Our Partners

Ben Dominic R. Yap
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(632) 8248-5250;

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.”  Ben has also been praised for “tak[ing] a detailed approach to solving the legal challenges presented” and for being “able to hone into the main issues quickly, read between the lines and come up with clear plans of defence and attack as necessary.”

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.

Qualifications

  • Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, Juris Doctor (Class of 1997, class salutatorian, second honors, and recipient of Evelio Javier Leadership Award)
  • Ateneo de Manila University, Bachelor of Science in Management, Major in Legal Management (Class of 1993)
  • Admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1998

Experience

Disputes (Litigation and Arbitration) Experience

Ben’s litigation and arbitration experience includes representing clients before Philippine courts and quasi-judicial bodies of all levels, and before international and domestic arbitral tribunals.  The matters that Ben has handled include those involving commercial and contract disputes, construction disputes, corporate restructuring and rehabilitation, debt recovery, enforcement of foreign judgements and arbitral awards, infrastructure and engineering disputes, intra-corporate controversies, insurance disputes, product liability, and tort.

His disputes experience has included:

  • Heading the firm’s team that acted as counsel for a leading Philippine conglomerate in a multi-million-dollar arbitration before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) against its Thai counterparty.  The arbitration involved a contract that was governed by Thai law and was seated in Singapore.
  • Heading the firm’s team that acted as counsel for a leading Philippine importer and wholesale distributor of liquified petroleum gas (“LPG”) in a multi-million-dollar arbitration before the SIAC against a former LPG supplier.  The dispute was eventually settled to the satisfaction of the client.  The arbitration involved a contract that was governed by English law and was seated in Singapore.
  • Heading the firm’s team that acted as counsel for one of the world’s largest multinational cements and building materials companies in a multi-billion peso arbitration (including emergency arbitration proceedings that was resolved in favor of the client) before the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. against its counter-party in a port services agreement.  The arbitration involved a contract that was governed by Philippine law and was seated in Manila.
  • Heading the firm’s team that acted as counsel for one of the world’s largest multinational chocolate and confectionary company in a multi-million-dollar arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”) and related court proceedings in the Philippines against a former distributor of the company’s products in the Philippines.  The dispute was eventually settled to the satisfaction of the client.  The arbitration involved a contract that was governed by Philippine law and was seated in Hong Kong.
  • Heading the firm’s team that acted as counsel for a leading Philippine geothermal power generation company in a multi-million-dollar ICC arbitration involving disputes with its turnkey contractor.  The dispute was eventually settled to the satisfaction of the client.  The arbitration involved a contract that was governed by Philippine law and was seated in Singapore.
  • Acting as an ICC-appointed neutral expert (on Philippine law) in an ICC arbitration involving an American company and a Philippine company.  The arbitration involved a contract that was governed by Philippine law and was seated in Manila.
  • Heading the firm’s team that acted as counsel for two Philippine solar industry companies in the successful prosecution of a multi-million-dollar ICC arbitration against their American counterparty.  The arbitration involved a contract that was governed by Philippine law and was seated in Hong Kong.
  • Heading the firm’s team that acted as counsel for two Philippine solar industry companies in the successful prosecution of a multi-million-dollar ICC arbitration against their Korean counterparty.  The arbitration involved a contract that was governed by Philippine law and was seated in Hong Kong.
  • Heading the firm’s team that acted as counsel for a leading Philippine geothermal power generation company in a multi-million-dollar ICC arbitration (including emergency arbitrator proceedings) seated in Singapore and a multimillion-dollar arbitration before the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission in the Philippines, as well as related court proceedings in the Philippines, Singapore, and the United Kingdom against one of its contractors.  The dispute was eventually settled to the satisfaction of the client.  The arbitrations involved a contract that was governed by Philippine law.
  • Heading the firm’s team that acted as counsel for a leading Philippine power generation company in a multi-million-dollar ICC arbitration against two major multinational oil companies.  The disputes were eventually settled to the satisfaction of the client.  The arbitration involved a contract that was governed by Philippine law and was seated in Hong Kong.
  • Assisting a leading Philippine hydro-energy company in an ICC arbitration and several court proceedings against its turnkey contractor.  The disputes were eventually settled to the satisfaction of the client.  The arbitration involved a contract that was governed by Philippine law and was seated in Singapore.
  • Acting as secretary to an arbitral tribunal chaired by former Philippine Supreme Court Justice and World Trade Organization appellate body Chairman Florentino P. Feliciano.  The arbitration involved a contract that was governed by Philippine law and was seated in Manila.

