Practice Areas
Corporate
The Corporate Group has a strong team of banking, foreign investment, securities, capital market and transaction lawyers. The Group handles debt, equity and equity-linked issues and public offerings. It has acted on equity and debt public offerings and listings, equity-linked issues, term loan agreements, and project finance facilities for Philippine companies.
The Group has also been active in numerous M&A deals in various industries, and is constantly tasked by clients to assist them in their transaction structuring as well as internal corporate restructuring.
The Group likewise advises clients on anti-trust laws, as well as data privacy issues.
Energy & Public Utilities
The Energy Group has developed considerable experience and expertise in this field especially in recent years. The Group has represented the leading power distribution companies, power generation companies, oil companies and most of the provincial electrical cooperatives.
The Group has a played a significant role in the privatization of the power generation and supply sector in the Philippines. It has advised on legislation for privatization, regulatory rules for the power industry and contractual arrangements underpinning the electricity market. It has also acted as advisers to many producers and retailers of oil and gas and other petroleum products and has acted on project financing of oil and gas developments in the country. Its role in this area has included the structuring and establishment of joint ventures.
Taxation
The Taxation Group is one of the strengths of the Firm. It is guided by Wilfrido Sanchez, a pre-eminent practitioner who was the Managing Director and Head of the Tax Division of SGV and Co. The Group handles all legal aspects of income, business, estate and transfer taxes imposed by the national government, as well as business taxes imposed by local governments. The services rendered by the Group include corporate planning for business entities to minimize income and business taxes, as well as estate planning for individuals to minimize income, donor's and estate taxes. Other services include conduct of tax audits; preparation of tax returns; study of tax aspects of corporate organizations or reorganizations; counseling on tax treaty implications/applications; and advice on proposed tax legislation and preparation of position papers. Members of the Group have wide experience in appearing before and dealing with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Court of Tax Appeals.
Litigation
The Litigation Group has vast experience in handling all legal aspects of filing, maintaining and defending civil and criminal cases in trial and appellate courts or administrative bodies. The Group has acted for individual and corporate clients in major commercial litigation of every kind, including petitions for rehabilitation, suspension of payments and liquidation of corporations, intra-corporate and stockholders' derivative suits, actions involving enforcement of contracts, cases for damages based on tort, and real estate suits. The Group also handles judicial or extrajudicial foreclosures of chattel and real estate mortgages, as well as judicial enforcement of other types of creditor's liens or rights. The Group is responsible for ensuring that a client's business objectives are realized and his commercial interests are promoted and secured.
Intellectual Property
The Intellectual Property Group represents clients in all aspects of intellectual property protection. The group handles patentability and infringement investigations; registration of trademarks, patents, copyrights, technology transfer and licensing agreements; and patent and trademark infringement litigation. It has participated in the fight against trademark infringement, counterfeiting, piracy and unfair competition to protect legitimate holders of industrial and intellectual properties. Its members are active in national as well as international associations involved in the protection of intellectual property. It represents clients in the Consumer, Household, Apparel, Cosmetics, Music, Entertainment, Fastfood, Telecommunications, Computers and Pharmaceutical industries.
Labor
The Labor Group is well-experienced and capable of handling all aspects management-labor relations, including the negotiation of Collective Bargaining Agreements. Its practice extends from the Department of Labor and Employment, the National Labor Relations Commission, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. The Labor Group has handled cases of dismissal and suspension of employees, money claims, strikes and lockouts, negotiations of collective bargaining agreements, petitions for certification elections, unfair labor practices, and even labor-related civil and criminal cases.
Telecommunications & Mass Media
The Telecommunications and Mass Media Group has vast experience in handling all legal aspects of securing and maintaining franchises to operate telecommunications and mass media companies. It services the legal requirements of, among others, the biggest television and radio broadcasting network, the second leading telecommunications company, the largest cable television company and the leading internet service provider.
Immigration
The Immigration Group has sufficient experience in handling all legal aspects of securing employment, investors, treaty traders, retirement or permanent resident visas in the Philippines. Its clients include technical consultants and country heads of multinational corporations. Among the specific matters handled by the Immigration Group are: acquisition of Philippine citizenship; general counseling on immigration matters; processing of applications for various visas, including temporary visitor, treaty trader, student, pre-arranged employee, quota and non-quota immigrant, special non-immigrant, special investor resident, retiree, multinational regional headquarters employee, offshore banking unit employee, special work permits, alien employment permits, alien employment registration certificates, alien certificates of registration, re-entry permits, special return certificates, emigration clearance certificates, and similar documents.