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PRACTICE AREAS
Labor and Employment Law
Mr. Padilla's Labor and Employment Law practice area is his oldest practice area. He
handles a variety of employment law matters and disputes, including wage and hour
claims, discrimination matters, whistleblower claims and advises clients on the drafting of
employment agreements and other employment-related documents for employees,
professionals, business owners and investors in Miami and throughout South Florida.
In addition, Mr. Padilla has advised companies with respect to U.S.
Department of Labor, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) audits and investigations, as well as
actions by or before other governmental agencies, like the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
Immigration and Nationality Law
Mr. Padilla's Immigration and Nationality Law practice focuses on employment-based
immigration, including nonimmigrant visas for investors, professionals, artists,
temporary workers, and individuals seeking permanent residency. Serving clients in
Miami, South Florida and throughout the world, Mr. Padilla and his team handle the
full gamut of employment-based immigration, such as:
• L-1A visas (transferred employees)
• E-1 and E-2 visas (treaty traders and treaty investors)
• H-1B visas (professional employees)
• O-1 visas (artists and persons with extraordinary ability)
• P-1 visas (athletes and entertainers)
• J-1 visas (exchange visitors and trainees)
Mr. Padilla also advises clients on petitions for U.S. Permanent Residency, such as:
• EB-1 visas (transferred employees, persons with extraordinary ability and
outstanding professors)
• EB-2 visas (professional employees with advanced degrees)
• EB-3 visas (professional employees, skilled and other workers)
• EB-4 visas (religious workers, aliens who have served in the armed forces and
other individuals)
• EB-5 visas (employment creation investors), including EB-5 regional centers.
Mr. Padilla is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), a
national association of immigration attorneys, which has a liaison with the United
States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). AILA is the professional bar
association for attorneys and law professors who specialize in general immigration law
or its many subspecialty practice areas.
Real Estate Law and Transactions
Mr. Padilla's real estate practice involves representing individuals, developers,
investors, lenders and businesses in connection with purchasing, selling, financing,
developing and leasing real property. Mr. Padilla has handled more than 200 residential
and commercial real estate transactions over the last 10 years ranging in value from
$250,000 to $15 million, including hotel acquisitions, condominium projects, shopping
mall leases and commercial retail stores. Mr. Padilla also provides title insurance
policies through Old Republic National Title Insurance Company, one of the largest title
insurance underwriters in the United States. Included in Mr. Padilla's real estate
practice is acting as escrow and closing agent for real estate transactions. Mr. Padilla is
a member of the American Land Title Association (ALTA), which is a national
association that represents title insurance providers.
Commercial Transactions/Acquisitions
The commercial transactions that Mr. Padilla and his team handle include joint
ventures, the acquisition and sale of U.S. businesses, investments in U.S. projects, and
other commercial matters. He advises clients regarding organizing U.S. companies,
structuring the business, shareholder agreements, joint ventures, and other matters
regarding the operations of U.S. businesses, such as distribution contracts, service
agreements, representative agreements and other matters. Many of Mr. Padilla's clients
in this area are foreign nationals who are coming to the U.S. to establish a subsidiary of
their foreign company, acquire a new business such as a franchise or other established
company, or to simply organize a new business, in many cases for purposes of
immigration.
Commercial Litigation
Mr. Padilla has litigated more than 120 cases in state and federal courts over his career. He represents individuals, local business owners and enterprises in a variety of
commercial matters and disputes. The cases handled by Mr. Padilla involve contract
disputes, collections under commercial sales contracts, employment disputes,
noncompete agreements, unfair trade actions, trademark infringement, enforcement of
foreign-country judgments, applications for judicial assistance in obtaining discovery for use in foreign legal proceedings, and fraudulent transfers.
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