Founding Lawyers
Atty. Michael A. Gaspar
Atty. Gaspar is the Managing Partner of the Firm and the Head of the Litigation Department. He specializes in litigation, dispute resolution and government procurement.
Atty. Gaspar served the Philippine Government as Senior Legal Counsel of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) which culminated with his designation as PAGCOR’s acting Chief Legal Counsel. Prior to his stint with the government, he was an associate of two highly respected respectable law firms in the Philippines.
Atty. Gaspar has attended the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and is a member of the PMA Masinag Class of 1998. He graduated from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws and an Outstanding Law Intern Award from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 2004 and he was admitted to the Philippine Bar on the following year. In 2011, Atty. Gaspar was appointed as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) after passing the FSO Examinations.
He is presently a law lecturer in criminal procedure at the UP College of Law.
Atty. Josephine Joy D. Cañeba
Josephine Joy Cañeba’s practice focuses on initial public offering, securities offerings, mergers and acquisition, corporate finance, regulatory compliance, and general corporate work. She also provides advise on labor, privacy, transportation, logistics, construction, technology, and consumer laws.
Joy has been in the practice of law for 16 years. She was also the former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operations Officer of a domestic airline during its merger and turn around period.
Joy is a member of Philippine Bar Association and Filipina CEO Circle. She is also a co-founding partner of CEO Advisors, Inc. and trained arbitrator of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. (PDRCI).
Atty. Maria Katrina C. Franco
Atty. Franco was the Managing Partner of the Firm from 2019 to 2021. She handled various commercial law matters such as corporate governance issues, due diligence audits, contracts negotiations, dispute resolutions, and labor issues. She also handled aviation, civil, family, and intellectual property law matters.
She was an associate professor of law at the De La Salle University College of Law, as well as the Lyceum of the Philippines College of Law.
Prior to joining the Firm, Atty. Franco was an associate of two well-respected law firms in the Philippines, where she handled civil, criminal and administrative cases before various courts and administrative agencies. She also served as corporate secretary of various corporations and non-stock, non-profit organizations. She was a trustee and the corporate secretary of the UP Women Lawyers’ Circle, Inc. (WILOCI).
She graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines in 2002 with a Bachelor in Fine Arts (Visual Communication) and she obtained her Bachelor of Laws from the same university and was one of the recipients of the Distinguished Law Intern Award in 2006. She was also a member of the UP Portia Sorority. Atty. Franco was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2007.
Our beloved partner, Atty. Maria Katrina Carag Franco, joined our Creator last August 22, 2021.
Partners
Atty. Michael A. Gaspar
Atty. Gaspar is the Managing Partner of the Firm and the Head of the Litigation Department. He specializes in litigation, dispute resolution and government procurement.
Atty. Gaspar served the Philippine Government as Senior Legal Counsel of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) which culminated with his designation as PAGCOR’s acting Chief Legal Counsel. Prior to his stint with the government, he was an associate of two highly respected respectable law firms in the Philippines.
Atty. Gaspar has attended the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and is a member of the PMA Masinag Class of 1998. He graduated from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws and an Outstanding Law Intern Award from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 2004 and he was admitted to the Philippine Bar on the following year. In 2011, Atty. Gaspar was appointed as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) after passing the FSO Examinations.
He is presently a law lecturer in criminal procedure at the UP College of Law.
Atty. Josephine Joy Cañeba
Josephine Joy Cañeba’s practice focuses on initial public offering, securities offerings, mergers and acquisition, corporate finance, regulatory compliance, and general corporate work. She also provides advise on labor, privacy, transportation, logistics, construction, technology, and consumer laws.
Joy has been in the practice of law for 16 years. She was also the former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operations Officer of a domestic airline during its merger and turn around period.
Joy is a member of Philippine Bar Association and Filipina CEO Circle. She is also a co-founding partner of CEO Advisors, Inc. and trained arbitrator of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. (PDRCI).
Atty. Paola Krista C. Rodriguez
Atty. Rodriguez is a Junior Partner of the Firm. Her practice area includes Corporate and Commercial Law, Labor Laws, and Immigration Laws.
Paola engages in general corporate law practice, including corporate secretarial work, general assistance in drafting and reviewing contracts and other legal documents, advises clients on regulatory compliance, works on various corporate transactions, and conducts due diligence. Her work also includes representing clients in key offices in local government units and assisting corporations in dealing and complying with requirements and regulatory compliance in various government agencies.
