Movers & Shakers: Real estate law practices bulk up

The past month has been busy for South Florida real estate hiring, with no slowdown in sight.

Among the latest moves, two real estate legal practices in Miami added partners to their ranks, Forman Capital relaunched and Brown Harris Stevens brought in more agents.

Boutique real estate legal firm Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes promoted Maritza Haro Salgado to partner, according to a press release. Salgado has been with the Miami-based firm since 2016. Her expertise is in land use and zoning in Miami-Dade County.

Salgado works with developers and landowners to secure project approvals from local governments.

The firm also announced it hired two associates, Alejandro Moreno and Gray Crow. Moreno specializes in land use, zoning and environmental law litigation. Crow’s practice focuses on project approvals and regulatory compliance in Miami-Dade County, according to a release. Prior to joining the firm, Crow worked for the city of Miami Beach as assistant city attorney.

Holland & Knight also added a partner to its real estate law practice in Miami, the firm announced in a press release.

The Tampa-based firm has 32 offices globally, and brought in former Coral Gables City Attorney Miriam Soler Ramos as a partner in its real estate and land use practices in Miami.

Soler Ramos spent five years as Coral Gables’ city attorney, and previously held the role of deputy general counsel for the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics, according to her LinkedIn.

Brett Forman and Ben Jacobson are relaunching their lending firm, Forman Capital, in Boynton Beach. Forman first started Forman Capital in 2004, but spent the last six years working with Trez Capital, a Vancouver-based real estate lender.

Trez Capital recently closed the Palm Beach County office that Forman and Jacobson led, and moved its South Florida operations to Miami, according to a press release.

Forman and Jacobson have closed a combined $2.6 billion in loans since 2004, according to Forman Capital’s announcement. The firm will focus on construction loans and mezzanine financing, the release says.

Brown Harris Stevens is on a recruiting rampage. The brokerage added two more agents to its Miami Beach offices, on top of eight new brokers brought in last month.

Katrina Rosendary and Marina Elliot are the latest additions. Rosendary is returning from a hiatus while filming an undisclosed real estate reality show, and Elliot made the jump after spending three years at Compass.

The Design Center of the Americas in Dania Beach announced it has a new director of marketing, Federico Diaz. In his new role, Diaz will oversee marketing for DCOTA’s 40 showrooms and its branded hotel, Le Méridien Dania Beach.