Practice & Industry Groups
Overview
Carlos Canino counsels public and private companies on a variety of complex legal issues and has represented businesses in litigation matters at the trial and appellate level. He has extensive experience managing and resolving multi-party business disputes involving cross-disciplinary teams of lawyers and experts. His litigation experience includes commercial contract and real estate disputes, business torts, securities, creditors’ rights matters, joint venture disputes, appraisal rights litigation, commercial landlord-tenant relations, construction, trade secret litigation, antitrust litigation, aviation matters, and Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act litigation.
Carlos is a founding member of the firm’s LATAM & International practice group and has advised clients from Latin America regarding U.S. matters, and guided U.S. clients in cross-border matters involving Latin America through local counsel in the region.
Prior to his legal career, he was an Army Captain and held a range of leadership positions across a wide array of aviation units located in the U.S. and Korea.
Notable Experience
- Represented a publicly traded financial institution as Florida counsel with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, against federal securities and other claims arising from the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. The district court granted a motion to dismiss with prejudice, in a decision that clarifies the limited scope of financial institutions’ liability for frauds perpetrated by customers. The Eleventh Circuit has affirmed the dismissal.
- Counsel to aviation components brokerage company and principal in defending breach of fiduciary duty claims brought by Brazilian judgment creditors of clients’ former business associate in proceedings supplementary action. Obtained dismissal of all claims on motion to dismiss.
- Member of defense trial team for a globally recognized provider of furnishings and related technologies and services in which a jury in federal district court returned a complete defense verdict. The plaintiff sought to recover $17 million in damages for breach of contract.
- Obtained plaintiff’s verdict on behalf of a U.S. air carrier in a state court breach of contract trial against an aviation maintenance facility and successfully defended counterclaim.
- Trial co-counsel for a publicly-traded, real estate development company in a multimillion-dollar, dissenting shareholder appraisal rights state court trial involving competing expert fair valuations.
- Trial counsel for a multifamily property developer in a state court trial of competing claims over commercial real estate on Miami Beach.
- Obtained a $19 million summary final judgment in federal court on a guaranty in favor of a national bank, leading to resolution of a pending fraudulent conveyance trial.
- Defended a $9 million foreclosure lawsuit by a commercial lender against an office condominium developer and negotiated a favorable settlement of the dispute.
- Outside counsel to one of the largest food product distributors in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean, supplying independent and chain supermarkets, processors and manufacturers, and restaurants from more than 22 distribution centers nationwide.
LATAM Representative Experience:
- Safeguarded the financial and reputational interests of the Republic of Honduras by defeating an $11 million breach of contract lawsuit in U.S. federal court and prevailing on appeal to the Eleventh Circuit based on the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
- Achieved a favorable settlement for a Colombian technology products company of a dispute in U.S. federal court over the purchase of Chinese computer products from an Argentinean supplier.
- Represented a U. S. lumber exporter in Florida state court litigation and favorable settlement of a multimillion-dollar joint venture dispute involving the Caribbean lumber trade.
- Obtained dismissal in U.S. federal district court of Honduran land owners’ lawsuit against the Republic of Honduras over mineral rights.
- Co-counsel in favorable settlement for a Singapore-based multinational company with fishing operations in Peru of a multimillion-dollar shareholder dispute in U.S. federal court involving parties in Spain, Singapore, and Norway.
Credentials
Education
- J.D., Florida State University College of Law, 2001
- M.B.A., Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, 2009
- B.S., United States Military Academy, 1991
Admissions
- Florida
- United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- The Supreme Court of the United States
Languages
- Spanish
Professional & Community Involvement
- West Point Society of Miami, President
- Dream in Green, Inc.,
- Co-Founder
- Alumni Advisory Committee
- Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Alumni Council, Past Council Member
- Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc.,
- Past President
- Past Vice-President
- Board of Directors
- Leadership Miami, 2005
Recognition
- South Florida Legal Guide, Top Lawyers in South Florida – Litigation, 2017-2021; Top Up and Comers- Litigation, 2015-2016
- The Legal 500, Latin America (City Focus: Miami), Recognized Practitioner, 2019
- Legal Services of Greater Miami, 50 Voices Honoree, 2015
- Florida Trend’s “Florida Legal Elite,” 2011, “Up and Coming,” 2008
- Florida Super Lawyers, “Rising Star”, 2009