Firm Profile > Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula > Manila, Philippines
Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula Offices
27/F 88 CORPORATE CENTER
141 SEDEÑO STREET, SALCEDO VILLAGE
MAKATI CITY 1227
Philippines
Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula > The Legal 500 Rankings
Tax Tier 1
Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula stands out for its experience in contentious tax matters, frequently representing clients before the Court of Tax Appeals and the Supreme Court. In addition to acting for companies based in the Philippines, the team also acts for multinationals; its ability to do so is bolstered by its membership of the WPG Law Network. The team is also active in non-contentious matters. The practice is led by Lily Gruba, Antero Jose Caganda, Angelo Patrick Advincula, Jorge Alfonso Melo, and Juan Miguel Victor De La Fuente.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Sabre Travel Network (Philippines) Inc.
G & W Architects, Engineers and Project Consultants Co.
Asia United Leasing and Finance Corporation
Lucio L. Co, Susan P. Co, Ferdinand P. Co, and Pamela Justine P. Co
Philippine Airlines, Inc.
Island Quarry and Aggregates Corporation
Grand Plaza Hotel Corporation
Banking and finance Tier 2
Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula is known for its work advising banks on loan agreements, including regular and syndicated loans. Managing partner Lily Gruba recently advised a bank on the maiden issuance of bank bonds. Antero Jose Caganda is sought out to assist with transactions involving banks, while Jorge Alfonso Melo is currently serving as general counsel to a publicly listed bank alongside his position at the firm. Angelo Advincula is another name to note.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Asia United Bank Corporation
Philippine Bank of Communications
BDO Unibank, Inc.
Corporate and M&A Tier 3
Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula is instructed by international and local clients to advise on issues including the establishment of new entities, corporate acquisitions, and investment registration. The food and drink sector is an area of particular activity and in 2019 the team acted for multiple buyers on the acquisition of restaurant and fast food chains. Managing partner Lily Gruba specialises in structuring cross-border commercial transactions, and is also very experienced in tax-related matters having formerly sat on the board of directors of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. Michael Stephen Lao is notable for his work on foreign investments in the renewable energy and water sectors.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Philippine Bank of Communications
Dispute resolution Tier 3
Specialising in tax disputes, Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula represents banks and major corporate clients both in the court of tax appeals and in the Supreme Court in appeals for tax credit and refunds as well as the cancellation of tax assessments. The group also has arbitration experience, having previously acted for a multinational bank before the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. In a recent highlight, Antero Jose Caganda successfully challenged, in the Supreme Court, a $14m VAT assessment on behalf of G&W Architects, Engineers and Project Consultants Co. Juan Miguel Victor De La Fuente's tax expertise spans both contentious and non-contentious issues.
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Sabre Travel Network (Philippines) Inc.
G & W Architects, Engineers and Project Consultants Co.
Asia United Leasing and Finance Corporation
Lucio L. Co, Susan P. Co, Ferdinand P. Co, and Pamela Justine P. Co
Philippine Airlines, Inc.
Island Quarry and Aggregates Corporation
Grand Plaza Hotel Corporation
Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula > Firm Profile
The firm: ZGLaw was founded in 1993 by the late Atty Daisy G Zambrano and Atty Lily K Gruba, who is the firm’s managing partner. In 2002, Atty Antero Jose M Caganda and Atty Angelo Patrick F Advincula were admitted to the partnership. In 2011, Atty Jorge Alfonso C Melo joined the firm as its fourth partner, followed by Atty Juan Miguel Victor C dela Fuente in 2013.
In 2016, the firm name was changed to Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula. The firm continues to grow in size and in its practice fields while keeping its core values of excellence, diligence, innovation and service foremost.
Recently in 2017, ZGLaw agreed to collaborate and enter into a strategic alliance with WongPartnership LLP, one of the top law firms in Singapore and the region, with practices in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar and the Middle East.
