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Overview

Mara is a corporate attorney whose practice focuses on emerging companies, mergers and acquisitions, and cross-border transactions. She provides comprehensive legal counsel to startups at all stages of development, from formation through exit. Based in Miami, Mara leverages our firm’s Link virtual platform to deliver sophisticated legal services to clients in the U.S. and worldwide.

Mara has supported startups and emerging companies throughout her career, providing legal counsel as they form, fund, grow, and eventually exit. She has negotiated and drafted transactional and financing documents, advised on corporate securities and governance matters, and assisted with public offerings. She is extensively experienced with leading equity and debt financings and other venture capital deals—making Miami, a major center of venture capital activity, a natural fit for her practice. While Mara has worked with emerging companies in a wide variety of industries, she has a particularly strong focus on technology and the life sciences.

Mara is deeply passionate about working with founders, and she loves the impact startups often have. She has also represented VC investors, including overseas investors, who fund these emerging growth companies, and she regularly works with more established organizations pursuing major mergers and acquisitions.

A dual citizen of the U.S. and Italy, Mara has long been fascinated by international business relationships and corporate transactions across jurisdictions. After earning an LL.M. in international business, she began her legal career representing Italian companies and Italians investing and conducting business in the U.S. Mara has extensive experience with cross-border transactions, as well as with emerging companies seeking overseas funding.

Known for her excitement for business deals, Mara is a legal advisor who is eager to be fully involved in clients’ growth plans. Companies of all sizes rely on her to navigate complex challenges and help them seize opportunities with confidence.

Industry

Services

Education

  • LL.M., Fordham University School of Law
    • International Business & Trade Law
    • magna cum laude
  • J.D., American University Washington College of Law
    • cum laude
    • Administrative Law Review, Senior Staff
  • B.A., University of Pittsburgh
    • cum laude

Admissions

  • Florida
  • New York

Mara is associated with the Washington, DC office for telephone and mail purposes only. She is not admitted to practice in District of Columbia.

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • Florida Venture Forum
  • American Bar Association

Languages

  • Italian, fluent


*Mara works remotely and is licensed in Florida, practicing in Vero Beach, FL. Contact Mara via email or telephone for in-person/virtual meetings. Use the Washington, DC office address for mail/deliveries only.

Experience
  • Represented numerous emerging companies in the technology and life sciences sectors in all stages of the company life cycle, as well as venture capital funds.
  • Drafted, reviewed, and negotiated equity and debt financing documents in connection with private rounds of financing, including series financings, convertible notes, and SAFEs.
  • Oversaw due diligence review and prepared detailed pro forma capitalization tables related to financings and M&A deals.
  • Negotiated and drafted relevant company formation and restructuring documents, and commercial agreements, for companies to issue initial equity and protect IP assets.
  • Reviewed and prepared M&A agreements, including merger, stock purchase and asset purchase agreements, ancillary documents, and disclosure schedules for emerging company clients.
  • Drafted and negotiated documents in connection with public offerings, including Form D, Form 1-A, and Form C disclosures and filings.
  • Acted as de facto general counsel to startup companies with respect to day-to-day business transactions and general corporate and finance matters. Represented emerging companies during all stages of their corporate life cycles.
Outside the Office

Appropriately for her Italian heritage, Mara loves to cook and bake, with artisan bread, focaccia, and pizza among her specialties. She and her extended family travel to Italy often, usually visiting her father’s hometown in the south.

Mara is also a former ballerina who still enjoys volunteering at ballet studios and assisting with performances. She currently channels her passion for ballet into Pilates.

Community Leadership
  • Communities for Change