People / Raquel Alvarenga
Alvarenga Raquel

Raquel O. Alvarenga

Biography

Raquel is the Chair of the firm's Labor and Employment practice group. She has a full-service labor and employment practice that includes negotiating the employment aspects of complex M&A deals and other business transactions, counseling corporate clients on workforce issues, and litigating all manner of labor and employment disputes.

Raquel has extensive experience litigating restrictive covenant matters involving noncompetition, non-solicitation and trade secret claims, and cases involving alleged discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage-and-hour, and breach of contract claims.

Raquel also has first-chair experience conducting internal investigations for corporate clients, non-profit organizations, and higher education institutions concerning allegations of employee misconduct and sexual assault.

Expand All
  • Obtained a favorable result in defending the owner of a high-profile New York City modeling agency against a claim for injunctive relief to enforce post-employment restrictive covenants.
  • Secured a positive outcome in defending prestigious New York City art school against claims brought by a former employee alleging, among other things, injurious falsehood, slander, libel, conversion, and tortious interference with contract.
  • Served as second chair in the defense of a foreign sovereign in connection with claims filed by a former employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state and local wage and hour laws.
  • Defended an elite New York City private school against allegations of unfair labor practice charges in a high-profile matter before the National Labor Relations Board.
  • Served as trial counsel for minority shareholders of famous restaurant brand in litigation regarding majority shareholders’ breach of fiduciary duty by licensing the brand’s intellectual property to themselves at well below the market rates.
  • Secured defense verdict as lead trial counsel for non-profit pro bono client in replevin action following a 10-day bench trial in New Jersey Superior Court.
  • Served as lead attorney in internal investigation on behalf of international public health agency based in Washington, D.C. regarding claims that a supervisor engaged in an inappropriate romantic relationship with a subordinate.
  • Served as lead attorney in an internal investigation on behalf of multinational company concerning allegations that former employees engaged in self-dealing, private sector bribery and fraud.
  • Conducted an investigation on behalf of a liberal arts college in Virginia in connection with student complaints alleging violations of Title VI and Title IX; and advised the college on revisions to existing policies and procedures concerning federal and state anti-discrimination and harassment laws.
  • Conducted an investigation on behalf of a liberal arts college in New York concerning sexual misconduct allegations that a faculty member sexually assaulted another faculty member at an off-campus conference.
  • Negotiated pre-discovery settlements and consent decrees on favorable terms for New York City restaurateur in lawsuits alleging violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and state and local disability laws.
  • Negotiated favorable settlement for an international skincare retailer headquartered in Texas against claims of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, negligent supervision, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

* Some of these representations were handled prior to joining the firm.

  • Leadership Dallas, Class of 2023
  • Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow, 2022
  • Dallas Bar Association’s WE LEAD (Women Empowered to Lead in the Legal Profession), Class of 2021
 
  • Recipient of the Dallas Regional Chamber's 2024 Young Professional Leadership ATHENA Award 
  • Recipient of the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association’s 2021 “La Estrella” Award
  • Included in Texas Super Lawyers Rising Stars directory, Thomson Reuters, 2022-2024
  • Included in Texas Super Lawyers Women's Edition Rising Stars directory, Thomson Reuters, 2023
  • Recognized by D Magazine's, D Magazine Partners, Inc., "Best Lawyers Under 40," 2022-2024
  • Included in the "Ones to Watch" category of Best Lawyers in America, Woodward/White, Inc., 2021-2025
  • Recognized in the Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Awards, American City Business Journals, 2021
  • “Developments Under the FLSA,” presenter, Employment Law Updates, Dallas, TX, April 4, 2023.
  • “COVID-19: Issues Affecting You, Your Family, and Your Company,” speaker, Financial Executives International (FEI) Dallas Chapter’s Monthly Meeting, April 13, 2020.

Education

J.D., Cornell Law School, 2012

M.B.A., New York Institute of Technology, 2009, with highest distinction

B.A., Harvard University, 2007

Clerkships

Judicial Intern to the Honorable Justice Timothy S. Driscoll, New York State Supreme Court, 2010

Languages

Spanish

Admissions

New Jersey

New York

Texas

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas