Justice Veronica Rivas-Molloy was elected to the First Court of Appeals in November 2020.  She is the first immigrant elected to the First Court of Appeals, and only the third Hispanic woman to serve on the Court.  

During her tenure on the bench, Justice Rivas-Molloy has authored over 180 reasoned majority opinions, and worked on countless more appeals involving civil, criminal, probate, and family matters originating from some of the most populous counties in Texas. 

Prior to serving on the bench, Justice Rivas-Molloy was an accomplished litigator and appellate lawyer.  She practiced law for 20 years representing clients in a diverse range of complex business disputes in Texas and other jurisdictions across the United States and abroad.  Fluent in Spanish, Justice Rivas-Molloy also represented international clients in various matters.  She first worked as a judicial clerk for the Hon. Ewing Werlein, Jr. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, and later at Baker Botts and Jones Walker, where among other things, she was recognized as a Rising Star in business litigation.  She also served as a volunteer Prosecutor for the City of Houston, where she tried numerous cases to the jury. 

Justice Rivas-Molloy was born in Mexico, and she grew up along the border in the El Paso-Juarez  area.  She graduated with honors from the University of Texas at El Paso with a double major in Criminal Justice and Spanish.  She received her law degree magna cum laude from the University of Houston Law Center, where she served on the Houston Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif and Order of the Barons.  Justice Rivas-Molloy is a first-generation college graduate and attorney.  

As a dedicated member of her community, Justice Rivas-Molloy served as pro bono General Counsel for Holy Trinity Episcopal School of Greater Houston, pro bono counsel for women and unaccompanied minors in immigration proceedings, and pro bono counsel for several clients in a variety of legal disputes.  Justice Rivas-Molloy is also a Life Fellow of the Houston Bar Foundation and an elected Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, one of the largest charitably funded bar foundations in the nation.   

Justice Rivas-Molloy and her husband David have been married for 22 years, and they have three young sons.

Carlos M. Pelayo serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for Mr. Cooper Group Inc. with primary responsibility for advising the Company’s senior leadership on all legal and regulatory issues, as well as overseeing the organization’s Legal department and managing all corporate governance activities. He joined the company in February 2023 with more than 20 years of experience in the legal field.

Mr. Cooper’s mission is to keep the dream of home ownership alive for our more than 7 million customers nationwide. Mr. Cooper is the largest non-bank mortgage servicer in the United States and a leading mortgage originator, and through affiliated companies such as Xome they deliver innovative real estate solution to customers and investors.

Carlos has extensive expertise in financial services. Prior to joining Mr. Cooper, he served as Managing Director and Legal Executive for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, a division of Bank of America where he was a senior advisor to business leadership providing day-to-day legal, regulatory and strategic advice to all client-facing areas of the business, including the international, institutional and ultra-high-net-worth segments. Prior to Merrill, he served as Managing Director and General Counsel for Barclays’ investment-driven private banking business in the Americas. 

Earlier in his career, he worked at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jan E. DuBois of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Before law school, he worked as a management consultant with the global advisory firm Hay Group, which is now part of Korn Ferry.

Carlos holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a bachelor’s degree with honors from Boston College.

Carlos is active in his communities and cares passionately about giving back.  At Mr. Cooper, he is the Executive Sponsor for All-in-One, an employee resource group designed to bring together employees of all backgrounds and faiths.  And while at Bank of America, he served on the Executive Advisory Board for the enterprise-wide Hispanic and Latino Organization (“HOLA”), which delivered dozens of successful volunteer and educational programs throughout his tenure.  Carlos also volunteers meaningful time and energies as a member of the Gala Steering Committee for NJ LEEP, whose mission is to close the educational equity gap by partnering with first-generation and low-income students to build skills and offer experiences to achieve their college and career ambitions. He also served for many years as a Volunteer Attorney with the Manhattan Family Court Volunteer Program. 

In addition, Carlos is an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law where he teaches Corporate Ethics and Compliance. He is fluent in Spanish and conversational in French.

