Peter Prieto, a former federal prosecutor with significant trial experience, is Chair of the firm's national Litigation Section. Mr. Prieto practices in the areas of complex civil litigation and white collar criminal defense. He has represented clients, including Fortune 500 companies, in a wide array of civil litigation, including business, employment, securities, antitrust, products liability, RICO and class action litigation.
He has also represented individual and corporate clients in criminal investigations and prosecutions involving public corruption; business, banking and health care fraud; aviation; environmental violations; antitrust and money laundering. Mr. Prieto has represented clients in a variety of industries, including the healthcare, telecommunications, petroleum, aviation, entertainment, securities and banking industries.
Mr. Prieto has been recognized for his litigation skills as one of the “Top Lawyers in South Florida,” according to the South Florida Legal Guide, and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Florida Trend's Legal Elite, and Chambers USA, which praised him for being "thorough in his advice" to clients, and for his "trial experience and plain speaking good judgment."
Some of Mr. Prieto's most significant representations have included:
- Conducting internal investigation on behalf of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of a public company in connection with possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt practices Act (FCPA);
- Successfully defeating class certification on behalf of Fortune 500 healthcare company in class action alleging that company had unlawfully inflated its prices to obtain additional Medicare funds, and consequently had caused damages of over $1 billion dollars to thousands of hospitals within the class;
- Representing cargo airline and its principals in a criminal investigation involving allegations that airline had falsified maintenance records;
- Obtaining summary judgment for international athletic and footwear company against a claim by a marketing and advertising agency that the company had stolen the “idea” of using a famous singer as spokesperson;
- Defending Fortune 500 healthcare company in purported class action brought by plaintiffs who claimed that company unreasonably overcharged and over billed uninsured patients;
- Conducting internal investigation for Fortune 100 company relating to allegations of price-fixing;
- Obtaining dismissal of RICO claims brought against telecommunications company;
- Defending hospital in more than 100 lawsuits brought by former open-heart surgery patients who claimed that hospital’s negligence caused them to contract post-operative surgical site infections;
- Defending Fortune 500 healthcare company against allegations of breach of contract brought by a group of physicians seeking over one hundred million dollars.
Mr. Prieto has substantial trial and appellate experience having tried over 25 criminal and civil cases and having argued over a dozen appeals before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He has also conducted corporate internal investigations.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Prieto was an Associate Deputy Independent Counsel for the Office of Independent Counsel in Washington, D.C., where he worked on the criminal investigation of the late Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown. Before joining the Independent Counsel’s office, Mr. Prieto served as a federal prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida where he investigated and tried complex fraud, tax, RICO and money laundering cases.
Mr. Prieto currently serves as a member of the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Third District Court of Appeal. He previously served as a Commissioner on Florida’s Commission on Ethics, a statewide commission that investigates and decides whether public officials have violated the state’s ethics laws.
In law school, he served as a member of the Moot Court Board and as an articles and comments editor for the Law Review.