Diego Agüeros-Jiménez is an Associate and member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Department. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Social Sciences from Sacred Heart University in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he actively participated in the Student Council representing the Social Sciences students before the Academic Board. Mr. Agüeros was included in the Dean's List for his constant academic achievements.

Upon graduation in 2000, Mr. Agüeros joined Schuster Usera & Aguiló LLP where he worked as paralegal providing support in complex wages and hours claims, among other employment litigation. While working as a full time paralegal, in 2003 Mr. Agüeros completed a M.A. in Communications with a major in media writing and in August, 2004 he enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico Law School.

In April 2006, Mr. Agüeros joined Usera Law Offices, P.S.C., by then as a student associate. In May 2008, Mr. Agüeros obtained his Juris Doctor and was promptly extended and accepted an offer to join Usera Law Offices as an associate.

Mr. Agüeros is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and its lower courts and administrative agencies. He is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Antonio Bauzá Santos is one of the founding partners of Usera-Morell. He is the Chairman of the Tax Department. Before joining Usera-Morell, he was a shareholder of Goldman Antonetti & Córdova, P.S.C. where he directed the Tax Department. His practice focuses on transactional tax planning and advising for a broad range of Puerto Rico, United States and foreign business entities on a variety of tax matters, including corporate tax, international taxation (federal income taxation on CFCs, Subpart F income, among others), tax incentives and exemption issues. His practice also focuses on general Puerto Rico and local tax law, tax exemptions, merger and acquisition, corporate reorganizations and international taxation. Mr. Bauzá has extensive experience in representing clients in local tax litigation before all courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and in administrative procedures before the United States Internal Revenue Service, the Puerto Rico Treasury Department and municipal agencies. He has also been active in advising on the Puerto Rico and U.S. taxation of investment income, including governmental obligations. Mr. Bauzá earned his Juris Doctor from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, School of Law in 1995. He also holds a B.B.A., magna cum laude 1984, from the University of Puerto Rico. Mr. Bauzá is a Certified Public Accountant and a Registered Notary Public. He is a member of the Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Puerto Rico Bar Association, the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is a frequently speaker at the Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Bauzá is admitted to practice in all courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico since 1997.

Germán J. Brauis of Counsel in the Litigation Department. A Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Puerto Rico school of Law, Mr. Brau has over twenty years of experience in the judicatory. From 1988 to 1992, he served as a judge in the Puerto Rico Superior Court assigned to civil courtroom. During such period he received a special designation by the Chief Justice of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court to Special Task Force in Mayagüez and Aguadilla to expedite adjudication of old cases. From 1992 to 2008, Mr. Brau served as an appellate judge in the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals during which time he received various special designations by the Chief Justice of the Puerto Rico Supreme court to preside complex civil and criminal cases as Trial Court Judge. Mr. Brau earned a LL. M. from the New York University in 1984. He also earned a M.A. in Philosophy from Boston College in 1986.

Mr. Brau has also served as an adjunct professor in the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, in the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law (1992-2008) and in the Department of Philosophy of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus where he has taught the following courses: Jurisprudence, Appellate Practice, Philosophy of Law, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Torts. He has also lectured on seminars for Judges at the Puerto Rico Judicial Academy. Mr. Brau has published several articles including: Notas Sobre la Historia del Common Law, U.P.R. Law J. (in progress), Notas Sobre la Historia del Derecho Romano, U.P.R Law J. (in progress), José Trías Monge: Teoría de Adjudicación, Puerto Rico Bar J., Vol. 62, 128-157 (2001); A Dog Much Confused – The Definition of Intention and Art. 15(B) of the Penal Code of Puerto Rico, U.P.R. Law J., Vol. 54, 11-64 (1985); La Filosofía del Derecho de H.L.A. Hart, U.P.R. Law J., Vol. 51, 483-512 (1982); El Desistimiento Voluntario de la Tentativa, U.P.R. Law J., Vol. 50, 61-85 (1981) (with Edgardo Pérez Viera).

Mr. Brau is admitted to practice in the Courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, in the United States First Circuit Court of Appeals (1983) and in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (1986). He is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Puerto Rico Judicial Association.

