Serrano Law > Taguig City, Philippines > Firm Profile
Serrano Law Offices
Serrano Law
1105 Tower 2 High Street South Corporate Plaza
26th Street Bonifacio Global City
Taguig City 1634
Philippines
1105 Tower 2 High Street South Corporate Plaza
26th Street Bonifacio Global City
Taguig City 1634
Philippines
Visit website +632-8479-2190
- Go to...
- Rankings
- Firm Profile
- Main Contacts
- Lawyer Profiles
- Meet The Teams
- Interviews
- Press Releases
Serrano Law > The Legal 500 Rankings
Philippines > Real estate and construction Tier 3
Elmer Serrano heads the department at Serrano Law, which has expertise in PPP projects for the development and operation of commercial mixed-use projects. Phil Ivan Chan is another key contact in the team, who has experience in the power sector.Practice head(s):
Elmer Serrano
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘The team is very knowledgeable on a wide range of matters such as structuring of property acquisitions including relevant taxation issues and regulatory requirements.’
‘Elmer Serrano and Phil Ivan Chan are very knowledgeable about their craft. They provide relevant and timely advice on regulatory, taxation and other issues related to property transfers, divestments and acquisitions.’
Key clients
BDO Unibank, Inc.
BDO Life Assurance Company, Inc.
Neo Group of Companies
SM Prime Holdings, Inc.
Philippines > Corporate and M&A Tier 5
Led by founding partner Elmer Serrano, the group at Serrano Law handles the corporate governance and compliance requirements of publicly-listed companies, as well as public corporations holding secondary licenses. Praised for providing ‘valuable advice on complex M&As’, the team regularly acts as counsel on acquisitions involving both equity purchase and asset sales in the shipping, logistics, real estate, energy and retail sectors. Serrano established the firm in January 2022 and was joined by Phil Ivan Chan and Tephanie Gandia, who left Martinez Vergara & Gonzalez Sociedad in the same month.Practice head(s):
Elmer Serrano
Other key lawyers:
Phil Ivan Chan; Tephanie Gandia; Melissa Jean Hipolito
Testimonials
‘Serrano Law is composed of highly proficient and experienced lawyers. They are able to handle complex issues and provide innovative and practical legal solutions. They are versatile and provide valuable advice on complex M&As.’
‘Efficient, responsive and prompt.’
‘The team is small and thereby focused and experienced enough to handle clients with professional care.’
‘Serrano Law has very good client relationships, knowledge and grasp of the industry sector, particularly in financial services. They are well-versed on domestic and international law and business trends and practices impacting our business.’
‘They deliver good quality services in a timely manner but cost-efficient. They are responsive and accessible.’
‘Use of technology and innovation is a competitive advantage for them in the delivery and quality of their services.’
‘Elmer Serrano definitely stands out. On top of his legal expertise, he thinks out-of-the box. He has good interpersonal relationship, excellent leadership skills, very accessible and responsive.’
‘Phil Ivan Chan and Melissa Jean Hipolito are in the mould of their senior partner. Well-versed in the law, good understanding of our business, responsive and accessible, and they both deliver good quality services in a timely manner.’
Key clients
BDO Unibank, Inc.
SM Investments Corporation
2GO Group, Inc.
Udenna Corporation
Hitachi (Japan)
Hitachi Digial Payments (Sri Lanka)
Megalink, Inc.
Human Managed Pte. Lte.
Invicta Cyber Defence Inc.
Premium Leisure Corp.
PremiumLeisure Amusement, Inc.
Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings
Corp.
BDO Leasing and Finance, Inc.
BDO Finance Corporation
Udenna Land/Clark Global City Corp.
Philippine Dealing Holdings Corp.
Philippine Depository & Trust Corp.
Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp.
Philippine Securities Settlement Corp.
Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development
Corporation
Carmen Copper Corporation
BDO Life Assurance Company
Asian Appraisal Company, Inc.
Armstrong Pacific Inc.
Rockland Overseas Limited
Bankers Association of the Philippines
Philippine Payments Management, Inc.
Neo Group of Companies (formerly Net
Group)
Armscor Global Defense, Inc.
Udenna Corporation
JACCS Finance Philippines Corp.
NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc.
AG Finance Incorporated.
BAP Data Exchange, Inc.
BDO Network Bank
TFB, Inc. (Giordano Philippines)
Work highlights
- Acting as transaction counsel in the merger of SM Investments Corporation and Allfirst Equity Holdings, Inc.
- Acting as transaction counsel to premier private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. for the potential acquisition of inRiver AB.
