Miami has steadily been building its ecosystem for technology and entrepreneurship but now has the national spotlight as each day another technology, venture capital, or finance company announces its relocation to South Florida. Miami Law’s expertise in technology law and intellectual property law made it the ideal host for the virtual #MiamiTech Movement and the Law webinars on April 14 and April 28, 2021, in which panelists discussed what this migration means for the legal landscape.
“Any top innovation ecosystem has strong lawyers who know the pain points encountered by tech companies,” said Jaret Davis, J.D. '99, co-managing shareholder of the Miami office of Greenberg Traurig, P.A., who is moderated the April 14 discussion. “We structure, we connect, and we give strategic advice.”
During the first session, leading start-up lawyers immersed in Miami’s innovation system shared insights about the priority legal issues for Miami's evolving tech scene, as well as the human capital needs for lawyers who can service this unique and dynamic community.
During the second session, “Perspectives on Current Legal Issues for Entrepreneurs,” panels unpacked vital legal issues relevant to enterprisers, including intellectual property, regulatory compliance, antitrust issues impacting digital markets, and the law of venture capital investment contracting.
“This is a very exciting moment in Miami’s transformation into the world’s next great tech hub,” said Professor Andres Sawicki, faculty coordinator for Miami Law’s Business of Innovation, Law, and Technology Concentration. “We were delighted to host this conversation about the crucial roles that lawyers can play in helping entrepreneurs change the world.”
At the April 14 event, experts in their fields, City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Joycelyn Brown, J.D. '08, managing partner at IPS Legal Group, P.A., a business and intellectual property law firm that specializes in providing legal services for innovators, entrepreneurs, growing ventures, and small to midsize businesses; Leigh-Ann Buchanan, J.D. '09, founder of aīre ventures, a nonprofit consultancy to help create diverse tech communities and former executive director of Venture Café Miami; and Carlton Fields special advisor Adam T. Smith, J.D. '97, who advises tech clients, including startups and early growth companies, in diverse sectors including cybersecurity, health and telemedicine, SaaS, fintech, blockchain, and drones, joined Davis.
At the April 28 event, Sawicki moderated the panel with faculty experts William Bratton, de la Cruz/Mentschikoff Chair in Law and Economics, an expert in corporate law, the theory of the firm, law and economics, and legal history; Professor John Newman, with expertise in the economics and regulation of digital markets and platforms, with a particular emphasis on antitrust, contract, and intellectual-property; Professor Marcia Narine Weldon, an expert in corporate governance, employment law, regulatory compliance, corporate social responsibility, and the intersection of business and human rights; and Adjunct Professor Jaime Vining, whose practice focuses primarily on trademark, copyright, entertainment and internet law.
Watch the recording of the first session
Watch the recording of the second session
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