Maritza Candelaria-Bonetis an Associate and Member of the Litigation Department. She joined the firm after working two years as Assistant Solicitor General in the Office of the Solicitor General. As an ASG, Atty. Candelaria-Bonet devoted her time to representing the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its instrumentalities in appelate proceedings. Prior to that, Atty. Candelaria-Bonet worked in the Litigation Department of Goldman, Antonetti & Córdova, P.S.C., where she practiced before the state and federal courts and administrative agencies on behalf of firm clients. Her areas of practice included commercial, tort and administrative law, collection and foreclosure cases, and notarial law.

Ms. Candelaria-Bonet obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the School of Law of the University of Puerto Rico in 2000. She also holds a B.A. in Psycology (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. She is admitted to practice in all courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Grisselle Bermúdez is a Senior Associate at Usera-Morell with particular expertise in health law and privacy regulation. She is a 1998 graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing Management, obtaining a 4.00 in her mayor. Ms. Bermúdez obtained a Juris Doctor degree from the Interamerican University School of Law, (Cum Laude, 2002). She was admitted to the Puerto Rico Bar in 2002, to the Federal Bar in 2003, and the Courts of Appeals for the First Circuit in 2003. Ms. Bermúdez is a member of the Health Law Division of the American Bar Association and member of the American Health Lawyers Association. Ms. Bermudez was the Editor in Chief of the Interamerican University Law Review, and has worked at the Legal Department of Caribe General Electric Co., with specialty on Labor and Contract Law (1999-2001).

Before embarking on her Master’s degree at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois, Ms. Bermudez worked for First Point Healthcare Group Inc., in a dual capacity - as a consultant to the Puerto Rico Department of Health and other clients implementing the HIPAA Privacy and Security Regulation - and as an attorney handling diverse cases in contracts, health law, personal injury, and real estate (2001-2006). This experience provided Ms. Bermudez with in-depth knowledge of the HIPAA intricacies and associated Federal and State laws such as EMTALA, ADA, and Medicare Antikick back and “Stark” regulations, among others. Ms. Bermudez has been a frequent lecturer on privacy issues and health related matters before the Puerto Rico Bar Association, Puerto Rico Department of Justice and the Interamerican University, among others. She has participated with the American Medical Association in its Litigation Center Division, and has gained experience structuring joint-ventures between non-profit hospitals and physicians, and in anti-kickback or self-referral issues. She has participated on several projects with the American Medical Association and with one of the most prominent healthcare systems in Chicago, Northwestern Northwestern Memorial Hospital during 2007.
Ms. Bermudez provides legal assistance to health related institutions, such as: hospitals, laboratories, pharmaceuticals, pharmacies, health clinics, sole practitioners and managed care organizations.

Edgardo Cartagena is one of the five founding partners of Usera-Morell. A graduate of the University of Puerto Rico school of Law, Mr. Cartagena has over twenty-five years of experience as litigator and negotiator on both sides of diverse complex civil, corporate and commercial litigation, in federal and local courts as well as before arbitration panels. His practice areas include Corporate and commercial litigation; substantial experience in trade regulation, particularly distribution and franchise law; construction law; intellectual property, entertainment law.
Mr. Cartagena has lectured on diverse topics in seminars sponsored by, among others, the Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico (Lectures to attorneys and judges on Complex Litigation and Negotiation); Interamerican University School of Law (The Use of Negotiation Skills in Complex Litigation; The Doctrine of Culpa In Contrahendo; The Injunction Under Law 75); Promo Export (Lectures on franchise and trade regulation for international companies doing business in Puerto Rico); the University of Puerto Rico Law School (Technology Law and Litigation); The Association of Puerto Rico Producers (Technology Law and Litigation); Tulane University Law School (Lectures on Mass Torts Litigation and Negotiation Strategy); Hispanic Bar Association (Media and Entertainment Law).

