Ben Dominic R. Yap
Philippines
Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio
30/F 88 Corporate Center
Salcedo Village
Makati City 1227, Philippines
Tel: (632) 8894-0377
Email:
bdryap@cagatlaw.com
Web:
www.cagatlaw.com
Ben is a founding partner and the Managing Partner of C&G Law. He also co-heads the firm’s Disputes Practice Group and its Energy, Construction & Infrastructure Sectors Group.
Ben specializes in litigation and arbitration. He has been consistently regarded as a leading Philippine lawyer in these fields by respected international publications such as Asialaw, Benchmark Litigation, Chambers Asia-Pacific, and Legal 500.
He is also one of only a handful of Philippine lawyers who is part of the list/panel of accredited arbitrators of both the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), which are two of the world’s most preferred arbitral institutions.
Ben also has significant experience in corporate and commercial transaction work involving construction, energy, and infrastructure matters. Chambers Asia-Pacific also regarded him as a leading Philippine lawyer in corporate and commercial matters for several years.
Ben’s expertise in litigation and arbitration as well as corporate and commercial matters has made him a go-to lawyer of the Philippines’ leading energy companies both in the disputes and transactions aspects of their construction, energy, and infrastructure projects. His expertise in these fields also led Asia Business Law Journal to recognize him as one of the Philippines’ Top 100 Lawyers from 2018 to 2023. More recently, he was one of ten recipients of Asian Legal Business’ Philippines Client Choice Lawyers award for 2022.
Ben’s impressed clients have described him as “very bright”, a “standout”, and as “a talented strategist and tenacious advocate.” Others have also described him as “extremely switched on and a very strong technical lawyer.”
Prior to founding C&G Law in February 2007, Ben was an associate (from 1998 to 2003) and a senior associate (from 2003 until 2007) at SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan.
The firm and its lawyers have substantial experience in international and domestic arbitrations dealing with commercial and construction disputes, including ad hoc arbitrations and those conducted under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the UNCITRAL, and the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC).
Recent work:
- Acting as counsel for a client in a multi-billion peso ICC arbitration involving a major mining project in the Philippines.
- Acting as counsel for a client in a SIAC arbitration in Singapore against a Philippine counterparty involving disputes arising out of their commercial agreements.
- Acting as counsel for a leading Philippine geothermal power generation company in a multi-million dollar ICC arbitration in Singapore against its turnkey contractor.
- Acting as counsel for a leading Philippine geothermal power generation company in a multi-million dollar ICC arbitration (including emergency arbitrator proceedings) in Singapore against one of its contractors, as well as in related CIAC arbitration and court proceedings in the Philippines against that same contractor.
- Acting as counsel for two Philippine solar industry companies in a multi-million dollar ICC arbitration in Hong Kong against their American counterparty, as well as in enforcement proceedings in the Philippines against that same counterparty following the conclusion of the arbitration.
- Acting as counsel for two Philippine solar industry companies in a multi-million dollar ICC arbitration in Hong Kong against their Korean counterparty.
- Acting as counsel for a leading Philippine power generation company in a multi-million dollar ICC arbitration in Hong Kong against two major multinational oil companies.
- Acting as counsel for a leading Philippine hydro-energy company in a multi-million dollar ICC arbitration in Singapore and in related court proceedings in the Philippines against its turnkey contractor.
- Acting for various clients in proceedings before the CIAC.
- C&G Law partner Ben Dominic Yap also acted as an ICC-appointed neutral Expert (on Philippine law) in an ICC arbitration in Manila involving an American company and a Philippine company.
Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio (C&G Law) is a full-service law firm of over 40 lawyers in the Philippines specializing in corporate and commercial transactions, litigation and arbitration, taxation, as well as labor and employment. C&G Law was established in February 2007 by Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, Jaime Renato B. Gatmaytan, Ben Dominic R. Yap, Norma Margarita B. Patacsil, Anthony Mark A. Gutierrez, and Jesus Paolo U. Protacio, each of whom brought with him significant experience and expertise in a broad range of practice areas and in diverse fields of law. Cesar E. Santamaria, Jr., Mary Thel T. Mundin, Jess Raymund M. Lopez, Albert Vincent Y. Yu Chang, Kristine Ninotschka L. Evangelista and Vladi Miguel S. Lazaro have since become partners of the firm.
C&G Law was formerly known as Caguioa & Gatmaytan. The change of name was brought about by Mr. Caguioa’s withdrawal from the firm in January 2013 following his appointment as Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and subsequently as Secretary of the Department of Justice by Philippine President Benigno C. Aquino III. In January 2016, Mr. Caguioa was appointed as an Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court.
C&G Law is a member firm of the Rajah & Tann Asia, Southeast Asia’s largest legal network.
“Ben Dominic Yap is active on international arbitration and Philippine litigation mandates, including for energy clients.”