Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles (“Romulo”) is one of the largest and oldest firms in the Philippines. It maintains a constant presence in international transactions.
In-House Community members have voted Romulo as a “Most Responsive Firm of the Year, 2016”, as well as an ASIAN-MENA COUNSEL – In-House Community Firm of the Year in the Philippines for: Alternative Investment Funds (including private equity); Anti-Trust/Competition; Banking and Finance; Capital Markets; Compliance/Regulatory; Corporate and M&A; Employment; Intellectual Property; Litigation and Dispute Resolution; Projects and Project Financing; and Taxation.
In 2016, Romulo was recognized by Asia Legal Business as Philippine Deal Firm of the Year and awarded M&A Deal of the Year. Asialaw Profiles (2019) lists Romulo as “Outstanding” in the following areas: Banking and Finance, Corporate and M&A, Dispute Resolution, Capital Markets and Real Estate.
Romulo is composed of 93 lawyers, all of whom speak English fluently and the majority of whom have received training and graduate degrees from international universities.
Romulo offer legal services across a comprehensive range of practice areas, including: aviation and admiralty; banking; corporate and business laws; capital markets and other financial transactions; energy; environmental laws; finance; foreign investments; infrastructure; intellectual property; labor laws; litigation; mergers and acquisitions; mining, gas, oil, geothermal and other natural resources; securities; and taxation.
Romulo lawyers are active members and leaders of organizations such as: the American Chamber of Commerce; the APEC Business Forum; the Asian Neighbors’ Forum; the Asian Patent Attorneys Association; the Intellectual Property Association of the Philippines; the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property; the International Bar Association; the Inter-Pacific Bar Association; the Makati Business Club; the Management Association of the Philippines; the Maritime Law Association of the Philippines; the Pacific Basin Economic Council; the Philippine-Thailand Business Council; the Philippine-Japan Business Council; the Philippine-Korea Business Council; the Philippine-Singapore Business Council; the Philippine-U.K. Business Council; the Philippine-U.S. Business Council; the Tax Management Association of the Philippines; the U.S. Trademark Association; Union Internationale des Avocats and Asean Law Association. Romulo is also a member of Trace – the anti-corruption and bribery worldwide advocacy group.
As one of the oldest law firms in the Philippines, we trace our firm’s history to the law firm of Gibbs, McDonough and Ozaeta, which was established in Manila in 1902 by Allison D. Gibbs and Charles A. McDonough. Roman A. Ozaeta, who later became a distinguished Justice of the Supreme Court, and his son Herminio, an outstanding corporate lawyer in his own right, reconstituted the firm in 1957.
