Rica López de Alós

Biography

Ms. López de Alós areas of practice include all aspects of employment law, workers’ compensation, wage and hour claims, and litigation defense to employers before federal and local courts as well as agencies such as E.E.O.C., PR Department of Labor, PR Department of Labor Antidiscrimination Unit, PR Wage and Hour Bureau, and PR Industrial Commission. She also has experience in civil and commercial litigation, having been an associate of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group for almost four years.

With over two decades of experience, she routinely provides advice on a broad range of employee related issues, with an emphasis on preventive counseling and compliance, with a practical approach aimed at prompt resolution to the satisfaction of all parties involved. Clients consistently recognize Ms. López de Alós responsiveness and success on providing strategic and practical advice.

As team Leader of the Labor and Employment Mergers and Acquisition Practice Team, Ms. López de Alós has been involved in numerous transactions for multinational companies and domestic industry leaders in a wide variety of businesses, assisting clients in the drafting and negotiation of employment related provisions tailored to Puerto Rico’s legal framework, transfer of employees’ requirements and successful transition processes. She has extensive experience in providing creative and effective legal counsel to clients during reorganizations, acquisitions, sales and mergers of businesses, and has worked extensively with U.S. and international law firms as local employment counsel in complex transactions.

Ms. López de Alós frequently assists clients with startups’ regulatory requirements filings as well as regular course of business mandatory filings, and closing of operations. She frequently assists clients with the preparation of employment contracts, employee handbooks and personnel policies. Ms. López de Alós also has extensive experience in conducting internal labor and employment related audits as part of mergers & acquisitions transactions or for ongoing businesses, in order to ensure compliance with local and federal statutory requirements.

She provides trainings to employees tailored to the particular needs of the employers’ industry as well as organizes and participates in seminars to employers to keep them updated on the latest developments of the applicable employee rights. Ms. López de Alós frequently consults and assists with employment matters for several International Banking Entities established in Puerto Rico.

For over a decade, Ms. López de Alós has been teaching the Rules of Professional Conduct review course for the Federal Bar Exam and regularly lectures on other subjects related to professional ethics. Before she became a lawyer, she enjoyed a distinguished career as a journalist, concentrating in medical research, culture and art. From 2001 to 2009, Ms. López de Alós was the Editor In-Chief of Labor Perspectives, the firm’s Labor and Employment Law quarterly newsletter that provided general information related to labor and employment law matters for clients.

Representative Cases

Some of her representative cases include:

• José A. Reyes Rivera v. PPG Industries, Inc., LEXTA 2015 50331-048 (March 31, 2015) KLCE 2015 00103 (dismissal, on summary judgment, of unjust termination claim under PR Act No. 80)
• Osvaldo Nieves Martínez et als. v. General Instruments, Inc. y/o Next Level, Corp., 2010 PR App. LEXIS 1646 KLAN20100000276 (April 30, 2010) (affirming partial dismissal of claims in wage and hour case involving 124 plaintiffs)
• Montalvo-León v. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Co., WL 2905350, (D. Puerto Rico, September 24, 2007) (dismissal, on summary judgment, of age discrimination in employment action) (magistrate’s favorable report and recommendation)
• Marrero v. Schindler Elevator Corp., 494 F.Supp.2d (D. Puerto Rico, June 11, 2007) (dismissal, on summary judgment, of age discrimination in employment action)

Ms. López de Alós has participated in the legal team handling of the following key transactions:

• Employment counsel for leading advertising and marketing services global network in the reorganization of local advertising agency.
• Employment counsel for partial acquisition of local telecommunications business.
• Employment counsel for international corporation in partial acquisition of local IT solutions business.
• Employment counsel for global corporation acquisition of manufacturing, distribution and sales of paint products corporation.

Practices

News & Publications