Carmen E. Atkins

Carmen E. Atkins represents clients in all areas of immigration law, including removal proceedings before the Immigration Court. Ms. Atkins also represents clients with employment and investment-based immigration cases. She also has extensive experience with family-based petitions, applications for residency, asylum applications, and applications for citizenship.

Ms. Atkins is deeply committed to advancing immigrants’ rights. In practice, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recognized her work with the 2016 1st and 2nd Place Judgment Award (“Premio Sentencias”), awarded to the most progressive immigrants’ rights judgments in the American continents, for her constitutional actions against the State of Ecuador, which forced Ecuador to restore the broad definition of a refugee from the Cartagena Declaration into its domestic law.

In addition to practicing humanitarian immigration law, Ms. Atkins practices investment and employment immigration. Before making the leap into immigration law, Ms. Atkins worked at the Silicon Valley office of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where her practice spanned capital markets and mergers and acquisitions for large-cap companies such as Google, Inc., Frontier Airlines, Inc., Telecom Argentina S.A., and Roper Technologies, Inc. (formerly known as Roper Industries, Inc.). A listing of representative matters is included below.

Ms. Atkins earned her Juris Doctor from University of California at Berkeley where she was awarded the Brian M. Sax prize for excellence in clinical advocacy, given to the student with the most outstanding performance among the law school’s clinics. Ms. Atkins was recognized for her tireless work before the Inter-American Human Rights System, which held the State of Guatemala accountable for over 100 victims of forced disappearance in the context of Jose Miguel Gudiel Alvarez et al. vs. Guatemala. Prior to that, Ms. Atkins earned her Bachelor’s of Science Degree at Cornell University, where she was consistently on the Dean’s List and was accepted to the Ye Hosts Honor Society, composed of Cornell Hotel School students selected from the top ten percent of their class.

Ms. Atkins is Peruvian and Nicaraguan and is fluent in Spanish and English. She also speaks Italian, French, and Portuguese. 

REPRESENTATIVE TRANSACTIONS:

Mergers & Acquisitions

• Represented Palm, Inc. in connection with Hewlett Packard’s purchase of all its common stock for a total enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. This deal involved drafting a share purchase agreement, coordination of heavy due diligence in a compressed tight-frame, analysis of competing offers.
• Represented Frontier Airlines, Inc. in its successful reorganization pursuant to Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This transaction involved drafting and negotiation of an investment agreement in the amount of 100+ mm, preparation of an escrow agreement and other ancillary agreements and preparation of confidentiality agreements and due diligence.   

Capital Markets

• Represented Roper Industries, Inc. in a series of shelf offerings for both common stock and notes, including an S&P 500 inclusion deal for 2.3 million shares of common stock for approximately US$ 100+ million. Drafted prospectus and board resolutions, negotiated underwriting agreements and issuer counsel opinions, drafted supplemental indenture (for debt offering) and conducted due diligence.
• Represented the underwriters in connection with the initial public offering for Quinstreet, Inc. Assisted in drafting registration statements, drafted and negotiated underwriting agreements, board resolutions, selling stockholder documents, lock up agreements, comfort letters, counsel opinions and other ancillary documents, and coordinated due diligence.
• Represented a company listed on NYSE Euronext Paris and NYSE stock exchanges in its restructuring pursuant to Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code of its a conversion of up to €1,289 million of senior indebtedness into securities by way of a share capital increase in cash with preferential subscription rights (droits préférentiels de souscription), an issuance of notes redeemable in shares of the Company for an aggregate principal amount of up to €641 million, and €75 million pursuant to warrants. In this regard, I reviewed securitized documents and analysis of the perfection thereof and assisted with the preparation of ancillary agreements.
• Outside corporate counsel for two foreign companies with ADRs listed on NYSE and no U.S. in-house legal staff, advising the management and the board of directors on securities law compliance, corporate governance & policies, securities transactions (ADRs) and general corporate matters; draft and review SEC filings, including 20-Fs, 6-Ks and proxy statements.
• Represented the underwriters in secondary public offerings of shares of common stock by SVB Financial Group, Xenoport, Inc. and Taleo Corporation.
• Represented the underwriters in connection with Google, Inc.’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan. 
• Represented Texas Instruments, Inc. in connection with its issuance of registered investment grade notes, drafted prospectus, negotiated underwriting agreement and comfort letters, drafted supplemental indenture and conducted due diligence.
• Outside corporate counsel for Texas Instruments, Affymetrix, SAIC, E*Trade Financial Corporation and Silicon Graphics.
• Represented Aquaria De Inv. Corp. S.A., a Spanish company, in connection with the issuance of common stock pursuant to SEC Rule 144A; assisted with drafting prospectus and performing due diligence.