CKR Law, which has experienced financial troubles this year, has lost a 3-partner corporate team to Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough in Miami and New York.

The three partners, Jackson Hwu, Leandro Molina and Caio Prado, handle cross-border transactional work representing Latin American and Brazilian investors.

"We are excited to welcome Jackson, Leandro, and Caio to the firm," Miami managing partner Mark Raymond said in a statement. "The team brings a wealth of corporate knowledge to the firm and will be a tremendous asset to both our domestic and international clients."

In May, Law.com reported that New York-based CKR Law has experienced a cash flow crunch this year and has struggled to pay its partners.

Hwu declined to comment about CKR, citing a settlement reached with the firm. But he said that Nelson Mullins was the perfect firm for his team, as it has a better understanding of the middle-market in Latin American and Brazil than peer firms.

"A lot of those clients don't stick very well with other large law firms with the fee structures and client service," he said.

Hwu has more than 20 years of cross-border experience, having previously started his own boutique firm, Private Advising Group, alongside a few Greenberg Traurig partners in Miami. He also did a stint in-house as deputy general counsel for retailer Dufry between 2010 and 2013.

Prado also worked at Private Advising Group and also spent five years at the Sao Paulo-based firm Machado Meyer Advogados. Before joining CKR, Molina previously worked for more than ten years at Sao Paulo-based firm Pinheiro Neto Advogados.

CKR's year has been characterized by a string of steady departures, and reportedly has had trouble paying partner draws. Several people familiar with the firm told Law.com that some departed partners are owed five or six figures.

The Miami departures leave four attorneys in CKR's Miami office, according to the firm's website.

The latest moves come on the heels of another team departure from CKR. In September, four former CKR law partners based out of Miami—Augusto Egoavil, Laline Concepcion-Veloso, Christopher Klug and Eulalia Sala—left to form Egoavil Klug Salas & Veloso. The new firm has an of counsel relationship with BurgherGray with a combined $5 million book of business, according to Egoavil.

CKR said that they wish "the Miami partners who departed from CKR all the best in their future endeavors," adding that they "anticipate adding new talent in this market in the near term."

Several firms have bolstered their Latin America practices based in South Florida in recent months. Morrison Foerster crashed into the market this summer looking to provide local counsel to SoftBank, which is on a Latin America spending spree.

And after years of contraction in Miami, Baker McKenzie is remaking its Miami office into the "hub" for its new Latin America initiative. Regional Florida firm GrayRobinson picked up four IP attorneys with global practices this week as the firm looks to take advantage of the hot international market.

"I get calls for projects and potential clients every day," Hwu said. "A lot of corporate clients from Latin American are seeing that there are other options than New York for good service and a cultural fit."

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