Dennis A. Gonzalez
Associate
Overview
Dennis A. González is a Miami attorney in Holland & Knight's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice. Mr. González is experienced in matters involving digital assets, complex commercial litigation, and startup and emerging company transactions. With respect to litigation, Mr. González's practice focuses on matters relating to cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies, representing corporate clients and court-appointed receivers. He has also represented several early-stage companies in co-founder equity deals, convertible debt financing and celebrity endorsement contracts.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. González served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edwin G. Torres in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He also worked as a law clerk for a national power plant and renewable energy construction company, gaining valuable knowledge in elaborate energy, telecommunications, and fiber optic infrastructure and development.
Outside the practice of law, Mr. González worked as an asset management associate with a New York commercial real estate firm. He focused on creating innovative solutions for underutilized space throughout the firm's properties.
In addition, Mr. González has personal experience in intellectual property centered around his patent, which was awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in early 2017. This success encouraged Mr. González to develop a prototype, and later, spearhead licensing negotiations with international hardware manufactures and major Hollywood studios.
Representative Experience
- Represented the receiver of companies in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action involving $21 million raised via a fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO); managed a first-of-its-kind blockchain verification system for the victim's claims, calculated the victim's losses utilizing both on- and off-chain transaction data, drafted and obtained court approval for a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency distribution plan, and executed a global distribution returning more than 91 percent of the investor's losses and 100 percent of the creditor's claims in the total amount of nearly $5 million
- Counsel to a cryptocurrency exchange in the recovery of stolen funds, achieving affirmation of service via non-fungible token (NFT) as an acceptable means of service of process
- Represented the distribution agent of an SEC Fair Fund resulting from the disgorgement of nearly $10 million in assets from an ICO securities fraud, resulting in the return of more than 100 percent of investors' contributions
- Counsel to the liquidators of an international cryptocurrency hedge fund, conducting worldwide discovery and the recovery of assets for creditors
- Represented the foreign liquidators of an offshore digital asset exchange in filing for Chapter 15 recognition of the foreign proceeding
- Counsel to a special committee of a private equity fund performing an internal investigation of accounting procedures and asset reporting
- Counsel to a hospitality group defending against a shareholder derivative suit involving claims for aiding and abetting trademark infringement and breaches of fiduciary duty, and obtaining a favorable settlement on all claims
- Counsel to real property purchasers alleging breach of contract with respect to an eight-figure real estate transaction whereby the sellers refused to deliver a marketable title, attempted to avoid their contractual obligations due to a complex network of trust structures and probate technicalities, and ultimately resolved the dispute via settlement
- Advising a garnishee in a multiparty global settlement with respect to several final judgments
- Counsel to a yacht owner with respect to unauthorized use of his vessel by a former employee
- Counsel to a South American individual who fell victim to a foreign hacker's email intrusion and resulting theft of several hundred thousand dollars premised on fraudulent investments communicated by the imposters
- Defending a real estate title agency involved in a real property dispute where foreign hackers intercepted email communications and wrongfully redirected the purchase proceeds
- Counsel to an international bank's board of directors involved in a shareholder derivative action involving complex issues of foreign law, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) regulatory issues
- Researched and drafted legal memorandum for a city clerk's office regarding appropriate noticing procedures for tax deed sales
- Counsel to a popular Miami restaurant group assisting with limiting the scope of video surveillance production in response to a third-party government subpoena
- Represented an international cruise line in a dispute involving an alleged breach of contract by one of its group booking customers
- Counsel to a medical practice requesting advice on Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance
- Advising an emerging beverage company in an endorsement agreement with Kate Upton to become a brand ambassador and co-owner of the business
- Counsel to an early-stage startup, negotiating and securing a six-figure convertible note over the course of less than one week
- Counsel to a prospective co-founder of a technology company leveraging artificial intelligence, requiring both review and negotiations of intellectual property assignments and equity compensation
- Counsel to a major credit card company requesting research across the 50 U.S. states relating to a potential business acquisition that provided concierge and lifestyle services
- Advising a mobile homeowner who had her ownership interest wrongfully removed by her ex-partner, including defending the client in her ex-partner's eviction suit and successfully restoring her original certificate of title
- Advising a Cuban father with a humanitarian visa allowing him to come to the United States and comfort his daughters who recently lost their mother
- Advising a human rights foundation with respect to potential human rights violations relating to Cuba's export of doctors and other medical professionals to Central and South American countries during the COVID-19 pandemic
Credentials
- University of Miami School of Law, J.D., cum laude
- University of Miami, B.B.A., Finance; Minor in Spanish and International Business, magna cum laude
- Florida
- Business Law Review, University of Miami School of Law
- CALI Excellence for the Future Award, Space Law, University of Miami School of Law
- CALI Excellence for the Future Award, Intro to the Deal, University of Miami School of Law
- English
- Spanish