PUERTO RICO - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Capital Member of the Firm

Angel Berberena is a Capital Member of the Firm with over 25 years of experience as a practicing trial attorney in general, commercial and labor/employment litigation. Substantial experience in multimillion-dollar and complex litigation cases. Experience in construction, real estate, retail, healthcare, insurance, food/beverage, financial/legal services, and pharmaceutical industries. Commercial experience includes litigation, arbitration and mediation involving breach and interpretation of contracts; corporate and partnership disputes including valuation, stock and asset purchases, due diligence, dissolutions, violations to corporate or partnership agreements, and breach of fiduciary duty; insurance and financial claims including coverage, payment and collections; damages and personal injury.

Job Titles:

• of Counsel

Job Titles:

• Capital Member
• Managing Member and Chair, Litigation and Trial Practice

Carlos A. Rodríguez-Vidal, a Capital Member, has practiced as a trial attorney and litigator in civil and commercial cases in the Litigation and Trial Practice Department of the firm since 1983, and is the Firm's Managing Member. He chairs the department since 2000. His daily work currently revolves around disputes involving franchise, distribution and sales representation contracts, construction and various other types of civil and commercial contracts. Because of the nature of Puerto Rico's continuously evolving economy and legal landscape, Mr. Rodríguez-Vidal has also worked over the years in diverse areas of substantive and procedural law, including federal practice and procedure, banking, government procurement and bids, product liability, insurance, antitrust, intellectual property, and petroleum marketing practices.

Job Titles:

• Capital Member

Edgardo Colón-Arrarás is a Capital Member of the firm. He is experienced in complex federal, state and arbitration cases. He has substantial experience in cases involving environmental claims/toxic torts, copyrights, trademarks, class actions, lenders liability, products liability, securities, P.R. Dealer's Act claims, contractual disputes, civil rights litigation and others.

Job Titles:

• Associate

Edgardo L. Rodriguez-LaFontaine joined the firm's Labor and Employment Group as an associate in 2022. Mr. Rodriguez's practice is focused on litigation, counseling, and advice on Labor and Employment matters. Mr. Rodriguez also assists the Litigation and Trial Practice Group in civil litigation matters.

F.C. Bloxom Co. v. Dee Produce Corp., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2050, 2007, D.P.R.

Job Titles:

• Limited Member
• Member of the Firm

Gabriel Quintero-O'Neill is a Limited Member of the Firm with over 12 years of experience as a practicing trial attorney in general, commercial and labor/employment litigation who has substantial experience in complex litigation cases. His focus in labor and employment matters includes all areas of labor and employment law and personnel practices including wrongful termination, workplace/sex harassment, bullying, discipline, disability, accommodation, leaves, employee benefits and compensation, discrimination (race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, and marriage, orientation and others), affirmative action, retaliation, privacy, protective orders, wage and hour, leaves of absence, ERISA, OSHA, domestic violence in the workplace, executive employment contracts, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), labor reform, independent contractor disputes, misclassification, special employment covenants (non-compete, non-solicitation, IP transfers, etc.), separation agreements, maternity, retaliation, Title VII, whistleblower, workplace investigations, reductions in force, reorganizations, and closings. He handles active litigation, arbitration and mediation before local and federal administrative and judicial forums, including the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Puerto Rico Supreme Court, Puerto Rico Court of Appeals, Puerto Rico Court of First Instance, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), United States Department of Labor (US-DOL), Puerto Rico Anti-discrimination Unit (PR-ADU), Puerto Rico Department of Labor (PR-DOL), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA and PR-OSHA), and other administrative agencies. Before joining the Firm, he served as a Law Clerk of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, an experience that has greatly contributed to his thriving appellate practice

Job Titles:

• Limited Member

Gretchen M. Méndez-Vilella's practice is concentrate in the area of environmental law. For 24 years, she has been advising clients in matters associated to federal, Commonwealth and municipal environmental standards regulating commercial, industrial and agricultural constructions and operations. She has extensive experience designing effective environmental compliance assurance programs and defending clients in environmental enforcement actions. Ms. Méndez-Vilella also has ample experience in Superfund, due diligence/all appropriate inquiries, contract drafting, permitting, auditing and self-disclosure, and decommissioning, decontamination and demolition projects. Ms. Méndez-Vilella is also a regular lecturer on hazardous waste management, stormwater controls auditing and self disclosure, environmental permitting for startup businesses and all appropriate inquiries standards for environmental due diligence in real estate transactions.

Job Titles:

• Director of the Labor and Employment Department and Capital Member

Job Titles:

• of Counsel
• of Counsel of the Firm and Member of the Labor

Luis D. Ortiz-Abreu is a Of Counsel of the Firm and member of the Labor and Employment Law Department. Mr. Ortiz-Abreu counsels and represents employers and individuals (management) of the private sector before the National Labor Relations Board; U.S. Department of Labor; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; O.F.C.C.P.; and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. At the local administrative level, he represents management before the Puerto Rico Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor and Human Resources; Bureau of Conciliation and Arbitration; the Industrial Commission (under the Workmen's Accident Compensation law); Anti-Discrimination Unit; Bureau of Employment Standards; Office of Mediation and Adjudication; and Unemployment Insurance Bureau. His professional practice encompasses mediation and arbitration of labor-management controversies and collective bargaining; as well as extensive experience in defense litigation practice in the Courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico and the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in labor and employment matters such as wages and hours; disciplinary suspensions or dismissals; RIFs and reorganizations; plant closings and successor employers; employment discrimination defense for age; gender; disability; sexual harassment; national origin; social condition; political ideas; pregnancy leave rights; and other similar protected categories.

