The Cuban American Bar Association’s Monthly Newsletter
September/October 2011

CONTENTS:

I. Message from CABA

II. CABA Events

III. Events of Interest

IV. Members in the News

V. CABA News

I. MESSAGE FROM CABA

Fall is an exciting time of year for CABA. These next two months are highlighted by signature events and great milestones. We are extremely excited about our planned trip to Capitol Hill on September 22 to speak to Members of Congress and the State Department regarding the rule of law in Cuba and Human Rights issues still plaguing the island. Vice President Raul Chacon, Jr. and his Co-Chair of the Human Rights Committee Yara Lorenzo have done a phenominal job in putting this event together. We will also have a live simulcast of the event at Broad and Cassel.

In September we also have our annual CACPA and CABA Golf Tournament on September 30th. Proceeds from this event will be used for CABA Scholarships. October is a busy time as well. We have our Annual Mentoring Kick-off Reception on October 12, at Squire Sanders and a CABA Co-Sponsored Diversity Forum and Lunch in Broward County.

Hope to see you soon!

Victoria Mendez

II. CABA EVENTS

CABA’s Briefing on Current Conditions in Cuba
Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 10:00am
Rayburn House Office Building
Room 2200
Washington, D.C. 20515
RSVP to Yara Lorenzo at (305) 726-3999 or yara.lorenzo@gmail.com

CABA and Cuban-American CPA Association 10th Annual Golf Tournament
Friday, September 30, 2011 at 7:00am
Doral Golf Resort & Spa
4400 NW 87th Avenue
Miami, FL 33178
For additional information, contact Richard Montes De Oca at (305) 298-9630, or Jose Gomez at (305) 644-1223

CABA’s Mentoring Kickoff Reception
Tuesday, October 12, 2011 at 5:30pm
Wachovia Tower
200 South Biscayne Boulevard
42nd Floor
Miami, FL 33131
RSVP to Tania G. Cruz at (305) 577-7011 or Tania.cruz@ssd.com, or through the following link: http://www.ssd.com/newsevents/events/event_registration.aspx?eventID=3204

CABA Co-Sponsored Diversity Forum and Lunch
Friday, October 21, 2011 at 11:30am
Renaissance Hotel
1617 SE 17th Causeway
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316
Dade RSVPs, please contact Diana Powell at Diana@cabaonline.com or (786) 210-5984; Broward RSVPs, please contact Traci Lewis at traci@browardbar.org or (954) 764-8040, ext. 2. RSVPs must be received by October 14, 2011.

CABA’s Seventh Annual Art in the Tropics Pro Bono Fundraiser
Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 7:00pm
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Garden House
10901 Old Cutler Road
Coral Gables, FL 33156
RSVP to Diana Powell at (786) 210-5984 or Diana@cabaonline.com
For information, contact Isabel C. Diaz at IDiaz@broadandcassel.com, or Jennifer Perez at jeperez@bupalatinamerica.com

CABA’s Mentoring Program Fall Reception
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Northern Trust
700 Brickell Avenue
Miami, FL 33131
More information to follow

CABA’s Elections
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Regions Bank
2800 Ponce De Leon Blvd.
Coral Gables, FL 33134
More information to follow

CABA’s Installation GALA
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Fontainebleau Hotel
4441 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33140
For information, contact Diana Powell at (786) 210-5984 or Diana@cabaonline.com

III. EVENTS OF INTEREST

Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. - 45th Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony
Friday, September 16, 2011 at 6:00pm
Blue Martini
Mary Brickell Village
900 South Miami Avenue
Miami, FL 33131

Easter Seals – Walk With Me Miami
Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 7:00pm
Coral Gables City Hall
401 Biltmore Way
Coral Gables, FL 33134
RSVP to Marilyn March at (305) 547-4758, or mmarch@sfl.easterseals.com

March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction
Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 6:30pm
Westin Colonnade
180 Aragon Ave
Coral Gables, FL 33134
For information or to register, please visit: http://www.marchofdimes.com/florida/6864_28996.asp

National Association of Women Judge's 2011 Annual Conference Kickoff Reception
November 7 to 12, 2011
The Deauville Hotel
6701 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33140
RSVP to NAWJMiami@nawj.org
For questions, contact Jeff Groton at (202) 393-0222

Easter Seals South Florida Festival of Chefs
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 7:00pm
Nikki Beach
1 Ocean Drive
Miami Beach, FL 33139
For information, contact Marilyn March at (305) 547-4758, or mmarch@sfl.easterseals.com

Minority Mentoring Picnic
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Amelia Earhart Park
401 East 65th Street
Hialeah, FL 33013
More information to follow

Legal Legends Event
Saturday, November 12, 2011
For information, please contact Elizabeth Hernandez at Elizabeth.Hernandez@akerman.com

For more information on these events, please contact CABA Events Committee chairs: Maria D. Garcia: (305) 372-9044 / mgarcia@houckanderson.com or Jennifer Perez: (305) 275-1416 / jeperez@bupalatinamerica.com.

IV. MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

Please join us in congratulating Lorenzo Cobiella, who joined the Wealth Management, Probate, Estates and Trusts Administration Practice as an Associate of Fowler White Burnett, P.A., one of Florida’s oldest full-service law firms.