Edgardo Cartagena is a member of American Bar Association; Puerto Rico Bar Association; Federal Bar Association; Federation of Interamerican Lawyers; Roster of Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association; Board of Directors of The Ricky Martin Foundation. He is admitted to practice: Courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (1979); U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (April 30, 1980); U.S. Court of International Trade (1980); U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Ramón E. Dapena is a founding partner of Usera-Morell. Mr. Dapena has been practicing law since 1978. His practice focuses on litigation and on providing counsel on matters antitrust and health related industry law. Mr. Dapena has been very active in practicing before administrative agencies and Puerto Rico and federal courts in disputes involving malpractice, product liability, construction, franchise and distribution contracts, and various other types of civil and commercial contracts. Mr. Dapena obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, School of Law, in 1978 during which time he was a member of the Law Review: Revista de Derecho Puertorriqueño. He also earned a B.A., with a major in Political Sciences and Economics, from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus in 1975. He has taught the courses of Law and Economics, Antitrust and Trade Regulation and Food and Drug Law in various law schools in PR. He also taught Political Science and Economics at undergraduate level. He is a frequent lecturer in seminars and workshops in areas such as trial practice, evidence, antitrust and health law. He is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association and the American Bar Association and is admitted to practice in all courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

Sarah J. Delgado Brayfield is an Associate and member of the firm’s Corporate and Banking Law Department. Mrs. Delgado’s main areas of practice are real estate, corporate finance, banking, securities, mortgage law and registry property issues, corporate general and inheritance law. She has experience in all types of commercial and secured transactions, including purchase and sale of business, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, commercial credit, asset based lending, structured finance, interior and permanent construction loans, floor planning.

Mrs. Delgado obtained an LLM in Banking and Financial Law with concentration in Lending and Credit Transactions and American Banking from Boston University School of Law in 2006; a Juris Doctor degree from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law in 2004; and a BA in Psychology from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico in 2000, where she was included in the Dean’s List for her academic achievements.

Mrs. Delgado is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Association of Public Notaries of Puerto Rico. She has been a speaker at several business organizations.

She is co-author of “Private Placements: an Alternative Method to Obtain Financing”, Caribbean Business Expert Series, November 2006; and author of “Securitization of Mortgages in Latin America and the Access to Housing”, thesis at Boston University School of Law.

Mrs. Delgado is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States Court appears for the First Circuit. She is also a licensed Notary Public.

Briseida Y. Delgado Miranda is an associate and member of the firm’s Litigation Department. Before joining Usera-Morell, she was an associate in the Litigation Department of Goldman, Antonetti & Córdova, and P.S.C. Prior to that, she worked as a staff accountant in the Tax Department of Deloitte & Touche, L.L.P. Mrs. Delgado-Miranda is also a Certified Public Accountant. Ms. Delgado’s practice concentrates on corporate and commercial litigation, tax and tax shelter litigation, antitrust, estate litigation and bankruptcy and creditor’s rights. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Puerto Rico, School of Law, in 2004 and her B.B.A., Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón Campus, in 2001. She is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Bankruptcy Institute. Ms. Delgado is admitted to practice in all courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Amarilis De Soto-Corderois an Associate and member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Department. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 2003 from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus. She completed her degree in three years, graduating Summa Cum Laude. After graduating from college, Mrs. De Soto-Cordero enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico, School of Law, where she was an active member of the Law School Student Council. She was also a Student Representative at Faculty meetings and was a member of the Law School Admissions Committee. Mrs. De Soto-Cordero worked at Pietrantoni, Méndez & Álvarez, LLP during 2005 as a Summer Associate and at the Legal Division of Banco Santander Puerto Rico during the summer of 2004. In May 2006, she obtained her Juris Doctor degree Magna Cum Laude.

Upon graduation, Mrs. De Soto-Cordero served as a law clerk to the Honorable Justice Jaime B. Fuster Berlingeri of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. In December 2007, she joined the Litigation and Trial Practice Department at Goldman, Antonetti & Córdova, P.S.C., where she practiced general civil and commercial litigation at the trial and appellate levels. Afterwards, Mrs. De Soto-Cordero pursued a Masters in Law degree (LL.M.) from Columbia University in New York City, where she earned recognition as a James Kent Scholar for her outstanding academic performance. Upon graduation from Columbia University, she joined Usera-Morell Bauzá Dapena & Cartagena, where she currently works in the Labor and Employment Department.

Mrs. De Soto-Cordero is admitted to practice before the Courts of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She is also a Public Notary in Puerto Rico since 2007.

