The Legal 500

Within Aviation, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a second tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is recommended for aircraft leasing and finance transactions. The firm has experience advising investors on the securitisation of airline ticket sales and aircraft lessors on innovative fleeting programs.

Within Banking and finance, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan has an excellent reputation for banking and finance work. It covers all areas of the market and is recommended for restructurings and major project financings. A highlight was advising GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant on the $1bn financing of two 300MW coal-fired power plants. Mia Gentugaya heads the team, which includes the highly rated Rafael Morales, Philbert Varona and Vicente Gerochi.

Within Capital markets, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

Rafael Morales and Vicente Gerochi are both highly recommended at SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan. The firm has an unrivalled securitisation practice, which has advised on the drafting of the laws for asset-backed securities. The firm also has a strong track record for derivatives and regularly represents issuers and underwriters on major IPOs.

Within Corporate and M&A, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan’s market-leading corporate group regularly finds itself on the country’s largest transactions. A recent highlight was representing PLDT on its landmark acquisition of a controlling stake in DTPI. The firm was also local counsel to ING Bank on the $1.46bn sale of its Asian private banking business to Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation. Andres Maria heads the excellent team.

Within Dispute resolution, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a third tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan has a good track record in commercial litigation and international arbitration, where the firm regularly represents major international clients on their multijurisdictional disputes. The firm has a particularly good reputation for product liability issues. Roberto San Juan heads the well-respected team.

Within Dispute resolution: Cebu, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan’s Cebu practice handles civil, criminal, corporate and employment disputes, and works closely with the firm’s market-leading Manila office.

Within Dispute resolution: Davao, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan’s Davao office forms an important part of the firm’s highly regarded national disputes practice.

Within Employment, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a second tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is regularly instructed by the firm’s corporate clientbase on key contentious and non-contentious employment issues. Recent clients include Coca-Cola and San Miguel. Lozano Tan heads the quality team.

Within Immigration, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

Employment head Lozano Tan is one of the key partners at SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan’s active immigration team, which receives regular instructions from the firm’s impressive international clientbase.

Within Intellectual property, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

Vicente Amador heads the quality team at SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, which covers all areas of contentious and non-contentious IP. Past clients include Pfizer and Hugo Boss.

Within Law firms in Cebu, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan’s full service Cebu office is an important extension to the market-leading firm’s national offering.

Within Law firms in Davao, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan’s Davao office works closely with the firm’s highly rated practices in Cebu and Makati, advising both domestic and international clients.

Within Legal market overview,

There have been few changes to the legal market since 2010, and the country’s three largest full-service firms, Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW), Romulo and SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, continue to dominate most areas of the market. Baker & McKenzie affiliate Quisumbing Torres is also gaining an increased market share, while slightly smaller firms, such as Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose and Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos, are seen as very good alternatives to the big three, especially among foreign firms who need to refer work. Several major international firms have dedicated Philippines desks, typically working out of offices in Singapore and Hong Kong. A review of these can be found in the Foreign Firms table.

Within Projects and energy, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan has an excellent reputation for energy and mining-related transactions and projects. Energy expert Andres Maria heads the team, which also includes projects gurus Marilyn Victorio-Aquino and Hector de Leon. A major highlight was representing the project company GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Limited on the $1bn project financing of its two 300MW coal-fired power plants.

Within Real estate and construction, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan has a strong team with experience across all areas of real estate law. Clients note the firm’s strength on the tax-related side of property transactions. Andres Maria is recommended for major development projects.

Within Shipping, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a third tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is regarded for the breadth of its maritime expertise.

Within TMT, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a first tier firm,

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan has an excellent practice that is extremely active on both the transactional and general advisory front. In the former, it recently represented Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) on its landmark acquisition of a 51.55% shareholding in Digitel Telecommunications Philippines (DTPI). The firm also recently advised on the establishment of a local BPO for the UK international directories business, Yell Adworks. Rose Maria King-Dominguez is highly recommended.

Within Tax, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is a second tier firm,

Rolando Medalla heads the excellent tax department at SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, which provides both transactional, strategic and litigation advice. Recent clients include San Miguel and International Shipping Lines.