Damaso W. Saavedra, Esq.

Senior Managing Counsel

Mr. Saavedra is the founding member of a 20-member law firm of Saavedra │ Goodwin, which he established in 1988. Born in Havana, Cuba, Mr. Saavedra is fluent in English and Spanish. He received his B.A. in 1979 from the University of Connecticut and his J.D. in 1986 from the George Washington National Law Center. Mr. Saavedra has served as Secretary and Director for the Inter-American Businessmen Association and co-authored “An Introduction to the Settlement of Unresolved Property Claims against the Cuban Government.” Mr. Saavedra also served as Staff Assistant for Congressman William Lehman in Washington, DC.

Admitted to the Bars of Florida, Connecticut and Washington DC, Mr. Saavedra has earned the distinction of an AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale Hubbell for over the last 10 years and has been acknowledged as a “Top Dealmaker” by the Daily Business Review. His law firm, Saavedra │ Goodwin, is also an AV-rated law firm.

Mr. Saavedra specializes in all aspects of corporate, land-use and commercial transactions, including general aviation, mergers & acquisitions, complex commercial transactions, land development, property and casualty claims, and business transactions including transactions associated with the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and Costa Rica.

Mr. Saavedra advises his clients on business formation (corporation, LLC, LLP and partnership), equity/capital placement, as well as debt finance and strategic real estate opportunities, distressed debt investments and additionally transactions involving domestic representation of international clients.

Mr. Saavedra represents entrepreneurs, developers, sellers, purchasers and lenders in corporate and real estate, investment and aviation acquisitions, asset business purchases, land-development transactions complex commercial refinancings, long-term leasehold and sub-leasehold financings, and distressed debt acquisitions, including all the aviation business sphere transactions-aggregating to approximately $5-6 Billion to date. During his career, Mr. Saavedra has represented sellers, purchasers and lenders in approximately $3.2 billion dollars in cumulative corporate acquisitions and real estate transactions. Mr. Saavedra recently represented a corporate conglomerate as lead counsel in approximately $450 million dollars’ worth of refinancings, new construction loans, and tax-exempt bond transactions and construction at locations throughout Florida, New York and Georgia.

Mr. Saavedra serves as corporate and transactional counsel to individual and corporate clients, including U.S. based European, Canadian, Caribbean, Central and South American Clients related to transactions in the United States and offshore.

Mr. Saavedra's recommendations are available upon request.

Significant Client Relationships:

• Sheltair Aviation, one of Florida's largest fixed base operators with over 21 airport locations across Florida, Georgia and New York
• Homeowners, Condominium Associations and Commercial Property owners throughout the state of Florida
• Former national political figures from Costa Rica, Switzerland and Ecuador
• Citicorp Latino, Citicorp Global, N.A., and other publically traded financial institutions