Luis Rivera-Marin, former secretary of state of Puerto Rico and of counsel to Porzio, Bromberg & Newman in New Jersey. Photo by Carmen Natale

Porzio, Bromberg & Newman of Morristown has opened a seventh office—this time in Puerto Rico, by hiring former Puerto Rico secretary of state and corporate attorney Luis Rivera-Marin.

The firm's Puerto Rico office in San Juan officially opened Oct. 7 and is intended to expand the reach of the firm and its Porzio Life Sciences subsidiary, which offers compliance and software services to members of that industry, said Vito Gagliardi Jr.

"The Puerto Rico office allows us to market all of our services in an area that we have not done a lot of business before," Gagliardi, managing partner of the Porzio law firm and president of the life sciences subsidiary and two other wholly owned subsidiaries, said in a phone call Wednesday. "We see tremendous opportunity for our life science capabilities, both with regard to legal work and regulatory work with our subsidiary Porzio Life Sciences. There are about 75 such companies in Puerto Rico."

The move, he said, also comes naturally since Porzio has been doing work in Puerto Rico since 2017. That was the year Hurricane Maria devastated the commonwealth, a distinction Puerto Rico has held since 1952. The Puerto Rican government retained Porzio for work in connection with its energy grid in the hurricane's aftermath, according to Gagliardi.

It was during this time that Porzio partners Bill Hughes and John Oroho, who were in charge of the grid work, got to know then-Secretary of State Rivera-Marin and develop a close business relationship with him.

"It led to us thinking about this opportunity [to expand there] and doing more work not just for Puerto Rico but in Puerto Rico, which led to the new office," Gagliardi said.

Rivera-Marín now is of counsel to the law firm and general manager of the Puerto Rico operation for Porzio Life Sciences.

Before entering public service, Rivera-Marín litigated commercial cases and served as counsel for several local and international firms, Porzio noted.

"With redevelopment going on throughout Puerto Rico, we also see a lot of opportunity for growth and particularly with the corporate expertise that Luis brings to bear," Gagliardi said. "He's also a corporate attorney, and that is a practice area we are looking to grow, and he has the skill set and the relationships in Puerto Rico."

As Puerto Rico's 25th secretary of state, Rivera-Marin was a member of all executive branch councils and the official representative of the U.S. territory in all international and consular affairs, and chief economic development adviser to the governor. He also served as energy, commerce, and housing regulator for the island, and executive director of Puerto Rico tourism, as well as serving on boards and holding corporate positions.

Gagliardi said the expansion into Puerto Rico underscores Porzio's commitment to expanding the life sciences subsidiary, which the firm said provides comprehensive commercialization and compliance solutions, including services and software products intended to combine legal, compliance, and business operations.

And there's a big need in Puerto Rico as it rebuilds from Maria.

"The recovery work is compliance-intensive," Gagliardi said.

Oroho, executive vice president of Porzio Life Sciences and a partner at the law firm, said the subsidiary, launched in 2003, has been "ahead of the curve in offering our clients what they need, and this expansion to Puerto Rico gives us the foundation necessary to provide comprehensive commercialization, compliance, transparency, and other services to this fast-growing market."

Gagliardi said there will be a lot of travel to and from the new office among its lawyers, with Rivera-Marin, who has a daughter attending college in New York City, planning on monthly visits to the Morristown office. Likewise, Hughes and Oroho, who have several clients in Puerto Rico already, plan on monthly visits to the San Juan office.

Founded in 1962, Porzio also has offices in New York; Washington, D.C.; Ocean City and Princeton, New Jersey; and Westborough, Massachusetts.

One event in particular next month promises to be a networking opportunity. The New Jersey State Bar Association will hold its midyear conference in San Juan during the first week of November. Gagliardi said about a dozen lawyers from Porzio will be hosting a reception at the event to launch Porzio's new office, and hopefully win new business.