Duane Morris LLP

For centuries, Puerto Rico has been a crossroads in the Americas for business, commerce and culture. Encouraged by duty-free access to the mainland United States, proximity to key markets and an educated labor force, U.S. and European companies have invested heavily in Puerto Rico, including in the pharmaceutical, electrical/electronics, apparel, healthcare and consumer and food products sectors. With attorneys and support staff who have many combined years working on matters in Puerto Rico, Duane Morris provides a mix of services to clients who have taken advantage of one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region.

From internal corporate investigations to business transactions and federal civil RICO litigation in the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico, members of the Business Group have played pivotal roles in advancing clients' interests in Puerto Rico. For example, when a whistleblower complained to a federal agency of alleged intentional violations of law, we helped our client convince the federal government not to empanel a grand jury, performed an internal investigation and persuaded the prosecution team not to bring criminal or civil charges.

Having bilingual attorneys and paralegals helps us to provide effective service at a reasonable cost. In addition, in conjunction with a network of attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally, we combine legal skills with a practical business orientation. Our attorneys have served in management positions at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; as assistant U.S. attorneys and district attorneys; as chair of the American Bar Association's Section on Environment, Energy and Resources; and as members of the Hispanic National Bar Association, to name a few.

Services

One of the strengths of the Puerto Rico Business Group is the scope and depth of services we provide to our clients, from complex civil and administrative litigation to white-collar criminal defense to counseling in a host of different contexts.

Public Finance: Our attorneys have encountered and addressed major finance issues that have impacted both of the U.S. territories in the Caribbean, i.e., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Duane Morris’ lawyers work in all aspects of municipal finance, including tax, disclosure and authorization questions. This background, together with our experience with Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands clients, allows us to smoothly assist in any public finance matter, in connection with both issuance and post issuance.

Complex Commercial/Business Litigation: Duane Morris' litigators have successfully represented clients in commercial, business, employment, products liability, unfair trade and insurance coverage matters. Our litigation attorneys are trial-proven, admitted and experienced in litigating matters in the federal district court of Puerto Rico. With this collective experience, our Group offers high-quality, cost-effective litigation services to clients with federal litigation needs in Puerto Rico.

Civil RICO and Class Action Claims: In the last decade, domestic and foreign corporations have seen the emergence and harsh consequences of civil RICO litigation. Our attorneys have the experience and knowledge to counsel clients through the often-tangled web of this litigation, and we have done so successfully in Puerto Rico. Some of our civil RICO attorneys have served on the Advisory Board of the Civil RICO Report and have successfully litigated class action RICO claims. One of our achievements is a record $329 million settlement of a class action civil RICO car dealership case in 1997, in which we represented the plaintiffs.

White-Collar Criminal Defense: After the Enron and WorldCom investigations and the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the business community is more aware than ever of the public pressures that federal and state governments face to root out what is perceived to be extensive wrongdoing by domestic and international corporations. With a team that includes former prosecutors and attorneys with hands-on experience in performing internal investigations and defending corporate clients in both civil and criminal matters in the Puerto Rico federal courts, the Group is ready to handle the challenges brought on by allegations of wrongdoing faced by corporations in today’s climate.

Energy Transactional and Regulatory Law: Puerto Rico Business Group attorneys represent clients with major regulatory compliance needs. They also have assisted federal and state regulators and agencies in the formulation and implementation of regulations and policymaking. We have been called upon to handle multibillion-dollar energy transactions and have successfully litigated significant cases before agencies and courts on complex regulatory issues. Our attorneys are leveraging this experience and know-how and are providing effective counseling in Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean Basin.

Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Defense: When domestic and international corporations need representation on environmental issues in Puerto Rico, Duane Morris attorneys are often called upon to assist them. We have extensive experience defending enforcement proceedings and counseling clients with respect to such environmental statutes as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Superfund, the Toxic Substances Control Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act on the U.S. mainland and in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Moreover, in a survey conducted by American Lawyer magazine of 400 corporate counsel nationwide, our environmental attorneys were ranked among the best in the country for service, quality and value.

Construction and Government Contracting: When complex architectural, engineering, financing, insurance and project management issues converge, legal complications often follow. We provide a full range of legal services to clients engaged in construction and government contracting, including contracting with public and private entities, bid protests and award disputes, complex contract claims and surety litigation, claims preparation and negotiation, contract defaults and terminations, alternative dispute resolution, environmental risk management, surety bond and insurance issues, contractor licensing matters, property damage claims, labor and employment counseling and OSHA compliance. We have been engaged for construction litigation in Puerto Rico.

Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology: Our attorneys are experienced with the challenges posed by the development, manufacture, marketing and sales of medical devices, technology and drugs and work with clients to quickly and effectively clear regulatory hurdles while striving to protect intellectual and monetary assets. Working at the intersection of science and business, many Duane Morris lawyers call upon their knowledge gained through previous positions as scientists and laboratory researchers, as well as through study for their advanced degrees in biology, biochemistry and molecular and developmental genetics, when assessing clients' specialized legal needs. These capabilities have benefited our clients in Puerto Rico.

In addition, Duane Morris gives clients access to counsel experienced in other areas, including: affordable housing, business reorganization and financial restructuring, immigration, intellectual property (including copyrights, patents and trademarks) and information technology and telecommunications.

