Marco A. Gonzalez, Jr.
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
One Riverfront Plaza
1037 Raymond Boulevard, Suite 1800
Newark, NJ 07102-5429
USA

Phone: +1 973 424 2018
Fax: +1 973 556 1132
Email: MAGonzalezJr@duanemorris.com

Marco A. Gonzalez, Jr. practices in the areas of complex civil, compliance and environmental litigation, internal corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense. He defends clients in state and federal enforcement/compliance proceedings and counsels clients concerning their rights and obligations under federal environmental statutes and the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. Mr. Gonzalez also is experienced in RICO actions.

A co-founder of the firm's Puerto Rico Practice Group, Mr. Gonzalez is admitted in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and has extensive experience representing clients on federal matters in Puerto Rico and in the Caribbean. Mr. Gonzalez is also co-chair of the firm's growing Cuba Business Group, providing counseling and representation to companies in that emerging market under exemptions to the U.S. trade embargo and to help them to prepare for expanded trade with Cuba upon the lifting of the embargo.

Having served in the U.S. Marine Corps and as an Aircraft Structural Specialist on the F-117A Stealth Fighter Project for the former Lockheed-California Aircraft Company, Mr. Gonzalez brings a unique perspective to the practice of law.

He is a member of the New Jersey State and Essex County bar associations and is a past president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey. Mr. Gonzalez is a 1991 graduate of Rutgers School of Law - Newark and a graduate of Hunter College of the City University of New York.

Representative Matters

• Represented pharmaceutical company in New Jersey against New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection allegations that the client intentionally released hazardous air pollutants. Commenced internal investigation, self-disclosed, derailed criminal charges and client paid a small civil fine.
• Represented global environmental consulting company in a USDC-PR grand jury investigation of alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and assertions that client intentionally made false statements and falsified records.
• Negotiated consent decree for a NJ food company in FDA enforcement action concerning allegations of non-compliance with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act.
• Represented electrical components/connectors manufacturer in WARN and Puerto Rico Law 100 action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico brought by dozens of former employees who alleged improper termination and plant closure.
• Represented U.S. clinical research organization (CRO) regarding legality of providing services to foreign entity in connection with regulatory approval of an in-licensed drug from a Cuban company.
• Represented/defended public utility in Puerto Rico in a USDOJ investigation of the utility regarding alleged violations of the Clean Water Act (acid spill into San Juan Harbor). We conducted an internal investigation into the allegations and represented the utility in negotiating a misdemeanor guilty plea by the utility; no individual targets were charged.
• Represented large pharmaceutical company in Puerto Rico against a whistleblower's allegations that the client was intentionally releasing hazardous air pollutants into the atmosphere, based upon which USDOJ commenced a grand jury investigation. We conducted an internal investigation and persuaded DOJ to conduct informal witness interviews in place of grand jury testimony. No criminal charges were filed and no civil or administrative penalties were imposed by EPA.

Professional Activities

• New Jersey State Bar Association
  - Judicial Administration Committee, 1996-1998
• Essex County Bar Association
  - Co-Chair, Membership Committee, 1997-1998
• New Jersey Hispanic Bar Foundation
  - Trustee, 1998-present
• Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, Inc.
  - President, 1997-1998
• Co-chair, CLEs, Convention Planning Committee, Hispanic National Bar Association, N.Y. City Convention, 2004

Admissions

• New Jersey
• U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• Supreme Court of New Jersey
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Education

• Rutgers School of Law - Newark, J.D., 1991
• Hunter College, B.A., 1988

Experience

• Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey
  - President, 1997-1998
  
• Hannoch Weisman, P.C., Roseland, New Jersey
  - Associate, 1996-1999
• Pitney, Hardin, Kipp & Szuch, Morristown, New Jersey
  - Associate, 1991-1996
• United States Marine Corps Reserve
• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2004-present
  - Associate, 1999-2003

Board Memberships

• Essex Network Legal Services, Inc., 2000-2002
• Morris County Organization for Hispanic Affairs

Civic and Charitable Activities

• Human Rights First, Volunteer Attorney, 1996-Present
• Jersey Battered Women's Legal Advocacy Program
  - Volunteer Attorney, 1993-1996

Selected Publications

• Co-author, "Third Circuit Upholds Permitting Testimony of Outside Corporate Counsel Against Former CEO," Duane Morris Alert, March 31, 2011
• "'Can You Hear Me Now? Sí?': Is There a U.S.-Cuba Telecommunications Revolution on the Horizon?" May 13, 2009
• Profiled in "Marco A. Gonzalez, Jr.: Taking the Hill," Diversity & the Bar, November/December 2008, Vol. 10, No. 6

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, "¿Como Se Dice: 'Summary Judgment'?, The Pitfalls of Translating Foreign Documents and Using Interpreters in Your Practice," 7th Annual Seminars Conference, HBANJ, Los Cabos, Mexico, 2008
• Speaker, "The Legal Nuts & Bolts of Doing Business in the Dominican Republic," Hispanic Bar of N.J. Annual CLE Conference, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, May 2006
• Legal Analyst, MSNBC, Palm Beach County Voting Recount Trial, Presidential Election, December 2000
• Co-Presenter, "Nuts & Bolts of Internal Investigations," National Hispanic Bar Association Annual Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 18, 2001
• Speaker, "Positioning Your Company for Doing Business in Cuba - Is it Really Possible?" N.J. Corporate Counsel Association's All Day CLE Conference, September 2009