In this February 2019, has been two years since the death of attorney Dr. George Harper of Miami, Florida.
Memories of our own lives are often unreliable, so it should come as no surprise that the same is true of our colleagues, teachers, influencers and even our deceased loved ones. But in this case my memories are unforgettable.
Attorney George Harper, once in 1994 gave me a piece of advice which I have never forgotten, and in fact this advice has been part of my services within my national association for foreign lawyers NAFALAW.COM.
One day after completing a program of studies at the University of Miami, LLM International Law, the lawyer Dr. Harper and his colleagues invited the entire group of graduates to visit his offices in DownTown Miami. Visiting there in his luxurious office and giving us a walk through these offices, we did share with all colleagues good times, and enjoyed cupcakes and natural drinks.
Attorney Harper approached me, perhaps knowing that I was the only graduate of Cuban descent; but for whatever reason- he asked me about my future plans. My response was that, despite receiving an LLM program from the University of Miami, the Florida Bar of Admission had rejected my request to take the bar exam, in their response they explained that in Florida to have access to take the bar exam is necessary first to have a JD degree obtained from an university- law school approved by the ABA, and that my equivalence of my JD studies were obtained in a school not approved by ABA.
Attorney Harper’s response to my statement was divided into two parts.
The first part was that, although in Florida with my LLM- I could not take the bar exam, there were other states that would accept my LLM from UM University, in addition to my JD studies obtained at no ABA certificate, allowing me to take the bar exam, one of these states was NY.
The second part of his answer, was the most important for me to this day, and I quote: “Humphrey, you do not really need to take the Florida bar admission exam, I give you a confidential information! [he said with a smile]; filing for your admission to the Florida Bar, under the Chapter 16 rule, called the Foreign Law Consultant Lawyer, and then you only have to associate with a Florida lawyer to enter into a reciprocity agreement, you just have to follow the principles established in the case- ‘Florida vs . Savitt ‘”
At that moment I did not understand the importance of his response until the next day when I did an investigation of the precedent in this case, ‘Florida vs. Savitt ‘ and, at that moment was when I did understand the broad benefit of this rule. In my search, amplified, I was able to obtain a copy of “The Florida Bar Journal, volume LXIV, No. 2, February 1990”, written by attorney David S. Willig, and I quote: “Why we need foreign legal consultants in Florida.”
This wise statement with professional information told to me by the Dr. George Harper in 1994, has been one of my best working tools and the existence of my NAFA LAW institution to assisting and advising foreign lawyers in order to be admitted as attorney in the United States.
Then, in 1996, I was able to associate with a New York lawyer, Dr. George Chenoff, who applied for admission to the NY Bar and thus enabling us to practice federal laws and immigration laws until 2007- until the death of Dr. Chernoff who was my partner, friend and teacher.
I next, here below, quote an article with photos, in the form of a posthumous tribute- to Dr. George Harper, published in 2017 the Miami Herald newspaper.
“Foreign investment expert George Harper dies at 74″
George Harper was co-founder of the legal firm Harper Meyer in 2002 and an expert on foreign investment, aviation, banking and international business transactions. He was a member of Iron Arrow Honor Society. COURTESY STEVEN HARPER
When attorney George “Rocky” Harper advised clients on international investing, finance, franchising, commercial transactions and aviation, many followed his wisdom.
Before he graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1970, Harper knew all about foreign investment risk. Harper’s family owned and ran a 10,000-acre cattle and rice ranch in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, which was expropriated when Fidel Castro took power.
His late father, George Kitchens Harper, managed to wrest just over $195,000 from Castro, in the form of a check. But it was better than many others fared under the new regime in 1959.
“While he was not compensated for his land or the value of his cattle and crops, at least he got something,” his son George Harper said in a 2009 Miami Herald story.
Five months after the transaction, the Harper family, including a then 17-year-old George Harper, who had been born in Havana, left Cuba for the United States. Harper arrived two days after graduating high school from Havana’s Ruston Academy.
His late mother, Cuban-born Elizabeth Pardo Harper, wanted her son to finish school so that he would be ready for college. He earned a degree in industrial management from Georgia Tech, served in the U.S. Navy and became a U.S. citizen before earning his law degree.
