Counseling the Client During the Post-COVID Period

Juan M. Suarez Cobo is an attorney with Legal Partners, PSC in San Juan, P.R., and is Board Certified in consumer bankruptcy law. He received his B.A. and graduate degree from InterAmerican University in 1998 and 1993, respectively, and his his J.D. in 1995 from the University of Puerto Rico.

Edgardo Mangual Gonzalez is a practitioner with his own firm, EMG Despacho Legal, CRL, in San Juan, P.R., where he specializes in consumer bankruptcy law. Previously, he clerked for Hon. Jaime Fuster Berlingery of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court and for Hon. Brian K. Tester of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Puerto Rico. He also worked as litigation attorney in the Puerto Rico Department of Justice’s Federal and Bankruptcy divisions, and as an attorney in two law firms.

Mr. Mangual-Gonzalez is admitted to practice law in the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. He has also prepared seminars for the Notary Association of Puerto Rico.

Mr. Mangual-Gonzalez received his J.D. with honors from the University of Puerto Rico Law School.

Enrique S. Lamoutte is the chief judge for the United States bankruptcy court, District of Puerto Rico. He was first appointed to the court on November 7, 1986, and his current term will expire on November 6, 2028. Lamoutte was elevated to the position of chief judge, serving in that role from 1986 to 1998, and again from 2009 through the present date.

Prior to joining the court, Lamoutte began his legal career with a two-year clerkship at the U.S. District Court, followed by a four-year clerkship at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. He then took a position with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, where he led the Civil Division from 1983 until he was asked to take the bench in 1986.

Lamoutte earned a bachelor's degree from Boston College and a J.D. from the University of Puerto Rico