The 42-year-old Uruguayan attorney grew up playing jazz and bossa nova on drums in bands in his home country. And like all Uruguayan children, he was born with a soccer ball in his bassinet and still plays the game “with teeth.” He is a rabid follower of Penarol, the soccer team from Montevideo. He is also wicked competitive, having run his first marathon in February in a very respectable 3:58 and competed in his first relay triathlon a few months ago. Oh, and he plays basketball and sometimes kayaks around Key Biscayne. He is also a mad Heat fan.
Amazingly, Aragone found the time to get married (at 19), have two children, become an attorney in Uruguay, receive his Master’s in Transportation and Logistics at the University of Bologna, Italy before heading to Miami and the legal department for Latin America at DHL Global Forwarding, the logistics and freight forwarding company.
While at DHL, Aragone came to Miami Law in 2006 for an LL.M. in Comparative Law (now called U.S. and Transnational Law for Foreign Lawyers). “I felt that for me to grow professionally in the U.S., I needed to study law here,” he said in an interview. “The LL.M. was not only a great introduction to the American legal system and the common law, it also gave me the opportunity to sit for the bar exam.”
“It was a terrific experience and I had a ton of fun,” Aragone said. “My office was in Plantation, and I lived in Doral. Some days I had both early morning and evening classes at Miami Law and I might log 150 miles in a single day. It was crazy, but well worth it. I took and passed the New York bar in 2007.”
Aragone said the opportunity allowed him continue to grow professionally. “I was a dual licensed attorney with a multi-cultural background, and I’ve studied law on three continents. It definitely gives one an edge,” he said. “The LL.M., along with passing the bar, was a tremendous boost to my career.”
In 2008, Aragone joined Ingram Micro, Inc., the global technology and supply chain services distributor, as associate general counsel for Latin America where he led a team responsible for providing legal support for roughly a $2 billon business. This month, he begins his new role at vice president and associate general counsel of Corporate and M&A, where he will be working on mergers and acquisitions globally for the company in their offices in Santa Ana, California.
Three years ago, he climbed California’s Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, with a few pals. Climbing the 14,505 feet elevation is a walk in the park… and a long walk for that matter. It comes with an elevation gain of 6,400 feet and a 22-mile hike in one day, subzero temperatures and 60% oxygen at the summit.
“I enjoy striking that delicate balance of business and law,” he said. “In-house, you become a translator of legal needs – protecting the company and helping the business achieve its goals. UM gave me the ability to think through complex legal issues. I was in awe of the quality of the faculty and the student/faculty ratio. I was privileged to have an extremely rewarding and intellectually enriching experience spending quality time with them.”
Read more about Miami Law’s LL.M. Programs.
