Michael Diaz, Jr.

adpptvAttorneys United States Top

Image

Michael Diaz, Jr.

Global Managing Partner

Miami Tower at International Place 100 S.E. Second Street, Suite 3400 - Miami, Florida 33131
mailto:mdiaz@diazreus.com
+1 (305) 375 92 20
“Michael Diaz is an extraordinary attorney who is well prepared and experienced" and "cares about you as a person and not just as a client.”

- Client's testimonial

"Michael Diaz understands the semantics and the idiosyncrasies of the region to represent Latin American clients in the US."

- Client's testimonial

Biography


Florida Bar Board Certified International Litigation and Arbitration* attorney Michael Diaz is a multilingual litigator, trial lawyer, and arbitral advocate with 37 years of experience advising clients, trying cases, and negotiating resolutions to complex civil, arbitral and criminal disputes. He has extensive experience handling visa recovery efforts, FCPA and OFAC violations, and Specially Designated Nationals classifications. He regularly counsels on preventative arbitration and litigation strategies and conducts parallel investigations in complex, high-stakes regulatory, investigative and compliance matters that involve financial fraud, international asset recovery and white-collar crime. Mr. Diaz’s sophisticated asset tracing techniques have resulted in millions of dollars in recoveries for U.S. receivers, financial institutions, and individual fraud victims. He has handled numerous notable, well-publicized litigation and arbitration cases, OFAC and sanctions matters, and cases of alleged money laundering and public corruption.

Mr. Diaz is recognized and ranked in Legal500 USA 2023 for “Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense: Advice to Individuals”; Legal500 USA 2023 for “International Litigation”; Legal 500 Latin America 2024 for “Miami firms”, “International Arbitration” and “Compliance and Investigations”; Chambers Latin America 2024 and Chambers Global 2024 for “Corporate Crime & Investigations, Latin America-wide”; Chambers USA 2023 for “Litigation: general commercial, Florida”; Best Lawyers USA 2024 for “International Arbitration – Governmental and Commercial”; Best Lawyers Panama 2019-2020 for “Corporate and M&A”; Florida Super Lawyers International Law and Top Lawyers Honors for South Florida Legal Guide; Global Investigation Review 100 (GIR100); Latinvex 2024: Latin America’s Top 100 Lawyers for “FCPA & Fraud” and “Arbitration & Litigation”. He is recognized by the Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys and listed among the Top Litigators in Latin America by Latinvex. Mr. Diaz has earned ongoing recognition from his peers, maintaining an AV Preeminent-rating from Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review rankings for more than 20 years. Mr. Diaz is a certified anti-money laundering specialist (CAMS).

*Only Board Certified Specialists have taken the extra step to have their competence and expertise evaluated. Board certification establishes an independent measure of competence, professionalism and peer acknowledgement. A lawyer who is board certified is recognized as “having special knowledge, skills and proficiency in the practice area and good character, ethics, and a reputation for professionalism in the practice of law.”

Accolades


Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Areas of Practice


Litigation and Arbitration
White Collar Crime, Government Sanctions (OFAC, Magnitsky, CAATSA, GLOMAG, etc.), investigations and defense
Fraud and Asset Recovery
Regulatory and Corporate Investigations, Governance and Compliance
Athlete Representation & Entertainment Law
Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights, Asset Collections
Corporate, business transactions and international trade
Estate & Tax Planning
Real Estate
Bankruptcy and Asset Recovery
Family Law

Education


  • University of Miami School of Law, J.D., cum laude
  • University of Miami, School of Business, B.B.A., International Finance

Certifications & Specializations


  • Board Certified by the Florida Bar in International Litigation & Arbitration
  • Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS)

Admissions


  • Florida
  • 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Southern District of Florida
  • Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals of New York
  • U.S. Court of International Trade
  • Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS)

Accolades


  • Legal500 USA 2023: Corporate Investigations & White-Collar Criminal Defense: advice to individuals; International Litigation
  • Legal500 Latin America 2024: International Arbitration; Compliance & Investigations; Miami Firms; Corporate & M&A (Colombia); Compliance & White-Collar Crime (Colombia)
  • Chambers USA 2023: “Litigation: general commercial, Florida”
  • Chambers Global 2024: “Corporate Crime & Investigations, Latin America-wide”
  • Chambers Latin America 2024: “Corporate Crime & Investigations, Latin America-wide”
  • Global Investigation Review 100 (GIR 100), 2022 edition
  • Leaders League USA 2023: Compliance & Fraud
  • Latinvex Latin America’s Top 100 Lawyers 2024: FCPA & Fraud; Arbitration & Litigation
  • Best Lawyers® USA 2024: International Arbitration – Governmental and Commercial
  • South Florida Legal Guide 2023: Top Lawyer: International Criminal Defense
  • Best Lawyers® Panama 2020: Corporate and M&A
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent-rated
  • Martindale-Hubbell Client Champion Silver 2022
  • Florida Super Lawyers 2023: International, Criminal Defense: White Collar, Business Litigation, Immigration
  • Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America

Professional Leadership


  • Florida Bar Association​
  • American Bar Association
  • International Bar Association
  • Cuban American Bar Association, Past-President, officer, and director
  • Member, Trial Law Institute
  • Member, Diversity Law Institute
  • Barrister, Order of Centurions
  • Advocate, Order of Certus
  • International Association of Lawyers and Professional Advisors
  • Miami International Arbitration Society
  • National and Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • Florida International Bankers Association
  • Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists
  • Member of the Board of Advisors of Latin America Advisor, a publication of The Dialogue, Leadership for the Americas.

