Holland & Knight's Lara M. Rios and Jameson Rice Named Rising Stars by Law360
MIAMI (August 12, 2020) – Holland & Knight Partners Lara M. Rios and Jameson Rice have been selected as 2020 "Rising Stars" by Law360. This honor recognizes the top five lawyers under the age of 40 in the country in each of 38 practice areas. Ms. Rios was recognized in the project finance category, and Mr. Rice was recognized in transportation.
Ms. Rios works in Holland & Knight's Miami and New York offices as a member of the Financial Services and Latin America teams. She represents a wide range of lenders, corporate borrowers, project developers and private equity sponsors in cross-border and domestic financing transactions, with a focus on the energy/infrastructure industry and Latin America.
In 2019, Ms. Rios assisted Fibra UNO, Mexico's largest real estate investment trust (REIT), in negotiating a cutting-edge $1 billion dual currency, five-year sustainability linked revolving credit agreement. The eco-friendly loan was the first of its kind in Latin America and the only of its kind for an REIT.
Mr. Rice is a transportation lawyer who works in Holland & Knight's Tampa and Jacksonville offices. He practices primarily in the areas of road, rail and intermodal transportation and logistics, as well as ocean transportation and issues pertaining to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drones). He is particularly knowledgeable in the area of transportation blockchain technology.
Currently, Mr. Rice is part of the Holland & Knight transportation team representing CSX Transportation Inc. in a $525 million sale of right-of-way and track to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Those assets are intended to be a critical part of Virginia's $3.7 billion expansion of passenger and commuter rail to and from Washington, D.C. He and Holland & Knight transportation and intellectual property colleagues also recently negotiated a deal between CSX and IBM and Maersk's supply chain platform TradeLens.
Law360 reviewed more than 1,300 submissions for the 2020 "Rising Stars" distinction. The final list includes 176 attorneys from more than 80 law firms. Winners were selected based on their career accomplishments in their respective practice areas.