Ms. Betancourt–Torregrosa is a defense attorney with over 7 years of experience, whose practice is focused on labor and employment law. In that capacity, she has represented local and international clients in litigation, and advised them regarding human resources issues and litigation prevention, among other matters. She is also well-versed in insurance defense and coverage, administrative law, and the vindication of creditors’ rights in bankruptcy processes.
Ms. Betancourt-Torregrosa has litigated many cases brought under Puerto Rico’s Act No. 2 of 1961, which provides for the expedited adjudication of employment claims. She has succeeded in having most of those cases converted to the ordinary judicial procedure, thus allowing her clients to conduct extensive discovery to bolster their defenses, which would not have been possible under the summary process. In one such case, Ms. Betancourt-Torregrosa also convinced the Court that the sworn statement required to request an extension of time to answer a complaint under Act No. 2 can be signed by defendant employer’s counsel. The resulting ruling supports the streamlining of the process to request such an extension. Moreover, by obtaining that holding, Ms. Betancourt-Torregrosa avoided entry of default against her client. See Villanueva v. Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica, KLCE202100646 (TA 2021).
Ms. Betancourt-Torregrosa has also taken employment claims to trial. In one instance, that resulted in the dismissal of a retaliation claim against her client. Ms. Betancourt-Torregrosa obtained that ruling after demonstrating that plaintiff’s termination was the result of an investigation into plaintiff’s workplace conduct – not retaliation for the suggestions he made during a staff meeting held the day before that investigation began. Upon review, the Appellate Court affirmed the lower Court’s decision. See Vélez Bezares v. Medtronic de Puerto Rico Co., KLAN202000461 (TA 2021).
Ms. Betancourt-Torregrosa is an Associate at SCVR. She joined the firm in 2022, after working at other firms managing employment claims, and as a public relations account executive managing events and media strategies for several renowned brands.