Monday, January 13, 2003

TEN BEST LAWYERS IN THE PHILIPPINES TODAY

In my seven years in the profession, I have seen hundreds of lawyers in action. I saw
them negotiating, writing, appearing in court, pleading with authority, and doing
everything they can to help their clients get out of bad situations. I have come to the
conclusion that good lawyering is a matter of having good lawyer habits. The lawyers
with the best instincts, and consequently the one who can best deliver legal service, are
the ones with the best habits. They are the lawyers who have made excellence a habit
of mind. They are very careful with their clients' interests and very creative. They can
compete with the best lawyers of the world. I kept a tab all these years. If you are a
lawyer and you are not here, it's either I haven't met you or you still haven't made the
grade. Here is my Top Ten.

NUMBER 10.

Francisco Ed. Lim

He pitched in for one week in my Evidence class and ran the classes like it were a
military drill. We were expected to think on our feet, remember the fine points of the
cases and laws, and speak out clearly. But I was more impressed when we worked with
him in the multi-billion peso merger of PLDT and Smart. Precision of thought, clarity in
language, a strong conviction for his advocacy -- he exhibited them all. A partner in the
fabled ACCRA Law, he also runs a regular column on law in a national newspaper. His
expertise appears to be corporate disputes.

NUMBER 9.

Nicanor Gatmaitan

This lawyer has a client who owed my client millions. He filed a case against us and
prevented us from foreclosing on his clients' property. During the trial, he seamlessly
made a clear presentation of his client's case, that I myself was convinced that he had
case. He had no notes and he memorized each detail of our piles of documentary
evidence. I spent sleepless nights on this man, thinking just how to get my client out of
this fix. Now that I've given up the case, I say hats off to this man. He has a very good
reputation as a trial lawyer. By the way, he is blind.

NUMBER 8

Saklolo Leano
He is considered as one of the few experts in aviation law and is constantly battling the
world's best lawyers in this field. I had the privilege of working with him in the multi-
billion peso construction arbitration case against a French contractor and would forever
be in awe of this great lawyer. Sak was our hitman against the French's expert witness,
a lawyer-engineer with very impressive academic and professional credentials. Sak
cross-examined the expert witness like a cook peeling off the skin of an onion. He was
subtle, precise, organized, logical and persuasive. The French tried his best to live up to
his client's expectations but he was no match. At one high point of the cross-
examination, Sak, with his pleasant and clear voice told the witness, "Mr. Smith, I am
very sorry to say this but you do not have the slightest respect for the Philippine
courts." We won PHP 700 million in that case.

NUMBER 7

MARIO BAUTISTA

Long before the nation witnessed the prowess of this lawyer during the direct
examination of the prosecution's star witness in the Erap Impeachment trial, Mario
Bautista's good reputation as a litigation lawyer has been well known among business
circles in the Philippines. His law firm Poblador Bautista & Reyes is the counsel of choice
of the Ayalas, the Philippines most successful and enduring business empire, and many
other big companies in the Philippines. In the late nineties when a group of foreign
banks was contemplating on filing a class suit against SGV, the biggest accounting firm
in the Philippines formerly affiliated with Andersen Consulting, Mr. Bautista was the
counsel for SGV. Thus, it came as no surprise then that Mr. Bautista was given the rare
privilege of presenting the most important witness in the impeachment trial before a
nation in denial. In spite of the lack of time to prepare, Mr. Bautista litigation instinct
served him well. Mr. Bautista weathered every objection that the prosecution raised and
made a clear and convincing story.

