Pinoy lawyer blazes new trail in Myanmar
Stories about Filipinos making it big abroad are always inspiring. Their feat miles away from our shores proves to all and sundry that Filipinos indeed have what it takes to be successful in whatever they try their hand at.
In Yangon, Myanmar, a Filipino lawyer lends his legal expertise to clients dealing with the Myanmar Investment Commission under the Myanmar Foreign Investment Law and the Myanmar Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.
As a partner at Kelvin Chia Partnership and a principal foreign attorney at Kelvin Chia Yangon, Ltd., Pedro Jose “PJ” Bernardo also advises on commercial and financing structures, private-public partnerships, and limited recourse financing in Myanmar. Bernardo has also helped and assisted local and foreign clients who looked at investing in the country’s real estate, manufacturing, distribution, and energy industries.
“My duties and responsibilities are no different to the duties of any law firm partner, which is to head and supervise deals and other matters. The firm has about 40 lawyers (14 of whom are foreigners), and of that, I head my own team of five foreign attorneys and eight local attorneys, and we handle all kinds of commercial transactions,” explains Bernardo.
Bernardo, who studied in Harvard Law School and Ateneo de Manila University, has been with Kelvin Chia Yangon, Ltd. since January 2013. He was admitted to the partnership a year later.
“In 2011, I left the Philippines for graduate studies in Harvard Law School, and like every wide-eyed lawyer, I had my sights set on landing a job in a ‘hot shot’ New York law firm. The year at Harvard was one of the best of my life. But I had gone there at a time when the US and the world was in the middle of a financial crisis, and legal jobs were few and far between,” he recalls.
He got interviews for an associate position in London and in Kelvin Chia Partnership in Singapore and Myanmar. Bernardo decided to be part of the latter and never looked back.
“Myanmar is a country with great opportunities. While the legal and regulatory system is still developing, there is value in having a ‘first-mover’ advantage in a country of 60 million people,” says Bernardo. “On the surface, the practice of law in Myanmar may seem different compared to the practice of law in the Philippines. However, at its core, Myanmar legal practice is just as dynamic, if not more dynamic than practice in the Philippines. The transactions may not be as ‘complicated’ on the surface, but the challenge is being able to apply best international practice to the Myanmar environment; and the absence of laws and regulations will require you to think out of the box and be creative with your legal structures in a manner that addresses existing laws, but also achieves commercial objectives.”
According to Bernardo, what brings him fulfillment in practicing his profession in this country is doing things for the first time and the opportunity to be a trailblazer in many matters in Myanmar, including establishing the first Special Economic Zone, assisting in the de-regulation of the telecom sector, and assisting in the first initial public offering on the forthcoming Yangon Stock Exchange.
Another source of happiness for Bernardo is seeing his Myanmar colleagues grow and develop, especially in a country where lawyering is not viewed as an ideal profession. “I think my associates will tell me that I am a boss in the same way that I am a law professor. I’m intense, a bit impatient, and I wish you could read my mind. I admit that I’m a bit of a control freak and I am the worst micromanager. But I am very fair and I always give credit where credit is due. I do not know much, so dialogue is important to me. I would like to think that their exposure to us have contributed to their competence as lawyers,” he muses.
As an expat in an emerging market, Bernardo finds himself content with simple joys: sampling the culinary offerings in the newest restaurants, enjoying happy hours at hotels, and doing the groceries. “Overall, living in Yangon is a breath of fresh air. Also, you just can never get used to the marvel of seeing the Shwedagon Pagoda all lit up at the end of a long day.”
Bernardo furthers that Kelvin Chia Yangon, Ltd. has a significant client base in the region and that the company is looking to grow its Philippine accounts. “We are representing marquee Philippine companies, such as Manila Water, Ayala Land Inc., and Asia Brewery, to name a few. The office has always been busy. We eventually began hiring more foreigners and local lawyers, including Filipino lawyers.”
Aside from Bernardo, there are seven more brilliant Filipino lawyers at the Yangon office: Angela Along, Esther Claudine Lim, Gerald Enrico Bautista, Gerardo Alfredo Bisnar, Joan Michelle Legaspi, Lyra Miragrace Flores, and Marlon Wui.
“I do not think it is an accident that a significant number of our hires are from the Philippines. It’s true, of course, that Filipinos, including lawyers, are very hardworking, not finicky, and do good work,” observes Bernardo. “But especially for Filipino lawyers, I have found that they are very adaptable across different legal systems and coupled with our facility in the English language, we are an ideal group to work across cross-legal matters.”