Niyala Harrison, a Jamaican American attorney, and associate in the Miami, Florida, office of the legal firm Squire Patton Boggs, has been included on the 2022 edition of the “Ones to Watch in America” list compiled by Best Lawyers.
The 2022 edition will be Best Lawyers 28th in the United States and mark the organization’s 40th year in providing its listings. Best Lawyers is considered the most reliable and unbiased source for legal referrals, highlighting the major accomplishments of outstanding lawyers on a list compiled through a stringent peer-review survey process. The Best Lawyers list was the first of its kind and was designed to meet the need for efficient legal recommendations in the pre-internet era. It began as a small directory of names and has developed into a globally recognized brand known for its carefully curated list. For 2022, the professional excellence of 66,713 lawyers in 147 practice areas across the US have been recognized. The year 2022 also marks the second edition of “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America,” which uses the same methodology as “The Best Lawyers in America.” In the 2022 edition, Best Lawyers has recognized 14,501 lawyers in 79 practice areas at 2,866 firms across 187 metropolitan areas in the US.
Inclusion on the “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America” list for 2022 is just the latest honor to be bestowed on Harrison, who has been previously recognized for her achievements with the “One the Rise” award in 2019, an award presented by the Daily Business Review (DBR) to promising Florida attorneys under the age of 40 and as “Top Dealmaker of the Year” in the Public Finance category by the DBR in 2015. She was also named one of the “40 under 40 Outstanding Lawyers of Miami-Dade County” by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In her legal practice, Harrison represents cities, counties, state agencies, and nonprofits on public finance issues and tax-exempt matters. She was also selected by Squire Patton Boggs to participate in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinder Program, a program created for diverse, high-potential, early career lawyers.
Niyala Harrison earned a BA in International Affairs and Spanish in 2005 and an MS in International Affairs in 2006 from Florida State University. She earned her JD cum laude in 2012 from the University of Miami where she was a member of the Business Law Review. She was also named a Dean’s Scholar and Outstanding Public Interest Scholar at the university.
Before entering legal practice, Harrison served for more than two years as City Planner in Broward County where she was in charge of guiding the county’s growth and development. She has long been a member of the Caribbean Bar Association and has been the organization’s president, former president-elect, and vice-president. She is an active volunteer in citizenship drives and helps eligible, legal, permanent residents to complete their citizenship applications. She has also been an author and Room Host at the Miami Book Fair International.
In 2015, Harrison was recognized as the “Top Dealmaker of the Year” in the Public Finance category by the Daily Business Review and was named one of the “40 under 40 Outstanding Lawyers of Miami-Dade County” by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Harrison was chosen was by Squire Patton Boggs to participate in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinder Program, a program created for diverse, high-potential, early career lawyers.
Niyala Harrison Photo Courtesy of Greenberg Traurig LLP
