Yorac Law Firm
YORAC SARMIENTO ARROYO CHUA CORONEL & REYES
PRACTICE
AREAS
LITIGATION
In instances where the filing of criminal or civil cases became inevitable for clients, or in situations where clients find themselves needing a defense advocate, our teams are called to render litigation service. We are well experienced in court trial, appeals and the filing of special civil actions that challenge Court rulings. We welcome opportunities for law reform and to contribute to Philippine jurisprudence.
CORPORATE SERVICES
Our lawyers have extensive experience in the formation and registration of corporations, partnerships or solo enterprises. We help with corporate housekeeping and serve as the client's agent, nominee or representative, when needed. We assist in the registration of trademarks, patents and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
We have undertaken numerous due diligence projects for clients and assisted investors in deal structuring and documentation for mergers, acquisitions and take-overs.
GENERAL RETAINER
Our lawyers are available for regular consultation regarding labor issues,, human resources management, collective bargaining and other commercial concerns of clients. We are experienced in providing advice and assistance for real-estate acquisitions, consolidations and subdivisions, and in property development management.
We have Notaries Public servicing clients and assisting in the drafting of documents and agreements.
ELECTION LAW
Throughout many years of providing this service to candidates, both for local and national elections, our team has gained experience and expertise in providing legal assistance in pre-election preparations and post-election representation in election controversies and in protest cases.
MEDIA LAW
We have developed the practice of assisting journalists, writers and media practitioners, in all formats and on all platforms, through legal due diligence review of works pre-publication, in defence of free speech, familiarisation with applicable media laws and review of intellectual property issues, including cyber-related concerns.
OUR FIRM
We have proudly won landmark cases before the Philippine Supreme Court on various issues of constitutional import such as: “equal pay for equal work” for Filipino teachers in the International School Manila (ISM vs. ISAE, G.R. No. 166997-98); limiting the power of the MTRCB to classification and not censorship (Sarmiento vs. Morato, G.R. No. 92541);declaration of unconstitutionality of the of the advertising ban on milk products (PHAP vs. Duque, G.R. No. 173034); the liberation of the Batasan 5 Congressmen from baseless prosecution (Ladlad vs. Velasco, G.R. No. 172070-72); and recently, the decision which upheld the power of the Courts to issue injunctive relief against the Ombudsman on the basis of the condonation doctrine (Carpio-Morales vs. CA, GR No. 217126-27).
We have secured the conviction of more than 30 kidnap-for-ransom gangs and pursued a syndicate that rigged Congressional election results. We also successfully argued before the National Board of Canvassers for the proclamation of candidates for national positions.
I have spent more than half my life in prison for a crime I did not commit. I have even been on death row waiting for my execution date to be determined. When things got really tough and I would begin to lose hope, I would tell myself that if Yorac Law hasn’t given up on me, then I shouldn’t either. When you’re fighting injustice, those who fight alongside you give you courage and I count myself really lucky that I have Yorac Law on my side.
- Paco Larrañaga
OUR TEAM
MARIANO P. SARMIENTO
SENIOR PARTNER
FELICITAS AQUINO-ARROYO
SENIOR PARTNER
SANDRA MARIE OLASO-CORONEL
PARTNER
GRACE VERONICA C. REYES
PARTNER
JOANNE ROSE S. LIM
ASSOCIATE
JUAN CARLOS MENDOZA
JUNIOR PARTNER
ANA ALEXANDRA C. CASTRO
ASSOCIATE
ALEANA CECILIA P. BANTOLO
ASSOCIATE
OUR PARTNERS
ADOLFO S. AZCUNA
Associate Justice of the Philippines (ret.)
Mr. Azcuna was the Founding Senior Partner of the Law Firm. He served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 2002 to 2009. He is now the Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy, a component unit if the Supreme Court tasked with institutionalizing continuing judicial education for members of the judiciary, in pursuit of excellence in the Judiciary. He was the former Chair of the Philippine National Bank and served in the cabinet of former President Corazon C. Aquino, first as Presidential Legal Counsel, then as Press Secretary, and later as Presidential Spokesman. He was a delegate of the 1971 Constitutional Convention that drafted the 1973 Constitution and a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission. Mr. Azcuna taught International Law at the Ateneo de Manila University from 1967 to 1986.
HAYDEE B. YORAC
1941-2005
Ms. Yorac joined the Law Firm after her stint from 1986 to 1993 as Commissioner and then Acting Chairman of the Commission on Elections. For her distinguished work in government, she was awarded the French Legion of Honor and was named by the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper as its “Filipino of the Year” in 1992. Ms. Yorac was appointed in 2001 as Chairperson of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, the agency tasked to recover the Marcos ill-gotten wealth, for which she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 2004., The Meralco Foundation established the Gawad Haydee Yorac award in her honor, to recognise distinguished individuals for exemplary government service. She also served as Chair of the National Unification Commission, a government agency under the administration of President Fidel Ramos, which conducted public consultations and formulated the framework for the peace process negotiations between rebel groups and the government; for which she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit. From Ms. Yorac taught Civil Law at the University of the Philippines.
WILLIAM T. CHUA
1945-2004
Mr. Chua was a Founding Partner of the Law Firm, and served as Managing Partner until his death. He was a staunch human rights advocate and a ranking member of Mabini and the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG). He served as counsel for the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and the leading organization of crime victims, the Citizen’s Action Against Crime. He was a distinguished litigator and pioneered the prosecution of kidnap for ransom syndicates for which he was awarded the Rizal Award for Excellence.
CONTACT
YORAC LAW FIRM
3103-A West Tower, Phil. Stock Exchange Centre
Exchange Road, Ortigas Center Pasig 1605
Email: aacclaw1@aacclaw.com
Tel: (632)8633-5981
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