Harper, who lived in Coral Gables, died Feb. 20 at 74 from pneumonia, two months after he was diagnosed with liver cancer. He worked at the Miami firm he started in 2002 — Harper Meyer Perez Hagen O’Connor Albert & Dribin — until the end, said his son and legal partner, Steven Harper. Before Harper Meyer, he was a partner at Paul, Landy, Beiley and Harper and later at Steel Hector & Davis.
Harper helped large and small businesses avoid pitfalls common to international investors. His practices included international business transactions, inbound and outbound foreign investments, aviation and banking. Among his clients: Colombia’s Avianca, Empresas Polar from Venezuela and Latin American chicken chain Pollo Campero from Guatemala.
Protect yourself before you make any commitments. There are a lot of sharks all over the world.
Attorney George Harper in the Miami Herald, 2009.
He was also tapped frequently to speak on U.S.-Cuba relations. Harper was named to the Hispanic Business Magazine Legal Elite List and Miami Today’s Book of Leaders. He received the Inter-American Law Review Lawyer of the Americas Award and was named Lawyer of the Americas by the University of Miami Law Review.
His advice, from a 2009 Miami Herald business article: “You have to do your homework. Know your partner, know your market and know the laws of the country where you plan to do business.”
Harper, president of the Inter-American Bar Association in 2005 and chair of the International Law Section of The Florida Bar in 1989-1990, shared his expertise as an adjunct professor at the St. Thomas University Law School and UM’s law school, where he also served as president of the Law Alumni Association.
“He was a popular teacher; students enjoyed him,” said Dennis Lynch, dean emeritus from the UM School of Law. “He was known in the Miami legal community as an attorney with a very strong working knowledge of doing business in Latin America, the difficulties and how to approach it. He predated a lot of other attorneys in developing that expertise.”
We had a right to impose the embargo. They did not have the right to take over our properties without compensation.
Havana-born attorney George Harper in the Miami Herald, 2015.
Outside of law, Harper was a former chairman of the board of History Miami and sat on the board of its endowment fund. He also was a member of the Salvation Army’s Advisory Council.
Harper’s passions also influenced members of his family. His son Steven followed him into two careers — music and the law. During high school in Cuba, a young George Harper was a DJ on a Havana radio show, “Teenage Turntable.” When he was a boy, Steven Harper determined he would become a lawyer like his dad until he discovered pop music. For a couple of years in the late 1990s, Steven worked as a recording engineer at North Miami’s Criteria Studios.
As he saw changes coming to the music industry, Steven reverted to the early plan and became an attorney.
“He helped me come full circle and fulfill an early childhood dream,” Steven Harper said of his father. “The most important thing he ever taught me was to treat everyone with respect. That’s what he did, and it’s why he touched as many lives as he did.”
Legal partner James Meyer told the Daily Business Review that Harper was a mentor figure since they were associates together in 1989. He was “a father figure to me throughout my entire adult life, the guiding light of our firm and truly one of Miami’s greats.”
Married for 50 years to Jeanne, the couple met as children because their mothers were sorority sisters at Duke University in North Carolina. Steven said of his parents: “They were also best friends and fell in love.”
Here, too, son and father shared characteristics. Steven Harper met his wife, Betsy Colross Harper, when they were teens at Riviera Country Club in Coral Gables, where his father golfed.
Harper is also survived by his son Douglas and grandchildren Jonathan, Riley, Nicholas, Christopher, Elizabeth and James; brother Tom and sister Jean Harper.
A memorial for friends and family will be at 11 a.m. March 11 at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 1121 Andalusia Ave., Coral Gables. A memorial to celebrate Harper’s contributions to the legal, banking and business communities will be from 5-7 p.m. March 15 at Gusman Concert Hall, 1314 Miller Dr., Coral Gables. Donations can be made to the George R. Harper Scholarship at the University of Miami School of Law.”
EXCERPT OF ARTICLE BY HOWARD COHEN
HCOHEN@MIAMIHERALD.COM
FEBRUARY 23, 2017 03:40 PM,
UPDATED FEBRUARY 24, 2017 09:20 PM
