Carlos A. Steffens-Guzmán joins Maceira Zayas as Special Counsel after three decades representing stateside manufacturers, surety companies, and other institutional defendants in complex federal and Commonwealth litigation in Puerto Rico. His practice spans products liability defense, surety law, and complex civil litigation across administrative, trial, and appellate venues. He has served as lead local counsel for the largest stateside tobacco manufacturer in the Puerto Rico attorney general / Big Tobacco litigation; defended manufacturers in a consolidated asbestos action involving more than 800 plaintiffs; was part of the defense team that defeated class certification against a pharmaceutical manufacturer in cholesterol-drug litigation; and negotiated favorable settlements for local pesticide companies during the EPA's enforcement investigation into the illegal use of methyl bromide in Puerto Rico. On the surety side, he has represented top stateside and local surety carriers for more than a decade in Miller Act and non-Miller Act matters arising from federal and Commonwealth public-works projects. He was admitted to the Puerto Rico bar in 1994 and to the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in 1996. At Maceira Zayas, his practice focuses on products liability defense, surety law, and complex civil and commercial litigation.