Jesse Scheckner
Five months after Miami Commissioners removed her in the wake of multiple controversies, former City Attorney Victoria Méndez has joined the Miami office of Shutts & Bowen LLP as a partner.
Méndez is working in Shutts & Bowen’s Land Use & Zoning Practice Group, a press note from the firm said.
“We are thrilled to welcome Victoria to our team,” the practice group’s Chair, Alexander Tachmes, said in a statement.
“Her extensive experience in all facets of local government law, including land use and zoning, complements our broad range of governmental representation and underscores our role as one of Miami’s premier municipal practice law firms. Victoria’s deep understanding of the complexities of municipal operations will be a tremendous asset to our clients.”
Méndez joins Shutts & Bowen after more than two decades in public service, including more than 10 years as City Attorney for Miami, where she led a more than 60-person legal team. Her experience spans several complex subjects, including land use and zoning, environmental law, public finance and real estate.
Frank Rodriguez, Chair of the firm’s Executive Committee, said the addition of Méndez to Schutts & Bowen’s Miami office “continues our success in recruiting and onboarding high-value laterals.”
“Her in-depth knowledge of local governments, coupled with her vast legal experience, will undoubtedly benefit our clients and strengthen our firm’s position in the South Florida market,” he said in a statement.
Méndez said Monday that she is “incredibly excited to be part of such a prestigious firm.”
“Shutts & Bowen’s reputation for excellence, combined with their commitment to client service, aligns perfectly with my professional values,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to leveraging my experience to serve our clients with the highest level of dedication.”
Méndez earned her undergraduate degree, master of public administration and juris doctor from the University of Miami. She is certified by the Florida Bar in city, county and local government law.
Last year, she came under scrutiny after WLRN reported on a troubling series of real estate deals involving her husband and the nonprofit Guardianship Program of Dade County, in which incapacitated seniors had their home sold out from under them by agencies responsible for their care.
Méndez and her husband, Carlos Morales, are now defendants in a lawsuit alongside the city of Miami over the alleged scheme, which inspired bipartisan state legislation last Session that died unheard.
City Commissioners voted 4-1 for Méndez’s ouster in April, four months after the city narrowly avoided losing $56 million in state tax funding. It also came just under a year after she came under fire for supporting the use of taxpayer dollars to cover the legal fees of Commissioner Joe Carollo, who lost a $63.5 million lawsuit in June 2023.
Carollo was the only Commissioner to vote against firing Méndez, who the Miami Herald revealed worked with a developer’s lobbyist to reroute $10 million meant for citywide projects to his district alone.