Ruben Cruz, founder and principal of Cruz & Associates, has dedicated his career to advocating for the rights of the injured in Georgia and Arizona. With over 35 years of experience in workers’ compensation and personal injury law, he holds bar licenses in Florida, Georgia, and Arizona and actively practices in Georgia and Arizona. 

In 1989, Ruben J. Cruz, the son of Cuban immigrants, recognized the growth of the Hispanic community in Atlanta and decided to open Cruz & Associates to serve families who, like his own, lacked the language skills to understand and protect their rights. He later saw a similar need in Phoenix and opened the Arizona office with a fully bilingual staff.

Ruben is deeply dedicated to empowering Latino youth through education and leadership development. His commitment to the community earned him a place in the 2024 Hall of Fame class of the 50 Most Influential Latinos in Georgia after being recognized among this distinguished group for three consecutive years (2019, 2020, and 2021). He serves on boards, including HoPe (Hispanic Organization Promoting Education) and the Latin American Association’s CEO Roundtable.

Ruben is also the visionary behind the Alcanzando Un Sueño Scholarship Program, which has invested over half a million dollars in first-year scholarships for aspiring college students from Latino communities in Georgia and Arizona. This program has positively impacted over 50 first-generation college students by providing essential financial support for their studies. 

In addition to his involvement in the scholarship program, Ruben donates his time and resources to several community organizations, including the Be a Leader Foundation, Kid’s Chance, Habitat for Humanity, and the Atlanta Community Food Bank among others. 

He completed his undergraduate studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology, earning his Bachelor of Science in industrial management. He then went on to simultaneously earn an MBA and Juris Doctorate at Georgia State University.

Ruben lives in Atlanta with his wife and children. He enjoys indulging his passion for tennis, skiing, and water sports. Ruben Cruz’s remarkable journey is one of unwavering dedication to justice, education, and community service. His profound impact on the lives of countless individuals, especially within the Latino community, is a testament to his extraordinary character and enduring commitment.

Jessica Ortiz currently serves as Executive Director/Associate General Counsel within the General Counsel Office of EY LLP. As a member of the Litigation and Disputes team, Jessica manages and oversees litigation matters, investigations, regulatory inquiries and other legal matters for the US firm. 

Ms. Ortiz previously served as Deputy Inspector General for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, leading a team of 170 investigating fraud, corruption, and misconduct with respect to employees, or other individuals or organizations doing business with the Port Authority.

Prior to that, she was a Partner at MoloLamken LLP, a boutique litigation firm, representing clients in high-stakes civil and white-collar criminal cases.

During her 8-year tenure as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Ms. Ortiz led 15 jury trials to conviction, including a three-month RICO enterprise trial. She also has extensive appellate experience before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Jessica began her career in securities litigation at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and previously was a Senior Technology Security Associate for the Global Risk Management Service of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. 

A magna cum laude graduate of the University at Buffalo Law School, Ms. Ortiz was a member of the Law Review and a recipient of the Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship. Ms. Ortiz serves as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council.  She earned her B.S. in Law & Public Policy and Management Information Systems from Syracuse University, also graduating magna cum laude.

Passionate about mentorship and advocacy, Ms. Ortiz serves on the boards of the New York Lawyers Assistance Group and the When There Are Nine Scholarship Project, which honors Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s legacy by advancing equity in the legal profession. She also co-chairs the New York Judicial Internship Opportunity Program sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section and volunteers with the Girl Scouts of America.  In the past she also served on the LatinoJustice Líderes board where she worked alongside other Latino attorneys to advance educational opportunities for Latino law students and fight for civil rights through advocacy and education.  She also participated in panels and workshops to help other generations of Latino lawyers pave their way as a means of giving back to LatinoJustice as she herself was a beneficiary of their programming in applying and attending law school.

Ms. Ortiz lives with her husband Kevin and her daughters Olivia and Reagan in East Brunswick, New Jersey.  In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, dancing and reading.