Who We Are

Founded by seasoned maritime attorney, Mayte Cabada, our boutique legal practice is exclusively focused on representing clients in the commercial shipping, passenger cruise, private boat and yachting, and marine service industries.

With more than 24 years of legal experience, including 17 years specifically dedicated to maritime matters, Mayte brings a level of insight and judgment that few practitioners can match.

Mayte is widely respected for her depth of knowledge in shipbuilding and construction, vessel sales and purchasing, flagging and certification, chartering and technical management, and international maritime compliance.  Her track record of advising on multibillion-dollar transactions and navigating cross-border regulatory regimes underscores her standing as a trusted legal authority.

Delivering sophisticated counsel on complex, high-value transactions, Mayte ensures her clients are positioned to move forward with clarity, confidence, and success.

UNPARALLED MARITIME EXPERIENCE

Global Shipping Experience

Before establishing her admiralty and maritime practice, Mayte served as General Counsel at PayCargo, a private company based in Coral Gables, FL.  Mayte directed the corporate legal department of a company that provides an online payment platform to enable shippers to pay carriers, among others, for the movement of cargo.  Mayte oversaw the legal department functions—including transactional, regulatory, employment, and litigation matters—and supported the company’s global expansion across the UK, EU, UAE, APAC, and ANZ, ensuring cross-border compliance and entity formation.

Prior to joining PayCargo, Mayte served as Senior Associate Counsel at Royal Caribbean Group (RCG), where she served as the lead maritime transactional and operations attorney for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. During her tenure at RCG from 2015-2022, Mayte managed the successful sale and delivery of 22 passenger cruise ships, including 12 newbuild passenger cruise ships from international shipyards including Meyer Werft in Germany, Chantiers de l’Atlantique in France, and Damen Shipyard in Rotterdam. These transactions, often involving billion-dollar assets, required complex multi-jurisdictional negotiations with shipyards, regulators, lenders, and classification societies.

Cruise Line Experience

Earlier in her career, Mayte served as Senior Counsel for SEACOR Holdings (CKOR) in Fort Lauderdale, FL where she managed the transactional, compliance, and corporate legal matters for a global provider of shipping, marine, and transportation services. From 2008-2015, Mayte served as a trusted advisor at CKOR, counseling executives on developing and achieving business objectives while minimizing liability and risk related to marine operations. She played a key role in litigation strategy connected to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and advised on risk management, indemnification, and insurance claims.

Mayte began her legal career in health care law in Miami, providing transactional and regulatory counsel to health systems and providers. She served as Associate Counsel at Baptist Health South Florida providing transactional support to the legal department, and as an Associate Attorney at Dresnick & Rodriquez representing health care providers and facilities in administrative matters before the Florida Department of Health Care and Agency for Health Care Administration.

Marine Transportation Experience

By way of background, Mayte earned a Juris Doctorate from The George Washington University School of Law in Washington, DC in 2001. She earned a Bachelor of Arts,  Cum Laude,  in Philosophy in 1998 from Villanova University in Philadelphia, PA. Mayte has been licensed as an attorney in the State of Florida since 2001. Mayte is recognized by the Legal500 in the GC Powerlist Miami 2024 and 2022, which is sponsored by the International Bar Association and the American Association of Corporate Counsel Alliance. Mayte is a member of WISTA USA (Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association), BIMCO (Baltic and International Maritime Council), the Florida Administrative Substantive Law Committee, and the Coral Gables Bar Association.