Latin America and the Caribbean

The Leisure and Resorts Group has a long history of counseling domestic and foreign clients regarding their business interests throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. We regularly represent U.S. clients doing business and investing in other countries and foreign clients doing business and investing in the U.S.

As the global business environment expands, it becomes increasingly important for investors, developers and lenders to have legal counsel who can uncover the network of issues that will lead to a project's success. The Leisure and Resorts Group's principals provide clients with an aptitude for counseling, structuring and negotiating that has been gained from decades of experience handling sophisticated leisure and resort developments worldwide. We combine this background with a unique sensibility of the cultural and political factors involved when working in international arenas. We have worked extensively with local counsel throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and have developed excellent relationships and contacts with high quality firms. On behalf of our clients, we often evaluate and assist in hiring outside consultants who bring a specific expertise to the team. In short, we understand what it takes to provide the guidance clients need to meet their business goals.

The Group also works extensively with foreign governments and quasi-governmental bodies on issues relating to public/private partnerships, tourism development and the privatization and disposal of government enterprises including hotels, resorts, and convention centers.

Our experience in Latin America and the Caribbean includes the following representative matters:

• We have represenedt the Government of Puerto Rico with respect to the privatization of numerous hotels and a convention center. We handled the development of financing structures as well as tax and other incentive programs to expedite privatization and stimulate the development of new resorts. We also assisted the government in preparing legislation on matters relating to tourism development districts, tax incentives for resort development, interval ownership and gaming.

• We have represented the Government of Panama in their efforts to develop the Fort Amador area as a major tourism destination. Our representation involved handling zoning and land use controls, ground leases, concession agreements for hovercraft, cruise ship and monorail development. .
• We have represented several multilateral funding agencies including the World Bank and Interamerican Development Bank relating to finance issues for major development throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Curasol Resort, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles-We were engaged to structure a Resort Community Association Plan and Club Membership Plan for a mixed-use resort with hotel, golf, club, and a wide range of residential products.
• Hyatt Dorado Beach/Hyatt Cerromar, Dorado, Puerto Rico-We were engaged by an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels to analyze, restructure, document and assist in the implementation of new club membership programs at two major resort/residential properties.
• The Bahama Club, Exuma Bahamas-We were engaged by developers of a resort/residential project in Exuma to prepare a Private Placement Memorandum to raise initial funds from investors, handle land sales registrations and to structure community association and club membership programs.
• Carambola Resort, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands-We represented a multiple lender syndicate in connection with a real estate foreclosure and disposition of a resort/hotel project.

The Leisure and Resorts Group continues its commitment to assisting clients with all issues specific to this evolving and promising region.  Principals in the Group are involved in U.S.-based Latin American Chambers of Commerce, Caribbean/ Latin American Action and other groups focused on business development and political topics particular to the region.

The Group's principals speak several languages in addition to English, including Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French, and are regularly called upon to draft, review and negotiate sophisticated transactions in these languages. In addition, members of the Group are licensed to practice law in jurisdictions including Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina and Puerto Rico.