For more than four decades, DelRosarioLaw has led in the Shipping and Transport practice in the Philippines and continues to do so. This enduring reputation has made the Firm’s opinion in major maritime policies of the Philippines most sought after. With the Philippines supplying more than 20% of the worldwide requirement for seafarers, developments in the Philippines are clearly watched by the leading figures in the international maritime industry. The Firm’s Ruben T. Del Rosario has been invited to sit in the tripartite body that formulated the amendments to the standard contract for Filipino seafarers. Maritime arbitration was likewise given official recognition through the efforts of the Firm both in the standard contract for seafarers and the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. (PDRCI). The Philippine Maritime Voluntary Arbitrators Association (PMVAA) has Ruben T. Del Rosario as its charter president
The Firm continues to act for international shipowners and their P&I Clubs on controversies involving labour, collisions, oil pollution/spills, charter party/bill of lading disputes, ship sale and purchase, ship finance, ship mortgage and ship registrations. The Firm’s present roster of P&I and specialist Clubs spans the major continents of the world. In Europe the list of P&I and specialist Clubs represented by the Firm includes the UK P&I Club, Steamship Insurance Management Services Ltd, West of England, North of England, British Marine Insurance, Charterama, Raets P&I, ITIC, Charterers Mutual and Shipowners Mutual P&I Association in the United Kingdom; Assuranceforeningen Gard ,Assuranceforeningen Skuld, Nordisk Skibsrederforening in Norway, The Swedish Club in Sweden; Noord Nederlansche in the Netherlands, Ingosstrakh Insurance Company and Rosgosstrakh Insurance Company in Russia. In the Americas, the Firm is correspondent for the American Club. In Asia, the Firm represents the Japan P&I Club, China P&I Club and Korea P&I Club.
The Firm is also the exclusive Manila correspondent of the Through Transport Club, the largest club for non-vessel common carriers, terminal operators and freight forwarders/consolidators. Philippine clients include the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) and the Asian Terminals, Inc. (ATI), the two largest arrastre/terminal operators in the country.
"We are a professional law firm with more than 40 years of experience."
The Firm’s Labour department acts on a full range of labour matters/disputes involving Filipino seafarer’s claims. Filipino seafarers have in the world transport market labour claims/suits for death, disability, illness, illegal dismissal and other labor related claims are considered significant. DelRosario Pandiphil Inc., a wholy owned subsidiary, handles all the seafarer's claims of the Firm's clients. In response to the growing needs of the clients, DelRosario Pandiphil has opened a representative office in Cebu City in the Visayas region. With the expansion of its corporate practice to include non-shipping clients, the Firm’s labour practice is expanding as well to industrial relations.
The corporate practice of DelRosarioLaw encompasses a modest spectrum of corporate matters such as direct foreign investments, company formation, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and general corporate work. While this department had initially evolved from advising shipping clients on their general corporate requirements (and continues to do so), the expanded client base now includes international companies engaged in manufacturing, banking, advertising and cruise ship catering. This department likewise advises the Royal Embassy of Norway and the Panamanian Consulate in Manila on matters involving Philippine Law.
In its Intellectual Property department, the Firm continues to advise Sony and major pharmaceutical companies, with Arturo T. Del Rosario, Jr. still at the helm.
The Firm’s dispute resolution (arbitration and litigation) practice cuts across various disciplines/clients. The Firm represents shipowners and their P&I Clubs, cargo owners and their insurers, non-vessel common carriers, manufacturers, caterers and other corporate clients in a myriad of disputes/controversies involving the application of labour laws, shipping and admiralty laws, civil laws, corporate law, insurance law, criminal law and administrative law.
With the unfortunate downturn in businesses in the Philippines in the past few years, the Firm's general recovery and collection work is steadily expanding with modest success.
DelRosarioLaw has been active in the practice of labor and personal injury law since its founding on May 1, 1977. It has lawyers and claims handlers who attend various hearings, conferences and amicable settlements at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) on a daily basis. For the past three decades, DelRosarioLaw has handled all kinds of labor disputes representing the employer.
The Firm has assisted in the settlements of thousands of Filipino seafarers claims. Its partner, Ruben Del Rosario was a member of the Tripartite Conference that drafted the POEA Standard Employment Contract. The Firm has also assisted in the litigation of Filipino seafarers claims filed in the United States particularly in Lousiana, Texas, Miami, California, New York and various other states. It has helped in the dismissal of a spate of cases filed in Panama. It has assisted the Clubs in claims filed in such countries as the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Hong Kong, Canada and others. The Firm's lawyers have prepared various types of affidavits in these cases affirming the jurisdiction clause of the POEA standard contract.
DelRosarioLaw has further assisted the Clubs in the drafting of the standard form of the Receipt and Release now widely used in the settlement of crew claims. It has formulated a standard release procedure in order to ensure that releases are iron-clad and cannot be challenged in foreign jurisdictions.
