Alicia M. Menendez

Alicia currently focuses her practice on product liability, commercial litigation, international disputes and complex litigation. Her experience includes representation of clients across multiple industries, such as hospitality, tobacco, automotive, agricultural chemical, insurance, shipping, telecommunication, media, government and health maintenance organizations. She has experience in the multiple phases of litigation, and coordinating and managing certain aspects of large-scale litigation. 

A representative sample of international matters she has worked on in the past includes:

• Representation of an agricultural chemical company in defense of product liability actions brought by multiple Costa Rican growers alleging crop damage
• Representation of a consumer product manufacturer in defense of product liability actions involving tangential matters in Canada, Greece and Cuba
• Representation of international insurer in defense of complex claim by insured relating to loss of electronics cargo shipped to Africa
• Representation of international insurer in defense of complex claim by insured relating to total damage to a vessel in St. Kitts
• Representation of a Panamanian cargo shipping company against an officer/director for breaches of fiduciary duties, involving matters in Panama and other countries
• Representation of Finnish shipping company in defense of allegations of fraudulent inducement and breach of an oral joint venture agreement
• Representation of officer and director in case filed by owner and operator of cellular telephone service in Guyana, dismissed on forum non conveniens
• Representation of European, South American and Canadian hospitality investors in a complex international arbitration matter against Mexico concerning violations of a trade agreement and bilateral treaties
• Analysis of the Helms-Burton Act which provides a cause of action in the United States against traffickers of property in Cuba 
• Analysis of obtaining discovery abroad from Latin American countries

In addition, she has been on a team defending a consumer product manufacturer in thousands of product liability cases filed across Florida. She also coordinates certain aspects of the defense of these cases statewide, developing systems to do so effectively. 

Giving back to the community, Alicia actively participates in bar associations, having earned awards for her service. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Book Subcommittee of the ABA’s Woman Advocate Committee, and is Co-Editor of a collection of stories of women lawyers entitled, Her Story 2: The Resilient Woman Lawyer’s Guide to Conquering Obstacles (forthcoming January 2024). She is also Co-Chair of the Membership and Diversity Subcommittee of the ABA’s Pretrial Practice & Discovery Committee. In the past, she served as Chair of The Florida Bar’s Code & Rules of Evidence Committee, Chair of its Educational Subcommittee, Program Chair and Moderator of its annual evidence-related seminars, and as Vice Chair of the Florida Bar’s Grievance Committee. She also served on the Steering Committee for the Florida Bar’s International Commercial Arbitration Vis Pre-Moot Competition, and has been a Volunteer Judge of mock trial and negotiations competitions, and Volunteer Arbitrator for a moot arbitration. 

Alicia has been a member of the Cuban American Bar Association and the Cuba Committee of The Florida Bar’s International Law Section, and studies issues relating to Cuba. Paying homage to her Hispanic heritage, in her free time she conducts research into the pre-1960 Cuban television industry. She is fluent in Spanish.