Representative Cases


Espionage

Coordinated defense of multiagency investigation of various U.S. Homeland Security Agent’s and the successful defense of private attorney for alleged acts of espionage, violations of trading with the enemy, corruption, kickbacks and money laundering.

Corruption & Money Laundering

Represent former PDVSA (Venezuelan state owned oil & petroleum company) and Citgo official in pre – indictment FCPA corruption and money laundering investigation tied to government officials in Venezuela.

Corruption & Money Laundering

Represent former PDVSA manager in post – indictment FCPA corruption and money laundering investigation involving U.S. and multinational corporations.

Corruption & Money Laundering

Represent former official at CORPOLEC (Venezuelan state owned electric & power company) in defense of criminal complaint for FCPA corruption and money laundering allegations

Interpol & Money laundering

Represent attorney in defense of money laundering investigation who is alleged to have been complicit in the laundering of illicit funds tied to the former President of Argentina.

Corruption & OFAC

Successfully represent and avoid criminal charges for bankers and financial institutions for alleged role in laundering funds from a PDVSA kickback, bribery and corruption (FCPA) scheme, terrorist financing and OFAC violations.

Asset Recovery

Represent bank supervising government authority in asset recovery matters.

Money Laundering

Successfully represent and avoid criminal charges for attorney and agricultural pesticides importers alleged to have conspired in a foreign exchange money laundering scheme.

Arbitration

Representation of government owned mining and minerals company in parallel U.S. and European based arbitrations.

Money Laundering & OFAC

Coordinated defense Successfully represent and avoid criminal charges for in-house oil company counsel alleged to have conspired in FCPA, corruption, bribery, OFAC and money laundering violations.

Visa Revocation

Successfully represent banker in the recovery of U.S. visa for alleged violations of significant acts of corruption.

Corruption and Money Laundering

Represent sports marketing officials in FIFA corruption scandal, pre- and post-indictment and sentencing.

OFAC, SDN & SDNT

Successfully represent Mexican national in removal from OFAC list as Specially Designated National (SDN/SDNT) for his alleged ties to “El Chapo” Guzman.

Arbitration

Represent U.S./Qatar based engineering company in arbitration proceedings against Brazilian construction company behemoth Odebrecht.

Litigation

Represent joint venture partners in multimillion dollar commercial litigation dispute against founding partners of Miami based Law Firm.

Asset Recovery

Represent commercial bank in collection of credit facilities extended in U.S., Europe, and Latin America.

OFAC

Represent cruise line and hotel start-up in Cuba.

Project Finance and OFAC

Represent Middle Eastern liquid natural gas (LNG) producers and investors in projects in Latin America, Caribbean, and Cuba.

Class Action and Asset Recovery

Represent class action bondholders against the Republic of Argentina for defaulting on millions of dollars in bonds.

Intellectual Property and Litigation

Represent Chinese goods manufacturers for alleged trademark violations.

Corruption and Money Laundering

Represent individuals alleged to have conspired with former Treasurer of foreign government in money laundering, corruption, bribery/kickback schemes and various criminal law violations.

Compliance

Represent Central Bank on FINCEN, Sanctions Programs, OFAC and anti-money laundering compliance and regulatory issues.

OFAC

Advise and counsel Russian financial institution on prohibited activities and permissible transactions under sanctions regime.

Visa Revocation

Represent former Minister of Energy in Central America to avoid revocation of US Visa.

Visa Revocation

Represent family members in successful agricultural conglomerate in Central America in recovery of their visas which were revoked for alleged acts of corruption.

FCPA and Money Laundering

Represented former assistant to Minister of Energy and Power (Electricity) for alleged kickbacks, bribery, corruption and money laundering scheme in South America.

White Collar and Investigations

Successful recovery of USA reentry visa for Middle Eastern Latin American based brothers, and their respective spouses, after having been placed on the "No Fly List" sanctioned as terrorists, and having their US visas revoked for more than 10 years.

OFAC / Money Laundering

Successful SDN de-listing and OFAC Sanctions removal of Presidential candidate and businessman accused by OFAC of money laundering and narcotics trafficking.

Litigation

In an international commercial partnership dispute, successfully prosecuted and secured return of real estate assets fraudulently transferred and adversely possessed.