Bilzin Sumberg Welcomes Seven New Partners from Among Its Ranks
Press Release
January 3, 2022
Miami, FL – Bilzin Sumberg is pleased to announce that Paul J. D’Alessandro, Jr., Misbah Farid, Michael C. Larmoyeux, Jr., Lindsey Zohn Parker, and Shalia Sakona have been elected as the firm’s newest partners. Effective January 1, 2022, they became partners across their respective practice groups, which include Construction, Litigation, Real Estate, and Tax & Private Wealth.
“These individuals have shown time and again that they embody Bilzin Sumberg’s most cherished values,” says Albert E. Dotson, Jr., Managing Partner, “They serve as trusted advisors to their clients, constantly engaging with them to stay attuned to their needs while also collaborating synergistically with their colleagues, to deliver unmatched counsel.”
Paul J. D’Alessandro, Jr. advises high net worth clients and global families on a variety of international tax and estate planning issues. Representing individuals predominantly from Latin America and Europe, he provides customized, tax-efficient solutions to address clients' needs. Paul’s experience includes advising on inbound and outbound tax planning matters, foreign trusts, pre-immigration planning, expatriation, and the acquisition and disposition of U.S. real property holdings. In 2021, Paul was named a “Florida Rising Star” by Florida Super Lawyers, and recognized as part of Best Lawyers’ “Ones to Watch” class of attorneys.
Misbah Farid handles tax and estate planning for domestic and foreign high net worth individuals, families, entrepreneurs, and their businesses, as well as estate and trust administration. For clients with active businesses, she sets up various corporate structures or reorganizes existing entities to accomplish tax and estate planning goals, while transferring wealth from generation to generation with the least amount of tax and the maximum amount of asset preservation. Misbah is a frequent speaker and author on tax and estate planning. She uses her background as a commercial litigator to stress the value, in time and money, of minimizing potential disputes in estate planning. An active member of the community, she sits on the Estate Planning Council of Miami and serves on the American Heart Association Go Red for Women Executive Leadership Committee.
Michael C. Larmoyeux, Jr. represents owners and developers in the design, construction, and development of a wide array of projects, including apartments, luxury high-rise condominiums, hotels, industrial, affordable housing, commercial, and mixed-used projects. He handles the negotiation and preparation of construction agreements, professional design agreements, and developer agreements, and assists clients with project administration to identify and achieve early resolution of potential disputes. In addition, he represents owners and developers in disputes arising from design and construction agreements, including construction defect and delay claims, insurance coverage and warranty claims. In 2021, Michael was recognized as part of Best Lawyers’ “Ones to Watch” class of attorneys.
Lindsey Zohn Parker concentrates her practice on the representation of two of the largest special servicers of commercial mortgage-backed securities in the country, handling workouts, modifications, foreclosures, assumptions and consents with respect to such loans, and REO sales after foreclosure of these loans. Lindsey also has significant experience with hotel loan financing and has worked extensively with all major national franchisors, including the negotiation of over 50 franchise agreements, on behalf of franchisees. Her active involvement in commercial real estate industry associations has included Commercial Real Estate Women and the CRE Finance Council.
Shalia Sakona’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including the representation of opt-out plaintiffs in high-stakes, multidistrict antitrust price-fixing cases. She also has substantial experience in multi-billion dollar mortgage back securities-related litigation throughout the United States, in which she has represented sellers and originators of mortgage loans against major financial institutions. In 2021, she was instrumental in securing dismissal with prejudice of a Formula 1-related lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida, in which local residents sought to enjoin the Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix from occurring at Hard Rock Stadium. Last year, she was also a key member of an all-female federal jury trial team that obtained a several million dollar final judgment on behalf of one of the world’s largest toy manufacturers. In 2016, she was named a finalist in the Daily Business Review "Most Effective Lawyers" in the Complex/Business Litigation category. In 2017, she was part of a trial team that secured the third-largest breach of contract verdict in Florida that year, and she successfully defended the verdict on appeal before the Third District Court of Appeals.
About Bilzin Sumberg
Bilzin Sumberg counsels clients whose business and legal opportunities and challenges span the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. The firm’s growth has paralleled that of its Miami home base, a region known for its rich cultural, social, and professional diversity. Bilzin Sumberg stands at the center of virtually every major transaction shaping Florida and is at the forefront of the state’s most pressing economic issues – from infrastructure, transit and mobility, to affordability and the diversification of the state’s economy. Bilzin Sumberg lawyers concentrate on services at the heart of both regional and international commerce, including real estate, land development and government relations, environmental, construction, corporate and securities, finance, joint ventures, domestic and international tax and private wealth planning, antitrust, business litigation, and public-private partnerships. For more information, please visit bilzin.com.
