Osborne Clarke has announced the launch of its third US office in Miami, adding to its existing offerings in San Francisco and New York. According to the firm, the opening of its Miami practice is the latest phase in its US and international arbitration strategies.
OC has appointed the former managing partner of Bird & Bird Spain and IT, data law and international dispute resolution specialist, Javier Fernández-Samaniego, from his own firm Samaniego Law as its managing partner and sole practitioner. He is well acquainted with the Florida, Latin America, and Spanish legal markets, having run Samaniego Law offices in both Madrid and Miami over the past seven years.
OC’s international CEO, Omar Al-Nuaimi, said: ‘We continue to invest in our deep international expertise to support the needs of our US client base. Opening in Miami presents a very exciting opportunity for the firm, given it’s a fast-growing hub for international arbitration and tech law.’
Co-managing partner of the firm’s Spanish operation, Jordi Casas, added: ‘Our links with the US and Latin America are an important part of what makes our Spanish offering so special, and central to growing our business. It’s great to announce that those links are about to get even stronger with our new office in Miami.’
Asked about its hiring strategy for Miami, a spokesperson for the firm said: ‘To clarify, we don’t practise US law. Our US team provides clients with in-time zone advice on international legal needs across M&A, disputes, investments, employment, compliance or other regulatory/commercial advice. We plan to focus on integrating the Samaniego clients and don’t have any specific targets to grow our Miami team immediately.’
On whether the Miami practice has any plans on expanding into other practice areas beyond arbitration and technology, the firm confirmed it does not, but will be able to ‘tap into our European network for support across all areas as needed’.
With the opening in Miami, OC now has 18 practitioners in its US team.
