Former Chief Judge Juan Ramirez, Jr., of the Third District Court of Appeal has joined and forged a strategic alliance with the international law firm of Diaz Reus.
Mr. Ramirez will work with the firm in its litigation and international practice and will be actively involved in its broad civil, commercial, and white collar matters, as well as its international arbitration cases.
“With Judge Ramirez’s addition to our firm, we can offer our clients someone who has unique, hands-on experience at every level of the litigation process, as well as in the alternative dispute resolution arena,” explained Michael Diaz Jr., Global Managing Partner of Diaz, Reus & Targ.
Mr. Ramirez, who served as Chief Judge of the Third District Court of Appeal for three years, said he was excited to join the firm’s international practice, which has developed a trailblazing approach as a law firm of the future.
“The firm is lean and efficient, and its skilled and experienced lawyers use technology and the firm’s international presence to provide their clients with cutting-edge legal services in an age of globalization,” said Mr. Ramirez, who himself has led efforts to integrate technology into the appellate court system. “I’m very excited to help strengthen the firm’s presence in the coming years in Miami and throughout Latin America, where I can put to use my language skills and my work on a Ph.D. in Latin American history. Additionally, with Diaz Reus I will be able to add consulting work to my ADR practice.”
Mr. Ramirez started as a County Court Judge in 1988 and was quickly elevated in 1990 to the Circuit Court in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, where he served in the civil, criminal, and family divisions. He was the administrative judge of the appellate division when he was again elevated in 1999 to the Third District Court of Appeal. He was elected as Chief Judge, serving from 2009 to 2011. He retired in 2012 to join JAMS when it opened its Miami office.
Mr. Ramirez is a prolific author, having written a three-volume treatise on Florida Civil Procedure in 1997 and another three-volume treatise titled “Florida Evidence Manual” in 2000. Both treatises are published by Lexis Nexis, and he writes annual updates to each. In addition, he has authored a casebook on Florida Civil Procedure, published by the Carolina Academic Press, the second edition just released in 2014.
Mr. Ramirez has been an adjunct professor at all the local South Florida law schools — St. Thomas University, Nova Southeastern University Law School, Florida International University, and the University of Miami. He is a member of the National Association of Distinguished Neutrals.
He was a teacher at a prep school in the northeast before attending law school at the University of Connecticut, graduating with honors in 1975. He obtained a B.A. and an M.A. from Vanderbilt University, and he worked on a Ph.D. in Latin American History at the University of Florida.
Mr. Ramirez’s 39-year legal career began in 1975, and he eventually specialized in criminal defense, given his board certification in that area. He has served in the Rules Committee for Civil, Criminal, Family, Appellate, and the Rules of Judicial Administration. As a judge, he always promoted judicial education, serving on committees and as Associate Dean of the Advanced Judicial College, as well as in the Bench Bar Commission.
While at the Third District, Mr. Ramirez served in the education and technology committees, as well as in the Florida Courts Education Council and in the Court Budget Committee. He serves on the ABA Rule of Law Initiative Council and is currently the co-chair of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section Conference, which will be held in Miami in April 2014. He recently lectured for the ABA ROLI to Panamanian judges and is a frequent panelist with the American Conference Institute in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, and Orlando.
Diaz Reus is honored to welcome Judge Ramirez to its practice.
