Patricia Menendez-Cambo - Greenberg Traurig LLP

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monday, june 19, 2006
PROFILES IN
POWER
The 100 most influential
lawyers in America
A LAWYER LIKE DENNIS BLOCK can dream up
new ways to work deals for his corporate
clients that turn entire industries on their ear.
Richard E. Wiley has as much to say about the
telecommunications business as anyone in
private life. Theodore B. Olson advocates
before the nation’s highest courts on the most
pressing issues of the day.
Attorneys like these fit the dictionary
definition of powerbroker, and all three take
their bows as, for the first time in six years,
we offer our take on the country’s most influential
lawyers.
Talk about simpler times. When last
we tackled this project, the U.S. Supreme
Court hadn’t decided a close presidential
election in favor of the candidate who
won fewer popular votes; terrorists hadn’t
flown jet airliners into buildings in New
York City and Washington; a global
war on terror hadn’t put U.S. troops in
Afghanistan and Iraq or landed “enemy
combatants” in legal limbo in Guantánamo
Bay, Cuba; and companies weren’t facing a
new wave of scrutiny in the wake of the
record-breaking Enron Corp. and WorldCom
Inc. bankruptcies.
We reviewed piles of nominations from
readers and conducted our own research,
looking for attorneys outside the government
with the clout to make big things happen. We
were looking for lawyers who had a national
impact in their fields and beyond, especially
over the past five years—lawyers who have
the power to shape public affairs, launch
industries, shake things up and get things
done. Simply holding a high office or position
of authority was not enough, and judges and
nonpracticing lawyers were not eligible. Not
surprisingly, there were a number of repeats
from our 2000 list: They were and continue
to be influential.
Attorneys’ private or professional woes
accounted for some of our choices. Johnnie
L. Cochran Jr. succumbed to cancer; Melvyn
I. Weiss’ firm and two of his partners were
indicted for allegedly offering kickbacks to
class action plaintiffs.
We note the emergence of bright young
lawyers like Patricia Menendez-Cambo, at
39 the head of Greenberg Traurig’s international
practice, and Cindy Cohn, fighting for
the soul of the Internet through the Electronic
Frontier Foundation.
Profiles of the attorneys selected were
contributed by Roger Adler, Amanda Bronstad,
Erik Finkelstein, Peter Geier, Emily
Heller, Lindsay Fortado, Leigh Jones and
Pamela A. MacLean.
—MICHAEL MOLINE
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THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2006
Cesar L. Alvarez
59, Greenberg Traurig,
Miami, Fla.
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF executive officer
of Greenberg Traurig since 1997; helped
lead the firm from 325 lawyers in eight
offices in 1997 to 1,584 lawyers in 32
national and international offices; led firm
to form strategic alliances with Olswang,
a law firm with offices in London and
Brussels; first Hispanic managing partner
of a major firm; member of the board of
directors for Equal Justice Works; chairman
of Florida International University
College of Law; trustee for the National
Foundation for the Advancement of
the Arts; prior to becoming CEO of the
firm, practiced securities, corporate and
international law. NLJ
PROFILES IN
POWER
THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL LAWYERS IN AMERICA
Patricia Menendez-Cambo
39, Greenberg Traurig,
Miami, Fla.
CHAIRWOMAN OF her firm’s international
practice group, she helped to steer
Spanish telecommunications powerhouse
Telefonica S.A. toward two $1 billion
deals that helped to consolidate its digital
empire; was U.S. general counsel for the
company from 2000 until 2002; advises
clients throughout Latin America and
Europe; helped to organize one of the
first privatization transfers in Poland;
a first-generation Cuban-American, she
completed her undergraduate degree at 19
and her law degree at 22. NLJ
Barry Richard
64, Greenberg Traurig,
Tallahassee, Fla.
ONE OF FLORIDA’S top constitutional
lawyers, Richard specializes in complex
litigation, appellate, constitutional and
government law, mostly in federal court;
has argued 200 appellate cases and has
been general counsel to the Florida
Academy of Trial Lawyers and the Florida
Bar in cases before the Florida Supreme
Court; cemented national reputation after
representing George W. Bush in 46
lawsuits following the 2000 election and in
televised arguments before the state high
court; in 1998 served as campaign legal
counsel to Governor Jeb Bush. Corporate
clients include Anheuser-Busch Inc.,
Caesar’s Palace, Ford Motor Co. and
Lehman Brothers. NLJ
This article is reprinted with permission from the June 19, 2006 edition of the NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL. © 2006 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Further duplication
without permission is prohibited. For information, contact ALM, Reprint Department at 800-888-8300 x6111 or visit www.almreprints.com. #005-07-06-0003
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