Senior Partners

Claro V. Parlade

Claro V. Parlade was admitted to the Philippine bar in 1990 and is regarded as one of the Philippines' leading lawyers in franchising and technology law. He has achieved domestic and international recognition for legal and policy work, particularly relating to e-commerce, e-governance, data privacy, cybercrime and online dispute resolution.

He was awarded a Hubert Humphrey Fellowship (on Information Technology Law and Policy) by the United States Government, and was hosted by the American University, Washington D.C. He was also a recipient of an Endeavour Executive Award (on data privacy regulation) from the Australian government.

He was the Chairman of Legal and Regulatory Committee of the Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (ITECC), a policy-making body under the Office of the President of the Philippines. In that capacity, he represented the private sector in policy advocacy, policy analysis, legislation on a variety of ICT-related issues, including internet governance and domain name issues, electronic commerce, cybercrime and telecommunications reform. He is frequently invited as resource speaker in domestic and international events, including conferences organized by prestigious organizations such as the WTO, UNECE, UNESCAP, ADB, the Business Software Alliance, ASEAN, Japan International Cooperation Agency, APEC IP Experts Group, and the European Commission.

He was the Chairman of the National Committee on Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and Alternative Dispute Resolution from 2006 to 2007. He was an officer and a trustee of the Information Technology Association of the Philippines from 2003 to 2006. He was also a member of the National Telecommunications Commission Advisory Council (on domain name administration and internet-related concerns) from 2003 to 2005.

He is Chairman, Commission on E-Business and Telecommunications of the International Chamber of Commerce (Philippines). He is Vice-President of the Philippine Computer Emergency Response Team. He was the former Chairman, Committee on Legal Affairs of the Philippine Franchise Association and is now its Corporate Secretary. He is a Member of the Board of Trustees of various organizations including the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, and the Philippine Internet Commerce Society. He is also a member of the Electronic Commerce Working Group of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

He is the author of a book on Foreign Investment in the Philippines (published and distributed worldwide by Sweet & Maxwell Asia).