“These individuals have shown time and again that they embody Bilzin Sumberg’s most cherished values,” says Albert E. Dotson, Jr., Managing Partner, “They serve as trusted advisors to their clients, constantly engaging with them to stay attuned to their needs while also collaborating synergistically with their colleagues, to deliver unmatched counsel.”
Paul J. D’Alessandro, Jr. advises high net worth clients and global families on a variety of international tax and estate planning issues. Representing individuals predominantly from Latin America and Europe, he provides customized, tax-efficient solutions to address clients' needs. Paul’s experience includes advising on inbound and outbound tax planning matters, foreign trusts, pre-immigration planning, expatriation, and the acquisition and disposition of U.S. real property holdings. In 2021, Paul was named a “Florida Rising Star” by Florida Super Lawyers, and recognized as part of Best Lawyers’ “Ones to Watch” class of attorneys.
Misbah Farid handles tax and estate planning for domestic and foreign high net worth individuals, families, entrepreneurs, and their businesses, as well as estate and trust administration. For clients with active businesses, she sets up various corporate structures or reorganizes existing entities to accomplish tax and estate planning goals, while transferring wealth from generation to generation with the least amount of tax and the maximum amount of asset preservation. Misbah is a frequent speaker and author on tax and estate planning. She uses her background as a commercial litigator to stress the value, in time and money, of minimizing potential disputes in estate planning. An active member of the community, she sits on the Estate Planning Council of Miami and serves on the American Heart Association Go Red for Women Executive Leadership Committee.
Michael C. Larmoyeux, Jr. represents owners and developers in the design, construction, and development of a wide array of projects, including apartments, luxury high-rise condominiums, hotels, industrial, affordable housing, commercial, and mixed-used projects. He handles the negotiation and preparation of construction agreements, professional design agreements, and developer agreements, and assists clients with project administration to identify and achieve early resolution of potential disputes. In addition, he represents owners and developers in disputes arising from design and construction agreements, including construction defect and delay claims, insurance coverage and warranty claims. In 2021, Michael was recognized as part of Best Lawyers’ “Ones to Watch” class of attorneys.
Lindsey Zohn Parker concentrates her practice on the representation of two of the largest special servicers of commercial mortgage-backed securities in the country, handling workouts, modifications, foreclosures, assumptions and consents with respect to such loans, and REO sales after foreclosure of these loans. Lindsey also has significant experience with hotel loan financing and has worked extensively with all major national franchisors, including the negotiation of over 50 franchise agreements, on behalf of franchisees. Her active involvement in commercial real estate industry associations has included Commercial Real Estate Women and the CRE Finance Council.
Shalia Sakona’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including the representation of opt-out plaintiffs in high-stakes, multidistrict antitrust price-fixing cases. She also has substantial experience in multi-billion dollar mortgage back securities-related litigation throughout the United States, in which she has represented sellers and originators of mortgage loans against major financial institutions. In 2021, she was instrumental in securing dismissal with prejudice of a Formula 1-related lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida, in which local residents sought to enjoin the Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix from occurring at Hard Rock Stadium. Last year, she was also a key member of an all-female federal jury trial team that obtained a several million dollar final judgment on behalf of one of the world’s largest toy manufacturers. In 2016, she was named a finalist in the Daily Business Review "Most Effective Lawyers" in the Complex/Business Litigation category. In 2017, she was part of a trial team that secured the third-largest breach of contract verdict in Florida that year, and she successfully defended the verdict on appeal before the Third District Court of Appeals.
About Bilzin Sumberg
Bilzin Sumberg counsels clients whose business and legal opportunities and challenges span the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. The firm’s growth has paralleled that of its Miami home base, a region known for its rich cultural, social, and professional diversity. Bilzin Sumberg stands at the center of virtually every major transaction shaping Florida and is at the forefront of the state’s most pressing economic issues – from infrastructure, transit and mobility, to affordability and the diversification of the state’s economy. Bilzin Sumberg lawyers concentrate on services at the heart of both regional and international commerce, including real estate, land development and government relations, environmental, construction, corporate and securities, finance, joint ventures, domestic and international tax and private wealth planning, antitrust, business litigation, and public-private partnerships. For more information, please visit bilzin.com.
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