SyCip Salazar Hernandez &

Gatmaitan hosted the Multilaw Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting last

March 12-13, 2018. The meeting was attended by 31 representatives from Multilaw

member firms in Australia, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia,

Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, and Vietnam.

SyCipLaw hosted welcome cocktails and dinner on the 12th at the Manila House Private Club in BGC. Special guests during the dinner were Ma. Fatima Garcia-Lorenzo and Karen D. Rivera, executive director and partner relations manager, respectively, of Kythe Foundation, Inc. Kythe was selected as the beneficiary of the Multilaw Billable Hour Project. Members at the Manila meeting raised US$4,500 for Kythe.

The business meeting proper took place on the 13th at the Shangri-La at The Fort with Macpherson Kelley’s Paul Kirton, Multilaw Asia Pacific regional chair, presiding. SyCipLaw’s Benedicto P. Panigbatan opened the meeting with an introduction to the advantages and challenges of doing business in the Philippines. This was followed by a presentation by the Multilaw Banking & Finance Practice Group with Schalast’s Andreas Walter, who chairs the practice group, providing an overview on international developments and SyCipLaw’s Marievic G. Ramos-Añonuevo, discussing the developments in the local banking sector.

A panel session focused on the challenges that member firms face in meeting client needs in relation to data privacy and information security. Mr. Kirton was joined by SyCipLaw’s Rose Marie M. King-Dominguez, Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill’s Adlin Abdul Majid, Tilleke & Gibbins’ Waewpen Piemwichai, and Donaldson & Burkinshaw’s Linus Ng in sharing their experiences and the steps their firms have taken with these requests.

SyCipLaw’s Mia G. Gentugaya led a special workshop session on client pitching. AboitizPower’s Joseph Trillana Gonzales and San Miguel Corporation’s Eduardo Sergio G. Edeza provided inputs on best practices and what they consider when it comes to multiple jurisdiction selections.

In the afternoon, SyCipLaw’s John Paul V. de Leon facilitated a panel session featuring Banco de Oro’s Joseph B. Lledo, ICCP Group’s William M. Valtos, Jr., and Ayala Corporation’s Solomon M. Hermosura on client happiness. The panel discussed what makes them happy clients and the level of service they expect to receive from external counsel.

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan is the exclusive Philippine member firm of Multilaw. Multilaw is a leading global network of independent law firms founded in 1990 on the premise that an alliance of carefully selected, independent law firms working together worldwide offered the most effective way of fulfilling clients’ international needs. Visit www.multilaw.com for more information.