26 April 2011
The attorney who served as general counsel to thenFlorida Gov. Jeb Bush has joined McDonald Hopkins LLC, a business advisory and advocacy law firm, and is opening its first office in Miami.
Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez, most recently a partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, will manage the new office at Southeast Financial Center at 200 South Biscayne Blvd.in downtown Miami. She also will serve on the board of directors for the Cleveland-based firm that has an 80-year history.
As general counsel to then-Gov. Bush, Rodriguez worked on one of the largest economic development projects in Florida history: a $310 million economic incentive grant to The Scripps Research Institute. She also represented the state in incentive grants to The Burnham Medical Research Institute, the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, and the Stanford Research Institute, the law firm said in a statement.
Jeb Bush continues to be among Rodriguez’s principal clients, the firm said.
Rodriguez has more than 25 years experience in law, starting out in 1985 with Greenberg Traurig LLP. She has represented Fortune 100 clients, closely held companies, foreign governments, family businesses, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs. Fluent in Spanish, she has worked with Latin America during most of her career, in many cases helping U.S. companies with international disputes and business challenges.
A graduate of the University of Miami, Rodriguez earned her bachelor's in arts in 1982 and her law degree in 1985. In law school, she was class valedictorian and a member of the Law Review.
More recently, she has served as executive director of the London-based MULTILAW Multinational Association of Independent Law Firms. She also is a founding board member of the Florida-Israel Business Forum, founding member of the Miami International Arbitration Society, executive committee member of the Florida Bar Section of International Law and Legislative Committee member of BioFlorida.
For more information on McDonald Hopkins law firm, visit www.mcdonaldhopkins.com.