Japanese law firm Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (MHM Group) has secured an alliance with Philippine counterpart Tayag Ngochua & Chu (TNC) to enter the local market.
The alliance, which is scheduled to start in February this year, enables TNC to become a member firm of the MHM Group to jointly provide Asean local legal advice to both firms’ global clients, including in areas such as domestic M&A and post-entry compliance matters in the Philippines.
TNC currently has six lawyers, including those who have worked at the Tokyo office of the MHM Group, and will retain its independent status with no attorneys from Mori Hamada to be sent to the firm under the alliance, says Mikio Sonoda, a partner in Mori Hamada’s Philippines practice.
Sonoda says he will lead the alliance with partner Atsushi Inoue, who has extensive experience in corporate, M&A and compliance matters in the Philippines and other Asean countries.
Founded in 2022 and managed by Carlos Martin Tayag, TNC provides corporate and commercial legal advisory services including M&A, corporate restructuring, foreign investments and antitrust matters. Before co-founding the firm with senior partner Patricia Ngochua, Tayag had practised at Romulo Law Firm in the Philippines for more than 17 years. Allan Christopher Sy Chu, who is the other senior partner of the firm and previously the general counsel of Philippine financing company Paloo Financing, joined TNC in February last year.
Tayag, managing partner at TNC, said: “Among the key reasons why we believe the strategic relationship will be successful is that TNC and other offices that are part of the MHM Group are involved in discussions regarding the MHM Group’s general Asean strategy. We are constantly on the lookout for opportunities in the Philippines where the enhanced capabilities of the MHM Group may be beneficial to our clients.”
Mori Hamada has expanded its global presence in the past year, having launched its first overseas office outside Asia in New York and set up a Jakarta outfit via a business alliance with Indonesian law firm ATD Law.
