Page 28 - Miami Vol 8 No 1

2019 SUPERSTARS
Kristina E. Wilson and MJ Granados-Godoy
Boutique Firm Keeps It Simple
To Better Business Community
We view being women attorneys as a strength. We’re unique.
We hustle. We work hard and our work product speaks for itself.”
BY DAN BALDWIN PHOTOGRAPHED BY LOUIS PEREZ
I’m fortunate enough to work every day with my best friend,” says Kristina Wilson, partner in Simply Legal, a boutique rm with prac- tice areas in corporate law, real estate, general counsel, international business transactions, compliance and government law, and employ- ment law. Wilson and Maria Jose “MJ” Gra- nados-Godoy rst met and became friends in law school.
A er earning her Juris Doctor, Wilson worked as associate/deputy general counsel for Dezer Development and later at a rm focusing on corporate and real estate matters located in Brickell. While at Dezer Develop- ment, Wilson managed a vast array of legal issues for more than 150 entities and joint ventures, participated in major real estate ac- quisitions and developments, and managed numerous complex business transactions. Wilson also has work experience in market- ing, project management, and internal audit- ing with several large corporations.
Exercising her entrepreneurial spirit, Granados-Godoy founded her own law rm in 2009. e two stayed in touch and even worked a number of projects together over the years. Granados-Godoy has extensive ex- perience assisting foreign and domestic inves- tors in real estate acquisitions, leasing, man- agement, sale of commercial and residential properties and has acted as closing and title agent for more than 300 residential, commer- cial and business acquisition transactions in the South Florida area.
Wilson says, “When I was ready to take the leap of faith and start my own practice, I knew partnering with MJ would be the per- fect t. We complement each other so well in what we do because we both have experience representing clients on di erent sides of the transaction, so together we have a holistic un- derstanding and approach to a deal.”
e two joined forces and opened Sim- ply Legal LLP in 2017 and the duo has also worked hard to hire the right sta to join their team. “We have an open door policy that al- lows us to work closely with our team. We enjoy what we do and the clients we serve, so it’s important that we have top-notch sta that can best serve our clients. ere’s not a person on our sta I wouldn’t place in a conference room with any of our clients. We work as a teamandweviewourselvesaspartofourcli- ents’ team,” Wilson says.
COMBINING LEGAL SERVICES WITH REAL-WORLD BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
e rm’s slogan “Where Law, Real Estate and Business Meet,” re ects the blend of legal needs that o en occur in Miami. Real estate, whether acquiring or leasing property, obtain- ing licenses or zoning, is generally an impor- tant component of many of the business trans- actions we encounter.
Additionally, one of the rm’s strong suits is the entrepreneurial and real-world busi- ness expertise of the founders. “We view be- ing women attorneys as a strength. We’re
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MIAMI · VOL. 8 NO. 1 28