OFF COUNSEL AND FOUNDER

RAFAEL CUEVAS-KUINLAM (rck@ckblawpr.com), born Arecibo, Puerto Rico, March 14, 1938; admitted to bar, 1962, Puerto Rico; 1967, U.S. District Court, District of Puerto Rico and U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit. Education: Seton Hall University (B.A. 1959); University of Puerto Rico (LL.B., 1962). Authorship: “Borderline Cases on Supervisors Status,” Puerto Rico Bar Association Law Review, Vol. 37, No. 2; “Development of Labor Jurisprudence,” Puerto Rico Bar Association Law Review, Vol 37, No. 4 and Vol. 38, No. 2. Instructor: Collective Bargaining, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, 1979; Governmental Positions: Attorney, Puerto Rico Labor Department, 1962. Member: Puerto Rico Bar Association (Member, Law Review, 1979 - ); Inter-American Bar Association; Association of Labor Relations Practitioners. Languages: English and Spanish.

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM

ANTONIO CUEVAS-DELGADO (acuevas@ckblawpr.com), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 18, 1967, and admitted in 1993 to the bar in Puerto Rico, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Mr. Cuevas-Delgado has handled the labor issues of a diverse base of clients in many different industries. Most notably, Mr. Cuevas-Delgado was the new private employer’s Chief Negotiator in the privatization process of the Sugar Mills in Puerto Rico where he not only effectively renegotiated existing collective bargaining agreements throughout Puerto Rico, but successfully litigated the successor-employer and representative issues that arose from the process. Currently, he is the Spokesperson and Chief Negotiator of the Bargaining Committee of the Puerto Rico Shipping Association in charge of negotiating and administering most of the collective bargaining agreements in the Waterfront of Puerto Rico. In 2003 he was invited for and received the Distinguished Appointment of Residency and Membership of the “Human Rights and Employment Discrimination” Round, at the Lincoln College in the University of Oxford, England (Oxford Round Table, March, 2003).

Mr. Cuevas-Delgado leads the experienced and well qualified group of Labor and Employment lawyers of the Firm.

Education: Seton Hall University (B.B.A., Industrial Relations, honors, 1989); University of Puerto Rico (J.D., 1992). Notable lectures: “Arbitration of Discrimination Cases,” Association of Labor Relations Practitioners. Authorship: Contributing Author, 1994 Report of the ERISA Subcommittee to the General Assembly, American Bar Association; contributing Author, 1995 Report of the ERISA Subcommittee to the General Assembly, American Bar Association; “How to Improve Compliance with Discrimination in Employment Law,” 61 Rev. Jur. U.P.R. Vol. 2. Member: Bar Association of Puerto Rico; American Bar Association; Association of Labor Relations Practitioners. Languages: English and Spanish.

ROBERTO MÁRQUEZ-SÁNCHEZ rmarquez@ckblawpr.com) obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Puerto Rico in 1992. As a law student, he worked as a law clerk for the Hon. Daniel R. Domínguez, U.S. District Court Judge, then in private practice, and after graduating Mr. Márquez worked for an insurance defense firm until passing the general and notary bar exams that same year. In 1993 Mr. Márquez served as a law clerk for the Hon. Germán Brau Ramírez of the Puerto Rico Circuit Court of Appeals, and he then became an associate with another insurance defense firm in San Juan. He has engaged primarily in civil litigation representing the interests of a wide variety of clients such as insurance companies, claims management firms, insurance adjusters, self-insured companies, government agencies and individuals in a broad range of cases involving Civil Rights, sexual harassment, products liability, medical malpractice, premises liability, construction, subrogations, first-party insurance claims, personal injury, automobile liability, contracts and commercial litigation, insurance law and employment law, among others.Most notably, Mr. Márquez was an integral part of the team that represented the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in its successful claim against the tobacco industry that resulted in a settlement of more than $2 billion for the People of Puerto Rico. Throughout his career Mr. Márquez has handled most if not all of his cases as the primary attorney in charge, and he has a considerable and successful trial experience both in the local and federal courts. He has also handled several appeals to the P.R. Circuit Court of Appeals, where he used to serve as a clerk, and to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, as well as to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, where he has successfully argued before the Court in every single case.

