O'Neill & Borges LLC

Chairperson: Edgardo Nieves

Firm Overview:

O’Neill & Borges LLC is a full-service law firm with experience in all corporate and commercial practice areas. The firm has been involved in many of the most significant corporate transactions and adversarial proceedings in Puerto Rico for over 60 years. The firm currently has approximately 80 attorneys and paralegals experienced in over 30 practice areas. The firm has a diverse client base including Fortune 500 companies, major Puerto Rico businesses and the Financial Oversight and Management Board.

Main Areas of Practice:

Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring:

The firm has a sophisticated bankruptcy, insolvency and debt restructuring practice, dealing with complex distressed financial situations, including workouts, reorganizations, acquisitions, chapter 11 bankruptcies and litigation.

Commercial Lending & Financial Institutions:

The firm represents banks and financial institutions in a variety of transactions, including acquisition, asset based, real estate based and cash flow-based loans, structured financings, workouts, and licensing and regulatory compliance.

Corporate & Public Finance:

The firm represents corporate and public issuers, underwriters, credit enhancers, mutual funds, venture capital funds, institutional investors, investment companies and trustees in public offerings and private placements of municipal securities, corporate stocks and bonds, and other securities.

Distribution & Franchising:

The firm represents principals and major distributors in matters related to PR's dealers and sales representatives’ protection laws (Acts 75 and 21), including the drafting and negotiation of contracts, arbitration and litigation, and in antitrust issues, and issues related to consumer protection regulations.

Energy:

The firm assists clients with energy company regulatory compliance, negotiation of power purchase and EPC agreements and assist with tax incentives, finance, environmental permitting and development of renewable, alternate, and oil and gas energy projects.

Environmental Law:

The firm represents clients in areas including environmental evaluation of business transactions, due diligence, permitting and regulatory counselling, litigation, and legislative and rulemaking matters.

Labour & Employment:

The firm is involved in all aspects of employment and labour relations, including areas such as evaluation of corporate acquisitions, mergers, closings and reorganizations; labour union issues; development of personnel manuals and policies; ERISA and COBRA matters; employment agreements; employment discrimination claims; wage and hour matters; compensation and benefits; wrongful discharge claims; immigration, EB-5, among others.

Legislative & Government Affairs:

The firm assists clients in a wide range of policy and government affairs matters, offering comprehensive understanding of the local public sector and regulatory and legislative advocacy services, including drafting, evaluation and monitoring of proposed laws and regulations, and representation before government agencies.

Litigation:

The firm represents clients in all matters of civil commercial litigation, in the federal and Puerto Rico courts, before administrative agencies, and in arbitration and mediation proceedings.

Mergers & Acquisitions:

The firm represents buyers and sellers in complex stock and asset transactions. The firm advises clients in all aspects of an M&A transaction and provides local support to international law firms in multi-jurisdictional transactions.

Public-Private Partnerships (P3):

The firm has a P3 practice representing clients in the preparation of unsolicited proposals, in response to RFPs, and negotiation of P3 contracts and transactions.

Real Estate:

The firm represents clients in the acquisition, investment, financing, development, construction, ownership, management, sale or lease of real property of residential projects (including mixed-used, affordable housing and LIHTC), shopping centers, hotels, office buildings, energy generation, warehouse, industrial and other commercial projects, as well as straightforward leasing, purchase and sale and financing transactions, zoning, land use and entitlement.

Tax:

The firm has expertise in all areas of PR taxation, including income, sales, property, excise and municipal license taxes, tax planning and structuring for local investments, operations, reorganisations, liquidations, and various other types of transactions, including for controlled foreign corporations (CFCs), among others. It is experienced in litigation of tax issues, negotiating tax incentives, grants, closing agreements, rulings, qualification of pension plans, administrative procedures before local authorities, and provides advice on qualification for free trade zones (FTZ), export services (Act 20), Qualified Opportunity Zones, among others.

Tourism & Hospitality Industry:

The firm represents developers, owners and operators of hotels and has experience in all legal aspects of the tourism and hospitality industry.

Trademark & Intellectual Property:

The firm has experience with registration of marks, opposing registration applications, prosecuting or defending against claims of infringing uses, drafting of licensing agreements, advising clients regarding fair use and copyright infringement issues, and copyright infringement litigation.

Economic Recovery & Transformation:

The firm assists clients in the evaluation of and compliance with federal and local recovery programs (i.e. Disaster Relief, CDBGDR), economic and tax incentives (i.e. Opportunity Zones), negotiation of contracts and project development.