(Special Counsel)
Education
Ms. Joanne A. Tomasini Muñiz graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of the Arts in History and a minor in French (1997). She obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law (cum laude, 2000). During law school, she clerked in the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals for Judge Lady Alfonso de Cumpiano (1999) and labored as a research assistant for the Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly’s Joint Permanent Commission for the Revision of the Puerto Rico Civil Code (2000).
Professional Experience
Ms. Tomasini Muñiz has dedicated her considerable professional experience to litigation in diverse areas of law, principally civil and commercial litigation, including contractual disputes, collections, distribution and dealership agreements.
Prior to entering private law practice, Ms. Tomasini Muñiz served as Judicial Clerk to then Chief Justice José A. Andréu García at the Puerto Rico Supreme Court (2000-2003). She also labored for the “Secretariado de la Conferencia Judicial” of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court during the Judicial Convention on Access to Justice (2002), as a reporter for the panel discussions regarding indigent citizens’ right of access to the courts.
Ms. Tomasini Muñiz then labored in private practice at Toro, Colón, Mullet, Rivera & Sifre, P.S.C. (2003-2011). She worked principally in civil and commercial litigation including: contractual disputes, collections, controversies involving dealership and representative agreements, negotiable instruments, and debt collection practices and credit reporting. Ms. Tomasini Muñiz’s work involved strategic planning for existing and potential complex litigations, especially those involving complex jurisdictional issues, or substantial financial or strategic risk. As a litigant, she has also appeared in formal evidentiary hearings before administrative agencies, such as the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board. Furthermore, Ms. Tomasini Muñiz has extensive appellate practice experience. She was also responsible for seeking judicial review of multiple administrative determinations, including bids and procurements. Ms. Tomasini Muñiz participated in various cases involving alternate forms of dispute resolution and related litigations.
Ms. Tomasini Muñiz has represented multiple corporate clients in complex contractual controversies involving multimillion-dollar claims, such as T-Mobile Puerto Rico, Cemex de Puerto Rico, Exportadora Eliane, and Waste Management. She also participated in complex litigations concerning the Telecommunications Act, and resulting from the takeover of two major Puerto Rico banks by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Ms. Tomasini Muñiz currently serves as Special Counsel for González, Machado & Roig, LLC, providing consultations and conducting litigation in the following practice areas: Business, Administrative, Civil and Commercial Law, Bankruptcy Law, Mediation and Arbitration, and Appellate Practice. Her main areas of work are strategic planning and litigation.
Most recently, Ms. Tomasini Muñiz served as the main consultant for the Puerto Rico Senate during the final review and filing of a bill for the creation of a new Puerto Rico Civil Code. As such, Ms. Tomasini Muñiz was responsible for the final comprehensive review of the totality of the Civil Code, and she testified in this capacity before the Judiciary Committee of the Puerto Rico Senate.
Ms. Tomasini Muñiz is admitted to practice law before the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico General Court of Justice, the South Carolina courts, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She is also pending admission to practice law before the New York courts, having successfully passed the New York Bar Examination.