Key team members: Francis Joseph A. Cruz, general counsel; Christine Angelica Felix, Marie Antoinette Pascua, Ariel Gonzales 

What are the most significant cases or transactions that you have recently been involved in? 

Completion of the regularisation of land acquisitions covering important corporate facilities that have begun decades ago which involved negotiations with families and devising strategies to eliminate inefficiencies of government bureaucracy;  

Continued negotiations and problem-solving with an international client involving their recently acquired brand. 

How do you see the general counsel role evolving in the Philippines over the next five-ten years? 

General counsel will have to evolve from being just an in-house lawyer to a partner of all the corporate departments in business. Thus, a general counsel will need more than just an expertise in law, but also should be required to acquire commercial skillsets and acumen, specifically those necessary in the industry.