Overview
Ms. Vélez is an experienced litigator with a practice spanning state and federal courts in multiple jurisdictions. Admitted to practice in Florida, New York, and New Jersey, Ms. Vélez has litigated a number of complex legal disputes involving financial instruments, business torts, health care, bankruptcy, environmental regulations, trade secrets, trademark, post-judgment issues, and constitutional questions. She is intimately involved in all aspects of her cases, at both the trial and appellate levels.
Ms. Vélez has a deep expertise in personal jurisdiction, a key issue in the domestic and cross-border disputes she litigates. She has briefed and argued the issue under the laws of different jurisdictions and in various contexts, including cases brought pursuant to the Anti-Terrorism Act, post-judgment proceedings, and conspiracy claims.
Ms. Vélez is also committed to pro bono and public interest work. She successfully petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for lawful permanent residence on behalf of a domestic violence survivor under the Violence Against Women Act. She was also integral in bringing suit on behalf of a Guantanamo detainee against the CIA contractors responsible for his torture.
Prior to joining LBKM, Ms. Vélez spent six years at an international law firm in New York, where she not only worked on complex commercial matters but arbitrated in commercial and investor-state proceedings involving both international and foreign law.
Ms. Vélez earned her J.D. and B.A. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and is actively involved in the Latin American Penn Carey Law Alumni Association. She is fluent in Spanish.
Other Languages
- Spanish
Experience
- Associate, Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Publications & Events
Elizabeth Vélez successfully petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for lawful permanent residence (commonly known as a green card) on behalf of an undocumented client who was the victim of domestic violence.
May 20, 2021The Second Circuit held that 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a) cannot be used to support petitions for discovery for use in private foreign commercial arbitrations, settling an issue that has lingered unresolved in the circuit since 2004. The new decision, In re Guo, puts the Second Circuit squarely at odds with recent decisions issued by other circuit courts, raising the possibility that the Supreme Court will take up the issue next session to resolve the split. While Guo does not impact the ability of parties to foreign public arbitrations and litigations to take § 1782(a) discovery, for now at least, parties to private foreign arbitrations may have to look to more favorable circuits outside New York for relief.
July 13, 2020
In the News
Chambers has again noted Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC (LBKM) for its expertise in Latin America.
The 2025 Chambers Global guide ranks the firm among the top international counsel for corporate crime and investigation matters arising out of Latin America. LBKM is the only boutique firm to be included in this elite list.
February 2025LBKM is delighted to announce the promotion of Elizabeth Vélez to partner. Ms. Vélez’s elevation reflects her outstanding contributions to the firm and her exceptional legal acumen in complex commercial litigation.
December 18, 2024Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss made its debut this year in Chambers’ annual Latin America Guide, ranking as a leading international firm in the Corporate Crime & Investigations practice area.
LBKM is the only boutique firm to be so ranked.
August 2024- Abu Zubaydah was the first prisoner waterboarded by the C.I.A. He has never faced charges at Guantánamo Bay.
Lawyers for the longest-held prisoner in the U.S. war against terrorism have begun a new legal offensive in multiple courts aimed at securing his release from Guantánamo Bay.
The New York Times, October 4, 2023 The Supreme Court held in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railroad that the assertion of general jurisdiction over an out-of-state corporation that has waived its jurisdictional defense as a condition to doing business in a state comports with Due Process.
July 2023The United States Supreme Court concluded in ZF Automotive US, Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd. that federal district courts cannot order discovery for use in a private foreign arbitration via 18 U.S.C. § 1782—a statute that permits litigants to seek discovery in federal court for “use in a proceeding in a foreign or international tribunal.” The unanimous decision narrows a useful discovery tool by prohibiting parties in or contemplating private, foreign arbitration from obtaining discovery through federal courts for use in that arbitration.
June 14, 2022An amended complaint filed in Miami-Dade County alleges that Amicorp, an international trust services company, actively participated in a multi-million-dollar real estate fraud which victimized many Latin American families.
www.businesswire.com, July 3, 2019Woodsford Litigation Funding, one of the leading global third party funders, has announced a funding facility agreement with Lewis Baach which ensures the firm can offer clients an expedited, one-stop arrangement for the financing of high value litigation and arbitration.
August 16, 2017
Practice Areas
Education
- University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D., 2009)
- University of Pennsylvania (B.A., Spanish and Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, 2005)
Bar Admissions
- Florida
- New York
- New Jersey
- U.S. District Courts for the District of New Jersey, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of Florida, and Middle District of Florida