NUMBER 6

TOMAS DEL CASTILLO

Atty. Del Castillo is the perfect marriage of lawyerly form and substance. An expert in
libel, he is the defender of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the nation's most widely
circulated newspaper, in all its libel cases. Mr. Del Castillo goes to trial in great looking
suits, speaks in deep baritone and is always prepared. I saw him in action in defense of
Hilarion Henares, the nation's favorite columnist, against a powerful lawyer
businessman, whom Mr. Henares called "a monkey of foreign interests" and "small dick
Romulo". Atty. del Castillo's defense was that the description is not a personal attack
but a political statement against imperialism in the Philippines. Mr. Henares also called
Mr. Romulo "small dick" because he is a short guy and his nickname happens to be
Dick. Alas, Mr. Henares was acquitted.
NUMBER 5

ANTONIO A PICAZO

Here I should make a disclaimer. I worked for this great laywer practically my entire
professional life. However, I believe this also makes my assessment credible. Atty.
Picazo is the investment banking and corporate lawyer of choice of all major investment
and commercial banks in the Philippines. In the days of Bancom, reportedly the first
investmnet bank in the Philippines, Atty. Picazo served as senior legal counsel. After the
break-up of Bancom, he subsequently headed the legal department of Unionbank and
thereafter, co-founded the legendary PECABAR LAW OFFICE, together with Johnny
Ponce Enrile, Renato Cayetano and Antonio Bautista. In 1987, Atty. Picazo bolted from
PECABAR and founded Bautista Picazo Buyco Tan & Fider (later Atty. Bautista will build
his own firm). As the managing partner of Picazolaw, he led the legal team that helped
Metro Pacific purchase Fort Bonifacio, a prime real estate land in the heart of Metro
Manila. The deal was worth billions of pesos and was considered the deal of the
century. During the height of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) days of the Philippine
Stock Market, 10 out of 15 IPO's in a year were handled by Atty. Picazo's Law Office.
Atty. Picazo's good work habits, vast experience in corporate and banking law, and legal
brilliance is unquestionable that rightfully earns him a place in my Top Ten.

NUMBER 4

MARIO ONGKIKO

The last big case that this great lawyer handled was the phenomenal indictment of
Hubert Webb, a senator's son, in the trials involving the killing of a mother and her
daughters, a teen-ager and a four-year old. Mr. Ongkiko had presented a perfect alibi --
Hubert Webb was in the United States when the killing took place. He was able to
support the alibi with tons of evidence, pictures, video clips, receipts, passport stamps,
and the like. The judge, however, looked at this evidence with suspicion that the
senator could have had a hand in their spurious prodution. The case is now on appeal
and observers believe that Mr. Ongkiko will score an upset when the case is reviewed
by the higher courts. Mr. Ongkiko always taught his lawyers the maxim "assume that
you will lose." Thus, his trial technique is always cautious and very careful with what
goes into the record. His presentatiom is very thorough and his trial and argumentation
skills beyond compare. He is hands down the best trial lawyer there is in the Philippines
today.

NUMBER 3

TONY CARPIO, FRANCISCO VILLARAZA AND AVELINO CRUZ

The above lawyers belong to the most powerful law firm in the Philippines today.
Individually, they can land on any one's top ten, but together, the three lawyers are
best known for building a formidable private legal institution which easily puts them on
a three way tie for number 3. The group's star first shone after Mr. Carpio got
appointed as presidential legal counsel by Pres. Fidel V. Ramos. Villaraza and Cruz were
left to mind the Firm as Tony Carpio led business to the Firm's door. In the six years
that Mr. Ramos was president, Villaraza and Cruz handled many intricate and
complicated legal projects. Being brilliant minds in their own right, coupled with a bevy
of young and agressive associates, most of which graduated with honors from the
nation's top law schools, at their disposal, Carpio Villaraza and Cruz met the challenge
of being at the prime spot of the Philippine legal world. Upon the election of Joseph
Estrada, the three re-gouped and re-emerged in the impeachment proceedings with
their most seasoned litigator, Simeon Marcelo, leading the attack as he conducted the
direct examination of the whistle blower and star witness Ilocos Governor Luis Singson.
Now, in the era of Pres. Gloria Macapagal, Tony Carpio sits as the youngest member of
the Supreme Court and is certain to outlive everyone in the 15-man court and to
become Chief Justice one day. Avelino Cruz is the Chief Legal Counsel of the President.
Simeon Marcelo is serving seven years as Ombudsman. Only Francisco Villaraza is left
to hold the fort. But having a key person in the most powerful offices of the Philippines,
the Firm can dare say that it can solve any legal problem endorsed to it for appropriate
action.

