Florida has its own traditions with respect to the rights of the accused, and the new Supreme Court will be closely watched to see if it maintains those traditions or rolls back some of the rights of the accused.”

A copy of the full Daily Business Review article can be found here.

On June 27, 2019, Partner Fernando Tamayo served as a panelist at the University of Miami School of Law’s inaugural Managing Compliance Across Borders conference, where he presented on the topic of “Corruption and Bribery: Cross-Border Comparisons” to a group of attendees that consisted mostly of domestic and international in-house counsel and compliance officers.