Juan Carlos Gómez-Escarce

Juan Carlos Gómez-Escarce is a counsel at TCM. Most of his practice is in Environmental, Energy, Natural Resources & Land Use. Before joining TCM, he was a member of the Board of Directors and shareholder of the Corporate Division of Fiddler, González & Rodríguez, P.S.C. 

Mr. Gómez-Escarce has managed and resolved multiple land use, planning, zoning, sitting, and construction permitting and environmental impact statement review procedures for all types of projects. He has extensive experience in environmental and commercial litigation and appellate procedures and has been active in citizen suits and toxic tort litigations, and in rulemaking and adjudication procedures before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. Throughout his career, Mr. Gómez-Escarce has successfully handled multiple complex environmental and permitting matters of several industrial, infrastructure and electric power generation projects, including wastewater treatment plants, cogeneration plants, mass transportation system, and regional aqueduct and sewer strategic projects.  

He has also handled permitting and commercial matters of successful commercial and residential development, including shopping centers, and mixed-use projects, as well as agro-industrial and biotechnology projects. Mr. Gómez-Escarce has participated in the protection of various important natural resources of Puerto Rico, including the San Cristóbal Canyon natural reserve and Las Cabezas de San Juan bioluminescent bay, as well as regulatory matters of public utilities.  

In the Environmental and Land Use field, Mr. Gómez-Escarce coauthored the three editions of the “Puerto Rico Environmental Law Handbook”, published by Government Institutes, Inc., and the “Guidelines for Compliance with Environmental Law in Puerto Rico”, published by the Puerto Rico Manufacturer’s Association. While at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, Mr. Gómez-Escarce was a member of the Law Review and published an article in the Law Review titled “El exequatur puertorriqueño en Roseberry v. Registrador” at 54 Rev. Jur. U.P.R. 839 (1985). He also received the Manuel Resumil Aragunde Award from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, and the Benicio Sánchez Castaño Award from the Puerto Rico Bar Association. After graduating, Mr. Gómez-Escarce served as a law clerk for the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. He has also participated in several precedent-setting environmental and zoning litigations, such as Misión Industrial v. Junta de Calidad Ambiental, 145 D.P.R. 908 (1998).  

He has been an active member of the American Bar Association, the Puerto Rico Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, Chamber of Commerce (served as Board Member and President of the Environmental Committee), Home Builder’s Association, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (2004-2005).