Ricardo H. "Rick" Puente

Rick Puente is a Board Certified International Litigation and Arbitration lawyer focused on leading cross-border trial and arbitration teams in high-stakes cases. Rick has litigated and tried complex commercial and investment cases before courts and international arbitration tribunals involving issues of fraud, money laundering, financial products, shareholder disputes, and treaty claims tied to the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

Rick's notable cases include: successfully defending a major airline in federal court cases involving economic claims under the Helms-Burton Act related to the Havana International Airport and hotels in Varadero, Cuba; representing an oil company in U.S./LatAm fraud proceedings; representing a Chilean national in asset recovery relating to an international Ponzi scheme; advising a Canadian company in relation to a $4.1 billion Chilean mining dispute; securing a favorable settlement for an investment bank in a $60 million securities arbitration; representing a philanthropist in a Hague Convention federal trial and civil RICO lawsuit and in a $500 million ICC arbitration seated in New York involving a multibillion dollar company; and representing a Latin American lawyer and businessman whose funds were frozen by the United States government (secured return of millions of dollars).

Rick has lectured and moderated on international arbitration and litigation topics at universities and in conferences in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. He served as chairman of a Florida Bar Judicial Grievance Committee (2011), is a member of the board of directors of the Miami International Arbitration Society, and serves as president of CEA Florida (Club Español del Arbitraje).