Construction law and litigation, together with surety law are among the main areas of practice of our firm. Our construction group drafts contracts tailored to U.S. and Puerto Rico law and provides counseling to contractors and owners. Our knowledge regarding Puerto Rico construction law is of great value to our clients. We are proud to have served large and small construction clients from Puerto Rico, Continental United States and Europe. We have also participated as lecturers in educational seminars relating to construction law.
We have assisted clients in the drafting and negotiating of Construction Contracts and Subcontracts, Joint Venture Agreements, Operating Agreements, Merger and Acquisition Agreements, Shareholder Agreements, Real Estate Conveyances, Distributorship Agreements and Mortgages. There is a special synergy between our contracts practice and our other areas of concentration such as construction, project finance, surety, real estate and real estate development which permits us to assist clients in the negotiation and drafting of such contracts.
Our litigation group is experienced in all forms of dispute resolution (including mediation and arbitration) and civil litigation before local and federal administrative agencies, federal and local courts. We have experience litigating cases before administrative agencies, the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance, the Puerto Rico Intermediate Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit as well as the Civilian and Armed Services Boards of Contract Appeals.
We have represented surety clients in a variety of capacities. We have negotiated and litigated and successfully handled default terminations, including challenging declarations of construction default. We have handled payment bond disputes under federal, state and private bonds and assisted clients in the preparation and negotiation of financial accommodation agreements, completion agreements, takeover agreements and other such contracts relevant to suretyship.
Our firm represents Puerto Rico, national and international corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies for whom we provide company creation and governance services. We perform commercial transactional and litigation work for corporations and other entities in diverse industries and have experience in mergers and acquisitions.
Our firm has experience in negotiating and drafting alternate dispute resolution agreements, including agreements for arbitration, mediation, min-trials, expert fact-finding and early neutral evaluation of disputes. We have participated in such proceedings on behalf of our clients. We have participated in arbitrations regarding construction and surety claims. We also help clients in the enforcement of arbitration awards.
We have experience in representing borrowers and lenders and in negotiating loan agreements including loans for real estate projects. We can offer advise and services regarding land loans and construction loans as well as end user permanent financing.
We have experience in representing both sellers and purchasers in merger, sales and acquisitions. Our firm is also experienced in joint ventures. We have worked for banks and for other companies as mergers and acquisitions counsel. We can also provide representation and advice in related areas such as labor and employment, real estate, bank financing and secured transactions.
Our firm has experience in representing clients before administrative agencies regarding regulatory compliance and adversarial proceedings. Some of the agencies before whom we have practiced are the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, the Puerto Rico Telecommunication Bureau, the Permit Management Board and the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Under Puerto Rico law, transfer of titles and of other rights regarding real property including mortgages, require the services of a notary (who must be a lawyer). Our attorney-notaries represent buyers, sellers, corporations and banking institutions.
We have knowledge and experience related to Puerto Rico estate law, including estate administration, liquidation and distribution. We have dealt with multi jurisdictional matters related to estates and heirs. Litigation of estate matters is one of our strengths. We have litigated estate disputes as attorneys for executors as well as for heirs.
There is a special synergy between our real estate, construction and corporate practices. We have represented developers of residential and commercial real estate and do their contract work, including drafting of development agreements and operating agreements, bond financing of their projects as well as regulatory work and entitlement.
We provide counseling as to Federal and Puerto Rico Wage and Hours matters as well as other labor issues. Our labor practice includes litigation before Federal and Puerto Rico Courts and administrative agencies. We also have experience in matters before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regarding unfair labor practice proceedings as well as in the negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements.
Our firm has participated in private-public partnership projects, such as the Moscoso Bridge (a privately operated and maintained toll bridge which connects the San Juan International Airport with the Hato Rey business center) and the Humacao Judicial Center, a design-build-maintain project. We also have participated on behalf of real estate developers in the formation of state, municipal and private consortiums of several aqueduct and sewer facilities owned by the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority.
Puerto Rico's Distribution Laws such as Law 75 an Law 21, govern the business relationship between principals and the locally appointed distributors and limit principal's ability to unilaterally end the relationship. We have experience in representing clients in Law 75 and Law 21 matters.
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