Rafael A. Paz

Rafael Paz serves as the City's chief legal advisor and oversees the Office of City Attorney. Under his supervision, the Office of City Attorney prepares or reviews all ordinances, resolutions, contracts, bonds, and other written instruments involving the City. The Office of City Attorney also prosecutes or defends, for and on behalf of the City, all complaints, suits, and controversies in which the City is a party.

Mr. Paz joined the City Attorney’s Office in 2014, and most recently served as Chief Deputy City Attorney, responsible for transactional matters, real property, and general business affairs of the City, including all of the City’s major public-private partnerships and other projects, including the Miami Beach Convention Center Renovation Project; the Convention Center Headquarter Hotel Project; the 500 Alton Project; the 2018 General Obligation Bond Program; and many other matters.

On December 9, 2020, the Mayor and City Commission appointed then City Attorney Raul J. Aguila as Interim City Manager and simultaneously appointed Rafael Paz to serve as Acting City Attorney during Mr. Aguila’s period of service as Interim City Manager. Following ten months of service as Acting City Attorney, the Mayor and City Commission appointed Rafael Paz as City Attorney on October 13, 2021.

Prior to joining the City, Mr. Paz was Senior University Counsel at Florida International University, where, among other matters, he represented The Wolfsonian-FIU in Miami Beach, and was lead counsel with respect to the University’s acquisition of the Jewish Museum of Florida in Miami Beach.

Mr. Paz also served as Assistant County Attorney for Miami-Dade County, where his practice concentrated on construction, procurement, and commercial litigation, and was a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Donald L. Graham, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida.

Rafael has served as an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Miami Law School, and most recently taught Contract Drafting & Negotiation.

Rafael was born and raised in Miami and is a resident of the City of Miami Beach. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, from Florida International University, Miami, Florida, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.