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Cristina Pereyra-Alvarez , Retired Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit

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Overview
Practice Areas & Industries
- Banking
- Business Commercial
- Civil Rights
- Class Action
- Construction
- Cybersecurity & Privacy
- Education Law
- Entertainment
- Estate Probate Trusts
- Health Care
- Insurance
- International & Cross Border
- Mass Tort
- Personal Injury
- Sports
- Technology
Honors, Memberships and Professional Activities
Background Education
Locations
Counsel Comments
News & Insights
Events

Cristina Pereyra-Alvarez, retired Judge 11th Judicial Circuit, joins the JAMS panel after an exemplary career as a lawyer, judge, and legal journalist. Mrs. Pereyra-Alvarez's extensive knowledge of the law and rich cultural background positions her to serve as an effective and informed mediator, arbitrator and special magistrate. Born in Tampa, Florida, Mrs. Pereyra-Alvarez grew up in Mexico where she earned her first law degree from Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City. Upon returning to the United States, she earned a second law degree from the University of Miami School of Law. After a distinguished career as an assistant public defender in the 11th Judicial Circuit, Mrs. Pereyra-Alvarez became a Miami-Dade County Court Judge in the 11th Judicial Circuit. In 2005, she was appointed as a Circuit Court Judge by former Governor Jeb Bush.

In 2007, Mrs. Pereyra-Alvarez retired from the bench to preside on the first national Spanish language court reality program “Veredicto Final” (Final Verdict). In 2011, she became Univision’s in-house legal correspondent. Mrs. Pereyra-Alvarez is fluent in Spanish. Christina Pereyra-Alvarez's biography in Spanish.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

While on the bench, Mrs. Pereyra-Alvarez presided over a wide range of cases covering a variety of practice areas including: banking, business/commercial, civil rights, class action/mass tort, construction, education/schools, employment, family law, healthcare, insurance, personal injury/torts, and real property. She successfully assisted parties in reaching a resolution that officially disposed of a number of cases and eliminated the need for trial. The cases including numerous complex matters that raised the following issues:

Business/Commercial: Breach of contract and indebtedness, civil forfeitures, commercial foreclosures, corporate and business governance, declaratory judgments, discovery disputes, fraud, indemnification and contribution, injunctive relief, partnerships/joint ventures, premises liability, replevin, shareholder disputes, trade names, unfair/deceptive business practices
Employment: Breach of employment contracts, class actions, defamation, discrimination (including race, gender, age, disability, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation), employee benefits and executive compensation, employment contract disputes, employment counseling, employment-related torts, ERISA litigation, Fair Labor Standards Act, international labor and employment, non-compete agreements, retaliation, sexual harassment, wage and hour claims (including class actions), whistleblower, and wrongful termination
Entertainment: First Amendment including defamation (libel and slander), personality rights and privacy rights, production, post-production, trade union issues, cases involving Screen Actors Guild (SAG), talent agreements, producer agreements, and synchronization rights. Music industry negotiation and general intellectual property issues. Sports law including labor, antitrust, contracts, drug testing, and torts (issues including defamation and privacy rights). TV & radio including broadcast licensing and regulatory issues, mechanical licenses
Family Law: Alimony, spousal and child support, marriage and domestic partner dissolution, relocation, validity of pre-or post-nuptial agreements, capacity issues, child custody, visitation and parenting coordination, characterization of property, attorneys’ fees and costs, annulment, division of property, assets and benefits, business valuations, marital settlement agreements, breach of fiduciary duty claims, valuation and disposition of family-owned businesses
Insurance: First-party claims, insurance coverage, employment, construction, resolution, coverage disputes, healthcare coverage, auto, homeowners, health, disability, environmental and toxic tort claims, construction defects, personal injury, personal injury protection (PIP)
Personal Injury/Torts: Wrongful death actions, Fabre issues, libel/slander, aviation, motor vehicle and water craft negligence, negligent security, medical malpractice, premises liability, product liability, punitive damages, sexual abuse, slip and fall, treble damages, change of venue
Real Property: Residential and commercial claims, leases, purchases and sales, commercial and residential mortgage foreclosures, commission claims, condemnation, condominium, deposit returns, homeowner associations, landlord-tenant disputes, land use

Representative Matters

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS.

Speaking Engagements

Keynote speaker, “Our Voices…Our Future” Networking Breakfast, Hispanic Services Council, Tampa, FL, 2019
Speaker, “A Collaborative Approach to Moving Diversity Forward,” NAWL 2018 Mid-Year Meeting, National Association of Women Lawyers, Miami, FL, 2018
Speaker, “A Seat at the Table for Women International Law Practitioners,” JAMS, Miami, FL, 2018
Speaker, “The Changing Landscape of ADR in Latin America and the U.S. Influence: A Primer for Inside and Outside Counsel,” 8th Annual Corporate Counsel Conference & 22nd Annual Uvaldo Herrera Moot Court Competition, Hispanic National Bar Association, Miami, FL, 2017
Co-chair, “Global Pound Conference (GPC): Miami 2017,” International Mediation Institute, Coral Gables, FL, 2017
Guest speaker, “The Importance of Culture In Conflict Resolution: Scenarios in International and Domestic Arbitration and Mediation,” HNBA 41st Annual Convention, Hispanic National Bar Association, Chicago, 2016
Speaker, “Complex Family Dispute Strategies: An Essential Guide for Advocates,” JAMS Mediation Week, Miami, FL, 2016
Guest speaker, "Ethics of Judicial Elections in the Context of Regulation, Free Speech, Impartiality and Independence: Point and Counterpoint," ABA Convention, 2007
Prepare and deliver materials at the request of the U.S. State Department for a series of lectures and assist Guatemalan Judiciary in Guatemala City with launching first appearance hearings in criminal cases, 2006
Panelist, FACDL yearly informal discussion between members of the Judiciary and members of Miami Chapter of FACDL, 2002-2005

