Carlos Rivas may have left the Firm almost 10 years ago, but his relationship with White & Case is still going strong – he now works for Intel Corporation, one of our key clients.

He says: “I work on the Intel Capital legal team, acting as one of the lead attorneys for M&A and strategic transactions. As such, I’ve worked closely with Bill Choe, who co-heads the Firm’s Technology Industry Group and is the Global Head of Tech M&A.

“I’ve also worked with several partners from White & Case’s Silicon Valley and New York offices and some very talented associates.”

“The Firm’s presence
in the region is
remarkable and I’d
describe your
program for foreign
associates as
‘best in class’.”

Carlos grew up in Venezuela, where he obtained a law degree and practised general corporate and commercial law before moving to the United States. He then moved to New York in 2004 and completed a Master of Law (LLM) at Columbia University prior to joining the Firm’s New York office in 2007.

Carlos says: “White & Case was a great fit for me and I frequently worked alongside other attorneys from Latin America with similar backgrounds to me.

“The Firm’s presence in the region is remarkable and I’d describe your program for foreign associates as “best in class”.”

During his time at White & Case, Carlos worked on a broad range of projects in Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and other countries.

He says: “As a junior associate it was a very rewarding experience where I was able to use both my US and Venezuelan legal skills and be part of a team of lawyers that was very experienced in cross-border transactions.

“I particularly remember how working on cross-border transactions with large teams required a lot of discipline, making sure timelines and expectations with clients and other parties were managed accordingly.”

After leaving White & Case in 2008, Carlos moved to DLA Piper before working for a global cosmetics retail company where he focused on their Latin American corporate, real estate and commercial matters.

He then worked as in-house counsel for a biotech company before joining Intel in 2015. He now works in the company’s office in Santa Clara, California.

“I believe White & Case
definitely contributed
to my development”

“My role is not only to lead a team of in-house legal experts,” Carlos explains, “but also to manage the expectations of our internal clients, coordinate our efforts with outside counsel and negotiate with the other parties involved in the deal, so my experience at the Firm helped prepare me for that.

“Looking back, I believe White & Case definitely contributed to my development and gave me a set of managerial tools that to this day I apply in my day-to-day work.”

As well as working with White & Case as an outside counsel, Carlos’s links to the Firm have continued through Cesar Briceno, a close friend from Venezuela who works as an associate in our New York office.

Outside work Carlos is an active polo player and member of Lawyers Polo, an international association that gathers attorneys from all over the world in a different city every year to bond over law and polo.