Mrs. De Soto-Cordero’s articles have been published in the Law Review of the Puerto Rico Bar, Rev. Col. Abog. de P.R. Vol. 69, Num. 2 (June 2009).

Marisara Figueroa-Silva is an Associate and member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Department. She obtained her bachelor’s degree Magna Cum Laude in Business Administration from the University of Puerto Rico. During her studies, she participated in a study abroad program with Catholic University of Córdoba in Argentina. In 2005 she obtained her Juris Doctor Magna Cum Laude from the University of Puerto Rico, School of Law. As a law student, she was a member of National Association of Law Students and Student Council representative. She also worked as a teacher assistant for Dean Efrén Rivera Ramos and Professor Berthaida Seijo Ortiz. During the summer of 2004 she worked at Fiddler González & Rodríguez as a Summer Associate in the Corporate and Real Estate Division. In her third year at law school she collaborated with Professor Ivette Ramos Buonomo in the Family Law Term Analysis for 2004 published in the Puerto Rico Law Review.

Upon graduation, Mrs. Figueroa Silva served as a law clerk to the Honorable Justice Luis Rivera Román of the Puerto Rico Appellate Court. In addition to her traditional clerkship duties, she worked with the Rules of Evidence Permanent Committee, which Judge Rivera Román presided, where she submitted a white paper taken into consideration by the members of the Committee supporting proposed amendments to the rules. In October 2007 she joined the Litigation Division of the Department of Justice where she represented the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in civil cases. In May 2008 she joined Usera Law Offices, P.S.C.

Mrs. Figueroa Silva is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and its lower courts. She is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar.

Milagros Figueroa-Silvais a Partner and member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Department. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree Cum Laude from Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996, where she consistently made the Dean’s List. In 2001 she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. As a law student, she worked with Associate Dean, Prof. Luis M. Villaronga, in the law school curriculum reform. A member of the University of Puerto Rico Law Review, she authored an article on the First Amendment that was published by the Puerto Rico Law Review during her third year at law school.

Upon graduation, Mrs. Figueroa-Silva served as a law clerk to the Honorable Justice Jaime B. Fuster Berlingeri of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court. She joined Schuster Usera & Aguiló LLP in January 2003, where she was engaged in employment litigation before both Commonwealth and federal courts. In March, 2006, she joined Usera Law Offices, P.S.C.

Mrs. Figueroa-Silva is admitted to practice before the Courts of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Gladys Fontánez is a Partner and member of the Corporate and Banking Law Department. Mrs. Fontánez’s main areas of practice are real estate, mortgage law and property registry issues, mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, business organizations and banking and finance. Mrs. Fontánez also assists clients in structuring commercial transactions, including the purchase and sale of businesses, as well as counsels clients on the organization of business entities and general corporate matters. Mrs. Fontánez obtained a B.A. degree in Business Administration, magna cum laude, with a major in Accounting from the University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras Campus in 1998, and a Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the University of Puerto Rico, School of Law in 2002. Mrs. Fontánez is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Mrs. Fontánez has lectured on diverse topics in seminars such as: Legal Aspects of International Business Contracts, Promo Export, 2003–2005; Landlord and Tenant Relationship, National Business Institute, 2004; Dealing with the Effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, RIELA, Miami, Florida, 2005; Alternatives for Organizing a Business in Puerto Rico, Promo Export, 2007; Real Estate Law: Advanced Issues and Answers, National Business Institute, 2007, 2008; Contracts in General: Important Aspects when Contracting with Third Parties, Red de Empresarias y Mujeres Profesionales de la Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico, 2008; and General Aspects of Contract Law, Promo Export, 2008. She also published in March 19th, 2006 an article in the general circulated newspaper El Nuevo Día titled “Towards a More Flexible Entrepreneurial World”. Mrs. Fontánez is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She is also a licensed notary public and a Certified Public Accountant.

