Carlos has attained a decade and a half of practice experience, representing both plaintiffs and defendants, as he spent eight years at an Am Law 100 multinational law firm.

Early in his career, Carlos was named a Super Lawyer “Rising Star” (an honor reportedly given to the top 2.5% of lawyers) by the editors of Los Angeles magazine in 2007, 2013 and 2014.

Carlos has also distinguished himself as a leader in the legal profession. He is a former President of the Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County;

He has also served in various leadership roles in the local legal community, including:

• Member of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Bar Association;

• Member of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Bar Foundation;

• Member of the Board of Directors of the St. Thomas More Society of Orange County;

• Member of the UCI Law School Dean’s Executive Board.            

In addition to his professional endeavors, Carlos is also recognized as an expert on Salvadoran human rights hero St. Oscar Romero, canonized in 2018. In that connection, Carlos was named as one of 60 Scholars selected to participate in the 2023 cohort of the prestigious Presidential Leadership Scholars, a diverse network of leaders brought together by the George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Lyndon B. Johnson presidential centers.

Carlos was born in El Salvador and grew up in New York.

He attended Boston University but did not obtain a degree. Later, Carlos worked in non-attorney roles at Skadden Arps in Boston and Los Angeles. Carlos studied law at Whittier Law School and USC Law School, where he obtained his JD in December 2003.

After law school, Carlos worked as an associate with Jones Day, where he represented major U.S. companies facing complex litigation arising in Latin America. He was a member of the trial team that successfully defended Dole Food Company in Tellez v. Dole, the first U.S. trial for alleged exposure to the pesticide DBCP in Latin America. Carlos also worked on the team defending Chevron against environmental claims in Ecuador. The trial in Ecuador lasted from 2003-2011 and enforcement actions in the U.S. are ongoing.

Carlos is fluent in English and Spanish and has a basic understanding of Italian.