Government Affairs & Public Policy

Overview

McConnell Valdés' well-established Government Affairs & Public Policy Practice was founded on the recognition that, to fully represent a client's interests and needs, a law firm has to be able to practice not only in court, but also before the legislative and executive branches of government. The fact is that solutions to many issues facing clients involve the very processes by which public law and policy is conceived, developed and implemented by the government. McConnell Valdés is uniquely positioned to assist clients with all aspects of the legislative and regulatory processes, both before the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Federal governments.

Our Government Affairs & Public Policy attorneys provide a broad range of services, including monitoring of legislative and regulatory activity, analyzing legislative proposals, preparing position papers to be submitted to legislative committees or administrative agencies, developing and implementing overall legislative and political strategies to promote approval of favorable legislation or regulations, including drafting of proposed legislation or regulations, and lobbying for or against bills or rules. They are seasoned professionals with many years of distinguished public service experience and come from various backgrounds, including the U.S. Congress, the Puerto Rico Legislature, La Fortaleza, corporations, major law firms, both national and local political parties and gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. They combine substantive experience, detailed knowledge of the legislative process and access to the key decision-makers, both in San Juan and Washington, DC.

During recent years, McConnell Valdés has had a significant participation in the approval of local pivotal legislation devised to improve the competitive position of Puerto Rico in the world markets, such as: the general corporations law, the law on negotiable instruments and secured transactions, tourism incentives and development statutes, amendments to deregulate credit cards, the Public-Private Partnership Authority Act (Act 29-2009), the service contracts law, the electronics transactions law, the viatical settlements law, consumer related legislation and regulations, and the Tax Incentives Act of 2008 and Act 60-2019. We are currently working on key amendments on legislation which affects tax credits and pivotal economic and infrastructure development projects.

Our bilingual and bi-cultural practice and our intrinsic knowledge of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, State and Federal Governments and business cultures, enable us to develop effective and innovative relationships between our clients and key decision-makers. Our Practice Team is also actively involved in associations and lobbying coalitions which allow us to be more successful in the implementation of government affairs strategies for our clients.

Our sophisticated understanding of public policy and government affairs, combined with our extensive combined experience in this field, provide the necessary tools to successfully develop and implement government relations campaigns to pursue economic and public policy initiatives on behalf of our clients. We are well-positioned to serve as the gateway for both foreign entities and United States businesses seeking opportunities in Puerto Rico.

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