team + network

 At your service. . .

Gabriel R. Avilés-Aponte, esq. (J.D.)

Accomplished litigator and consultant, well versed in trial advocacy, appellate proceedings and getting a good settlement where there wasn't one. Ample experience in General Civil, Administrative, Commercial and Appellate litigation, including the following areas: Contracts (Consulting and Litigation); Employment Law and Human Resources (Litigation and Consultant); Torts (Plaintiff and Defendant); Succession and Estate Law; Eviction and Debt Collection Cases; Mortgage Execution Cases (Defendant); Corporate Structure Advisor; Entrepreneur and Small Business Legal Consultant; Legal Documents (review and production); Slander, Libel and Defamation; Arbitration; and others. Also practice and promote sustainability. Always aware of clients' and stakeholders’ needs.

Fluent in English and Spanish, well trained in legal research and highly skilled in legal writing and argumentation that have led to a high rate of favorable settlements, judgments and dismissals.

professional organizations and non-profits

• Member of the Board of Directors of “Servicios Legales de Puerto de Puerto Rico” (Legal Services of Puerto Rico) Federal Bar Association

• Member at Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Bar Association) (Col. Núm. 14,655)

• Member at Federal Bar Association, Puerto Rico Chapter

• GRI Certified Sustainability Professional, January 2024

LIFE EVENTS

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, son of the Attorneys, F. Ariel Avilés Rodríguez (deceased), of Bufete Tapia & Avilés (Law Firm in PR for more than 35 years) and Ina Aponte de Avilés, of Bufete Tapia & Avilés (Lawyer and Administrator). Studied high school at Academia de Perpetuo Socorro in Miramar, Puerto Rico. After graduating high school, he went to the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, where he studied Business Administration with a Major in Finance. After finishing and obtaining his B.B.A. (Finance) he enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico, School of Law where he obtained his J.D. in May 2000. Took and passed the bar exam in September 2000 and was sworn in, to practice Law in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 2001 (RUA Núm. 13,430)  

At Law School he was a member of the U.P.R. Law Review, first as a corrector and drafter (Blue Book Committee) for Volume 68 and later as Associate Editor for Volume 69 of the Law Journal. Was also the T.A. of Professor Carmelo Delgado Cintrón; participated in the Summer Exchange Program at the University of Barcelona; and, in the Summer Workshop Program of the UPR Legal Assistance Clinic, and did an internship in the Court of Appeals, which earned him a post-graduation job offer.

In September 2000, after graduating, he began working at the Court of Appeals as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Guillermo Arbona Lago, whom he had previously interned for as a student, as part of the Summer Program. He worked there for two (2) years until September 2002, working on all areas of the Law and polishing his legal writing skills. In October of that same year, he took and passed the bar exam for the Federal Court for the District of Puerto Rico. He is also admitted to practice at the First Circuit Court in Boston. 

After that, he started working at the Tapia & Avilés Law Firm, with his father, and well known civil litigator, Angel L. Tapia Flores, ESQ. (deceased), serving as a trial lawyer in civil law. 

Through the years, in addition to engaging in litigation, he has served as an examining officer or arbitrator to various institutions such as: the Civil Rights Commission; the PR Volleyball Federation; and the P.R. Skating Federation; among others. Has also served as judge in various moot court exercises for U.P.R. law students.

At the Firm we participated for years in the Employee Legal Services Program of the Authentic Independent Union (U.I.A.- Unión Independiente Auténtica) of Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (A.A.A.) (“Waters Works Authority”) of Puerto Rico, where he provided legal services and counsel at no cost for unionized employees. 

Currently a member of the Puerto Rico Bar (Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico) and the Federal Bar Association, Puerto Rico Chapter. He is also a member of the Board of Directors at Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico, Inc. (Puerto Rico Legal Services), which is the organization that provides free legal services in civil law to the impoverished communities in Puerto Rico. Recently certified as a GRI Certified Sustainability Professional (January 7, 2024)