Areas of practice: ZGLaw is a mid-sized, full-service law firm representing and advising various local and foreign clients in the Philippines. In the past years ZGLaw has been consistently recognised by its peers and legal publications as a recommended firm in the following practice areas: taxation, banking and finance, corporate and M&A, dispute resolution.
Taxation: the firm specialises in both litigious and non-litigious matters in taxation. For litigious matters, the firm handles claims for tax refunds or issuance of tax credit certificates, and cases for cancellation of deficiency tax assessments. For non-litigious matters, the firm handles the tax audit process, tax compliance, and reconciliation for and settlement of deficiency tax assessments.
Banking and finance: the firm is regularly consulted by domestic universal and commercial banking institutions on tax, operations, compliance and other related matters. As external counsel, the firm is regularly engaged by its client-banks to document multimillion-dollar loan transactions.
Corporate and M&A: the firm acts as adviser and counsel for businesses setting up offices in the Philippines. It is likewise on retainer by hundreds of companies for corporate housekeeping and regular corporate matters. In M&A, the firm acts as adviser and transaction counsel for multimillion-dollar asset and share acquisition deals.
Dispute resolution: the firm handles civil and criminal litigation before the lower courts, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court for its various clients. It likewise participates in arbitration proceedings in local and foreign arbitration tribunals. The firm currently handles numerous tax cases before the Court of Tax Appeals and the Supreme Court.
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
---|---|---|---|
Arbitration | Jorge Alfonso C Melo | ||
Arbitration | Angelo Patrick F Advincula | ||
Banks, banking and finance | Lily K Gruba | ||
Banks, banking and finance | Antero Jose M Caganda | ||
Business and company formation | Antero Jose M Caganda | ||
Business and company formation | Jorge Alfonso C Melo | ||
Constitutional | Joaquin G Bernas | ||
Corporate | Lily K Gruba | ||
Corporate | Antero Jose M Caganda | ||
Energy | Angelo Patrick F Advincula | ||
Foreign investment | Antero Jose M Caganda | ||
Foreign investment | Angelo Patrick F Advincula | ||
Government bidding and tenders | Angelo Patrick F Advincula | ||
Intellectual property | Antero Jose M Caganda | ||
Joint ventures | Antero Jose M Caganda | ||
Joint ventures | Angelo Patrick F Advincula | ||
Labour | Juan Miguel Victor C dela Fuente | ||
Labour | Artemio P Calumpong | ||
Litigation | Jorge Alfonso C Melo | ||
Litigation | Artemio P Calumpong | ||
Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures | Lily K Gruba | ||
Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures | Antero Jose M Caganda | ||
Tax | Lily K Gruba | ||
Tax | Angelo Patrick F Advincula | ||
Tax | Juan Miguel Victor C dela Fuente |
Lawyer Profiles
Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
---|---|---|---|
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Mr Angelo Patrick Advincula | Commercial Law, Commercial Litigation and Arbitration, Government Policy, Taxation. | View Profile |
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Mr Antero Jose Caganda | Corporate Law, Tax Advisory, Banking. | View Profile |
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Juan Miguel Victor De La Fuente | Taxation, Corporate Practice. | View Profile |
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Prof Lily Gruba | Commercial Transactions, Banking, Tax, Mergers and Acquisitions. | View Profile |
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Mr Jorge Alfonso Melo | Court Litigation, Dispute Resolution, Special Projects. | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Number of lawyers : 24Languages
English Filipino Fookien MandarinOther
Contacts : Antero Jose M Caganda Contacts : Angelo Patrick F AdvinculaDiversity
As part of the Firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility, the Firm renders legal services to several non-stock non-profit religious institutions. The Firm’s legal services generally comprise legal advisory in all aspects of their day-to-day operations, which includes tax advisory, assistance in securing Certificate of Tax Exemption Rulings from the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue, and general corporate work and compliance. Notably, the Firm has been assisting these organizations in successfully defending them in various tax audits conducted by the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue.
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