"In my discussions with Duane Morris leaders, they frequently speak about how diversity within their firm has enabled them to better serve their diverse clients. They understand that investing in diversity is a wise business decision that positions them for the marketplace of the future."

Don Liu
Senior VP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Xerox Corporation

At Duane Morris, achieving diversity is paradoxical. By supporting and celebrating the differences of our attorneys - and the individual strengths that they bring - our firm culture expands, fostering creative solutions for our clients. But diversity at Duane Morris does not mean that we have a certain number of diverse attorneys; true diversity means that it is no longer noteworthy to see diverse lawyers leading our practice groups or managing client relationships. Ascending to positions of leadership and greater responsibility and providing the highest levels of client service is simply what is expected of all our lawyers. Diversity is another strong asset that adds to our collective abilities to meet the needs of our clients.

Our vision of diversity at Duane Morris is to realize an environment in which our lawyers' outstanding qualities are not just measured by ethnicity, race, gender and sexual orientation, but more importantly, that our lawyers are remarkable as excellent attorneys above all else. Only then can we celebrate our differences while focusing on the common pursuit of legal excellence which everyone shares at Duane Morris.

To reach this goal, Duane Morris understands that the familiar diversity strategies and policies that most law firms have are needed. Without demanding results from such policies, most law firms are bound to fail in even achieving numerical hiring and retention goals. Duane Morris has been proactive and ambitious in its efforts to improve diversity at the firm, and has set deadlines for reaching the milestones which mark our progress. To create a more diverse law firm, Duane Morris is:

• Committed to strategically increasing our diversity levels, which is currently at 10 percent.
• Bringing together our Diversity Committee and our Hiring and Retention Committee to raise diversity as an important factor in our hiring decisions.
• Dedicated to improving retention by building upon our monitoring and mentoring program for all diverse associates.

Combining new initiatives with our longstanding diversity efforts, Duane Morris has seen increasingly positive results. In the Minority Law Journal's annual diversity survey of the nation's largest 260 firms, Duane Morris continued to improve its regional and national ranking, rising to number 136 of all firms surveyed. Our strides in Philadelphia are encouraging; in a city known for both the racial diversity of its population and the lack thereof in its law firms, Duane Morris is one of only two law firms to exceed the national average of minority partners at all law firms. Additionally, Duane Morris leads all national law firms based in Philadelphia in the number of Latino partners. Nearly 30 percent of all of our attorneys are women, and more than 20 percent of our partners are women.

In our approach to diversity, progress in racial, gender and cultural diversity cannot be measured in numbers alone. Duane Morris has focused our diversity initiatives on both increasing the number of diverse associates and addressing the challenges diverse attorneys face in building lasting careers and rising to senior and leadership positions. While several of our key practice groups are led by diverse partners and female partners, Duane Morris endeavors to create a culture which will foster a deep pool of such attorneys who can then develop into the firm's future leaders. Duane Morris understands that simply hiring diverse associates will not change the diversity of the firm; Duane Morris is working to mentor and retain diverse associates so that our progress in racial, gender and cultural diversity is also reflected at the highest levels of leadership within the firm.

Our progress on gender diversity has been profound. We have no glass ceilings: women hold positions of leadership at all levels of management at the firm. Women lead a number of our key practice groups, including our Energy, Immigration and International practices, and serve on the firm's Executive Committee. The success of our female attorneys at Duane Morris has not gone unnoticed. Barbara Adams was chair of the firm's Finance Practice until her appointment by Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell to serve as General Counsel of the Commonwealth. In 2004, our longtime General Counsel, Gene E.K. Pratter, was approved by the United States Senate and is now a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Our efforts to improve diversity extend beyond our firm's walls. The chair of our Diversity Committee, Nolan N. Atkinson, Jr., recognized the lack of diversity in Philadelphia's legal community and formed the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group. Nolan now serves as the chair of the organization, a consortium of 25 law firms and corporations that commits to employing at least one diverse first-year law student each as a summer associate. From this program, law students of diverse backgrounds gain access to what was once an exclusive legal community, and now have the opportunity to learn and develop their legal careers with experience at Philadelphia's top law firms.

In addition to our involvement in the Philadelphia area, Duane Morris has increased our presence at national conferences and events focused on diversity. We sponsor the Hispanic National Bar Association and its job fair. Duane Morris is also a longtime supporter and sponsor of the Equality Forum, a national gay and lesbian rights organization. Duane Morris continues to sponsor the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and is active in other associations of diverse attorneys including: the Asian American Bar Association of the Delaware Valley; the Charles Houston Bar Association; Cuban Bar Association; Korean American Lawyers Association; National American Indian Housing Counsel and the National Bar Association.

The challenge of improving gender, ethnic and cultural diversity at Duane Morris is an ongoing effort that has the support of the entire firm. Duane Morris has been at the vanguard in supporting gender diversity throughout the firm beginning a generation ago. Our diversity programs are leading to similar success in improving racial and national origin diversity at Duane Morris. But even as we share these examples of Duane Morris attorneys and our involvement in numerous legal events, associations and programs for diversity, our hope is that such examples will no longer be necessary to mention in the future. We hope that through our efforts, and the efforts of other law firms, these stories become so common that they are no longer the remarkable accomplishments they are today, but simply routine aspects of the legal world tomorrow.