Eduardo R. Arista

Eduardo "Ed" Arista is a private wealth services attorney in Holland & Knight's Miami and Washington, D.C., offices. Mr. Arista has more than 20 years of experience as an attorney and certified public accountant (CPA), helping American and multinational families reduce their tax burden, protect their businesses and assets from legal risks, and prepare them for the eventual transfer of their wealth.

Mr. Arista focuses his legal practice on providing proactive tax, business, asset protection and trust and estate planning and implementation for domestic and international private clients and closely held businesses. As an attorney-CPA, he is intimately familiar with the most complex, international, income and estate tax forms and filing requirements, and he has assisted numerous clients in identifying and resolving their tax non-compliance by taking advantage of the various IRS tax amnesty programs.

In addition, Mr. Arista has substantial experience in a broad range of business matters, including contract drafting and negotiation, assisting with corporate governance, preparing complex limited liability company (LLC) operating agreements, and representing sellers and buyers of closely held businesses. He also has experience partnering with litigation counsel to help clients effectively and efficiently resolve numerous business and family disputes.

Mr. Arista also is well known in the private client space and is routinely recommended by major financial institutions and professional firms locally and internationally. His native Spanish fluency and extensive international travel have resulted in a deep understanding of the numerous regional subcultures in order to work more effectively with international clients and their local counsel, drawing on a large and well-established network of foreign professionals throughout the region.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Arista founded his own law and tax firm in Miami. Previously, he worked for a U.S. Tax Court judge and at large and small law and accounting firms, where he assisted high-net-worth individuals in structuring their U.S. investments to minimize worldwide taxation. He also served as general counsel and chief financial officer of a technology startup, where he helped raise $15 million in venture capital and ramp up operations in preparation for acquisition by a public company.

Mr. Arista taught a Federal Wealth Transfers course for more than 10 years at the Florida International University (FIU) graduate tax program. He has authored numerous publications and frequently speaks at local and international seminars for attorneys and law firms, accountants and accounting firms, bankers and businesspeople, in both English and Spanish.

While in law school, Mr. Arista was a managing editor of the University of Miami Tax Law Chronicle. He also served as a certified legal intern with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of the Associate Chief Counsel.