Overview

Monica Vila Castro is a Miami litigation attorney on Holland & Knight's Appellate Team and in the firm's Litigation Practice Group. She focuses on complex commercial litigation and appellate matters involving a wide variety of legal issues.

In her commercial litigation practice, Ms. Castro has represented clients in cases arising from breach of contract, shareholder disputes, mismanagement and embezzlement of company assets, challenges to the validity of life insurance policies, termination of distributorships, disputes with health insurers and predatory lending. Ms. Castro’s fluency in Spanish has enabled her to effectively assist clients in both English- and Spanish-speaking jurisdictions.

As part of her appellate practice, Ms. Castro has drafted briefs and argued appeals in the Florida District Courts of Appeal, Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Eleventh Circuits, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. Ms. Castro routinely assists trial lawyers from the inception of a case, using her appellate knowledge to ensure that legal issues arising during the course of litigation are well-positioned for a favorable outcome at the trial and appellate levels. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Castro served as a law clerk to the Honorable Susan H. Black on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Credentials

Education
  • University of Florida Levin College of Law, J.D., with honors
  • University of Miami, BBA, Accounting, cum laude
Bar Admissions/Licenses
  • Florida
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court
Memberships
  • Dade County Bar Association
  • Cuban-American Bar Association
  • Florida Blue Key
  • American Bar Association
Honors & Awards
  • Daily Business Review Professional Excellence Award, Holland & Knight - Litigation Departments - International Large Honoree, 2017
  • "40 Under 40" Outstanding Lawyers of Miami-Dade County, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 2014
  • Holland & Knight Public and Charitable Service All-Star, 2014
  • Rising Star, Florida Super Lawyers magazine, 2013-2016
  • Most Effective Lawyer Winner, Appellate, Daily Business Review, 2012
  • Most Effective Lawyer Finalist, Pro Bono, Daily Business Review, 2012
  • Top Graduating Student, University of Florida Levin College of Law, December 2006
  • Highest Score, Florida Bar Exam, February 2006
  • University of Florida Law Review, Editor-in-Chief
Spoken Languages
  • English
  • Spanish

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