Carla S. D’Almeida-Aracena

Biography

Ms. D’Almeida has been advising clients in Puerto Rico for over a decade on real estate transactions, commercial financing, mortgage law, secured transactions, and general corporate matters.

Her practice is centered on real estate, where she advises on the acquisition, development, financing, disposition, leasing, and ongoing management of significant assets and portfolios. She counsels clients on a broad range of commercial real estate matters, including title and survey diligence, property rights structuring, mortgage and collateral matters, leasing, Registry of Property issues, CRIM and municipal matters, and asset-level strategic planning.

She also represents lenders and borrowers in commercial lending transactions, particularly where financing and real estate considerations intersect. Her experience spans the healthcare, financial services, industrial, infrastructure, and commercial real estate sectors. She regularly advises major property owners, landlords, developers, and institutional clients on transactions and ongoing operational matters involving prominent assets across Puerto Rico. Clients value her practical, business-focused approach and her ability to translate detailed property and transactional issues into clear legal guidance.

She regularly serves as Puerto Rico counsel on high-value and operationally significant real estate matters, coordinating multidisciplinary workstreams that often involve local and U.S. counsel, title insurers, lenders, surveyors, engineers, government authorities, and in-house business teams. She is known for helping clients move transactions forward efficiently while keeping legal and commercial objectives aligned.

During law school, Ms. D’Almeida served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Daniel R. Domínguez of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. She also served as a student attorney in the Community Development Legal Aid Clinic, where she provided legal services to underserved communities, and was an active participant in the Pro Bono Program.

In addition to her client work, Ms. D’Almeida has been actively involved in the firm’s professional development initiatives. She previously served as Chair of the Recruiting Committee, contributing to the firm’s talent acquisition and mentoring efforts.

She also serves on the Board of Directors of Fundación Atención Atención, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing innovative tools and resources for educators, therapists, and parents supporting children with special needs.

Ms. D’Almeida began her career with the firm as a Summer Associate in 2013 and 2014.

Representative Transactions

• Represents financial institutions in a broad range of business banking and commercial lending matters, including bilateral and syndicated credit facilities, refinancings, and amendments and restatements of existing loan arrangements.
• Played a lead role in a $100 million healthcare financing, helping drive due diligence, drafting, and negotiations over the course of a multi-month transaction involving numerous stakeholders.
• Regularly advises lenders on amendments, restatements, and ongoing administration of credit facilities for borrowers in the healthcare, distribution, and commercial sectors.
• Represented a borrower in the refinancing of a significant credit facility, leading negotiations of key loan documents and coordinating corporate governance, closing deliverables, and multi-party execution.
• Advises on financings involving infrastructure and energy-related assets, including term loan facilities supporting specialized systems and operations.
• Counsels private investment and financial services clients on the structuring of credit arrangements and collateral packages across a variety of industries.
• Represents a major Puerto Rico landlord and retail property owner in connection with portfolio-wide real estate, leasing, financing, and asset management matters.
• Advises clients on the acquisition, development, financing, and disposition of high-value real estate assets, including resort, industrial, retail, and mixed-use projects, as well as condominium and condohotel regimes, homeowners’ associations, and restrictive covenants.
• Serves as Puerto Rico real estate counsel on portfolio-based and asset-level matters involving title and survey diligence, Registry of Property issues, CRIM and municipal matters, land use and permitting considerations, boundary and encroachment issues, and the structuring of property rights and collateral packages.
• Advises institutional clients on operational real estate matters in Puerto Rico, including property, regulatory, and asset-level issues.
• Coordinates sophisticated real estate closings, including luxury residential transactions in excess of $5 million, often involving multiple stakeholders, layered financing structures, and simultaneous execution of purchase, mortgage, and related closing components.
• Advises clients on commercial leasing, asset management, and post-closing real estate matters, including amendments, easements, segregation issues, cooperation agreements, and strategies to protect and enhance long-term asset value.
• Provides ongoing advice on real estate, regulatory, and corporate matters, including the structuring of property interests such as usufructs and surface rights, and strategies designed to enhance and preserve asset value.

Practices

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