About Roland Sanchez-Medina Jr.

Biography

Roland Sanchez-Medina Jr. is a founding partner of SMGQ Law in Miami and served as the 76th President of The Florida Bar from 2024 to 2025. Over more than three decades in practice, he has advised companies, boards and families on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, securities, real estate and tax matters, both domestic and international.

Born in Havana in 1966, he left Cuba as a small child with his parents, Dr. Rolando Sanchez-Medina, an orthopedic surgeon, and Gisela Sanchez-Medina. The family's search for freedom took them through the Republic of the Congo, political asylum in South Africa and a stay in Spain before they settled in Miami when he was a young boy. He was the third Florida Bar president born outside the United States.

He graduated from Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, where a civics class first drew him to the justice system, and earned a B.B.A. cum laude in finance from the University of Miami. After working as a credit analyst at a bank, he chose a career in law, earning a J.D. with honors from Boston College Law School and an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law. He practiced at Holland & Knight and Greenberg Traurig and was a partner in the corporate department of McDermott Will & Emery before co founding SMGQ Law with Peter Gonzalez and Pablo Quesada. The firm has grown to about 25 attorneys. He began his career as a tax lawyer and built his practice into corporate and real estate transactions. He has called his father his only true mentor.

Before leading the Bar, he served for about a decade on its Board of Governors, where he chaired the Program Evaluation Committee. As president, he focused on professionalism, lawyer well being and opening doors for new and immigrant lawyers. He is a past president of the Cuban American Bar Association, past chairman and general counsel of the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and past chair of the budget and audit committees of Miami Dade County Public Schools and the City of Coral Gables. He serves on the Orange Bowl Committee and the University of Miami Citizens Board and is a member of the National Conference of Bar Presidents.

He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, the Legal 500 Miami Elite, Super Lawyers and Florida Trend's Legal Elite, and was named a 2025 Power Leader in Law by the South Florida Business Journal. A lifelong mentor to young lawyers and students, he lives in Coral Gables.

Why he serves

“I want to do something positive every day,” Roland told the Miami Herald in 2024. He joined the Cuban American Bar Association board in 2001 and was elected its president in 2009, and he has said the friendships and the chance to help other attorneys gave him purpose in a demanding profession. As the son of Cuban exiles, he hopes his path shows others what is possible: “I want other Cuban Americans to know that it's attainable.”

In memory of his father

Dr. Rolando Sanchez-Medina was born in Cuba on September 20, 1935. A physician, he led his young family out of Cuba on a years long journey through Africa and Spain, rebuilt his career in the United States, practiced at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, and earned board certification in orthopedic surgery despite having to learn a new language. In Miami he became one of the most respected orthopedic surgeons in the Cuban community. He died in Coral Gables on November 25, 2023, at age 88.

Roland has called his father his only true mentor, and credits him with the work ethic and love of service that shaped his own career. Obituary.

Career timeline

Leadership and service

• 76th President, The Florida Bar (2024 to 2025); President elect (2023 to 2024); Board of Governors, where he chaired the Program Evaluation Committee
• President, Cuban American Bar Association (installed in early 2009; Florida Bar News)
• Chairman of the Board, South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, for a four year term ending in May 2024 that spanned the COVID pandemic, when he led member education on Paycheck Protection Program loans; also served as the chamber's general counsel
• Chair, Budget and Audit Committee, Miami Dade County Public Schools
• Chair, Budget and Audit Committee, City of Coral Gables
• Member, Orange Bowl Committee
• Executive Committee, University of Miami Citizens Board
• Member, National Conference of Bar Presidents
• Member, Business Law; Real Property, Probate and Trust Law; and International Law Sections of The Florida Bar

Honors

• The Best Lawyers in America, including the 2026 and 2027 editions
• Legal 500, Miami Elite (2026)
• South Florida Business Journal Power Leaders in Law and Accounting (2025)
• University of Miami Law Alumni Association award, Miami Dade County Judicial Reception (2024)
• Super Lawyers; Florida Trend Legal Elite
• Top Transactional Attorney, South Florida Legal Guide (2013 to 2016)
• AV Preeminent rating, Martindale Hubbell
• Golden Eagle Award, Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition (2010)
• Hispanic Heritage Honoree, After School All Stars (2009)

Practice

At SMGQ Law, Roland advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring and restructuring, board governance, securities, domestic and international commercial transactions, commercial and residential real estate, and tax and estate planning. His work ranges from real estate acquisitions, construction loans and credit facilities to private equity investments, public offerings and profit sharing agreements. View his firm biography.

Sources: Florida Bar News, Florida Bar, University of Miami, Latino Business Review, Calle Ocho News, Miami Herald, Coral Gables Magazine, Attorney at Law Magazine, SMGQ Law.