Mr Carl Fornaris > Winston & Strawn LLP > Miami, United States > Lawyer Profile

Winston & Strawn LLP continues to significantly expand its banking and finance offering, primarily through the launch of a large Latin America-focused Miami office in 2022. This has provided the Latin America practice with considerable depth in project finance, bank regulatory matters, fintech, digital payments and digital assets. In project finance, Richard Puttré has a long history in energy and infrastructure financings, especially for Spanish construction companies and other sponsors. This builds on the firm’s pre-existing expertise in Latin America project financings, including in the renewable energy sector; it has an especially strong record in Chile. The new Miami office also includes partner Craig Rasile, an experienced figure in bankruptcy and restructuring, including Latin America engagements. Carl Fornaris joined from Greenberg Traurig LLP to co-chair the financial services group and the digital assets & blockchain technology team, and has an extensive background in Latin America. Kimberly Prior and Daniel Stabile also co-head the digital assets & blockchain technology group. Other key partners include Talbert Navia and Allen Miller who co-chair the Latin America team from New York; and the highly-rated Rodrigo Carvalho, managing partner of the São Paulo office. Los Angeles-based Francisco Flores is highly rated for structured finance transactions in Latin America. All named individuals are based in Miami unless stated otherwise.

Winston & Strawn LLP made a bold entry into the Miami market in May 2022, assembling a large and highly-credible team, many of which are primarily focused on Latin America. They have joined a larger Latin America group, primarily located in New York, and cover a broad range of disciplines from energy and infrastructure projects to corporate and M&A, financial services and fintech, dispute resolution, and bankruptcy and restructuring. The New Miami office is led by highly-rated corporate and M&A partner Enrique Martin, who – along with long-term colleague Nicholas Rodríguez – has built an impressive practice in cross-border M&A, private equity and fund formation; the pair also work extensively in conjunction with New York partners Talbert Navia and Allen Miller. The Miami corporate team has already built a steady pipeline of inbound and outbound M&A and private equity engagements, including in the energy and infrastructure segments. The group also has a burgeoning presence in venture capital investments, notably in blockchain and digital assets. In the projects and energy field, senior figure Richard Puttré has an impressive background in representing Spanish construction companies and other sponsors. In financial services, the firm has built a substantial group covering bank regulatory, financings, fintech, payments and digital assets; various of the practitioners in the group have held senior in-house legal positions, including prominent name Carl Fornaris, while Juan Azel provides further senior-level financial services and regulatory expertise. Kimberly Prior and Daniel Stabile co-head the digital assets and blockchain technology group. In the bankruptcy and restructuring segment, Craig Rasile is immensely experienced; and Gustavo Membiela is a prominent name in Latin America investigations and international arbitration. Foreign legal advisor Isabelle Ferrarini Bueno is an emerging talent; she is dual-qualified in Brazil and New York.

Highly experienced in the establishment and operation of private investment funds, Winston & Strawn LLP is knowledgeable in SEC and CFTC regulatory digital asset matters. The digital assets and blockchain technology group is jointly led by Carl Fornaris, Kimberly Prior, who advises distributed ledger and blockchain companies on regulatory matters, and Daniel Stabile, who is knowledgeable of securities law pertaining to digital assets and NFTs. Will Turner is proficient in M&A and venture capital investments, while in New York, Thania Charmani often represents corporations and individuals in blockchain and shareholder derivative litigation. All of the individuals that have been mentioned are located in Miami, unless stated otherwise.