Miami's Meland Budwick Adds Former Prosecutor

Madison Arnold | January 27, 2022

Law360 (January 27, 2022, 2:01 PM EST) — Miami law firm Meland Budwick PA snagged a former federal prosecutor and investment banker as a new partner for its litigation practice.

The firm announced the hiring of Barry Kamar on Wednesday, who will represent clients in fraud disputes and complex commercial litigation. He spent almost a decade at the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm said.

“I was looking to get back into private practice, legal practice,” Kamar told Law360. “But I miss being in the courtrooms. And I was looking for a platform that would allow me to get back in court, but that had a business-minded commercial mindset. And I found all of that in Meland, which is why I ended up coming here,” Kamar told Law360.

Meland Budwick is currently experiencing a high demand for services in complex commercial litigation, including high-profile financial fraud matters, and adding a former federal prosecutor in Kamar will only strengthen the team providing those services, said Michael S. Budwick, partner and co-chair of the firm’s financial frauds group, in a statement.

“Barry brings a highly valued perspective, having investigated and prosecuted countless federal cases and also having worked as an investment banker and dealmaker. Meland Budwick will continue to make strategic hires as part of our commitment to deliver the effective, business-minded legal counsel our clients need to achieve their goals,” Budwick said.

Kamar’s focus will be quite general as he dives into developing is private practice. He said he has two kinds of skill sets that often don’t overlap, which are serving as a trusted business adviser and being able to go into a courtroom with the confidence he could win in a trial.

“That’s what I’ve been doing sort of bouncing back and forth between law practice and the corporate sector, really honing those two areas, trial work and client service. And the overarching skill that I’ve learned over the course of my career … is just building trust and credibility with people, whether I’m standing in front of a judge or whether I’m sitting down with a client. Your credibility with those people is paramount,” he said.

Kamar came to the firm directly from his role as managing director of Westfleet Advisors in the New York City area, according to his LinkedIn profile. He spent about two years working for the national litigation finance firm, where he helped claimholders in raising capital needed to litigate their commercial cases, the firm said.

During his time in public service, Kamar worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of New Jersey for just more than six years. During that time, he served a stint as chief of the Public Protection Unit, where he conducted jury trials in federal court, the firm said.

The University of Texas School of Law-trained attorney also held the position of senior counsel in the New York office of the SEC. While in that role, he both investigated and prosecuted financial fraud cases and other violations of federal securities law.

Kamar started his legal career at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York City, where he spent more than three years, according to his LinkedIn. He helped to litigate large commercial matters, such as securities fraud, antitrust and breach of contract cases, the firm said.

Kamar had a first career in investment banking, where he worked at Morgan Stanley & Co., and as an economist at PricewaterhouseCoopers. In that role, he advised Fortune 500 and middle market companies on strategic corporate transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate financings and transfer pricing, the firm said.

“Given my corporate experience, I’ve worked on pretty complex business transactions, mergers and acquisitions for very large companies. And so I can say with confidence that I speak the language of finance and the language of business and I’m not afraid of sort of getting into the weeds on you know, these complex commercial issues,” Kamar said. “That’s how my corporate background has really helped me out, but the trial work, really the hallmark of being a good trial lawyer is taking what might seem like a complex issue and just distilling it down to the bare bones, such as that somebody who doesn’t eat and sleep business transactions can understand it.”

Kamar earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas. He is also fluent in Arabic and proficient in Spanish, the firm said.

The Miami firm practices in areas such as real estate, financial fraud, employment, trade secrets, creditors’ rights and bankruptcy and restructuring, among others. It was founded in 1993 and has a total of 19 attorneys listed on its site.

–Editing by Stephen Berg.

