DE BORJA LAMORENA AND DUANO LAW OFFICES

Philippine Annulment/Philippine Divorce

The partners of the firm engaged in litigation practice have been trying annulment cases since this was allowed in 1988 and have seen the law and the practice evolve to now include issues on:
• custody (local and under the Hague Convention)
• spousal support, even if the non-supportive spouse is already a resident of another country
• division of property
• determination of the presumptive legitimes of the children under very complicated marital property regimes
• recognition of a foreign divorce
• application of principles of private international law in cases involving dissolution of marriages

- Adoption

The Family Law department has been in the forefront of pioneering litigation involving complicated issues on Adoption Law, such as the efforts to convince foreign jurisdictions to recognize the bona fides of local adoptions for purposes of applying for a dependent’s visa for the subject child under the auspices of the Hague Convention, seeking exceptions to such requirements as residency of the adopters, relation, prior criminal record of both the adopter (foreigner or Filipino) and the natural parents (on the issue of whether or not consent would be necessary).
 

Child Custody & Support

The firm has a wide range of experience in international child custody and support. It has had the fortune of having been engaged in cases involving the selective application of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspect of International Child Abduction in multi-state and multi nationality situations, involving either the Philippines as the country of destination or a Filipino national as the abductor or the child involved. These cases have presented complicated conflicts of laws issues which remain to be gray areas in Philippine Family Law, especially considering the abiding refusal of the Philippines to accede to the Hague Convention.

Business & Corporate Law

The firm’s corporate department handles all types of applications before the Securities and Exchange Commission and other related administrative bodies such as the Department of Trade and Industry and the Board of Investments. It has been involved in special corporate projects involving:
• mergers and acquisitions
• cross-border transactions
• investments
• securities
• initial public offerings
It has executed due diligence exercises for companies for a variety of corporate purposes, usually in tandem with well-known foreign law firms and investment bankers.
 

Intellectual Property Law

The firm has a reputable and service quality-oriented Intellectual Property Practice Group adept in all facets of this multi-disciplinary field of specialization, inclusive of the following:
• Trademark Registration and Maintenance
• Handling of Cases and Administrative Proceedings before the Philippine Intellectual Property Office and other government agencies
• Patent Registration of Inventions
• Utility Models and Industrial Designs
• Infringement
• Unfair Competition
• Enforcement Remedies
• Anti-Dumping
• imposition of Tariffs
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and other Regional and International Trade agreements and treaties
• Copyright Registration
• Genetic Engineering
• Biotechnology
• Bioethics
• Plant Variety Registration and Protection
• Registration and Protection of Domain Names inclusive of implementation of Privacy and Security Protocols
• E-commerce Fraud Detection
• Regulatory and Tax Neutrality Issues, including Third Party Processing (TPP) and Merchant Solutions Performance and Fraud Monitoring through established online institutional gateways
• Computer Forensics
• Protection of Commercial and Trade Secrets
• Implementation of Security Protocols
• Food and Drug Laws Licensing and Regulations
• Program Implementation of Legislation and Regulations on Anti-Piracy and Counterfeiting
• Licensing, Franchising and Technology Transfer
• Protection, Enforcement, and Security Issues on Information Technology and Telecommunications
• Product and Service Standardization (Bureau of Product Standards, Department of Trade and Industry; ISO)
• Systems Audit and Monitoring (Internal, Co-external, Industry-wide)
• Local, International, and Industry Based Alternative Dispute Resolution and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards
 

Labor & Employment Law

Given its founding partner’s specialization in Labor and Employment Law, the firm is particularly proud of its involvement and expertise in almost every facet thereof, from Labor Standards issues such as compensation and benefits restructuring in mergers and acquisitions to all aspects of Labor Relations from organization, training, and hiring of labor components to avert labor disputes, certification elections, intra- and inter union disputes, collective bargaining negotiations, formulation, and CBA administration, grievance machinery procedures, strikes and lockouts, and employee relations.
 

Litigation

The firm’s litigation practice covers all courts, trial and appellate, and quasi-judicial agencies in highly specialized areas such as: securities, energy regulations, construction, enforcement of intellectual property rights, housing, land use and zoning, municipal and local taxation, national internal revenue litigation, insurance (life and non-life), telecommunications, international trade regulations, shipping/maritime, aviation law, asset recovery, labor relations, employment disputes and litigation involving all types of commercial transactions.
 

Philippine Immigration Law

Issuance of all types of visas for the Philippines, including resident visas, special immigration visas, investor's visas, removal from the immigration blacklist or hold departure orders, and other areas of immigration law in the Philippines.