Next month, AL DÍA will be hosting its sixth annual AL DÍA Top Lawyers event.

Since its establishment in 2017, the event has aimed to recognized lawyers of Hispanic origin who exemplify the highest standards of professionalism and ethics, and who have demonstrated professional excellence and achievement, leadership, commitment to legal and community service, recognition among their peers, and dedication to improving the legal profession within the Greater Philadelphia region, and beyond. 

There are a slew of individuals who fit the criteria, yet are rarely given the proper recognition for their admirable, impactful, and in many cases, life-changing work.

The five advisory board members of this year’s 2022 AL DÍA Top Lawyers Forum exemplify those very standards, and are in charge of selecting the honorees of this year’s event. 

Meet the 2022 AL DÍA Top Lawyers Advisory Board: 

• Alex Gonzalez

Alex Gonzalez is vice president, general counsel & corporate secretary at Braven Environmental, an advanced plastics processing and technology company.

He has worked in private practice, representing underwriters, initial purchasers, placement agents and issuers in 33 and 34 Act securities matters, and board of directors and special committees in connection with governance matters and conflicted transactions. 

He previously served as an external corporate secretary for a NASDAQ listed publicly traded company.

An active member of the community, Gonzalez has served organizations in the non-profit sector as counsel and/or as a board member since 2011. He served as President of the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania in 2015. 

He previously clerked for the Honorable Eduardo C. Robreno on the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 2008 and 2009 and an extern for the Honorable Dolores K. Sloviter on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 2006 and 2007.

Gonzalez was also selected as the honoree for In-House Counsel for the 2021 edition of the AL DÍA Top Lawyers.

• Carlos Bollar

Carlos Bollar is an environmental litigation attorney and partner at Archer & Greiner, P.C. He is also co-chair of Archer’s Environmental Justice Practice Group, where he represents clients in complex toxic tort, product liability and environmental litigation matters.

Bollar has over 20 years of experience handling environmental litigation cases in all of the contexts in which they arise, including single plaintiff cases, mass actions involving hundreds of plaintiffs, class actions and defending clients against state and federal government. He typically handles high stakes litigation with massive potential damages.

He is also the Immediate Past President of the Hispanic National Bar Association. 

He is a deeply committed member of the HNBA, having served on various Board positions over the years, which includes a role on the HNBA’s Executive Committee, past president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, and serving on the Board of Trustees for the New Jersey State Bar Association. 

Bollar was also honored as a 2020 AL DÍA Champion of Justice Award recipient. 

• Renee Garcia

Renee Garcia is Chair of the Litigation Group for the City of Philadelphia Law Department. In her role, she oversees litigation matters and supervises six litigation units: appeals, affirmative & special litigation, civil rights, tort litigation, code & public nuisance litigation, and labor & employment. 

Prior to taking on this role in February 2021, Garcia served eight years as managing senior counsel for PNC, where she helped lead a team that handles litigation, operations, and legal review of escalated customer complaints related to retail products, as well as directly managed litigation related to PNC’s wealth management services.

She is also on the board of the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania, and previously served as a director on the boards of Community Legal Services/Philadelphia Legal Assistance. 

Garcia was the recipient of the 2020 AL DÍA Lawyer Award for In-House Counsel category. 

• Sharon Lopez

Sharon Lopez is a managing attorney at Triquetra Law, a law firm she formed with colleague Andrea Farney, in 2006. 

Throughout her career, Lopez has blazed a number of trails, including becoming the first Latina, first ex-legal services attorney and first mother to serve as president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Her affiliation with the Pennsylvania Bar Association also includes roles as a diversity team member and judicial evaluation commission member. 

Lopez is a “triple threat” in the law profession. As a legal counselor, she has committed herself to giving her clients clear and helpful advice. As a litigator, she works courteously and professionally with opposing counsel to secure a complete record in an organized fashion. And as a trial lawyer, she works to advance her client’s position with passion and storytelling.

Her areas of practice include appellate advocacy, civil rights, and employment law.

In 2020, Lopez was honored with the AL DÍA Champion of Justice Award in the “Small Firm” category. 

• Will Gonzalez

Will Gonzalez is executive director of Ceiba, a nonprofit coalition of Latino community-based organizations in Philadelphia.  

In his executive director role, he leads the mission of promoting the economic development and financial inclusion of the Latino community through collaborations and advocacy aimed at ensuring their access to quality housing, economic development, and civil rights of low-to-moderate income communities. 

Gonzalez has over 35 years of experience in law and working in the Latino community. Licensed to practice law in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, he is a Past President of the Hispanic Bar Association of PA Chapter of the ACLU. 

In 2019, Gonzalez was the recipient of the AL DÍA Top Lawyers Gus Garcia Lifetime Achievement Award, named after the man who broke barriers as the head of the first Mexican-American legal team to win a U.S. Supreme Court decision, helping establish Mexican-Americans as a protected class. 

This year, six legal professionals will be honored with the AL DÍA Top Lawyer Award. The five categories are: Small Firm, Mid-Large Firm, Government, Non-Profit, and In-House Counsel. In addition, one individual will be honored as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Stay tuned for the announcement of our 2022 AL DÍA Top Lawyer honorees! 

The 2022 AL DÍA Top Lawyers Forum & Reception event will take place Friday, November 18 at 5:30 p.m. at The Pyramid Club. For information on registration, click here.