(L to R) Alex Soto, Daniel Fridman, and Adam Fels – Fridman Fels & Soto

Two former government attorneys and a White & Case white-collar partner have formed Fridman Fels & Soto, a Coral Gables boutique focused on white-collar defense, internal investigations, and civil litigation.

Partners Adam Fels, Alex Soto and Daniel Fridman worked as assistant U.S. attorneys in the Southern District of Florida early in their careers before leaving to follow different paths. Decades later, the trio has cultivated specialties in a wide range of matters, including internal investigations, Latin America multinationals, litigating Mexican cartel leaders and prosecuting fraud cases on behalf of the U.S. government.

The three lawyers have tried and supervised more than 100 criminal and civil cases between them, and Fels believes that their practices will prove invaluable to companies and officials facing government investigations and litigation.

"What we can provide is the unique experience of being on the other side, understanding how the government functions," Fels told the Daily Business Review.

Fels worked for 13 years in the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida in Miami, specializing in international money laundering, counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism prosecutions. He was one of the lead prosecutors of drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, delivering the opening statement in his trial.

Fridman moved into the private sector after leaving the U.S. attorney's office, working at Holland & Knight and then White & Case, where he was a partner in the firm's Latin America investigations practice. Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, Fridman has recently completed investigations involving Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and South Korea.

After spending 11 years as a federal prosecutor working white-collar fraud cases, Soto moved to the Miami office of the Securities and Exchanges Commission, where he led enforcement investigations and litigation in federal courts and administrative proceedings.

With this combined experience, Soto says their firm can bring significant value and sophistication to their clients at more competitive rates than their larger competitors.

"If you're going to trial, you want somebody who has tried cases, plenty of them," Soto said. "We're certainly working with less overhead than the big firms that offer the sophisticated work that we offer our clients."

Fridman Fels & Soto is located at 2525 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Suite 750, Coral Gables.