Job Titles:

• of Counsel
• Counsel to the Firm

Luis F. Antonetti is Of Counsel to the Firm and a former Director of the Labor and Employment Law Department. Mr. Antonetti practices in the areas of labor & employment law, occupational safety & health, arbitration, and mediation. Mr. Antonetti is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and past president of the Labor and Employment Committee of the Puerto Rico Bar Association and of the Inter American Bar Association (IABA). He is a Council Member of the IABA. He authors the section on Puerto Rico Labor and Employment Law in the ABA-BNA/Bloomberg publication titled International Labor and Employment Laws and of Wage and Hour Laws: A State-by State Survey, also published by ABA-BNA/Bloomberg. He has been a frequent lecturer in the areas of Labor and Employment Law and has written articles published by labor law journals and human resources publications. He has been selected by his peers worldwide to the Who's Who of Labor and Employment Law. Mr. Antonetti is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Job Titles:

• Limited Member

Rebecca Cuevas-Fontán is a Limited Member in the Firm's Tax Department. Ms. Cuevas-Fontán's practice includes corporate tax, sales and use tax, tax incentives laws, and state and local taxes. She devotes a substantial part of her time in handling local and state tax issues as well as providing financial analysis to the Firm's clients in order to compare different tax planning options and consider available investment opportunities. Ms. Cuevas-Fontán graduated magna cum laude from the University of Puerto Rico's College of Business Administration and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1996, before attending the University of Puerto Rico Law School. Ms. Cuevas-Fontán initially joined the firm's Corporate & Banking Law Department as an associate in 2001. In 2002, she became Legal Advisor for the Administrative Appeals Office of the Puerto Rico Treasury Department, providing legal counseling in income tax, sales and use tax, excise tax, and estate tax cases, among others. In 2013, Ms. Cuevas-Fontán was named Assistant Secretary of the Puerto Rico Treasury Department's Appeals Office. In this role, she was part of the Secretary of the Treasury's staff, and as Administrative Judge, was in charge of the Appeals and the Adjudicative Proceedings Offices. During such time she worked in the preparation of resolutions, orders and notices that could be revised by the Puerto Rico Appeals Court or the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance regarding complaints filed by taxpayers in response to adverse determinations of the Treasury Department. Cases she attended included income tax deficiencies, sales and use tax, licenses, statute of limitations, penalties, and tax exemptions, among others. Ms. Cuevas-Fontán was also part of the team that worked towards the development of the Appeals process of the Treasury Department new computerized system (SURI). Ms. Cuevas-Fontán returned to the firm in December 2016.

Job Titles:

• Capital Member of the Firm and a Member

Rossell Barrios is a Capital Member of the Firm and a member of the Litigation and Trial Practice Department. Mr. Barrios handles distribution/franchise, commercial law, intellectual property, antitrust, complex/class action litigation and arbitration, government procurement, environmental, torts, tax, medical malpractice and product liability litigation, dedicating a very substantial portion of his time to franchising and distribution (Law 75) litigation, arbitration and counseling.

Job Titles:

• Capital Member

Solymar Castillo Morales joined the firm's Litigation and Trial Practice Department as a Capital Member in 2010. Prior to joining Goldman Antonetti & Cordova, Ms. Castillo worked as an Associate attorney for various law firms in San Juan, and as Legal Advisor and Director of the Collections Bureau at the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury, where, among other things, she was in charge of negotiating Closing Agreements and Offers & Compromise presented by Tax Payers in order to determine their feasibility and compliance with the Internal Revenue Code of Puerto Rico and the established public policy. She has represented and advised numerous organizations and individuals on legal issues regarding Commercial, Tax and Bankruptcy Law, as well as other civil matters, mainly Torts, Construction, Contracts, Trademarks, Foreclosures and Labor Law. She also worked as independent investigator for the Ethics Commission of the Senate of Puerto Rico, analyzing compliance with ethics regulations in financial reports filed by lawmakers. As part of her work at Goldman she has also represented Unsecured Creditors' Committees and Developers' claims on contractors' bankruptcy cases, in addition to work with property taxes claims in the administrative and local courts. She is also the coordinator of the Summer Law Clerk Program. She is a co-author of the Chapter 7 Bankruptcies Statistics and Analysis of the Inside the Minds, Chapter 7 Consumer Bankruptcy Strategies, 2011 Edition for Aspatore Books; and, Best Practices for filing Chapter 13, 2015 Edition for Aspatore Books.

Job Titles:

• of Counsel

Vicente J. Antonetti was a founder and chairman of the Executive Committee of the Firm. He is currently Of Counsel in the Labor and Employment Law Department. Mr. Antonetti is a Fellow of the College of Labor Employment Lawyers, Inc. and of the American Bar Foundation. He has been a frequent speaker and lecturer in the areas of Labor and Employment Law before various trade and professional associations including the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association, the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, American Bar Association, Puerto Rico Bar Association and SHRM. Mr. Antonetti is considered one of the premier labor and employment lawyers in Puerto Rico. He represents employers exclusively in litigation of labor and employment cases before Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and U.S. Courts.