maria elena PRIO, JD ’81 When Maria Elena Prío, JD ‘81, and her family moved to Miami from Cuba in 1952, they did not expect to stay. Her father, Carlos Prío Socarrás, was the last democratically elected president of Cuba and was exiled in a military coup led by Fulgencio Batista. When Batista was overthrown, Prío’s family returned to the island but stayed for less than two years. The dictatorship of Fidel Castro forced them to return to Miami for a second exile, and they have lived there ever since.
After 30 years of a distinguished career with the Department of Justice and Administration Office of the Courts,
BARBARA (BADGETT) PAPADEMETRIOU retired as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Asset Forfeiture Division, Miami, Florida. LANCE A. HARKE of Harke & Clasby in Miami has been reappointed as a director of Legal Services of Greater Miami.
1991 ZOLTAN PINTER recently joined the personal injury law firm Leighton Law, P.A.
GRANT J. SMITH has been named assistant managing shareholder of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler in Fort Lauderdale.
SPENCER M. ARONFELD hosted a fundraiser for Haiti through his Prío’s family instilled in her a love for politics and law, but her first career was in television. After graduating with a political science degree from Duke University, Prío worked for a television station projecting elections. She stayed in the industry for nearly ten years as a reporter and then a producer. Her focus was public affairs, but it was her interest in national and international affairs that led her to law school. She finished law school in two and a half years and loved every minute of it. “I could have stayed in law school three or four more years,” she admitted. The challenges were exciting, and the professors were outstanding. Prío recalls studying Elements of the Law with the late professor John Gaubatz. “I was hooked,” she said. “It was a wonderful course, and he was wonderful teaching it.” Professor Clifford Alloway’s Constitutional Law course was also memorable. “You had to be on your toes,” Prio recalled. “If you weren’t prepared, you paid the price.” She credits the late Professor Alan Swan and his international business transactions class with sparking her interest in international law. After graduation, Prío worked in banking and international corporate transactions. She spent a number of years at firms but went in-house for the Internet firm Yupi International. Two days before the company was supposed to go public, the market crashed. “The bottom fell out,” she remembered. Microsoft acquired them, and Prío remained outside general counsel before going to Warner Channel television network where she is currently vice president and general counsel. Owned by Warner Brothers, Warner Channel is a cable network transmitted throughout Latin America. “I’ve come full circle,” she laughed. “Now I’m practicing law at a television network.” Prío enjoys the dynamic and fast-paced environment of the television industry. Her work includes copyright and music rights, designs and logos, licensing, foreign tax structuring, labor and regulatory work. In the industry, Prío pointed out, things have to be done quickly and well. “You can’t theorize all the time,” she said. “You’ve got to get it done for the business.” Prío’s work may keep her busy, but she still makes time for causes that are important to her. She is a board member of CINTAS Foundation, an organization that provides grants to Cuban artists. She is involved with animal rights groups and has nurtured her passion for politics by volunteering for a number of presidential campaigns. She is obviously very content. “I’ve loved my professional life from beginning to the present,” she said.
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nonprofit “Lawyers to the Rescue.”
DARIN I. ZENOV has been elected to partnership with Foley & Lardner LLP.
1992 JAMES D. GASSENHEIMER was named to the Litigation Council of America, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society. JOHN M. QUARANTA joined Damian & Valori LLP as an associate. OTIS WRAGG has been named secretary and a member of the executive committee of the Council of Public Relations. YVETTE OSTOLAZA, a commercial litigation partner in the Dallas office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, has been selected by the Dallas Women Lawyers Association (DWLA) as the 2009 Louise B. Raggio Award recipient. JEFFREY S. BERLOWITZ has joined Siegfried, Rivera, Lerner, De La Torre & Sobel as of counsel for construction and community association work.
1993 PAUL A. CALLI was selected as one of this year's "Winning" trial attorneys by The National Law Journal. HARVEY HYMAN was released from active duty with the United States Coast Guard after serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom for four years. He will be pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of South Florida this fall. JULIE BRAMAN KANE was named president of the Miami-Dade chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers. She also received the Alumni Leadership Award from the University of Miami Law Alumni Association. DIANNE O. FISCHER has joined Akerman Senterfitt in Fort Lauderdale as a partner of the firm.
1994 PETER F. VALORI was recognized as a Florida Super Lawyer in the area of business litigation.