MIAMI – March 31, 2022 – Four attorneys and a practice group from global law firm Greenberg Traurig, P.A. were recognized in the Daily Business Review’s (DBR) 2022 Florida Legal Awards. The annual awards contest recognizes distinguished members of the Florida legal community.
The Greenberg Traurig honorees are:
- Jaret L. Davis, co-managing shareholder of the Miami office, was honored in the “Innovators” category.
- Elizabeth E. Moum, a Litigation shareholder in the firm’s West Palm Beach office, was recognized as an “On the Rise” attorney.
- Akiesha Gilcrist Sainvil, a Products Liability Litigation associate in Miami, was recognized in the “Diversity and Inclusion: Individual” category.
- Brigid F. Cech Samole, chair of the Miami Appeals & Legal Issues Group, co-chair of the Miami Litigation Practice, and co-chair of the firm’s global Women’s Initiative, was recognized in the “Best Mentors” category.
- The firm’s South Florida Real Estate Practice attorneys were recognized in the “Real Estate Transactions” category for their representation of clients on noteworthy deals in Florida and beyond.
The honorees will be celebrated at the DBR’s annual awards event on May 19 at the Rusty Pelican in Miami.
“At Greenberg Traurig, we pride ourselves on being innovative and trusted stewards of our clients’ business and legal goals, and no one better exemplifies this than Jaret. He represents the best of Greenberg Traurig with a commitment to client service and innovation that has been part of our core values since our founding,” said Matthew B. Gorson, senior chairman of Greenberg Traurig. “We also congratulate Liz, Akiesha, Brigid, and the South Florida real estate team for their well-deserved recognition. We could not be prouder of their dedication to clients, the firm, and their communities over the past year.”
Davis, Co-Managing Shareholder of the Miami office and a Corporate Shareholder who focuses his practice on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions and generally deals in the VC and PE space, has been a key player over the past decade in building Miami’s technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem. A former chairman of the Miami-Dade Beacon Council who led Miami’s efforts to recruit Amazon’s HQ3, he co-founded eMerge Americas and continues to serve as general counsel, helping to guide the global tech conference through the challenges of the pandemic. In 2021, he established the Greenberg Traurig Corporate Relocation to Florida Task Force, a multidisciplinary team of attorneys focused on creating tailored strategies that help companies move to Florida and thrive. Under Davis’s leadership, Greenberg Traurig Miami helped Apollo Global Management relocate to Florida, licensing 3,500 square feet of space in the firm’s downtown offices to Apollo so that it could get key team members settled while finalizing plans for a permanent Miami location.
Moum is an experienced litigator for the securities industry nationwide on high-level employment law matters, regulatory issues, and sales practice concerns. She represents major financial institutions and their employees in litigations, arbitrations, and regulatory proceedings before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Securities and Exchange Commission, and state regulators. She also serves as Vice Chair of The Florida Bar Grievance Committee 15E and is Philanthropy Chair for the Southeastern Women in Financial Services (SWIFS), a network of women professionals in the industry. Moum was named SWIFS’ 2021 “Member of the Year” for her leadership of the organization’s philanthropic partnership with the Hillsborough County Pace Center for Girls, a nonprofit whose mission is to provide at-risk girls and young women opportunities for a better future through education, counseling, and training.
Sainvil focuses her practice on defending medical device, pharmaceutical, and consumer products manufacturers in high-stakes complex products liability and mass torts litigation. She brings a broad range of industry experience to her practice, having also defended major retailers, automotive and transportation companies, financial and health care institutions, and insurance providers in complex commercial litigation matters throughout the country. In her spare time, she devotes herself to the advancement and promotion of diversity in the legal profession through her service as a mentor and advocate for young and aspiring lawyers, both internally at the firm and within the greater South Florida community. She currently represents the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), a national organization dedicated to creating opportunities for diverse and underrepresented law students, as Miami City Lead for the LCLD’s Success in Law School Mentoring Program.
Cech Samole, an appellate attorney and litigator who represents clients nationwide in federal and state courts, has mentored dozens of attorneys formally and informally over the years. Using a holistic approach, she takes time to understand her mentees’ personal and professional priorities and then proposes opportunities in both commercial and pro bono matters that align with their interests and goals. Her mentees frequently credit her for providing guidance that helped pave their way to associate or shareholder at the firm. She serves as Greenberg Traurig’s Miami pro bono co-liaison and for seven years was co-chair of the firm’s Miami Women’s Initiative, a mentoring-based program. She recently was named global co-chair of the firmwide Women’s Initiative.
Greenberg Traurig South Florida real estate attorneys are recognized leaders in the sector, representing many of the developers that have transformed the region’s city skylines and urban landscapes. Among the transactions the team handled in 2021 were Swire Properties’ $174 million sale of the East Hotel in Miami, Penn-Florida Companies’ $335 million refinancing package for completion of Via Mizner in Boca Raton, the $133.5 million sale of 4 West Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale, and AIR Communities’ $222.7 million purchase of a 700-unit apartment complex in Pembroke Pines. Other representative transactions include advising the School Board of Miami-Dade County on various public-private partnerships to repurpose under-utilized government land into mixed-use projects, representing Adler Group and 13th Floor Investments in negotiating a long-term lease from Broward College for a multi-family project on its central campus, and helping the same developers win approval for the final phase of the Link at Douglas, a mixed-use, transit-oriented project at the Douglas Road Metrorail station in Miami. The firm’s condominium group also advanced the growth of luxury-branded residences, linking some of the world’s best-known brands – Aman, Baccarat, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, and St. Regis – with multiple developers working on branded residences and hotel projects throughout Florida.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2400 attorneys in 42 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm, often recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono, reported gross revenue of over $2 Billion for FY 2021. The firm is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law 100, Am Law Global 100, NLJ 250, and Law360 (US) 400. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage. Web: www.gtlaw.com.