SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan (SyCipLaw) is pleased to announce the admission to the partnership of Easter Princess U. Castro-Ty, Joanna Marie O. Joson, Maria Viola B. Vista, and Maria Christina C. Ortua-Ang.

SyCipLaw is one of the largest law firms in the Philippines and it celebrated its 75th anniversary last year.  With the admission of these four women as partners, more than 40% of the partnership is now comprised of women.

Easter Princess U. Castro-Ty is a labor law specialist.  She also has broad experience in handling  commercial transactions.

Ms. Castro-Ty regularly counsels clients on employment law issues such as those involving labor standards compliance, disciplinary actions and terminations, retirement issues, job contracting/labor-only contracting, occupational safety & health standards, and audits. She also advises clients on union issues and handles complex  collective bargaining work. In addition, she specializes in expatriate employment and immigration work. She regularly provides professional advice and assistance to clients in the procurement and renewal of work visas and permits.  Ms. Castro-Ty also has extensive experience in advising clients on the requirements for hiring of locals for overseas employment.

She melds her expertise in employment law with commercial practice where she has M&A, and corporate restructuring and reorganization experience. Easter handles general corporate services, and acts as corporate secretary for several corporations.

Ms. Castro-Ty obtained her undergraduate degree (cum laude) and her Juris Doctor degree (Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence) from the University of the Philippines College of Law.  She is a member of the firm’s Employment & Immigration Department and Special Projects group.

Joanna Marie O. Joson is an experienced commercial lawyer and a tax specialist. She specializes in acquisitions, investments, and restructuring.

Her tax-related work includes rendering tax advice in connection with deals involving acquisitions, investments and divestments, and corporate reorganisations, as well as applications of foreign residents availing of preferential tax treatment under tax treaties. She also handles requests for confirmation of tax exemption, refund applications, responses to assessment notices and appeals against adverse rulings issued by the tax authority.

Ms. Joson has handled key acquisition as well as divestment projects in a number of industries including  food, advertising, manufacturing, logistics, real estate, and business process outsourcing.

She also has labor law experience having worked on several labor-litigation cases involving illegal dismissal, certification election, and money claims.

Ms. Joson obtained her undergraduate degree and Juris Doctor (second honors) from Ateneo de Manila University School of Law.  She has a Master of Laws degree in taxation from New York University. She is a member of the firm’s Special Projects group,  Tax Department and Employment and Immigration Department.

Maria Viola B. Vista applies her expertise in tax and employment law in both litigation settings and commercial transactions, where she specially handles M&A and restructuring work.

Ms. Vista’s employment practice includes advisory work on various areas such as employment and contracting arrangements, hiring of expatriates, union issues, disciplinary proceedings, employee-related data privacy issues, and employment transfers or terminations in corporate transactions.

In tax, Ms. Vista regularly advises clients on tax implications of corporate transactions and structures. She also handles tax assessments and refunds both at the administrative and court levels, representing companies from different sectors such as renewable energy and air transportation.

The corporate projects she has led have been in a range of industries including those in the trading, pharmaceutical, advertising, information technology, financial technology, and airline industries.

Ms. Vista obtained her undergraduate degree (magna cum laude) and finished her Juris Doctor degree (Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence) from the University of the Philippines College of Law. She is a member of the firm’s Employment and Immigration, Tax and Special Projects practice groups.

Maria Christina C. Ortua-Ang is a tax, M&A, banking, and securities lawyer. She is also a certified public accountant  in the Philippines.

She is a tax specialist who also handles a broad range of corporate work and commercial transactions from structuring and regulatory advice to drafting and negotiation of transaction documentation. She handles financing projects as well. In tax,  she regularly works on requests for rulings, refund claims and tax treaty relief applications, and appears before courts and revenue authorities in connection with tax assessments and other tax issues.

Her recent significant projects include an  approximately USD300 million investment in a storage and pipeline corporation, a USD 706 million investment in a local hospital business, and the acquisition of a thermal power business.

Ms. Ortua-Ang obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law (with honors) and obtained her Master of Laws (with distinction) from the Queen Mary University of London. She is with SyCipLaw’s Special Projects, Taxation and Banking, Finance & Securities practice groups.