Lourdes Fontanillas-López is a Partner and member of the Tax Department. Her practice focuses on transactional tax planning and advising for a broad range of Puerto Rico, United States and foreign business entities on a variety of tax matters, including corporate tax, international taxation, tax incentives and exemption issues. Her practice also includes the Puerto Rico and U.S. taxation of investment income, including governmental obligations, and general Puerto Rico state and local taxes such as income, sales and use, municipal license, and property taxes. Ms. Fontanillas-Lopez’s specific concentration is in the area of mergers and acquisitions, liquidations, corporate divisions, and complex reorganizations involving Puerto Rico and United States tax issues and involving entities classified as either corporations or partnerships for tax purposes, where she regularly researches, drafts, reviews and negotiates the tax provisions in various corporate documents, including merger and acquisition agreements, plans of reorganization, plans of liquidation, and legal opinions. She has successfully represented clients in administrative procedures before the United States Internal Revenue Service, the Puerto Rico Treasury Department, and municipal taxing authorities with respect to tax clearances, private letter rulings and closing agreements. Ms. Fontanillas also has experience in the negotiation of industrial and tourism tax exemption with the Puerto Rico Office of Industrial Tax Exemption and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, respectively. Ms. Fontanillas-López’s practice further includes tax planning and tax document production for a wide range of businesses and economic arrangements that want to establish operations within Puerto Rico, including those electing to operate as Special Partnerships or Corporations of Individuals. Ms. Fontanillas-López also advises corporate clients on general tax compliance issues, including employment and withholding taxes, and tax accounting. 

She obtained her LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in 2004. She earned her Juris Doctor degree, summa cum laude, from the Pontifical University Catholic of Puerto Rico in 2001, where she graduated first class honors and received several awards, including the Excellence Award for the most outstanding academic achievement. She was also the recipient of the 2001 all Puerto Rico award for highest GPA in Civil Law from the Puerto Rico Bar Association. She also earned her B.A., summa cum laude, in Accounting, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in 1996. Before joining Usera-Morell, Ms. Fontanillas-López served as a tax attorney in Goldman Antonetti & Córdova, P.S.C. until becoming a partner, and as a civil trial attorney in Martínez Texidor & Fuster. Ms. Fontanillas-López is a Certified Public Accountant since 1998 and also a Registered Notary Public. She is a member of the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, and the Law Practice Management Section where she actively participates in the ABA Women Rainmakers Committee; the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce where she serves as an active member of the Tax Committee and the Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals Committee; the Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Puerto Rico Bar Association. She has been a speaker for the Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants. Ms. Fontanillas-López is admitted to practice in all courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and in the United Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Pedro E. Giner-Dapenais a Partner and member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Department. In 1999 he obtained a Magna Cum Laude Psychology major from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Puerto Rico Law School in 2002. As a law student, he was a member of Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity. He also competed in Pace Law School’s 2001 Environmental Law Moot Court Competitions, representing the University of Puerto Rico. He complemented his academic experience by attending various seminars given by Puerto Rico’s Bar Association and the Puerto Rico legislature regarding Civil Law issues and legal draftsmanship.

During his legal studies, he worked in public and private sectors and participated in different extracurricular activities. After his first semester, he worked with the Puerto Rico Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Joint and Permanent Commission for Puerto Rico’s Civil Code Reform. There, he prepared comparative law studies of major Western Civil Codes used as guidelines and educational materials by law professors and lawmakers in their recommendations to amend the Civil Code. He also worked as a summer associate in O’Neill & Borges’s summer internship program where he performed various professional and legal tasks in Corporate, Labor and Employment, Litigation and Environmental law. In September 2001 he began working as a law clerk in Schuster Usera & Aguiló LLP, where he was promptly extended and accepted an offer to join the Firm as an associate after sitting for the 2002 bar exam, which he successfully approved within the top ten grades. He has since practiced the areas of wrongful dismissals, discrimination, wage and hour, class actions, complex litigation, worker's compensation, defamation, contracts and was a member of the ERISA Litigation and Employee Benefits Practice Group, the Summer Program Recruiting Committee and co-chair of the Continued Legal Education Committee. In March 2006, Mr. Giner joined the Firm of Usera Law Offices, P.S.C.

Mr. Giner actively litigates before the Puerto Rico Courts’ system, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and before quasi judicial administrative forums, such as the Department of Labor's Anti discrimination Unit, Negotiation and Conciliation Bureau and Department of Consumer Affairs. He is also a member of the American Bar Association and its Labor and Litigation Sections. The Comparative Tables regarding Contracts prepared as guidelines and educational materials for Civil Code Revision are currently published on the Commissions's web pagewww.codigociv.net.

