Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW®) is a cohesive multi-disciplinary team of legal professionals who possess in-depth knowledge of specialized fields of law backed by extensive experience of thirty-seven years in the practice of law in the Philippines. ACCRALAW is a top-tier multi-disciplinary institutional law firm in the Philippines. Today, it has branches in thriving business commercial centers of Southern Philippines - Cebu City and Davao City. The Firm is linked to a global network of correspondent lawyers, law firms, and bar associations. The Firm’s Managing Partner is Eusebio V. Tan. Teresita J. Herbosa is the Co-Managing Partner.
The Firm has a track record in handling diverse significant and complex business projects and joint ventures involving multinational clients, and has likewise handled a great number of landmark litigation cases.
ACCRALAW’s clientele represents the full spectrum of business and industry as well, as professional organizations and individuals. Servicing the Firm’s clients are seven practice departments offering timely, creative and strategic legal solutions matched with cost-efficient administration and expert handling of clients’ requirements.
The Retainer Department renders legal services required in the ordinary course of business by the Firm’s general retainer clients, such as consultation and advice, preparation of ordinary contracts and legal documents, rendering of opinions, and notarial services.
The Intellectual Property Department represents clients in all aspects of intellectual property protection (including registration and post-registration of intellectual property rights, and prosecuting or defending any litigation matter involving intellectual property issues) and assists in the preparation of documentation and the recordation of assignments, licensing agreements, franchise agreements, technology transfer agreements involving intellectual property rights, and related agreements. In 2007, ACCRALAW received the “Top Philippine Law Firm for Intellectual Property” award from Asia Law and Practice.
The Corporate and Special Projects Department performs legal services in connection with the establishment of business enterprises, entry of foreign investments into the Philippines, joint ventures, acquisitions and mergers, domestic as well as foreign loans and syndications, banking and finance, re-structuring, natural resources, securities, international business transactions, privatizations, construction projects, energy, build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects, and legal audits, among others. It also offers ancillary corporate secretarial services to its corporate retainer clients, which include the recording of all meetings of the Board of Directors and stockholders, keeping of record books required by law, and preparation of reports required by law of a Corporate Secretary or by the By-Laws of the relevant corporate retainer client.
The Labor and Employment Department handles the administrative investigation or litigation of cases involving dismissal and suspension of employees, money claims and damages arising from employer-employee relations, petitions for certification elections, intra and inter-union disputes, negotiations for collective bargaining agreements, unfair labor practice, preventive mediation/conciliation of labor disputes, strikes & lockouts, grievance handling and labor arbitration, labor-related civil and criminal cases, social welfare and security, overseas employment, labor aspect of corporate acquisitions, mergers or spin-offs, and assistance in the design, review and/or implementation of employment policies, code of discipline, and other employee related programs, such as those relating to compensation, hiring, rightsizing and similar matters. The Firm was cited by Asian-Counsel as the “2008 Philippine Law Firm for Employment Practice”, for which it received an award, based on a survey of 20,000 in-house counsels from Asia and the Middle East.
The Litigation & Dispute Resolution Department supervises and monitors all litigation matters before regular courts of law, administrative agencies, quasi-judicial tribunals and arbitral bodies, both international and local that are referred to the Firm. ACCRALAW’s litigation lawyers have successfully represented various clients in a number of landmark cases decided by the Philippine Supreme Court.
The Tax Department renders services encompassing the entire field of national and local taxation, customs and anti-dumping laws, estate and employee benefits planning, and, to a limited extent, international taxation.
The Immigration Department represents clients before government agencies involved in defining the terms and conditions of an alien’s authorized stay in the Philippines, as well as representation before the courts in connection with petitions for the acquisition of Philippine citizenship.