Leyza F. Blanco

Shareholder

As of 2019, Leyza F. Blanco is Board Certified in International Litigation and Arbitration by the Florida Bar.

Leyza F. Blanco

Shareholder

Education

• University of Miami School of Law, J.D. (magna cum laude, 1996)
  • Inter-American Law Review, Articles and Comments Editor
  • Order of the Coif
• University of Miami College of Arts & Sciences, B.A. (1992)

Admissions

• Florida, 1997
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 1999
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida, 1997
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, 1997
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1997
• U.S. District of Court, Colorado, 2020

Professional Associations & Memberships

• The Florida Bar Business Law Section, Chair-Elect, 2019
• International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, Chair
• Bankruptcy Bar Association of the Southern District of Florida, Past President, 2006-2007
• Florida Supreme Court Certified Civil Mediator
• American Bankruptcy Institute, Asset Sales Committee, Co-Chair of Education
• Dade County Bar Association, Member
• American Bar Association, Member
• Hispanic National Bar Association, Member
• Cuban American Bar Association, Member
• Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Fellow, 2014
• International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
• University of Miami Law Alumni Association
  • Board of Directors, 2014-2016
  • Dean’s Circle Committee
• Leadership Florida, Class XXXII

Leyza F. Blanco

Shareholder

Honors / Achievements

Leyza has received myriad recognitions throughout her career, including:

• AV Preeminent™ rated by Martindale-Hubbell 
• Chambers USA, Bankruptcy/Restructuring & Bankruptcy Litigation, 2011-2020
• 2019 IWIRC Melnik Award for Exceptional Contributions by an IWIRC Member
• 2018 Hall of Fame, IWIRC Florida Network Excellence Award
• The Florida Bar Business Law Section, Outstanding Member of the Year, 2014
• 2020 Lawdragon: 500 Leading Global Restructuring & Insolvency Lawyers
• 2021 Best Lawyers in America in Insolvency & Restructuring and Commercial Litigation
• South Florida Legal Guide, “Top Lawyers,” 2009-2020, and “Up and Comer”, 2004-2008
• Florida Super Lawyers, 2010-2020, and “Rising Star,” 2009
• Top 50 Women Florida Super Lawyers, 2013-2020
• Top 100 Florida Super Lawyers, 2013-2020
• Florida Trend, Legal Elite, 2008-2020, and “Up and Comer”, 2007
• Cuban American Bar Association, Member of the Year, 2013
• South Florida Business Journal, Key Partner Award, 2012
• Business Leader magazine, Women Extraordinaire Award, 2011
• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Outstanding Lawyers of Miami-Dade County, “40 Under 40,” 2010

Leyza F. Blanco

Shareholder

Publications

• Co-Author, “Euromepa and Gorsoan, oh my! The evolving standard to obtain §1782 assistance in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and beyond” – Global Restructuring Review Asset Recovery Column, October 2020
• Co-Author, “The UN’s Latest Assist to International Insolvency Practitioners,” Global Restructuring Review Asset Recovery Column, August, 2020
• Co-Author, “COVID-19 and Cross-Border Insolvencies” – Daily Business Review, April 17, 2020
• Co-Author, “The UN’s Latest Assist to International Insolvency Practitioners” – Global Restructuring Review Asset Recovery Column, April 2020
• Co-Author, “Emerging Minority View on Delivery of Subpoenas Under FRCP 45” – Global Restructuring Review Asset Recovery Column, March 2020
• Co-Author, “The Mechanics of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolvency” – Global Restructuring Review Asset Recovery Column, November 2019
• Co-Author, “Globalization Catches up to U.S. Insolvency Courts” – Global Restructuring Review Asset Recovery Column, August 2019
• Co-Author, “Florida Leads the Way of Chapter 15 Jurisprudence” – Knect 365 Asset Recovery Magazine, July 2019
• Recognition of an Individual Debtor’s Insolvency Proceeding – Beware of the Perils, Global Restructuring Review Asset Recovery Column, March 6, 2019
• Co-Author, “Liquidating Liquor License in Bankruptcy.” Asset Sales Committee Newsletter November 2017
• “The Power of Women Working Together,” The Woman Advocate, American Bar Association, June 12, 2015
• “Challenging Aspects and Issues of Cross Border Chapter 15 Filings,” Chapter 15 Bankruptcy Strategies, Thomson Reuters/Aspatore, 2012
• “Women Take the Lead and Lean In,” guest commentary, Daily Business Review, August 21, 2013
• Co-Author, International Insolvency Proceedings and Emerging Trends Under Chapter 15 Under the United States Bankruptcy Code,” The Florida Bar Business Law Journal, Case Law Update 2011