Miami's Meland Budwick Adds Former Prosecutor. January 27, 2022. Law360 (January 27, 2022, 2:01 PM EST) — Miami law firm Meland Budwick PA snagged a former federal prosecutor and investment banker as a new partner for its litigation practice. The firm announced the hiring of Barry Kamar on Wednesday, who will represent clients in fraud disputes and complex commercial litigation. He spent almost a decade at the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm said. “I was looking to get back into private practice, legal practice,” Kamar told Law360. “But I miss being in the courtrooms. And I was looking for a platform that would allow me to get back in court, but that had a business-minded commercial mindset. And I found all of that in Meland, which is why I ended up coming here,” Kamar told Law360. Meland Budwick is currently experiencing a high demand for services in complex commercial litigation, including high-profile financial fraud matters, and adding a former federal prosecutor in Kamar will only strengthen the team providing those services, said Michael S. Budwick, partner and co-chair of the firm’s financial frauds group, in a statement. “Barry brings a highly valued perspective, having investigated and prosecuted countless federal cases and also having worked as an investment banker and dealmaker. Meland Budwick will continue to make strategic hires as part of our commitment to deliver the effective, business-minded legal counsel our clients need to achieve their goals,” Budwick said. Kamar’s focus will be quite general as he dives into developing is private practice. He said he has two kinds of skill sets that often don’t overlap, which are serving as a trusted business adviser and being able to go into a courtroom with the confidence he could win in a trial. “That’s what I’ve been doing sort of bouncing back and forth between law practice and the corporate sector, really honing those two areas, trial work and client service. And the overarching skill that I’ve learned over the course of my career … is just building trust and credibility with people, whether I’m standing in front of a judge or whether I’m sitting down with a client. Your credibility with those people is paramount,” he said. Kamar came to the firm directly from his role as managing director of Westfleet Advisors in the New York City area, according to his LinkedIn profile. He spent about two years working for the national litigation finance firm, where he helped claimholders in raising capital needed to litigate their commercial cases, the firm said. During his time in public service, Kamar worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of New Jersey for just more than six years. During that time, he served a stint as chief of the Public Protection Unit, where he conducted jury trials in federal court, the firm said. The University of Texas School of Law-trained attorney also held the position of senior counsel in the New York office of the SEC. While in that role, he both investigated and prosecuted financial fraud cases and other violations of federal securities law. Kamar started his legal career at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York City, where he spent more than three years, according to his LinkedIn. He helped to litigate large commercial matters, such as securities fraud, antitrust and breach of contract cases, the firm said. Kamar had a first career in investment banking, where he worked at Morgan Stanley & Co., and as an economist at PricewaterhouseCoopers. In that role, he advised Fortune 500 and middle market companies on strategic corporate transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate financings and transfer pricing, the firm said. “Given my corporate experience, I’ve worked on pretty complex business transactions, mergers and acquisitions for very large companies. And so I can say with confidence that I speak the language of finance and the language of business and I’m not afraid of sort of getting into the weeds on you know, these complex commercial issues,” Kamar said. “That’s how my corporate background has really helped me out, but the trial work, really the hallmark of being a good trial lawyer is taking what might seem like a complex issue and just distilling it down to the bare bones, such as that somebody who doesn’t eat and sleep business transactions can understand it.” Kamar earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas. He is also fluent in Arabic and proficient in Spanish, the firm said. The Miami firm practices in areas such as real estate, financial fraud, employment, trade secrets, creditors’ rights and bankruptcy and restructuring, among others. It was founded in 1993 and has a total of 19 attorneys listed on its site. –Editing by Stephen Berg. Read more at: https://www.law360.com/articles/1458875/miami-s-meland-budwick-adds-former-prosecutor . Madison Arnold, Other NewsArchive. July 2024 June 2024 March 2024 November 2023 April 2023 January 2023 November 2022 June 2022 May 2022 . MRB. Contact us, Our attorneys, careers. About. Firm overview, Our Values, Community involvement, Representative matters. Pracrtice. Real Estate, Commercial Litigation, Receiverships and Assignments, Bankruptcy and Restructuring. In the News, Announcements, Film Videos. 2018 Meland, Russin, Budwick. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.