José Laureano is North South Law Group’s founding member in charge of our South Florida and Puerto Rico Offices.   He holds a Juris Doctor degree from The George Washington University Law School (Washington, D.C.), and a bachelor’s degree in Science from the University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez Campus.   Since co-founding North South Law Group, his legal work has focused on Estate Planning  (Wills and Trusts), Small Business Law and Contracts, Real Estate Law, Internal Corporate/Institutional Investigations, and HUD-program compliance representation and consulting services.   José is authorized to practice law in Florida and Puerto Rico.  He is also admitted to the bar of the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Florida and for the District of Puerto Rico, and of the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Federal Circuit.  José also is a notary public in the State of Florida.

Prior to co-founding North South Law Group, José served as Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and as Attorney/Advisor for the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG).

In addition, he served as an investigator for HUD-OIG, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Food and Drug Administration in Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and Florida.  During his 27-year tenure with the United States Government, José was involved in the prosecution of white-collar crime cases, provided legal advice to HUD-OIG executives and staff, and developed expertise in HUD-subsidized housing programs and FHA-insured mortgage programs.

His investigative work mainly involved the detection and investigation of criminal, civil and administrative violations such as fraud against housing authorities, public housing/Section 8 fraud, multi-family housing fraud, grant fraud, construction fraud, public corruption, mortgage fraud, construction fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud, identity theft, employee misconduct cases, postal violations and prohibited acts under the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, among others.  José is fluent in English and Spanish.