To be positioned for longterm success in the hyper-competitive Miami legal industry, a law firm’s leaders must identify and groom upand- coming attorneys. For Miami-based Rennert Vogel Mandler & Rodriguez P.A., which is in its third decade of operation, attorneys Leonardo J. Caraballo and Alexander J. Faria are at the forefront of the firm’s next generation.
RVMR is a business and real estate law firm that represents developers and investors in all facets of real estate transactions, including numerous major developers who have helped shape Miami’s skyline. The firm has a particularly strong foothold in the area of condominium and planned unit development law, as it has been involved in over 100 development projects and closed over 12,500 condominium units. RVMR is also frequently called on to facilitate complex condominium terminations and find positive solutions for clients in fractured and obsolete condominiums.
Caraballo and Faria have spent nearly their entire legal careers at RVMR since joining the firm in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The Miami natives have worked side by side with Jose A. Rodriguez and Howard J. Vogel, co-chairs of the real estate and condominium law practice group at RVMR, and are now entrusted to lead teams for the firm. They are paying forward the lessons learned from the co-chairs by helping mentor the newest associates in the practice group.
The bilingual duo enjoys a fruitful and complementary working relationship. Caraballo divides his time evenly between RVMR’s real estate transactional and condominium law practices. The Tulane University graduate, with both undergraduate and law degrees from the New Orleans institution, has a hand in everything from the representing developers acquiring, selling, financing and constructing large-scale developments to guiding developers through the termination of a condominium. A recent – and high profile – example of the latter was the termination and sale of the 312-unit InTown Condominium in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood to a national owner-operator of apartment buildings.
Caraballo also holds an LL.M from the University of Miami School of Law in real property development, which allows him to understand the business goals of his clients and bring real value to them. He is a member of the environmental and land use section of the Florida Bar, in addition to being a member of the real property and probate and trust law sections.
Faria has made a name for himself within the firm and the broader legal industry through his real estate transactional work. During his 12 years at RVMR, Faria has handled more than 2,500 commercial and residential closings, including one of the largest residential real estate transactions in the history of the city of Weston; represented developers in high-volume closings for a total value exceeding $1 billion; and arranged more than $200 million in loans on behalf of both lenders and borrowers.
An already hectic schedule got even busier for Faria during the run-up to and immediately following Hurricane Irma in September. Faria worked through power losses to ensure the closings continued at the high-rise condominium developments of the firm’s clients.
The University of Florida and Stetson University College of Law graduate has been recognized as a Rising Star by Florida Super Lawyers each year since 2012. Faria is involved with numerous professional associations, including the American Bar Association and the young lawyers division and real property, probate and trust law section of the Florida Bar.
Both Caraballo and Faria cite the culture, entrepreneurial spirit and collaborative environment at RVMR as key reasons the firm has been their professional home for 25 combined years. Their loyalty to the firm and appreciation for its values continues to resonate with their younger colleagues.
