Tech-focused law firm Actuate hires ex-Miami mayor for new office

Miami’s cityscape and a port are reflected in the sunroof of a car in Miami, Florida, U.S. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

(Reuters) – Actuate Law, a small technology-focused law firm, said Monday it has hired Xavier Suarez, former Miami mayor and Miami-Dade County commissioner.

Suarez joins Actuate as senior counsel in Miami, where the law firm will officially open its first office outside of Chicago later this summer, said managing partner Dara Tarkowski.

The firm has had lawyers in South Florida working remotely since 2019.

Several law firms have built out their ranks in Miami, a city that’s attracted finance and tech companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. King & Spalding and Armstrong Teasdale launched offices in Miami this year.

Tarkowski was one of five partners to start Actuate in January 2018 as part of a group of lawyers who formerly worked at large law firms Akerman and Katten Muchin Rosenman. The firm is focused on emerging markets and technology, and works with companies and entrepreneurs, she said.

Suarez’s experience with science and tech companies will further the firm’s work with Miami’s growing startup scene, Tarkowski said.

Suarez served three full terms as mayor beginning with his initial 1985 election to the post.

He joined Greenspoon Marder as of counsel last year, the same week his son, current Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, left that firm to join Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan as part of its Miami office launch.

Xavier Suarez, who is also trained as an engineer, said in an emailed statement that he has been looking for a firm where he can make use of his quantitative background in litigation. He said he was interested in a firm that understands “the emerging world of data storage, processing, transmission and security.”

Greenspoon Marder did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Suarez’s departure.

Actuate works in practice areas such as financial technology and financial services, data privacy, commercial litigation and e-discovery. The firm also has a technology subsidiary, Quointec, that builds automated compliance tools.

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