Alexis Hernández Rivera is an Associate and member of the Tax Department. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree in 2005 from the University of Illinois, College of Law, during which time he worked as a summer associate with the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Chicago. He also earned a B.S., magna cum laude, from the University of Puerto Rico in 2002. His practice focuses on general Puerto Rico and local taxes, tax exemptions and tax-exempt organizations. He specializes in business and tax planning assisting our clients in finding the most effective way to engaged in a trade or business in Puerto Rico. In his years in the practice, Alexis has helped numerous clients obtain and manage of industrial tax exemption decrees obtained under Act 135 and Act 73. In his tax litigation practice, he has assisted clients at all levels of our judicial system, including the Puerto Rico Supreme Court. His exposure and experience in both the federal and local tax jurisdictions prepare him to handle the particular challenges of the increasingly complex tax law practice in Puerto Rico. Alexis has also successfully represented clients in contesting tax deficiencies at both federal and local government levels. He is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He is admitted to practice in all courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Mr. Hernández is also a Registered Notary Public.

Efraín Irizarry Alvarado is a Partner and member of the Tax Department. He earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1996 and his B.B.A., magna cum laude, in 1990 from the University of Puerto Rico. His practice focuses on general Puerto Rico and local taxes, tax incentives and exemption, and employment benefits. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Registered Notary Public. He is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants. He has been a frequent speaker at several business organizations. Mr. Irizarry is admitted to practice in all courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Pedro A. Morell is one of the founding partners of Usera- Morell and the chair of the firm’s Corporate and Banking Law Department. Mr. Morell’s principal areas of practice include commercial transactions, contracts, real estate, banking and business law, with particular emphasis on commercial and construction finance and secured transactions. He supervises the firm's real estate and commercial lending practice and has extensive experience in all types of commercial finance, including interim and permanent construction loans, asset-based lending, floor-planning and operational credit facilities, as well as loan restructurings and work-outs, and has particular expertise in the law of secured transactions, whether involving real estate, personal property or intangibles.

Victor Quiñones is a Partner and member of the firm’s Litigation Department. He practices law in the trial and appellate level in the Puerto Rico and federal courts. His main areas of practice are general commercial litigation, torts, bankruptcy and intellectual property. Mr. Quiñones obtained his Juris Doctor degree, with Honors, in 2002 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He also holds a B.S.F.S. degree, with major in International Politics from the Georgetown University, Washington D.C., where he consistently made the Dean’s List. He is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association. Mr. Quiñones is admitted to practice in all courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Guillermo J. Silva Wiscovich is a Partner and member of the firm’s Litigation Department.  His practice focuses on environmental law matters.  Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Silva-Wiscovich was a Partner in the Corporate and Banking Law Department of Goldman Antonetti & Córdova, P.S.C.  He also served as an Attorney Intern in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the U.S. Department of Justice and later as an Attorney Advisor in the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., where he was charged with Clean Air Act matters before members of the 105th Congress.  Mr. Silva-Wiscovich provides legal counsel to clients on a wide range of federal and Commonwealth of Puerto Rico regulatory and permitting matters relating to environmental, energy, natural resources, land use, construction, and health and safety issues.  He also assists clients with compliance matters falling under various environmental, health and safety statutes, including the preparation of environmental documents and plans, site assessments, compliance audits, training module requirements, and the evaluation of environmental liabilities.  Mr. Silva- Wiscovich is experienced in both administrative and judicial settings at the local, state and federal levels having participated in numerous administrative enforcement proceedings and litigations in the federal and local courts.  Major areas of involvement of Mr. Silva-Wiscovich’s practice include general permitting and air matters, hazardous and special wastes, site planning and land use decisions, mass toxic tort litigation, construction issues and environmental enforcement, as well as commercial/industrial real estate transactions.  Mr. Silva-Wiscovich also serves as the editor of the firm’s annual Puerto Rico Environmental Compliance Dates Report.  Mr. Silva earned a LL.M. in Environmental Law from the Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C., in 1998.  He obtained his Juris Doctor degree, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Puerto Rico, School of Law, in 1994 and his B.S., with a major in Science, from the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, in 1990.  He is a member of the Environmental Law Institute and the Inter American Network of Environmental Law Specialists.  He has published several articles including Used Motor Oil Recycling – Puerto Rico Moves He is admitted to practice in all courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Carmen G. Torrech Cabrero is an Associate and member of the firm’s Litigation Department. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts in 2003. After graduation, she enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico, School of Law where she was a member of the University’s Law Review. During her third year of law school, Ms. Torrech-Cabrero worked as a law clerk at Quiñones & Sánchez. In 2006, she obtained her Juris Doctor Cum Laude. Prior to joining Usera-Morell in January 2009, Ms. Torrech-Cabrero worked as an Associate at Goldman Antonetti & Córdova (Oct. 2006 – Jan. 2009), where she was engaged in civil and commercial litigation before both Commonwealth and federal courts, as well as before administrative agencies. Ms. Torrech-Cabrero is admitted to practice before the Courts of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She is also a licensed notary public. She is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association.