Presentations

• US Bankruptcy – Chapter 15, Comparative Law Program, Brazil, November 17, 2020
• Segunda Oportunidad en los Concursos, Instituto Iberoamericano Conference, October 21, 2020
• When in Rome: A Comparative Look at Fiduciaries Around the Globe, IWIRC Insolvency 2020, October 14, 2020
• Navigating the Islands and Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, FIRE Americas and Offshore Event, September 22,2020
• Cross Border Disputes Panel, Virtual World Litigation Forum, Virtual, September 9, 2020
• Cross Border Insolvency; Mechanisms of Cooperation, IWIRC Brazil Second Annual Conference, Rio de Janeiro, March 12-13, 2020
• Tracing Assets Arising Out of Contentious Cross Border Insolvencies, C5, March 5-6, 2020
• Insolvency—Pandora’s Box, or A Key Litigation Advantage, Asset Recovery America, New York, September 18-20, 2019
• International Perspectives on Asset Recovery, IWIRC Brazil and Tribunal de Justiça do Estado de Minas Gerais, June 6, 2019
• Conferencia Sobre Soborne Internacional, Investigación Financiera, Insolvencia y Herramientas Para Recuperación de Activos, Superintendencia de Sociedades, Bogotá, Colombia, May 8, 2019
• When the Money is Gone, Asset Recovery Americas, Knect365 LatAm Conference, Brazil, June 4, 2019
• Chapter 15 and Cross-Border Insolvency, IBAJUD Conference, Brazil, April 29, 2019
• Recognizing Foreign Proceedings and Enforcing Against Assets, Asset Recovery International, Knect 365 Conference, Ireland, March 2, 2019
• What Lawyers and FA’s Must Know to Represent Secured Creditors Successfully, American Bankruptcy Institute, Annual Spring Meeting, April 22, 2017
• Cross-Border Insolvencies and Chapter 15 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, Hispanic National Bar Association Corporate Counsel Conference, March 31, 2017
• Jevic’s Potential Effects on Asset Sales & Plan Confirmation, American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) Webinar, August 18, 2016
• Whatever Happened to Pre-Packs/Structured Dismissal? Staying Out of Bankruptcy Court: How to Negotiate a Workout Agreement; Pros and Cons of ABC’s and In & Out Quick, 40th Annual Alexander L. Paskay Memorial Bankruptcy Seminar, March 31-April 2, 2016
• State of Diversity in the Legal Profession, 5th Annual Bench & Bar Conference, Dade County Bar Association (DCBA), February 26, 2016
• The Intersection of Cross-Border Insolvency Proceedings, Receiverships and U.S. Bankruptcy Proceedings, 2016 Caribbean Insolvency Symposium, American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), February 4-6, 2016
• Vaccinations! Helping Clients Enhance Rights and Minimize Risk During the Bankruptcy Lull, 89th Annual Meeting, National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges’ (NCBJ) Commercial Law League of America (CLLA), August 5, 2015
• Receiverships and Bankruptcy: Between Scylla and Charybdis, 20th Annual Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop, American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), July 2015
• Getting Paid: Alternative Fee Structures, 2015 DCBA Bench & Bar Conference, February 20, 2015
• Receivership Basics, Professional Fiduciary: Responsibilities and Duties, The Florida Bar Business Law section, May 2, 2014
• Chapter 15 Update, Caribbean Insolvency Symposium, American Bankruptcy Institute, February 2014
• Overcoming Gender Bias: Getting into the Courtroom and Succeeding There, Florida Association of Women Lawyers, October 2013

Leyza F. Blanco

Shareholder

Representative Experience

• U.S. counsel to various court-appointed fiduciaries named in various jurisdictions throughout the Caribbean, United Kingdom and Brazil.
• Counsel to Arbitration Award Plaintiff seeking to confirm and enforce multi-million dollar international arbitration award.
• Counsel to institutional lenders in bankruptcy cases, assignment for the benefit of creditors and in pending foreclosure cases of commercial property and undeveloped land.

Reported Cases

• In re Viacao Itapemirim, S.A. 608 B.R. 268 (Bankr. S.D. Fla 2019)
• In re Viacao Itapemirim, S.A. 607 B.R. 761 (Bankr. S.D. Fla 2019)
• In re Quantum Foods, LLC, 558 B.R. 111 (Bankr. D. Del 2016)
• In re: British American Insurance Co. Ltd., 425 B.R. 884 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2010)
• In re: British American Isle of Venice (BVI) Ltd., 441 B.R. 713 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2010)
• Bombart v. The Family Center at Sunrise, LLC, 520 B.R. 300 (S.D. Fla 2014)
• In re: Jaffe, 235 BR. 490 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 1999)

Leyza F. Blanco

Shareholder