Professional Memberships

Board of Directors, United Way, Miami Chapter, 2014
Chair, Florida Supreme Court Interpreter Certification Board, 2007
Faculty, College of Advanced Judicial Studies, 2005-2009
Member, Conference of Circuit Court Judges, 2005-2007
Faculty, Conference of County Court Judges, 2005
Member, Eleventh Judicial Circuit Speaker Bureau, 2004-2009
Member, Florida Supreme Court's Strategic Planning Committee on Long Range Planning for the State Court System and Task Force on Judicial Branch Planning, 2004-2007
Member, Judicial Council Ad Hoc Work Group on Privacy and Access to the Courts, 2003
Member, Court Technology Advisory Committee, 2003
Representative of the Judicial Management Council at the Conference of the National Consortium of Task Forces and Commissions on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts, 2003
Faculty, DUI Adjudication Lab, 2002-2005
Member, Conference of County Court Judges, 1999-2005
- Vice-Chair, Small Claims Committee
- Member, Education Committee
- Member, Conference Committee
- Member, Civil Rules Committee
Director, Florida Association for Women Lawyers, 1994-1996
Director, Cuban-American Bar Association, 1993-1998 (Treasurer 1996)

Honors

Joint Voluntary Bar Associations Appreciation Award, 1998
Florida Association for Women Lawyers Distinguished Service Award, 1994

Additional or Unique Skills

Languages

English

Spanish

Background and Education

In-House Legal Correspondent, Univision, 2011
Presided on the first national Spanish language courtroom reality program “Veredicto Final” (Final Verdict), 2007
Nominated by the Third District Court of Appeal Nominating Commission for the position of Third District Court of Appeal Judge, September 2004 & April 2007
Judge, Miami-Dade Circuit Court, 2005-2007
Judge, Miami-Dade County Court, 11th Judicial Circuit, 1999-2004
Assistant Public Defender in the 11th Judicial Circuit, 1989-1998
Law Clerk for Judge Mario Goderich, 1988
J.D., University of Miami School of Law, 1988
J.D., Universidad Anahuac, Mexico City, 1984

Virtual & In-Person Locations

Home Offices

Miami, FL
Boca Raton, FL

Virtual hearings available nationwide

“Judge Pereyra-Alvarez has handled multiple complex mediations for my firm. She is a very active mediator. She will engage in the issues and engage with the personalities of the parties on all sides. She is wicked quick, very intelligent on the law, and most importantly, is invested in trying to get the parties together. She is relentless. She helped us resolve several cases, including two in particular that were ugly, thorny, commercial cases that had become personal between the principals. She took the time in both of those hard cases to grapple directly with the principals on all sides to see the risks and downsides. A particular skill that is very helpful in some cases is her fluency in legal Spanish. In South Florida, nearly everyone speaks Spanish, but many are conversational speakers. With her background, including several years running an international legal television show in Spanish, her Spanish is at a top level so she can deal with complex business disputes in Spanish. The most remarkable settlement was in a dispute between a corporation and a group of several dozen hourly-wage workers, who spoke Spanish only. She translated everything, including opening statements, and impressed everyone in the room with her sincerity and understanding of the issues. And she knew the buttons to push. In multiple mediations, we have come to an impasse at the end of the day (on at least one occasion, at 10:30 pm), and she continued to work the case. She was calling the parties for days and even weeks, and got the cases settled. These were long hard mediation sessions, and many mediators would have accepted that there was an impasse and moved on. She stayed on the cases and kept pushing the parties and got them resolved, to everyone’s benefit. She is simply outstanding.”

— Shareholder, Florida Law Firm

"We mediated a highly contested, most difficult case to settle and found Judge Pereyra-Alvarez to be highly effective, professional and tenacious. She resolved the case favorably, against all odds. We highly recommend to all the lawyers in our Firm to consider using Judge Pereyra-Alvarez and JAMS (Miami) whenever practicable."

— Managing Director Large Florida Based Law Firm

“I want you to know that we are highly satisfied with the result of the mediation, with your extraordinary performance and ability to quickly identify the sticking points and key individuals who would be able to help reconcile the stark differences between the parties. Above all else, I appreciate your outstanding tenacity during the most critical moments of the mediation, in which it appeared that everything we had achieved thus far would come crashing down. The agreement achieved at mediation, thanks to your intervention, is significant and relevant far beyond the immediate economic implications, especially when considering my client’s skepticism regarding the seriousness, good faith, and honest disposition of the opposing party.”

— Partner at Mexico City Domestic Law Firm

"Our compliments to Judge Pereyra. She is a great mediator and was a powerful moving force in our settlement. She was able to use her significant legal knowledge and skill, as well as her acute perception of the parties’ mental obstacles, so as to navigate through the parties’ differences and into a fair resolution of the case. She worked tirelessly, from 9:30 am until 12 midnight, on an extremely acrimonious state probate contest and federal lawsuit, which failed to settle at a prior mediation involving a different mediator. Although the opposing party's attorney said Judge Pereyra would not be able to settle this contentious dispute between a mother and her son, that attorney had to eat his words by the end of a very long day. Her polite yet committed attitude toward the goal of settlement was much appreciated and everyone was happy with the final result. We highly recommend her!"

— Two sole practitioners