Antonio R. Pavía-Vidal, a former senior official with Puerto Rico's centralized oversight authority for grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has joined Baker Donelson as of counsel in the Firm's Disaster Recovery practice.
Prior to joining Baker Donelson, Mr. Pavía-Vidal served as Deputy Executive Director for the Central Office of Recovery and Reconstruction (COR3). He oversaw the island's recovery efforts, with direct responsibility for guiding policy and implementing the FEMA Public Assistance Program and the Hazard Mitigation Disaster Grant Program. Mr. Pavía-Vidal previously served as Chief Legal Counsel of COR3, where he oversaw procurement, contracting, and legal compliance. He led the COR3 administrative appeals process under FEMA's Public Assistance Program and the arbitration process promulgated by Section 1219 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018. He helped draft COR3 policies, procedures and internal controls to ensure full compliance with all federal and local rules and regulations in the disbursement of funds.
In these prior roles, Mr. Pavía-Vidal managed all Congressional status reports on the Economic and Disaster Recovery Plan sent to U.S. Congress after hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Mr. Pavía-Vidal, who is employed by Baker Donelson Caribe, LLC and resides in Puerto Rico, represents clients in matters involving real estate, infrastructure, governmental affairs, recovery financing, grant management, federal acquisition and procurement, and manufacturing. He assists clients with Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit findings, as well as countering disallowance and deobligation of federal grant funding. He also manages and conducts competitive procurements for clients in order to assure compliance and to obtain the best value at fair and reasonable prices.
"Antonio has been instrumental in helping COR3 organize Puerto Rico's monumental recovery efforts in the aftermath of devastating hurricanes," said Ernest B. Abbott, co-leader of the Firm's Disaster Recovery and Government Services Team. "His deep experience and intensive understanding of FEMA processes and compliance ensure clients have the sophisticated and comprehensive counsel that is essential to maximizing access to emergency recovery funding and assistance."
Mr. Pavía-Vidal has also worked at McConnell Valdés, the largest and oldest law firm in Puerto Rico, in the Real Estate and Finance Department, and V2A Consulting, a Puerto Rico consulting firm providing legal and contract guidance to reorganization projects. He has also advised businesses in manufacturing activities such as industrial R&D for new product development, recycling, and software and video-game development.