Eduardo “Ed” R. Arista, CPA, Esq.

Eduardo “Ed” R. Arista, CPA, Esq.
Founder
2655 S. Le Jeune Road, 5th Floor
Coral Gables, FL 33134

Tel: 305-444-7662
Email: ed@aristalaw.com

Ed Arista is the managing attorney of Arista Law where he regularly advises closely held companies, family businesses and high net worth individuals. He assists foreign and domestic clients with business, tax, real estate, asset protection and trust and estate planning, as well as defending them against the IRS. Ed also has extensive experience in a broad range of business matters including commercial agreements, business operations and corporate and real estate transactions and disputes. First as an accountant and then as an attorney, Ed has been a trusted advisor to individuals and businesses for almost twenty years.

As a Senior Consultant with Ernst & Young’s (E&Y) International Tax Services department, Ed advised multinational corporations and high net worth individuals regarding international transactions and coordinated foreign tax and legal services for U.S. clients with E&Y professionals in affiliated offices throughout Latin America. Prior to founding Arista Law, Mr. Arista worked at large and small firms and as General Counsel and CFO of a start-up where he helped raise $15 million in venture capital and ramp up operations in preparation for acquisition by a public company. During law school, he clerked for a U.S. Tax Court Judge in Washington, D.C. and interned with a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Florida.

Ed publishes numerous articles and lectures regularly at professional seminars for attorneys, CPAs and business people, and has been an adjunct professor at the Florida International University (FIU) College of Business since 2003. Ed is also licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Florida and a fully bilingual and bicultural Spanish speaker who routinely handles sophisticated business and legal matters for those clients and professionals who prefer to communicate in Spanish. Click here for a list of articles, publications, and lectures.

Awards & Recognition

  • Over 40 recommendations on LinkedIn
  • Most Outstanding Professor, FIU, Masters in Taxation Program, 2010 & 2011
  • Pro Bono Award, Dade County Bar Association, Eleventh Judicial Circuit “Put Something Back” Bankruptcy Program, 2003 & 2004
  • Torch Award, Florida International University (FIU) Alumni Association, 2003
  • Internal Revenue Service, Volunteer Recognition, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, 1996

Professional & Community Involvement

  • The Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), Member
  • The Florida Bar, Committee on Relations with CPAs, Chair, 2004-2005; Florida Bar Business Law Section, LLC Statute Drafting Task Force, 2009-Present
  • Dade County Bar Association Business Outreach Committee, Inaugural Chair, 2008-Present
  • Cuban American Bar Association (CABA), Member; Cuba Committee, 2009-Present
  • American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants, Member
  • U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC, Director and Secretary, 2004 – present
  • American Bar Association, U.S. Activities of Foreigners and Tax Treaties Committee, 1998
  • Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund Inc., Member, 2003 – present
  • Cuban American CPA Association, Member
  • U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, Military Nomination Selections Committee, 2006
  • Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc., Board of Directors, 2003-2007; CABA Appointee to Board, 2002-2005; former Fundraising Committee, Co-Chair
  • Victoria de Pino for Judge Campaign, Campaign Treasurer, 2006
  • Florida International University, New Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition, Judge 2002, 2004 & 2006
  • Florida International University Alumni Association, College of Business Chapter, Board of Directors & Treasurer, 2001-2003
  • Académico Asociado, Academia de Ciéncias Económicas y Sociales Conde de Pozos Dulces, Antiguo Alumnos del Colegio de La Salle de Vedado, Habana, Cuba

Bar Admissions

  • Florida
  • District of Columbia

Court Admissions

  • United States Tax Court
  • United States Bankruptcy Court
  • United States District Court, Southern District of Florida

Education

  • Juris Doctor, University of Miami School of Law; University of Miami Tax Law Chronicle, Managing Editor; Certified Legal Intern, U.S. Customs Service, Office of the Associate Chief Counsel, Miami, Florida
  • St. Thomas University School of Law, International and Comparative Corporate Law Program, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, San Lorenzo del Escorial, Spain
  • Bachelor of Accounting, Florida International University; Beta Alpha Psi, National Financial Honor Society; Co-Chair, Community Service Committee