Gregory T. Userais a founding partner of Usera-Morell and the Chairman of the firm’s Labor and Employment Department. He is a management labor and employment counsel since commencing his legal career. His practice is focused on rendering advice to employers and vindicating their decisions in court. Mr. Usera has extensive litigation experience before the Puerto Rico and United States courts, of first instance as well as appellate levels, in such diverse areas as employment discrimination, sexual harassment, unjustified dismissal, defamation, privacy, wages and hours, work accident claims, ERISA, FMLA, NLRA, and the Railway Labor Act. He has represented both public and private sector employers in union election campaigns, collective bargaining and arbitration, as well as defense of unfair labor practice charges. A 1975 Political Science major from the University of Michigan, he graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1979. After representing the United States Navy in employment matters, he returned to Puerto Rico in 1981, and worked at McConnell Valdés until 1987, by which time he had become a partner. He joined Ferraiouli Axtmayer & Hertell and remained there through its various mergers, until its final iteration, Goldman Antonetti & Córdova. For the last two years he was Chairman of its then 21 lawyer Labor and Employment Law Department, as well as a member of its Executive, Compensation and Strategic Planning committees. In February of 1996, he became a founding member of Schuster Usera & Aguiló LLP. In March, 2006, he founded Usera Law Offices, P.S.C.

He frequently lectures before professional organizations, as well as private clients, including the Puerto Rico Bar Association, the Pharmaceutical Industry Association, the Council of Education in Management, Employers' Committee and others. Admitted to practice in state and federal courts in both the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, he is also a member of the International Society of Barristers, the American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Bar Associations of the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, as well as the Association of Labor Relations Practitioners. His clientele includes employers engaged in the health, hospitality, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, retail and telecommunications industries, as well as central banking in both the private and public sector.

Natalia Villavicencio Camachois an Associate and member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Department. She graduated from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a minor in Political Science. After graduating from college, Mrs. Villavicencio Camacho enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico Law School where she was an active member of the University of Puerto Rico Law Review for two years. She worked at O’Neill & Borges LLP during 2002 as a Summer Associate, and completed a study abroad program in 2003 at the University of Chile in Santiago, Chile. In May of 2004 Mrs. Villavicencio Camacho obtained her Juris Doctor degree and in October 2004 joined Schuster, Usera & Aguiló LLP as an Associate of the Firm, where she was engaged in employment litigation before both Commonwealth and federal courts. In April 2006, Mrs. Villavicencio joined Usera Law Offices, P.S.C. Mrs. Villavicencio Camacho is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, its lower courts, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association.

After graduating from college, Mrs.Villavicencio Camacho enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico Law School where she was an active member of the University of Puerto Rico Law Review for two years. She worked at O’Neill & Borges LLP during 2002 as a Summer Associate, and completed a study abroad program in 2003 at the University of Chile in Santiago, Chile. In May of 2004 Mrs.Villavicencio Camacho obtained her Juris Doctor degree and in October 2004 joined Schuster, Usera & Aguiló LLP as an Associate of the Firm, where she was engaged in employment litigation before both Commonwealth and federal courts.  In April 2006, Mrs. Villavicencio joined Usera Law Offices, P.S.C.