NUMBER TWO

PROSPERO CRESCINI

I have always maintained that lawyers are like guns. Some guns you use for keeping
your house protected. Some guns you use for big battles.In this regard, Atty. Cresicini
is a bazooka.He is a veteran slugger of the court room. No flashes. No frills. Just pure
legal brilliance and hard work. The fighter of hopeless causes, his most famous client is
Congressman Jalosjos, the congressman who had sex with an 11 year old girl and was
convicted of statutory rape. That case was tough and only Atty. Crescini had the guts to
fight it out to the end. Nowadays, Atty. Crescini is the trial lawyer of former Philippine
President Joseph Estrada. If Erap didn't stand a chance with his former lawyers, Atty.
Crescini might just be Erap's beacon of hope. Atty. Crescini has mastered the science of
of litigation, the elements of style, and the winning ways. His trial technique can be
compared to Clarence Darrow. Hands down, he is the Philippines's number 2 best
lawyer.

NUMBER 1

ESTELITO MENDOZA

It is a testament to this lawyer's great abilities that it has been 17 years since the
Marcoses were thrown out of power and the Philippine Government, with all its
resources, consultants and thousands of lawyers, has yet to win a single conviction
against any of the members Marcos family or cronies. His grasp of Philippine law in
most areas of practice is deep, considering that he served for many years as
Pres.Marcos's chief lawyer. As Pres. Joseph Estrada's impeachment lawyer, he showed
very fine lawyerly habits under the most extreme pressure ever imaginable. It is also a
testament to his abilites that most of his law clerks are now members of the Supreme
Court, Court of Appeals or are occupying chief offices in the Philippine Government. In
normal trials, Atty. Mendoza's presence can best be described as electric and bring
people to the gallery as if trials were a boxing match. It is no wonder that Atty.
Mendoza handles only the most important cases of the most important personalities in
the Philippines today.

Update:

Check out www.legal500.com. The list they have of the leading practitioners in the
Philippines are expanded. Some of my Top Ten not are there. They missed Nicanor
Gatmaytan, Carpio, Villraza and Cruz and Prospero Crescini. But I maintain them here.

Also, the liigation group of my former law firm PICAZO BUYCO TAN FIDER & SANTOS
landed on the top of Property and Construction practice areas (after all these years)
and even made it to the list of Dispute Resolution practice area (after being ignored for
a long time). The principal reason is the big construction arbitration case we handled
last year for a property giant. Well, that's cool.

Legal500 also cited several of the partners of the firm for their excellent work such as
Purisimo Buyco for dispute resolution, Alex Erlito Fider for Telecommunications, Gemma
Santos for mergers and acquisition, Estrellita Gacutan for banking and Cynthia
Literegalde de la Paz for capital markets. Actually, if they had investigated further, they
would have realized that the other partners of the firm also deserved a spot in each of
the practice areas. If I were to add a second list of Top Ten if will be filled up by
partners from PICAZO. But then again, people will probably think I'm not being
objective.
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Monday, January 06, 2003

On My Own

Today, I tendered my resignation from the Firm. Seven years -- that is the exact time
that it took me to decide I had enough. In that seven years, I grew from an over-eager,
idealistic, hungry and aggressive young lawyer to an over-eager, idealistic, hungry and
aggressive old lawyer.
My apprenticeship is done. I had the great privilege of working for a top gun Makati law
firm and learning the tricks of the trade. I learned why law practice is different from law
school. I learned that law and justice are two different paradigms. No mas. Tapos na.
Henceforth, I am only working for myself. Like Kobe Bryant graduating from high
school, I am now in the play for pay league. Like the Tans resigning from a Mcdonald's
restaurant, I am resigning to put up Jollibee. I am no longer employed and vow never
to be employed again.

I am joining a Bey Blade tournament with my two sons. I am bringing my wife to see
Lord of the Rings. I am going to write my first law book. I am going to teach my first
law school class. I am going to get paid by my own client. I am going to be my own
lawyer. It is going to be great.

http://lavidalawyer.blogspot.com/