Ralph Ventura

ATTORNEY

Mr. Ventura is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law and of Florida State University where he obtained a BA in International Affairs. Born in Havana and raised in Chicago and Miami, Mr. Ventura is fluent in both English and Spanish. He is a member of the Florida Bar and the bar of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Having been a lawyer for more than 30 years, Mr. Ventura’s experience and practice encompasses civil litigation and appeals in both state and federal courts, real property transactions, municipal and administrative law, land-use & zoning, and employment litigation. He prides himself on being a low-profile, results oriented attorney with a high level of organizational ability. Mr. Ventura’s private-sector clients have included real estate developers, concert promoters, logistics companies, and high-technology companies.

Mr. Ventura also has extensive experience in municipal government having served as special counsel in Hialeah Gardens and City Attorney in Sweetwater during which time the city more than doubled its size and tax base through annexation. He played a crucial role in the complete revamp of Sweetwater’s zoning laws through the design and implementation of its University City Zoning District.

Most recently, Mr. Ventura was part of a small group specially selected in 2015 by the new-elected Mayor of Sweetwater to save the city from financial catastrophe, place it on a course to restored financial solvency, and restore confidence and public trust. In his role as Chief of Staff and Deputy City Manager, Mr. Ventura oversaw a complete restructuring of Sweetwater’s city government and police department and was a crucial part of accreditation of its police department after years of mismanagement.

EDUCATION

  • University of Miami School of Law Juris Doctor, May 1990
  • Florida State University Bachelor of Arts, June 1986

LICENSES AND MEMBERSHIPS

  • Supreme Court of Florida
  • Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida

LANGUAGES

  • Native speaker of Spanish and English

Below find a non-exhaustive list of matters Mr. Ventura has handled in his career:

  • Successfully tried grievance appeal upholding mayor’s termination of police officer accused of misconduct.
  • Successfully tried arbitration brought by police union and obtained ruling that grievant was unauthorized to grieve termination on ground that he was not a member of the PBA bargaining unit.
  • Successfully defended interlocutory appeal of trial court ruling finding probable cause in state-based forfeiture proceeding.
  • Successfully tried and defended union grievance claiming employee was unlawfully terminated.
  • Successfully defended appeal of default final judgement entered in favor of clients at trial court level.
  • Successfully appealed and obtained unanimous decision reversing a trial court judgment entered against City in the sum of $200,000 in a landmark case of first impression interpreting §116.065, Florida statutes.
  • As special counsel, successfully brought civil action against the then-Mayor Gloria Bango to establish mayor’s obligation to nominate a finance director and that mayor could not herself serve in that capacity.
  • Successfully defended interlocutory appeal of trial court decision finding in personam jurisdiction over entity headquartered outside of Miami-Dade County.
  • Represented concert promoter in a variety of transactional and judicial matters including successful defense of a wrongful death case.
  • Successfully tried and obtained defense jury verdict in federal civil action brought against home health care provider under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
  • Special counsel to interim mayor after elected mayor was removed from office by governor.
  • Served as general counsel to an internet-based commercial meeting business with world-wide scope of business.
  • Represented various moving and logistics businesses in a variety of commercial transactions and legal matters.
  • Successfully represented orthodontist in legal dispute with business partner.
  • Represented diamond merchant in a variety of legal matters, both transactional and judicial.
  • Represented various automobile dealers in a variety of legal matters, transactional, judicial, and administrative.
  • Represented variety of business owners in litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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