Vedder Price is pleased to announce the addition of veteran trial attorney Javier (Javy) Lopez as a Shareholder in the firm’s Miami office.

Lopez brings to Vedder Price more than 20 years of experience, where he will join the firm’s Litigation practice and growing Miami office. He will focus on complex commercial and class action litigation cases in matters pertaining to fraud, breaches of contract and fiduciary duty, real estate disputes, construction, defamation and first amendment, business torts, professional liability defense and bankruptcy.

“Javier has outstanding experience as a highly skilled litigator and trial lawyer, adding him to our expanding Miami office will make him a terrific asset to continue meeting the evolving needs of our clients,” said Tom Cimino, Shareholder and Chair for the Litigation practice area. “He is well known and recognized as a trusted leader and collaborator within the Miami legal community and we are happy to welcome him to the Vedder Price litigation team.”

Lopez holds extensive experience in both U.S. federal and state courts and has represented many high-profile corporations and individuals in contract and business disputes, commercial transactions and intellectual property matters. In 2021-22 he also played a key role when appointed as co-lead counsel to the economic loss and property damage track in the Champlain Towers building collapse litigation. He also secured the highest jury verdict in Florida in 2022 for over $36 million in a six-week jury trial in Miami-Dade County regarding a complex commercial, business, and first amendment lawsuit. 

As an active member within the Miami business and legal community, Lopez is a Miami Art Studio (MAS) advisory board member. He was also elected to the Cuban American Bar Association’s board of directors in 2009, and served as its president in 2017. During the span of his career, he has received recognition as a Golden Angel for his support of the Jackson Memorial Foundation through JUNTOS, the philanthropic foundation he co-founded. Since 2005, he has also been a member of the Harvard Alumni Association’s interviewing committee. 

Prior to joining Vedder Price, Lopez was a managing partner and chair of the complex, civil and commercial litigation practice at Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton. Earlier in his career, he also spent time as a legal clerk in the White House Counsel’s Office where he was involved in the vetting process for the replacement of then Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

Lopez earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his juris doctor from the George Washington University Law School.