Akerman, a law firm headquartered in Miami, has added Arturo Banegas Masiá as a partner in its Latin American and Caribbean practice, bringing its total number of partners in the practice up to 26. New York-based Masiá, whose practice areas include bank lending, structured finance, and restructuring, is licensed to practice in both New York and Venezuela, and is only the second Akerman lawyer licensed to practice in Venezuela (although the firm does not practice Venezuelan law).
Carlos Méndez-Peñate, co-chair of Akerman's Latin American and Caribbean practice, said that Masiá “knows Venezuela very well, but [has also] done an extensive amount of corporate and restructuring work for his clients throughout Latin America.”
Before coming to Akerman, Masiá worked for Verizon as in-house counsel for five years, and prior to that he worked at as a partner at Palacios Ortega y Asociados, a Caracas-based-firm. When Masiá worked for Verizon, he kept in contact with his clients from Palacios Ortega y Asociados. He told IFLR1000 that he began to hear from some of them, many of whom were Latin American businesses interested in doing business in the U.S. or other Latin American countries, or U.S. and foreign companies interested in doing business in Latin America. The increasing demand for legal counsel in cross-border corporate transactions encouraged Masiá to return to the law firm environment.
Masiá expressed admiration for Michael Kelley, a partner in the Latin American and Caribbean practice; Luis Perez, co-chair of the practice, and Pedro Freyre, chair of the International Practice.
A July 30 Business Insider article reported that U.S. blue-chip companies have lost $3 billion in profits in Venezuela and that many U.S. companies have already left or are considering leaving the country. “One of the reasons I decided to accept Verizon’s offer [in 2010] was because of a shift in Venezuela's legal market. Political and economic conditions caused investors to rethink opportunities in Venezuela and many were divesting out of the country,” Masiá said. “Ultimately, the experience helped me develop an important skill for clients who are structuring deals and need to protect their assets in high-risk settings. I see an opportunity to combine this skill with my experiences at Verizon to assist Akerman clients doing business in volatile markets throughout Latin America and the Caribbean."