The Firm has likewise arranged prompt settlements to protect the Filipino seafarer from ambulance chasing lawyers. It has assisted the Clubs in their desire to upgrade the PreEmployment Medical Examination or PEME.
DelRosarioLaw continues to assist not only in the field of crew claims but on all labor issues such as labor standards, wage policies, retirement benefits and the like. Ruben Del Rosario is the founding president of the Philippine Maritime Voluntary Arbitrators Association Inc. (PMVAA)
Incorporation of Companies
Our Firm provides legal advice and procedural services for incorporation of companies. Our experience enables us to evaluate and determine the type of business organization and capital structure best suited for the client’s needs. We take care of all documentation requirements in registering the company.
Our services also include advising and assisting clients in securing special license/accreditation from pertinent government agencies when such is required by the special nature of the business of the company.
We provide corporate housekeeping services to ensure that all corporate records are properly kept and the reportorial requirements of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and other government agencies are met by clients on time. Corporate housekeeping includes, but is not limited to such tasks as preparing the minutes of meetings of shareholders and the Board of Directors, issuing stock certificates, maintaining the Stock & Transfer Book, and preparing and submitting regular reports required by the SEC.
Where the company is especially licensed to conduct a particular business, we ensure that all reports required by the appropriate licensing agencies are submitted in proper form and on time.
Due Diligence
Our Firm conducts due diligence to assist clients in the evaluation of the commercial, legal and financial health of a company under consideration. Due diligence may either be general or confined to a specific area such as corporate condition, contracts, foreign investment, transfer of technology, and labor matters.
Contracts & Agreements
This service includes preparation, review and advice on corporate and commercial transactions and agreements, including but not limited to joint venture agreements, sale and purchase of businesses, distributorship and agency agreements, shareholders agreements, contracts for services, trade and technology transfer agreements, long-term loan agreements, and management services contracts.
The Firm provides legal advice on such matters as insurance contracts and the interpretation thereof. Services have also included advising multinational clients on Philippine insurance law and jurisprudence in relation to prosecution of claims and global policy drafting. It has also represented insurance companies in defense against invalid and at times, fraudulent claims. It has also given advice to foreign insurance companies including reinsurance companies. It has represented at one time or another some of the largest insurance companies in the world.
The Firm provides immigration services to multinational companies. At present, its services include:
The Firm has wide exposure in handling civil, corporate and criminal disputes and controversies before the different trial and appellate courts in the Philippines involving the advocacy and application of civil law, corporate law, criminal law, commercial law, taxation, insurance law, customs, immigration and administrative law, among others.
The Firm likewise represents various clients before administrative/quasi-judicial bodies such as the NLRC and POEA on labor claims; Board of Marine Inquiry, MARINA, Bureau of Customs and Philippine Coast Guard on maritime related investigations; the Prosecutor's Office and Department of Justice on criminal prosecution; and a host of other specialized government agencies.
This extensive litigation work requires the Firm's lawyers to spend substantial time in court appearances and submission of various written pleadings thus enhancing the Firm's litigation expertise.
In a limited sense, the Firm also engages in litigation work abroad as it is usually called upon by foreign clients/law firms to render expert advice on Philippine laws relevant to disputes litigated in the United States, UK, Panama, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and other foreign jurisdictions.
Although arbitration in general has not been used extensively in the Philippines, DelRosarioLaw has been active in this limited field and has especially worked for the recognition of maritime arbitration. The Firm is actively involved in the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. (PDRCI), the arbitration arm of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the association of the top corporations in the Philippines.
Ruben Del Rosario has acted as ad hoc arbitrator in several maritime disputes. He was charter president of the Philippine Maritime Voluntary Arbitrators Association (PMVAA) an organization of voluntary arbitrators composed of former sea officers, manning agents executives, union officials and voluntary labor arbitrators. PMVAA is promoting voluntary arbitration as a means of settling disputes between Filipino seafarers and their foreign employers.
The intellectual property department is presently handled by six IPO registered lawyers and two paralegals with Arturo T. Del Rosario Jr. still at the helm. The Firm continues to be active members of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA), International Trademark Association (ITA) and the Association Internationale Pour Protection de la Propriete Intellectuelle (AIPPI) Arturo T. Del Rosario Jr. was an elected director of the Intellectual Property Association of the Philippines (IPAP).
The Firm has a wide array of foreign clients, including mainstay Sony Corporation of Japan, Compaq Computer Corporation of Texas, other chemical and retail companies in the United States, and European based firms such as Delsey and Stadler.
The Firm handles all aspects of Intellectual Property Law, with emphasis on trademark and design registrations, and their maintenance at competitive rates. The Firm also regularly advises its foreign clients on IP rights and steps to be taken to protect these rights. DelRosarioLaw has been engaged directly by multinational corporations to handle their IP matters in the Philippines, and through the Firm's thirty five years, it has acquired a wide range of skills in the field...
