Third time’s a charm for UST’s Dean Divina
Atty. Nilo Divina, managing partner at DivinaLaw, once again made it to the elite roster, where he has sat along with colleague Alden Francis Gonzales for three years running
A triumph amid these difficult times recently came for one of the most recognized legal minds in the Philippines.
Atty. Nilo Divina, managing partner at DivinaLaw, first made it to the A-list of the Top 100 lawyers practicing in the country in 2018.
The legal eagle who also keeps a column in Daily Tribune stayed in the elite roster in 2019, with the firm he founded also reaping awards as Top Law Firm from the Asia Business Law
Journal for Banking & Finance, Corporate & Commercial, Labor & Employment, Private Equity & Venture Capital and Restructuring & insolvency.
This year, Divina received the same distinction along with three senior partners of the firm.
“It is a great honor to be included once again in the list of the top 100 lawyers in the country. I thank Asia Business Law for this distinction and, of course, our clients whose loyal patronage and stirring endorsements, form the backbone of the award,” Atty. Divina tells the Daily Tribune.
Divina is the dean of the University of Santo Tomas’ Faculty of Civil Law and is an active member of the Philippine Association of Law Schools. In 2017, he was also hailed as one of the Filipino lawyers that made it to the world’s Top 500.
“He has been helping in reforming the quality and standard of the law schools, and he is a dynamic commercial lawyer,” Robert Brana, CEO at local property company RDB Realty, is quoted in an article on Asia Business Law Journal.
In 2018, the first time he was honored one of the Top 100 Philippine lawyers, Divina in a feature article in this paper took pride in the fact that five out of the top 20 bar topnotchers that year came from UST, and noted the school’s impressive 89.9 percent bar passing rate.
The Asia Business Law
Journal presents its A-List “based on extensive research conducted and nominations received from in-house counsel based in the country and elsewhere, as well as Philippine-focused partners at international law firms based outside the jurisdiction,” it states.
“To understand the clients’ perspectives about what it takes to become an outstanding lawyer in the Philippines, we sought answers from a large number of professionals, mainly experienced in-house counsel and corporate legal managers. From these recommendations it is possible to derive a portrait of the outstanding Filipino lawyers that make up this elite group,” the Asia Business Law Journal further says.
The same report cites Huawei Technologies’ Philippine-based head of legal, Camille Aromas, who says, “Nilo is a top-notch Philippine lawyer who never fails to solve our problems. We highly recommend him.”
Very approachable
Meanwhile, senior partner Alden Francis Gonzales was praised by Levi de Mesa, president of land-based recruitment and ship manning company International Skill Development, for being “very approachable, kind, attentive to our needs and very knowledgeable in the areas of our concern,” he says in the Vantage Asia report.
Proof of DivinaLaw’s commitment to excellence is the addition of two other senior partners to the Top 100 lawyers list.
Estrella Elamparo, senior partner, is described as “a star litigator” by Aromas. “Her out-of-the-box thinking and creative approach are exactly what in-house counsel need to win in this business environment.”
Also joining the top tier of lawyers is Enrique de la Cruz Jr., data protection officer and head of Fintech, Intellectual Property & Arbitration Group at DivinaLaw.
The A-List is based on extensive research conducted by
Asia Business Law Journal along with feedback from “thousands of in-house counsel in the country and around the world — as well as partners at international law firms” asked to identify “which lawyers should make the cut.”
According to the article by Putro Harnowo, “Nominations were made by professionals at a wide range of Filipino and global companies, financial institutions and law firms.”