JOSÉ E. O’NEILL-FONT (jeoneill@microjuris.com) Born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, on April 15, 1967. Obtained a BA in Political Science from the University of PuertoRico in 1989 (Honors). Admitted to the Bar of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in 1993, after obtaining his Juris Doctor degree in 1992 from the University of Puerto Rico. In 1994 was also admitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

In 1993, Mr. O’Neill-Font joined Miranda Cárdenas & Córdova Law Offices as an associate, becoming a partner at said law firm in 1998, until 2005, when he started his own solo practice. Most notably, Mr. O’Neill-Font has been engaged in medical malpractice cases, particularly, on the defense side, since the time he began to practice law. Throughout his career, Mr. O’Neill-Font has handled most of his cases as a primary attorney in charge, having a successful trial experience, both in the federal and local courts. Also, Mr. O’Neill-Font has been engaged in civil litigation representing insurance companies, insurance adjusters and self insured companies in cases involving personal injuries, automobile liability, contracts and insurance law.

ASSOCIATES

FERNANDO DELGADO-KUINLAM(fdk@ckblawpr.com),born Arecibo, Puerto Rico, June 25, 1937; admitted to bar, 1975, Puerto Rico. Education: University of Puerto Rico (B.S., 1959; J.D., 1975); College of Engineering (B.S.E.E., 1962). Engineer, Puerto Rico, 1969. Member: Bar Association of Puerto Rico; Association of Energy Engineers. Languages: English and Spanish.

LISABEL M. RODRÍGUEZ-ESPINOSA (lrodriguez@ckblawpr.com), born Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, August 24, 1973; admitted to bar, 2002, Puerto Rico, U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (2006). Education: University of Puerto Rico (B.B.A., Arts and Sciences, 1998); Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (J.D., 2001). Administrative Judge Position: Anti-Discrimination Division, Department of Work and Human Resources of Puerto Rico, Hearing Examiner (2003). Clerkship: First Instance Court of Puerto Rico for the San Juan Part, Law Clerk (2003-2006). Languages: English and Spanish. and Spanish.

LUIS ENRIQUE ROMERO – NIEVES(lromero@ckblawpr.com)born Manatí, Puerto Rico, September 15, 1982; admitted to bar, 2008, Puerto Rico. Education: University of Puerto Rico (B.B.A., Magna CumLaude, Social Sciences, Labor Relations, 2004); Interamerican University School of Law (J.D., Magna Cum Laude, 2007); American University Washington College of Law (LL.M., Master of Laws in International Legal Studies – Public International Law, 2010). Teacher Assistantship for: Professor Carlos I. Gorrín Peralta (2005 – 2006). Clerkship: Goldman, Antonetti & Córdova (2006). Distinguished Appointments: Debate Competition, “Miguel Velázquez Rivera”, 2nd Place (2006); Oratory Competition of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, 1st Place (2006); Distinguished student on Civil Rights affairs, Thurgood Marshall Award, Puerto Rico Civil Rights Commission (2007). International forums: “International Youth Leadership Conferences”, Prague, Czech Republic (2007); “Inter-American Human Rights System, Moot Court Competition (IAMOOT), 12th Edition”, Washington D.C.: Top twenty orators (2007); “IAMOOT, 13th Edition”, Washington D.C.: Judge for Preliminary Oral Rounds (2008); “IAMOOT, 15th Edition”, Washington D.C.: Judge for Briefs and Memorials (2010). Member: Bar Association of Puerto Rico; Inter-American Bar Association (IABA). Languages: English and Spanish.

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