Arturo J. García-Solá

Bar Admissions

• Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
• U.S. District Court District of Puerto Rico
• U.S. Court of Appeals First Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

Education

BA, Columbia University, 1980

JD, Columbia Law School, 1983

Memberships

Federal Bar Association

Fellow of the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association

The diversity of his practice is evident in the variety of litigation and government affairs matters he undertakes for his clients:

• Lead counsel for Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (“CDVCA”), a non-for profit organization that provides equity capital to businesses in underinvested markets, in a shareholder dispute pending before the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico involving derivative claims predicated on, among others, the civil component of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
• Representing a major oil company before the Puerto Rico Supreme Court and in post judgment proceedings in a consumer class action.
• Representing AmeriNational Community Services, LLC (“AmeriNat”), as servicer for the GDB Debt Recovery Authority, who is the holder of over $4 billion of debt between the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the “Commonwealth”), various of the Commonwealth’s instrumentalities, several of its municipalities, and many of its public corporations. AmeriNat is the largest single creditor in the Title III proceeding for the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority (“HTA”) and is a significant creditor in the Title III case of the Commonwealth.
• Lead counsel in a state court litigation against the Municipality of Juncos stemming from its breach of a Loan Agreement entered into with the now-defunct Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico (“GDB”), which was transferred to the GDB Debt Recovery Authority as part of the restructuring process of the GDB under Title VI of PROMESA.
• Lead counsel in a state court litigation against the Autoridad Para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico stemming from its breach of a Master Repurchase Agreement and additional contractual obligations entered into with the now-defunct Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico (“GDB”), which was transferred to the GDB Debt Recovery Authority as part of the restructuring process of the GDB under Title VI of PROMESA.
• Lead counsel in a state court litigation against the Municipality of Arecibo stemming from its breach of a Loan Agreement entered into with the now-defunct Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico (“GDB”), which was transferred to the GDB Debt Recovery Authority as part of the restructuring process of the GDB under Title VI of PROMESA.
• Lead counsel in a state court litigation against the Municipality of Jayuya stemming from its breach of a Loan Agreement entered into with the now-defunct Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico (“GDB”), which was transferred to the GDB Debt Recovery Authority as part of the restructuring process of the GDB under Title VI of PROMESA.
• Lead counsel in a state court litigation against the Municipality of San Sebastian stemming from its breach of a Loan Agreement entered into with the now-defunct Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico (“GDB”), which was transferred to the GDB Debt Recovery Authority as part of the restructuring process of the GDB under Title VI of PROMESA.
• Lead counsel in a state court litigation against the Fondo de Innovación para el Desarrollo Agricola de Puerto Rico Inc. stemming from its (“FIDA”) breach of a Loan Agreement entered into with the now-defunct Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico (“GDB”), which was transferred to the GDB Debt Recovery Authority as part of the restructuring process of the GDB under Title VI of PROMESA.
• Representing the Puerto Rico Police in a case involving the implementation and compliance with a consent decree between the USA, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the PRPB for the reform of the Puerto Rico Police.   This matter went to the heart of constitutional policing and ensuring that the PRPB safeguards the civil rights of the citizens of Puerto Rico.
• Representing the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and particularly its Division for Services for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, in a 20-year-old Consent Decree litigation.  The Complaint, filed by the USA, alleged violations to the civil and constitutional rights of the program participants who, at the time, resided in state-run or contracted institutions. 
• Represented MMM Healthcare, LLC, MMM Holdings, LLC, and Castellana Physician Services, LLC in a complaint for false and misleading advertising, false association, unfair competition, trademark dilution, and defamation filed by MCS Advantage, Inc. and MCS Healthcare Holdings, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Plaintiffs also requested a preliminary injunction. MMM entities filed a counterclaim for false advertising, unfair competition, and defamation.  
• Representing Petrobras in a class action complaint filed on behalf of over 3 million customers of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (“PREPA”), certain former PREPA employees, multiple fuel oil suppliers and various fuel oil laboratories under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act. The class action complaint charges defendants, including Petrobras, with having allegedly conspired to sell and having actually sold non-compliant, cheaper, fuel oil to PREPA, who was a participant in the alleged scheme, at artificially higher prices for what should have been compliant fuel oil, while passing said cost to electricity consumers by way of the fuel adjustment formula in PREPA’s monthly bills.
• Counseling Pattern Energy in its successful negotiations with the government of Puerto Rico to build the first large, commercial-scale wind energy project in Puerto Rico –the largest in the Caribbean— with 65 wind turbines, for a 75 megawatt (MW) load capacity, providing clean, renewable energy for Puerto Rico’s residents.
• Representing Scientific Games Corporation, a publicly-traded company and a global leader in providing customized, end-to-end gaming solutions to lottery and international gaming organizations, in its negotiations with the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury leading to a four-year extension to the professional services agreement with the Government of Puerto Rico, for the management of selected lottery games, including electronic lottery, instant lottery games and marketing.
• Advising the University of Puerto Rico with respect to the management of the legal issues stemming from numerous students riots against the authorities which shut-down the University during several months. Arturo designed a comprehensive legal strategy that eventually allowed University officials to broker an agreement in court allowing the re-opening of the Island-wide University system, saving the University from financial default and millions of dollars in potential, related losses.
• Representing Abertis Infraestructuras S.A., a Spanish infrastructure, airports, and telecommunications management company, in its negotiations with the government of Puerto Rico for the management contracts of certain toll roads and bridges and with respect to a dispute arising from an earn-out provision in an agreement for the purchase and sale of a stake in a special partnership operating a toll bridge in Puerto Rico.
• Advising the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private corrections company and full-service corrections management provider in the United States, with respect to CCA’s relationship with the government of Puerto Rico, and is currently assisting the company in important growth opportunities on the Island.
• Serving as the local chief government affairs counsel and strategist for Oracle, the world's largest international business software company (with over 345,000 customers and over $35 billion in revenue world-wide), related to its local public-sector technology and preintegrated applications and services. Oracle’s global and local competition requires Arturo to assist in the day-to-day management of Oracle’s government relationship and strategically assist the company in related matters. 
• Serving as the local chief government affairs counsel and strategist for Xerox, the world’s leading enterprise for business process and document management (with over $21 billion in revenue world-wide), helping it manage its numerous government services contracts so as to allow Xerox to focus on operating more efficiently and effectively in this area.

Arturo is ranked as one of Puerto Rico’s Eminent Practitioners in the Dispute Resolution field by the renowned international publication Chambers & Partners in both its Global and its Latin America Guides.

He is also ranked as a leading attorney in the Administrative Law, the Arbitration and Mediation and the Litigation fields of the Best Lawyers in Puerto Rico guide and ranked as a Leading Partner in the Dispute Resolution & Bankruptcy field by Legal 500.

During his tenure as McV's Managing Director, Arturo has cemented McV's social commitment to Puerto Rico and has been the driving force in reinforcing this core value to the firm's attorneys and staff. 

In 2006 he instituted the firm's Pro Bono Program, and in 2016, the McV/Antonio Escudero-Viera Scholarship and more recently, the McConnell Valdés Foundation.

In addition, for almost a decade Arturo presided the Board of Trustees of the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. During his tenure as President of the Board of Trustees, the museum received the prestigious American Alliance of Museums accreditation. He has also served as member on various boards, including United Way of Puerto Rico. 

On the professional front, he has served as member of various Merit Selection Panels that assisted the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico in selecting magistrate judges for the court. In 2001 he served as President of the Federal Bar Association's Puerto Rico Chapter. He He has also been a member of the First Circuit Judicial Conference Planning Committee.