The Legal Landscape in Makati
The objectives of law firms are to provide good legal services to clients, promote good corporate governance, contribute to the rule of law, and reduce corruption practices. In order to provide good services and good corporate governance advice, the law firm plays an active and effective role since the client’s best interest(s) are always its primary goal. Since law firms are important businesses and strive to answer clients’ growing economic and legal challenges, they adopt the professional corporate governance standards recommended in order to assure independence in advising clients and high-performance behavior. On the other hand, the role could only be achieved when the clients are treated fairly and are able to access relevant and timely legal information so that clients are able to make correct choices and informed decisions. Law firms face potential conflicts when they balance from whom they take their directions, to whom they owe the duty, and how they operate.
Makati is known as a city where many businesses – including law firms – are based. Several prominent law firms have their offices in major financial districts, specifically in the central business district of Makati, through which members are encouraged to lead and support the city’s local and legal communities. Law firms play important roles in countries and have their own complex structures and governing rules. They provide legal services, process employment services, recruit and manage staff and other administrative positions, provide pro bono services – such as promoting law reform and the rule of law. In addition to living up to the standard for professional conduct, members can also provide good corporate governance advice to the clients and increase access to justice through pro bono work and training programs.
Types and Specializations of Law Firms in Makati
The lawyers in these law firms, who usually possess business acumen, some of whom worked as businessmen or served the Philippine government, handle the legal jobs of various clients, both local and foreign, regardless of the size of the business. These law professionals are sought after for every client’s need for legal solutions.
Law firms in Makati include those that are exclusively devoted to the practice of law and those that are hybrids of law practitioners paired with other professional services such as the Big Four. Tens of the country’s top law firms are located in Makati, home base to many of the top business corporations. Law firms here offer a wide range of legal services in both legal and corporate requirements. Selected firms concentrate on corporate matters, market and trade, real estate and construction, taxation, litigation, intellectual property, labor and human resources, and energy, mining, and infrastructure, and deal with business transactions and corporate issues.
The Services Offered by Law Offices in Makati
The years of practice and specialization of the Makati law office or legal office in various fields of law brings experience, knowledge, and competency which inform and guide individuals and generate an environment of law and justice in the community.
In the field of Intellectual Property (IP) rights, their services pertain to patents, trade unions, copyrights, counterfeiting, and other similar circumstances. Other areas of practice include but are not limited to: torts, obligations and contracts, succession and partnership, family code and its related laws, land registration law, and other real property laws.
The services in Administrative Law involve the legal principles, which define the organization, powers, and duties of the administrative authorities and the relation of the legal administrators with the public, like issuance of proper preventive suspensions, indefinite suspensions, temporary restraining order, injunctions, and other court orders.
In the field of Marriage, the practice includes contracts between spouses, annulment, and legal separation. In regard to Labor Laws, the practice offers services regarding the employer-employee relationship such as employment contracts and agreements, claims for premium payments and incentives, regularization of employees or workers, claims for benefits and incentives due to separation from employment, redundancy, retrenchment, misconduct, and other acts or omissions committed by the employee which is inimical and destructive of the business and the management of the employer, BLE (formerly NLRC) cases and appeals, and collective bargaining agreements (CBAs).
In the field of Civil Law, the areas of practice include, among others: contracts and obligations between individuals recognized by law, sales, gifts, successions, donations, and wills, property, and damages. The range of their services in Commercial Law includes, among others: corporation law and bankruptcy.
The lawyers in the legal office or in a Makati law firm offer a multitude of legal services in various fields of law which include, but are not limited to, civil law, commercial law, labor law, corporate law, family law, agrarian reform law, intellectual property and immigration law, criminal law, and administrative law.
Case Studies: How Law Offices in Makati Have Helped Individuals and Businesses
Small and large, old and new law offices have contributed to the city’s prosperity in their own special way. From setting up regional headquarters, real estate projects, manufacturing facilities, export processing zones, investments in stocks, and newly-registered businesses, new legal concerns create new opportunities. Long after incorporation, their continued presence has helped sustain and protect their clients’ investments, businesses, operations, and reputation in Makati. They also regularly draft leases, contracts for products, services, technology, and intellectual property licenses, product safety, and other disclosure statements, code of conduct, relationships, policy guidelines, and allow them to avoid and manage liabilities. Our community of local and foreign-licensed law offices, lawyers and attorneys is doing their share here, and they will always continue to make interesting things happen with their valuable experience, legal education and training, negotiation, settlement, arbitration, mediation, accredited conciliation and court permanent process on commercial, civil, criminal, and special law complications and disputes.
There are more than 280 active law offices in Makati City as of March 31, 2017. They take pride of place as partners of individuals and companies, helping them navigate through various issues, concerns, and transactions. Whether domestic or foreign-owned, law firms regularly structure deals, secure permits, ensure regulatory compliance, represent clients in negotiations, and see to it that their clients are protected. In this respect, covering the legal sector and what law offices do is a window to the role of the City of Makati in nation-building, being the center of Philippine commerce and finance.
