Founded in 2015, Gulapa Law is a boutique law firm with offices in Manila, Cebu, New York and San Francisco, and has recently opened an office in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. In addition, Gulapa Law is affiliated with prestigious organisations such as One Asia Legal and IR Global.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm was active in general corporate, M&A, projects and infrastructure, such as public-private partnership projects, banking and finance, real estate and construction, technology, media and telecommunications, antitrust and competition, intellectual property, and dispute resolution.
Key clients
Key clients include Altus Capital Corporation, ACP Investments One, Philippine Asset Growth One, Duke Manufacturing Corporation, Kyushu Electric Power and AC Health.
Research period review: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
The banking team was active for a mix of lenders and borrowers on domestic and cross-border financing.
In M&A, the firm was active on strategic deals on the buy side. The deals were in the transport, real estate, energy and healthcare sectors.
In projects, the team always acted for project developers and stakeholders in consumer goods and services, real estate and financial investment sectors.
The firm was also active in restructuring work, mostly corporation subject of capital restructuring.
Deal highlights: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Aboitiz InfraCapital’s acquisition of shares in GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation and its affiliates.
Altus Group’s corporate and debt restructuring.
The North-South Commuter Railway project.
Client feedback: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Banking and finance
“They know and understand the local regulations and requirements and provide a thorough analysis of options and approaches for consideration.”
M&A
“Fast turnaround times. Quality output. Excellent understanding of client requirements.”
“The law firm has wealth of knowledge and experience in the PPP sector and M&As.”
PPP/PFI
“Thorough, responsive, reliable, commercially driven, practical and solution-driven advice.”
“Very responsive to our queries and with competitive rates.”
Project development
“Thorough and detailed.”
Project finance
“Gulapa Law is technically competent and very good at problem-solving. They are a real asset in any project endeavour. Most law firms will tell you what you cannot do without helping you to find a way to get around obstacles. Gulapa Law is easy to work with, always submits work on time, and is truly value-adding.”
Restructuring
“Their familiarity with the Financial Rehabilitation and Insolvency Act and its rules proves to be advantageous as they can skillfully apply them to a pending matter before the Rehabilitation Court. What's noteworthy also is that they can also relate these rules to other laws in different fields and even laws of procedures.”
Melissa Chavez-Dee
“Very prompt and thorough.”
Aris Gulapa
“Aris is the go-to guy for all PPP-related matters. He is passionate about the deal and advocated really well for our position during negotiations. Even with his busy schedule, he would attend meetings in person.”
“Aris is very attentive to his client's requirements and is accommodating of our costs and timelines. He manages our engagements very well and offers keen insights into the legal issues at hand. He is an excellent lawyer, and you will always want him on your side of the fence.”
“Responsive, professional, hard-working, value-adding. When we work on PPP projects, we try to build a project that will address a problem. He helps us get there.”
“Very knowledgeable. He can summarise complex legal matters in an easy-to-understand format. He is thorough in his analysis and identifies optimal solutions.”
Angel Machuca
“Angel is extremely knowledgeable about the PPP sector. During emergencies, I can count on him to take calls even after office hours. He always delivers to deadlines, which I appreciate a lot. Angel understands the client's needs and delivers on that.”