Construction, Energy, and Infrastructure Experience

Ben’s corporate and commercial transaction experience includes advising or assisting clients on construction, energy, and infrastructure matters.

His construction, energy, and infrastructure experience has included:

  • Advising a leading Philippine energy group on various aspects of a major LNG infrastructure development project with onshore and offshore components.
  • Assisting a leading Philippine cement producer with its engineering, procurement, and construction contracts for a cement mill in Iligan City, Philippines.
  • Advising a consortium composed of two leading Philippine conglomerates on its bid for the financing, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the CALA Expressway Project.
  • Advising a consortium composed of two leading Philippine conglomerates and a multinational airport operator on its bid for the Mactan Cebu International Airport Project.
  • Advising a leading Philippine energy group on the financing, construction, and regulatory approvals of a 300-MW coal-fired plant in Davao, Philippines.
  • Assisting a leading Philippine energy group with the fuel supply requirements of a 735-MW coal-fired plant in Pagbilao, Philippines.
  • Advising a leading Philippine energy group on the fuel supply requirements of a 600-MW coal-fired plant in Zambales, Philippines.
  • Assisting a leading Philippine energy group with its construction, relocation, and electro-mechanical contracts in connection with the relocation of a 49.4-MW geothermal plant from one location to another in Negros, Philippines.

Memberships

  • Member, Integrated Bar of the Philippines (1998-present)
  • Member, Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. (2015-present)
  • Member, Philippine Institute of Arbitrators or PIArb (2017-present)
  • List of Arbitrators, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) (2019-present)
  • List of Arbitrators, Philippine International Center for Conflict Resolution (2019-present)
  • Panel of Arbitrators, Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) (2019-present)

Awards and Recognitions

  • Named as one of the Philippines’ Top 100 Lawyers by Asia Business Law Journal (2018-2023).
  • Named as “Disputes Star of the Year for the Philippines” by Asialaw during the Asialaw Dispute Resolution Awards for 2017.
  • Named as a Leading Lawyer/Distinguished Practitioner in Dispute Resolution by Asialaw (2015-2023).
  • One of ten recipients of Asian Legal Business’ Philippines Client Choice Lawyers award for 2022.
  • Named as a Litigation Star in International Arbitration and Commercial and Transactions by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific (2019-2023).
  • Ranked in Dispute Resolution: Arbitration by Chambers Asia-Pacific: Spotlight Table (2021-2023); Band 1 (2018-2019); and Band 2 (2015-2017, and 2020).
  • Ranked in Dispute Resolution by Chambers Asia-Pacific: Band 3 (2019-2023); and Recognized Practitioner (2018).
  • Ranked in Corporate & Commercial by Chambers Asia-Pacific: Band 3 (2012-2014); and Recognized Practitioner (2018-2019).
  • Named as a Future Leader for Arbitration by Global Arbitration Review and Who’s Who Legal in 2017.
  • Named as a Leading Individual in Dispute Resolution by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2015-2023).

Publications

  • Co-authored the Philippine chapter of Chambers’ Global Practice Guide: International Arbitration 2016 published by Chambers & Partners of the UK in 2015.
  • Co-authored the Philippine chapter of The Dispute Resolution Review, 5thpublished by the Law Business Research Ltd of the UK in 2013.
  • Co-authored several articles on doing business in the Philippines and dispute resolution that were published by the International Financial Law Review in 2011 and 2012.
  • Co-authored several articles on doing business and dispute resolution published by the American Bar Association in 2005, 2006 and 2010.