Holland & Knight Partner Daniel Mateo was sworn in as the 46th president of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) on September 8, during the Annual Convention held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Mr. Mateo is a long-standing member of the HNBA. He has held numerous board-level positions with both the HNBA and its charitable arm, the HNBA "Vision in Action" (VIA) Fund, and has served as general counsel of both organizations. In addition to this HNBA service, Mr. Mateo has also been actively involved with various local, state and national bar associations since his time in law school. He has held several positions with the New Jersey State Bar Association and is a past president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey.
A partner in Holland & Knight's Miami and Philadelphia offices, Mr. Mateo has more than 30 years of experience handling complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters for clients in many industries, with a particular focus on issues facing pharmaceutical and life sciences companies. Mr. Mateo is a champion of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the firm, and currently serves as co-chair of the Philadelphia Office Diversity Committee.
"Last year, the HNBA celebrated its 50th anniversary – a major milestone for the organization and for Hispanic lawyers in general. The anniversary was a great opportunity to reflect on our organization's progress and celebrate a half century of accomplishments," said Mr. Mateo. "This year, I want to build on that progress and invite Hispanic lawyers to recognize the collective power we are gaining through our hard-fought sacrifices. I also want to find ways to harness that power to help our community, particularly its most vulnerable and at-risk members. My intention is that the HNBA will not only continue to support its members, but work to defend our community against those forces that seek to slow our progress and diminish our power."
"Dan is an exceptional leader who is admired by colleagues and clients alike," said Steven Sonberg, managing partner of Holland & Knight. "We are incredibly proud to see him ascend to the top leadership of the HNBA, an organization that has done so much to educate and advance Holland & Knight's Hispanic attorneys. We look forward to finding new ways to partner with the HNBA as we continue to pursue our shared values."
Additional Holland & Knight Leadership
Holland & Knight Partners Frances De La Guardia and Juan Alcalá were also sworn in for their second terms as regional presidents of the HNBA Board of Governors. Associate Adrianne Waddell joined the Board of Governors as a delegate to the HNBA Council of Affiliates.
Ms. De La Guardia is a partner in Holland & Knight's Miami office and will serve as HNBA regional president for Region VIII (Florida). She practices in the areas of commercial and insurance litigation, including appellate and trial support in state and federal courts.
Mr. Alcalá is a partner in Holland & Knight's Austin office and the chair of Holland & Knight's Energy and Natural Resources Industry Sector Group. He will serve as HNBA regional president for Region XII (Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma). He focuses his practice on international litigation and arbitration, with a particular emphasis on disputes involving Latin America, including matters pending in international tribunals, foreign courts and U.S. courts.
Ms. Waddell is an associate in Austin and will serve as a HNBA Council of Affiliates delegate. She focuses her practice on a wide range of matters involving energy, electric utility law, administrative law, environmental, finance, e-commerce, healthcare and commercial litigation.
The Council of Affiliates is comprised of attorneys, foreign attorneys, judges, law students and other legal professionals whose core mission is to seek to advance the interests of the Hispanic legal community, to promote engagement, identify issues and topics relevant to affiliate organizations and provide them with support.
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