Biography

Cristina focuses her practice on commercial litigation and arbitration, and specifically cases involving financial fraud, corruption, asset recovery, enforcement of international judgments and arbitral awards, and cross-border insolvency. She has also represented many individual and corporate clients in gathering evidence in the United States for use in foreign proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 1782.

Cristina also represents individual and corporate clients in domestic and international arbitration proceedings. For example, in 2021, Cristina obtained a favorable outcome for a Belizean respondent in an International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) arbitration that dealt with an alleged breach of a commercial lease agreement under Belizean law.

In addition to her arbitration work, Cristina has also played a crucial role in investigating cases of financial fraud and corruption. She has successfully led teams of investigators, forensic accountants, and foreign counsel in identifying and assessing instances of financial wrongdoing. Her proficiency in conducting extensive legal research related to financial fraud, asset recovery, corruption, and cross-border insolvency disputes has been instrumental in building strong cases and achieving successful resolutions for their clients. For example, Cristina was part of a team that obtained Chapter 15 recognition for a Chilean bankruptcy trustee and recovered more than USD 20 million in over 8 countries for the benefit of victims of a Chilean Ponzi scheme. In another matter arising under Section 1782 that was litigated in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Cristina obtained crucial documents from banks, registered agents, and companies in Florida for use in marital distribution proceedings in Ecuador.

Cristina also successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice of an avoidance action filed against a Puerto Rican company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability (PROMESA) law.

Cristina is licensed to practice law in Florida, including the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She is involved in her local legal community, acting as the Secretary of the International Law Section of the Florida Bar, organizing legal conferences and events, and often being a guest lecturer at local law schools.

A Puerto Rico native and fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, Cristina is able to represent a diverse range of clients and navigate complex cross-border legal matters effectively.

Articles and Publications

• Cristina Vicens Beard, Edward H. Davis, Jr., Recovering Our Greatest Asset: Our Creativity!, Chambers Litigation Support 2020

• Cristina Vicens Beard, Andrew Dawson, The Long Arm of the Liquidating Trustee – Madoff Trustee Reaches Offshore Transferees, Global Restructuring Review, vol. 3, issue 6 (Feb. 2019).

• Edward H. Davis, Jr., Arnoldo B. Lacayo, Cristina Vicens Beard, Civil Asset Recovery – The Under-Utilized Tool in the Fight Against Grand Corruption, International Law Quarterly, vol. XXXIII, no. 1 (Winter 2017).

Presentations and Seminars

• Servotronics v. Rolls-Royce – A Panel Discussion of the Arguments and What the U.S. Supreme Court’s Upcoming Decision on Section 1782 Means for International Arbitration, Speaker, Atlanta International Arbitration Association (AtLAS) Plenary Meeting, May 27, 2021

• Keeping a Seat for Gender Diversity at the International Law Table, Speaker, American Bar Association International Law Section’s 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting, April 14, 2021

• Inequality, Poverty, and Corruption: What we Can Learn From Brazil’s Efforts to Tackle a Global Problem, Speaker, International Association of Young Lawyers 58th Annual Congress, August 24, 2020

• Future Evidence – Proving Your Case in the 2020s, Speaker, International Association of Young Lawyers Half-Year Conference, Miami, Florida, November 1, 2019

• Aspectos fundamentales en la recuperación de activos, Guest Lecturer, Florida International University Global Legal Studies Initiative: El Derecho de Estados Unidos, Aspectos Fundamentales, Litigios y Arbitraje Internacional, Miami, Florida, August 9, 2019

• An Introduction to International Value Recovery, Speaker, 17th Annual OffshoreAlert North America Conference, Miami, Florida, April 29, 2019

• Identifying Value: Effective Strategies to Find Hidden Assets, Speaker, 16th Annual OffshoreAlert North America Conference, Miami, Florida, April 17, 2018

• A Forensic Accountant’s Guide to Identifying Fraud, Moderator, 16th Annual OffshoreAlert North America Conference, Miami, Florida, April 16, 2018

• Cómo redactar y presentar una solicitud de acuerdo con el estatuto 28 U.S.C. § 1782, Guest Lecturer, Florida International University Global Legal Studies Initiative: El Derecho de Estados Unidos, Aspectos Fundamentales, Litigios y Arbitraje Internacional, Miami, Florida, November 3, 2017

• Cómo redactar y presentar una solicitud de acuerdo con el estatuto 28 U.S.C. § 1782, Guest Lecturer, Florida International University Global Legal Studies Initiative: El Derecho de Estados Unidos, Aspectos Fundamentales, Litigios y Arbitraje Internacional, Miami, Florida, April 7, 2017

Bar & Court Admissions

• Florida

• District of Columbia

• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

• U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida

• Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals

Education

• University of Miami School of Law, J.D. & LL.M. in International Arbitration (cum laude, 2014)

• University of Chicago, B.A. International Studies (General Honors, 2011); Minor in Portuguese