Mr. Cobiella came from the Law Officer of Osvaldo N. Soto, and served as a Congressional Assistant to U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in the United States House of Representatives Florida 18th District. He also served as a law clerk in the Law Office of Peter Mendez. He is an appointed Board Member of The Equal Opportunity Board of Miami-Dade County. He also serves as Founder and Director of the Spanish American League Against Discrimination - SALAD Foreclosure Clinic Pro Bono Project which lobbied before the State of Florida House of Representatives to secure funding for a legal clinic to assist at-risk homeowners. He is a member of the Cuban American Bar Association and the Florida Bar. Mr. Cobiella is a recipient of the 2006 U.S. Congressional Recognition Award.

Please also join us in congratulating Manuel L. Crespo, Jr., who was appointed Chair of the 11K Grievance Committee for the Florida Bar.

Please also join us in congratulating all of this year’s Cystic Fibrosis 40 under 40 recipients, as follows:

• Mr. Daniel Foodman, Esq.- Waserstein, Nunez & Foodman P.L.
• Mr. Rafael Perez-Pineiro, Esq.- Feldman Gale P.A.
• Mr. James A. Stepan, Esq.- Feldman Gale P.A.
• Mr.Timothy M. Ravich, Esq.- Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole & Boniske
• Ms. Ileana Espinosa Christianson, Esq.- Gray Robinson P.A.
• Ms. Kristina A. Delgado, Esq.- Fowler, White, Burnett P.A.
• Ms. Jessica R. Frank, Esq.- Fowler, White, Burnett P.A.
• Mr. Joseph Harris Rose, Esq.- Salpeter Gitkin LLP
• Mr. Russell Koonin, Esq.- Ferraro & Associates P.A.
• Mr. Gerald Greenberg, Esq.- Stearns Weaver
• Mr. Gustavo IgnacionLopez, Esq.- Discovery Networks Latin America
• Mr. Ryan Dwight O'Quinn, Esq.- O'Quinn Stumphauser P.L.
• Mr. John J. Delionado, Esq.- Hunton & Williams LLP
• Mr. Joshua P. Bratter, Esq.- Bratter Krieger LLP
• Ms. Celeste Pozo, Esq.- Hughes Hubbard & Reed, LLP
• Ms. Stephanie Carmen, Esq.- Hogen Lovells
• Mr. Alberto Jorge Delgado, Esq.- Shutts & Bowen LLP
• Mr. Frank Cruz-Alvarez, Esq.- Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
• Ms. Patricia Melville, Esq.- Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP
• Mr. Daniel S. Fridman, Esq.- Holland & Knight
• Mr. Jaret L. Davis, Esq.- Greenberg Traurig P.A.
• Mr. Steven J. Vainder, Esq.- White & Case LLP
• Mr. Jared Lopez, Esq.-nBlack, Srebnick, Kornspan, & Stumpf, P.A.
• Ms. Andrea Cox, Esq.- Arnstein & Lehr
• Ms. Gineen M. Bresso, Esq.- U.S. Election Assistance Commission
• Ms. Barbara Martinez, Esq.- U.S. Attorney's Office
• Mr. Jay Sakalo, Esq.- Bilzin Sumberg
• Ms. Loretta Briganti Todzia Lewin, Esq.- Baptist Hospital
• Mr. Carlo A. Rodriguez, Esq.- Ryder Systems, Inc.
• Ms. Jackie Hodes, Esq.- DLA Piper
• Mr. David P. Baghdassarian, Esq.- K&L Gates LLP
• Ms. Nilda Pedrosa, Esq.- FIU College of Law
• Ms. Angela C. de Cespedes Wenke, Esq.- Akerman Senterfitt
• Mr. T. Spencer Crowley III, Esq.- Akerman Senterfitt
• Ms. Marlene Alicia Fernandez-Karavetsos, Esq.- U.S. Attorney's Office
• Mr. Barnaby Lee Min, Esq.- City of Miami, Office of Zoning
• Mr Spencer Tew, Esq.- Tew Cardenas LLP
• Mr. Stephan R. Shelley, Esq.- Stephan R. Shelley PLLC
• Ms. Christine M. Humphrey, Esq.- Humphrey Mirkin, P.A.

Please check out our website for our NEW Member Spotlight and Judicial Spotlight. CABA will feature an outstanding member and Judge each month on the website.

V. CABA NEWS

Legislative Update - Please contact CABA Legislative Chairs Vivian de las Cuevas-Diaz at vcuevas@broadandcassel.com and Jorge Piedra at jpiedra@piedralaw.com for more information on legislative issues.

Mentoring Update - Please be a Mentor! Sign up to be a CABA Mentor by contacting Mentoring and Scholarship Chairs Raul Chacon or Isabel Diaz at rchacon@houckanderson.com and idiaz@broadanscassel.com

For more news, committee information, and event updates, please check-out our website at www.cabaonline.com

CABA has a LinkedIn Group - For more information, please visit: Linkedln-CABA Group

CABA has a Facebook Page - Please look up our page, Cuban-American Bar Association, and “Friend” us today!

For more inforamtion on ¿Que Pasa CABA? please contact Editors Nicole E. Mestre at nem359@aol.com and N. Sacha Reyes at reyessacha@aol.com.