- Advised a group of investors in their application for a digital bank license with the Philippine central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Philippines > Banking and finance
Serrano Law‘s ‘lawyers are versatile and provide practical and innovative legal solutions to complex issues. They are very diligent, easy to work with and accessible at reasonable times to provide any necessary legal opinions’. Elmer Serrano heads up the department.
Philippines > Antitrust and competition
Elmer Serrano established Serrano Law in January 2022, following his departure from Martinez Vergara & Gonzalez Sociedad. The practice, which is ‘composed of highly proficient and experienced lawyers’, advises on all stages of merger control processes.
Philippines > Intellectual property
Jointly led by Elmer Serrano and Tephanie Gandia, the team at Serrano Law advises on trademark and patent registrations, in addition to inter partes proceedings before the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.
Serrano Law > Firm Profile
SERRANO LAW offers legal services across industries and in various fields such as corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, capital markets, antitrust and competition, real estate and construction, tax, corporate services, intellectual property, and other areas of practice.
Founded by Elmer B. Serrano, multi-awarded legal expert in the region, the Firm is home to internationally recognized lawyers with extensive experience in handling complex and notable transactions, best known for their contribution to the growth of clients’ businesses and their consistent ability to deliver and provide solutions.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managing Partner | Elmer B. Serrano | elmer.serrano@serranolawph.com | +632-8479-2190 |
Meet The Team(s)
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ms Dawn Betina Bernabe | Associate | View Profile |
 | Mr Phil Ivan Chan | Partner | View Profile |
 | Ms Tephanie Gandia | Partner | View Profile |
 | Mr Jesse John Hermoso | Associate | View Profile |
 | Ms Melissa Jean Hipolito | Senior Associate | View Profile |
 | Ms Perpetua Calliope Ngo | Senior Associate | View Profile |
 | Mr Elmer Serrano | Managing Partner | View Profile |
Interviews
Elmer B. Serrano, Founding Partner/Managing Partner, Serrano Law
Elmer B. Serrano on cultivating own brand of lawyering with very own firm, SERRANO LAWWhat do you see as the main points that differentiate SERRANO LAW from your competitors?
Shared vision. We know what we want to become and what we don’t want to be. Hence, our chosen ethos:
Results-driven. Client-focused. Partners in growth.
We established our law firm when the country was just getting out of the game-changing pandemic and saw an opportunity to change the way we do things for the better. With our proven expertise and our size, we are uniquely positioned to deliver on our promise of next level legal services. We got the systems and skills of large firms yet retain the agility and innovativeness of a compact outfit.
Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?
M&A still and now more than ever. The pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of small format business and though I believe in entrepreneurial initiatives, businesses have to pivot using the lessons of these past 2 years. Our clients have to adapt, consolidate and rationalize, and they have to take advantage of opportunities. That is why we advised our clients who represented the private sector during legislative deliberations on pandemic recovery to lobby for easing measures for M&As. We are happy that our legislators were responsive and some of our suggestions have become part of the law. This course of consolidation is not isolated locally, as international acquisitions with ties to the Philippines have been notably active this 2022 and we have been fortunate to work with international law firms based not just in Asia-Pacific, but also in the U.S. and Europe on such cross-border projects.
What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?
Not so much a change, as we are new, but more of a commitment to start with the right mindset. Our team at SERRANO LAW are not only conscious to stay true to our course but are as determined to avoid practices that detract from our core values. This positive outlook and driven culture will ultimately benefit our clients as it engenders high standards of service, consistent ability to deliver and skilled creativity.
Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?
In our efforts to improve efficiency and reduce client costs, the Firm has invested in and takes advantage of the full range of IT productivity tools, including Cloud services, to facilitate team collaboration online, and to ensure and improve its lawyers’ reachability and service to its clients. This also ensures that the Firm will be able to provide uninterrupted legal services regardless of intervening limitations (i.e. pandemic related lockdowns, unexpected data loss). It also allows the Firm to minimize paper usage and associated costs.
Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?
This year, we had the privilege of handling the merger of companies controlled by our clients, which allowed them to enhance value to their co-shareholders at the listed entity level and at the same time provide our clients liquidity to pay down the financing they took out to acquire one of the companies party to the merger. Our clients were able to realize the return on their investment earlier and streamline their organization in the process, resulting in even more cost savings.
Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?
Definitely. We founded our Firm with a vision of stability and strategic direction at its heart. Our clients deserve no less.
I originally wanted to grow the Firm slowly, but because of our clients’ support and requirements, I had to expand our complement much more and earlier than projected, and still we are seeing the need to grow even more. As an increase in scale is turning out to be inevitable, we will make sure to do it without ever compromising our founding principles. In three years’ time, I see an even better organized, efficient and focused SERRANO LAW with a highly motivated team living up to the same standards and working towards the same goals, and yes, with more lawyers… slightly more, maybe.