Miguel Rivera-Arce

E-mail address:  mar@mcvpr.com
Phone number:  (787) 250-5634
Fax number:  (787) 759-2717

Miguel Rivera-Arce is an Associate in the Labor and Employment Law Practice Group of McConnell Valdés LLC since 2003. He is a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Area. He is also a member of McConnell Valdés' Recruiting Committee and a Supervisor of the firm's Summer Internship Program.

Practice Areas

Mr. Rivera-Arce provides legal counseling in all areas of labor and employment law. He actively litigates labor and employment lawsuits and administrative matters, both in local and federal forums. His experience encompasses counseling and litigation in diverse topics, including wrongful termination, employment discrimination, wages and hours, retaliation, sexual harassment, violation of constitutional rights, defamation, employee benefits, contracts and other employment-related torts. He has managed several wage and hour collective actions and class actions.

As a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Area, he provides legal counsel to clients during startups, acquisitions, mergers and closings of operations. He also has experience in union representation, labor arbitration and collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

Education

Mr. Rivera-Arce graduated from Colegio San Ignacio High School in 1996. He obtained a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Psychology, and a Minor in Moral and Political Philosophy from Tufts University in 2000. He then obtained his juris doctor degree, cum laude, from the University of Puerto Rico Law School in 2003.

Admissions

Mr. Rivera-Arce is admitted to the practice of law before the 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.

Memberships

He is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association. He is also a member of the Tufts Alumni Association.

Representative Cases

• Mariela Hernández v. Televicentro de Puerto Rico, 2006 T.S.P.R. 142
• Cabán Hernández v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., 486 F.3d 1 (1st. Cir. 2007)
• Cabán Hernández v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96027 (April 27, 2006)
• Ana Julia Torres-Almán v. Verizon Wireless, Axesa Servicios de Información, 522 F.Supp. 2d 367 (D.P.R. 2007)

Publications

He has published various articles for the Firm's Labor Perspectives newsletter:

• "Supreme Court Clarifies the Potential Liability Exposure an Employer Faces if Hit with an Age Discrimination Lawsuit Brought Under Act 100." (Spring 2008)
• "Employer's Beware: The Purchase of Assets 'Free of Liens' from a Bankruptcy Proceeding Does Not Exempt the Application of the Successor Liability Doctrine." (Summer 2006)
• "New Penal Code Creates Crimes that May Have Repercussions in the Workplace." (Fall 2005)
• "Sexual Orientation Discrimination: Is There a Cognizable Cause of Action." (Summer 2004)