Paola was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2015. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree in 2014 from San Sebastian College-Recoletos in Manila. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in Behavioral Sciences majoring in Organizational and Social Systems Development in De La Salle University-Manila.
Special Councel
Atty. Adrian Ferdinand S. Sugay
Atty. Sugay started his law career as an associate attorney at Ongkiko Kalaw Manhit Acorda Panga & Velasco and later became a partner of De Borja Medialdea Bello Guevarra & Gerodias and Managing Head of Sugay Law.
He recently served as an Undersecretary at the Department of Justice and was given primary charge of the National Prosecution Service and the National Bureau of Investigation, two main institutions under the Department of Justice that are at the forefront of the administration of justice and specialized law enforcement.
During his stint at the Department of Justice, he was likewise designated as the alternate of the Secretary of Justice in the Anti-Terrorism Council, the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs, the Dangerous Drugs Board, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea, the Inter-Agency Committee on Extra-Legal Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Torture, and Other Grave Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty, and Security of Persons, and the National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Coordinating Committee, served as a member of the sub-committee for the revision of the Rules on Criminal Procedure, and chaired the technical working group which drafted the implementing rules for the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
At present, he is a member of the board of directors of the PNOC Exploration Corporation and a member of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Formulation of the Special Rules of Procedure on Anti-Terrorism Cases.
Atty. Sugay specializes in general litigation/dispute resolution work and in maritime and energy practice. He has had the privilege of representing banks, real estate companies, manufacturing companies, protection and indemnity clubs, and energy-generation companies primarily in connection with their litigation-related concerns and has successfully handled cases relating to such diverse matters as general criminal and civil litigation, intra-corporate disputes, maritime claims and disputes, and disputes involving matters regulated by quasi-judicial agencies.
Associates
Atty. Skylar L. Songcal
Atty. Songcal graduated from De La Salle University with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Economics, major in Management of Financial Institutions. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from Arellano University School of Law and was admitted to the practice of law in 2017.
He has experience in court litigation and dispute resolution. He has appeared before various courts and tribunals, and in pertinent congressional committee hearings. As Director and Corporate Secretary of the Rural Banker’s Association of the Philippines (RBAP), he is a member of the committee which coordinates with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), specifically the Bank Supervision and Policy Committee.
He completed the Advanced Bank Management Program at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and the Advanced Corporate Governance Training from the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD). He has served as Director/Corporate Secretary of various corporations, providing legal advice, managing and mitigating risks, observing good corporate governance, and corporate housekeeping.
Atty. Duchess Aleksei B. Duque
Duchess Aleksei B. Duque is a member of the Philippine Bar and is also a registered and licensed architect. She graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture in 2013. In 2019, she earned her Juris Doctor degree from the same university and was recognized as one of its Distinguished Law Interns.
Her fields of legal practice include Intellectual Property Law, Corporate Law, Family Law, Building Laws, Property Transactions, Commercial Arbitration and Mediation, and Litigation. As a legal and building professional, one of her main practice areas is Construction Arbitration.
She provides assistance to clients on a variety of corporate legal matters including incorporation, establishment of presence in the Philippines, legal compliance and permitting, acquisition, capital restructuring, stock rights offering, and private placements. She also serves as corporate secretary in several Philippine and foreign-owned domestic corporations.
Atty. Duque is a lecturer at the University of the Philippines College of Architecture, where she teaches Practice and Governance: Building Laws and Architectural Research. She is also a trained arbitrator of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. (PDRCI).
Atty. Marx Erson R. Bulosan
Marx Erson R. Bulosan became a member of the Bar in 2020. He graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 2015. Four years later, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from the same university.
Since joining the firm in 2020, he has been handling projects in various legal fields, especially in Immigration Law.
Atty. Freya Elessandra G. Patron
Freya Elessandra G. Patron graduated from De La Salle University with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Legal Management. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Philippines, and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2022.
Atty. Jermaine Q. Garcia
Jermaine Q. Garcia graduated from the University of the Philippines Baguio in 2015, where he holds a degree in Social Sciences and minored in Philosophy. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 2020. That same year, he was awarded the Dean’s Service Award for serving in the Law Student Government and the University Student Council.
In 2020, Jermaine co-authored an article published in the Philippine Law Journal entitled “Resisting Redistricting: Giving Life to the Standard of Uniform Progressive Ratio and the State Policy of Anti-Gerrymandering”.
Jermaine became a member of the Philippine Bar and joined the Firm in 2022.