Attorney Bio's

Christopher J Van Dam

Christopher J. Van Dam

(Of Counsel)


Mr. Van Dam and a Florida licensed patent attorney registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and is Of Counsel to Ruz & Ruz, PL. He is a Florida Bar Board Certified Expert in intellectual property law. He concentrates his practice on patents, trademarks, servicemarks, copyrights, trade secret protection, licensing and related litigation.

He has been lead attorney on litigation and registration matters in courts of the United States, Europe, Central America and South America. He handles matters before United States Federal Courts, State Courts and Administrative Boards. He is expert intellectual property and a patent expert counsel for several other independent law firms.

Patent services include drafting and prosecuting  US and international patent applications, patentability searches, responses to patent examiner office actions, infringement opinions, licensing, enforcement litigation and other matters relating to patents and patent applications.



Jennifer C. Ruz, Esq.

Jennifer C. Ruz, Esq.

 

JRUz

Jennifer is a business and tax attorney, who has practiced in this area since 2007, beginning her career in-house at Deloitte Tax LLP.  She has represented a broad range of clients and matters throughout her career, from large publicly traded companies in the optimization of their corporate structures, to wealthy individuals in the preservation of their wealth across generations and jurisdictional borders.  She has specialized in international and cross-border transactions, with a focus in recent years on Latin America.

Jennifer graduated magna cum laude in 2003 from the University of Florida’s Fisher School of Accounting, with a bachelor in accounting.  She graduated in 2007 from the Georgetown University Law Center.  Jennifer began her career at Deloitte Tax LLP, specializing in reorganizations of transnational publicly traded corporations and closely-help businesses, with a focus on European and Latin American jurisdictions.  Jennifer entered private practice in 2011, and shifted her focus to high-net worth individuals with cross-border family and business structures, as well as IRS disputes and voluntary disclosure.  She began integrating her experience with cross-border tax efficient restructurings with overall estate planning for high-net worth multi-jurisdictional families, to provide a unique expertise for overall global tax planning.  Jennifer’s accounting and business background provides her with the ability to address and resolve operational challenges for her business clients.

Jennifer has extensive knowledge of the Foreign Accounting and Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), and disclosure and reporting requirements for U.S. and non-U.S. entities and individuals under such regulations.  She prepared training materials on the subject while at Berkowitz Pollack Brant, Accountants and Advisors.  Jennifer also authored an article for Berkowitz Pollack Brant on the subject of pre-immigration planning.

Jennifer joined the firm in 2014, as a partner in the business and tax practice areas.

Jennifer Ruz is admitted to the Florida Bar and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Florida. She is fluent in Spanish.


Education


Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
Juris Doctor, 2007

University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Bachelor of Science in Accounting, 2003
Honors:  Magna Cum Laude

Bar Admissions

Florida, 2008
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 2008

Professional Affiliations

Florida Bar Tax Section: Member
Carrollton Alumnae Legal Association: Executive Committee Member

Languages

Spanish (Fluent)


Grisel Morales, Esq

Grisel Morales, Esq.
(Of Counsel)

Grisel MoralesGrisel specializes in FDA regulatory compliance, taxation, and business law.

Before starting her law firm, Grisel was a tax associate in the Miami office of a leading corporate and M&A law firm where she was involved in providing general corporate tax and transaction structuring advice with respect to sophisticated domestic and cross-border taxable and tax-free mergers, acquisitions and restructurings, involving both public and private companies, and with the drafting, reviewing and negotiating of agreements in connection therewith. Grisel also assisted with the handling of trust and estate matters, representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service, and the drafting, reviewing and negotiating of tax-related provisions of partnership and limited liability company agreements.

Grisel has a Bachelors in Science from Florida International University.  She received her law degree from the University of Florida, cum laude, in 2006 and has a Masters of Law in Taxation (LL.M.) from the University of Florida.





Education

LL.M. in Taxation, University of Florida, 2007

J.D., University of Florida; cum laude, 2006

B.S., Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 2002

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Bar Admissions & Professional Affiliations
  • The Florida Bar
  • United States Tax Court
  • United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
  • Tax Section, the Florida Bar
  • Real Property, Trust, and Probate Law Section, the Florida Bar

Languages

  • Spanish (native fluency)
  • French (conversational)

Henry Rodriguez, Esq

Henry Rodriguez, Esq. 
(Of Counsel)

Henry RodriguezHenry Rodriguez is a 2004 cum laude graduate of the University of Florida's Levin College of Law, where he earned Book Awards in Contract Law and Trademark Law. Mr. Rodriguez was Professor Mark A. Thurmon's research assistant and aided in the preparation of the article The Rise and Fall of Trademark Law's Functionality Doctrine.

Mr. Rodriguez graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and an International Relations Minor from Florida International University in 1997. He also earned a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida in 2000. Mr. Rodriguez is a member of The Florida Bar.

Mr. Rodriguez is a member of the Dade County Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law Association of Florida (IPLAF), and American Bar Association (ABA). He concentrates his practice in ex parte and inter partes proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is fluent in Spanish.

Education

University of Florida College of Law, Gainesville, Florida, 2004
Honors: Cum Laude
Honors: Book Awards, Contract Law and Trademark Law


University of Florida, 2000
Master of Arts
Major: Political Science


Florida International University, 1997
Bachelor of Arts
Major: History
Minor: International Relations
Bar Admissions
Florida Bar
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida

Professional Associations and Memberships

•The Florida Bar

•Dade County Bar Association

•Intellectual Property Law Association of Florida (IPLAF)

•American Bar Association (ABA)

Languages

Spanish (Fluent)

Trademark Law

TrademarkLawMiami

A trademark is a brand name.  A trademark or service mark includes any word, name...

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Copyright law

copyrightLawMiami

Copyrights are a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States...

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Patent Law Services

PatentLawMiami

A patent is an intellectual property right granted by the Government...

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FDA Compliance

TrademarkLawMiami

The FDA regulates products responsible for about 25 percent of the gross national product...

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Business Law

TrademarkLawMiami

The attorneys at Rick Ruz, PLLC pride themselves on catering to the complete needs...

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Office Map


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Office Contact

Ruz & Ruz, PL
255 Alhambra Cir.
Suite 500
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
(P) 1 (305) 921-9326
(F) 1 (888) 506-2833