Miami, Fla. – Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman announced that Jose L. Arango, Melanie Brill, Matthew Ramenda, Anne Reilly and Jane Tompkins have joined the firm. The addition of these professionals further augments the firm’s strength in government, litigation, real estate and planning.
Jose Arango, who joins as an associate in the Miami-Dade office, is part of the Local Government Division where he focusses on code enforcement and general government law. Prior to joining the firm, he served as an Assistant City Attorney with the City of Miami where he worked in the divisions of General Government, Land Use and Transactional and General Litigation. Arango also served as counsel for the Emergency Operations Center for the City of Miami. Arango earned his J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law.
Melanie Brill joins the firm as Of Counsel in the Broward office, and practices in the areas of commercial real estate, corporate law and transactional matters. She has extensive experience in the area of shopping center law and leasing. She represents real estate developers, private equity firms, lending institutions and public companies in the acquisition, financing, development leasing and sale of commercial real estate. Prior to joining the firm, Brill served as counsel for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, concentrating on leasing and sale transactions for the City’s industrial, commercial and maritime real estate portfolio. She earned her J.D. from Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.
Matthew Ramenda also Of Counsel in the Broward office, is a civil litigator with experience representing private clients and municipalities in state and federal courts in the areas of complex commercial litigation, securities law, employment law and business torts. On the public side, he has represented the Town of Palm Beach, the Town of Jupiter Island, the town of Jupiter and the Town of Lake Park. He is an elected member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors Young Leadership Division where he has actively participated in numerous statewide committees and hosted multiple CLE courses. He earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School.
Anne Reilly, an associate in the Miami-Dade office, is assigned to the Litigation Division where she focuses on municipal and commercial litigation. She represents local governments including First Amendment claims, land use issues, and other federal discrimination matters. Her civil litigation practice also includes contract disputes, complex civil litigation, and real property claims. Prior to joining the Firm, Reilly served as a federal law clerk to the Honorable William J. Zloch of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Reilly received her J.D. at Fordham Law School.
Jane Tompkins comes to the firm as its first Professional Planner. She brings 20 years of experience in a wide range of planning and development matters. For the City of Coral Gables, she oversaw the Building, Code Enforcement and Planning & Zoning Divisions. She worked in both the Chicago suburbs and the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa handing current and long-range planning activities including variance and zoning change requests, subdivision approvals and developing neighborhood plans. Although she will not be working as a lawyer in this capacity, she holds a J.D. from Northern Illinois University College of Law and brings understanding from the planning and the legal sectors.
###
About Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman
Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman P.L. is a prominent South Florida law firm serving corporate, governmental and individual clients with an integrated array of professional services including commercial litigation, land-use and real estate law, communications and cable law, labor and employment law, government law and governmental relations. The firm has offices in Coral Gables and Ft. Lauderdale. For more information, visit www.wsh-law.com.
