JOSE MANOLO V. GARCIAFOUNDING & SENIOR MANAGING PARTNERJoey is a full litigation lawyer specializing in criminal, civil, family, administrative, commercial and labor cases. He also handles intellectual property and entertainment law. And he represents the firm's corporate clientele in mergers and acquisitions.
Prior to putting up GERA Law, JVG was into corporate law practice for almost ten (10) years. He was the chief legal counsel of a domestic corporation and its affiliates and subsidiaries with six other lawyers in its legal department and external counsels under his control and supervision taking charge of the company’s 50 branches and more than 2,000 employees nationwide including in the Visayas and Mindanao area. He started to hone his litigation skills while working as an associate lawyer in two medium size law firms situated in Makati City & Ortigas Center respectively before he shifted to the corporate legal practice. Among the other areas of Joey’s practice are land titles & property law, estate & succession, immigration, arbitration, tax law and special projects. Apart from his responsibilities to his clients, Joey has also engaged in volunteer/pro bono lawyering for an international NGO, International Justice Mission. As a volunteer lawyer he actively prosecuted cases for victims of child abuse, child trafficking and child labor. He has been a volunteer since 2009. |
NELISA C. GUEVARA-GARCIASENIOR PARTNERLisa graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a Bachelor of Science Major in Microbiology. She moved on to earn her Juris Doctor Degree in the Faculty of Civil law of the same university.
Lisa is currently the Director of National Prosecution Development for International Justice Mission Philippines (osec.ijm.org). In this role, Lisa is responsible for delivering the IJM Philippines’ Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC) Program’s Prosecution Outcomes. In the performance of these functions, she must ensure the five domains of sustainability (Infrastructure, Staffing, Financial Sustainability, Performance, Policies) in the prosecution pillar are functional by the end of the program while working alongside the national government. Lisa is also tasked to ensure alignment between IJM Philippines’ national program and regional-local programs in coordination with the directors of the program offices. Prior to this role, she served as the Executive Head of Prosecution Development in the Manila Field Office. She led a team of lawyers who prosecute cases of OSEC alongside public prosecutors through collaborative casework. Together they develop innovative prosecution strategies by testing legal principles and existing case law while building the capacity of government partners toward system reform. Throughout her time with IJM, Lisa has actively prosecuted both child sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation cases in her own capacity as private prosecutor, resulting in 52 case convictions of 45 perpetrators within 7 years as Special Counsel for Intervention and Senior Special Counsel (Anti-Human Trafficking Specialist) for the Manila Legal Interventions Department. 4 of these case convictions were further affirmed in the Supreme Court adding to the growing jurisprudence on Human Trafficking in the Philippines. During her time in the field office, the Manila Prosecution Development Team has achieved 120 perpetrator convictions, 52 of which are OSEC convictions under her leadership from 2015 to 2021. Lisa also serves as a resource person and subject matter expert for various trainings, conferences and other speaking engagements both locally and internationally. In 2020, Lisa led her team in the conceptualization and publication of the Compendium of Legal Resources for the Prosecution of Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC) in the Philippine central.com.ph/bookstoreplus/products/AAD239/. It is the first of its kind in the realm of OSEC Prosecution in the Philippines. The said publication was officially endorsed by Undersecretary Atty. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inter-Agency Council Task Force (IACAT) for the use of government prosecutors in the prosecution of this crime. Lisa has been with IJM for close to two decades and in the practice of law for 20 years. Prior to IJM, Lisa worked as an attorney for the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines. |
ORLIE A. ELAURIASENIOR PARTNERHe has fully devoted his time to litigation. He has handled cases involving civil law, criminal law, labor law, commercial and administrative law. His practice areas also include issues involving corporate matters, intellectual property rights, land titles and registration cases, family law and a variety of other related cases. Prior to joining the firm, he had his taste of the corporate world wherein he has served as in-house counsel of several corporations. He is married and blessed with a son.
|
CHRIS PAOLO R. RUANTOSENIOR PARTNERHis practice focuses on corporate law, mergers and acquisition, pharmaceutical law, energy law (renewable energy), labor law and general litigation.
He represents businesses and individuals in corporate negotiations, civil actions, intra-corporate and banking disputes as well as derivative suits. He also has broad experience in handling anti-money laundering cases and other financial crimes. In addition to being a senior partner, he likewise sits as general counsel of several pharmaceutical companies. |
TRANQUILINO M. SARMIENTOJUNIOR PARTNERTranky focuses on corporate, property, family and tax law. He appears in various courts and tribunals and handles different criminal, civil and administrative cases. His productive stay in legal departments of both domestic and foreign corporations has developed his skills in contract review, management of human resources and labor relations and company or business’ local and national governmental compliance.
He is well-versed in matters concerning property and estate planning, including settlement of estate both judicial and extrajudicial, land registration and real property disputes. |
SENIOR ASSOCIATES & ASSOCIATES
RUZ LAWRENCE A. SANTOSSENIOR ASSOCIATE
Areas of practice:
|
MATT JAYSON S. VILLANUEVASENIOR ASSOCIATE
Director - IBP BULACAN Areas of practice:
|
SHARINA AMOR I. TIPAYSENIOR ASSOCIATE
Areas of practice:
|
JASON A. LEONESSENIOR ASSOCIATE
Areas of practice:
|
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King Jr.