Gian Lat-Amparo

Manage and oversee all litigation processes, including coordination with external counsel, preparation of pleadings, and representation of the company during hearings and mediation proceedings. Handle intellectual property matters, including trademark registration, opposition, renewal, and filing of Declarations of Actual Use (DAU), as well as enforcement of IP rights to protect the company's brand and assets. Supervise corporate housekeeping activities, ensuring timely compliance with corporate governance, regulatory, and reporting requirements.

Legal Manager and Data Protection Officer at Gardenia Bakeries (Philippines) Inc. (Present)

• Manage and oversee all litigation processes, including coordination with external counsel, preparation of pleadings, and representation of the company during hearings and mediation proceedings.
• Handle intellectual property matters, including trademark registration, opposition, renewal, and filing of Declarations of Actual Use (DAU), as well as enforcement of IP rights to protect the company's brand and assets.
• Supervise corporate housekeeping activities, ensuring timely compliance with corporate governance, regulatory, and reporting requirements.
• Ensure full compliance with data privacy laws and regulations by implementing data protection policies, conducting employee training, and managing privacy impact assessments and breach response procedures.
• Contract management: Draft, review, and negotiate various contracts, agreements, and legal documents to support internal operations and business transactions.
• Provide legal guidance and facilitate dispute resolution during logistics and operational incidents to minimize business disruption and legal exposure.
• Legal Development Reporting: Keep the company and relevant stakeholders updated on new and emerging laws, regulations, judicial decisions, and legal trends that may impact business operations, strategy, and risk exposure in the Territory.
• Risk Assessment: Conduct proactive legal research and analysis to identify potential legal risks across all departments and recommend mitigation strategies.
• General Legal Operations: Manage all other legal matters and special projects as required to ensure the smooth, continuous, and compliant operation of the company.

Senior Associate / Legal Associate / Legal Assistant at Weigand and Partners Law Firm (2019-09 – 2024-03)

• Specialized in Corporate Law, Taxation, Labor Law, Intellectual Property, and Business Law
• Conduct Due Diligence for mergers and acquisitions, preparing comprehensive reports to substantiate findings.
• Manage client registration processes with Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and Board of Investments (BOI) to secure tax incentives.
• Handle tax audit for our clients and perform tax reconciliations, resolving company tax assessments and audit findings.
• Review, draft, and prepare contracts.
• Liaise with government agencies including Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of Trade and Industry, Intellectual Property Office-Philippines, Philippine Economic Zone Authority, and Local Government Units to obtain certifications and licenses.
• Represent clients in Court of Tax Appeals and National Labor Relations Commission Hearings.
• Attend Department of Labor and Employment mediations for clients.
• Conduct corporate secretariat duties such as attending board meetings, drafting meeting minutes, and preparing secretary's certificates.
• Manage corporate housekeeping tasks including amending articles of incorporation and by-laws, incorporating and dissolving corporations, and preparing and filing General Information Sheets.
• Conduct legal research to advise clients, develop legal strategies, provide updates, gather evidence, prepare legal documents, and represent clients in various forums.
• Prepare pleadings, contracts, request letters, memoranda, and other relevant documents, including legal research, document review, and filing pleadings in appropriate courts.

Citigold Acquisition Manager at Citibank N.A Citigold Wealth Management, Retail Branch Banking (2013-12 – 2014-04)

• Acquire new-to-bank Citigold account deposits and clients for Citibank priority banking through personal leads and bank referrals whilst employing effective calling technique and leveraging using bank products and promotion to be able to meet the monthly sales goals.
• Review the client needs and asset allocation, and pro-actively engage with the customer to validate the understanding of the needs. Advise the client to enrich the relationships by mobilizing additional funds and sell other fee based products and services based on the current and future customer needs.
• Ensure coverage of all relationships through customer engagements, risk profiling and financial planning. Actively discuss with the client the investment products and services that the bank offers. Responsible for Compliance, Risks & Controls and ensure that KYC/AML and other compliance norms are strictly adhered to.
• Observe strict compliance with the bank's operational control to ensure the security and safety of the client and the bank as well.

Transaction Processing Specialist at JP Morgan Chase & Co. (2012-06 – 2013-11)

• Effectively Communicates within the team and other teams in solving internal issues and queries to make sure that daily activities were smoothly done whilst adhering to strict deadlines.
• Responsible for collection, verification and processing of daily trade activities, Analyzing cash and asset break or discrepancy reasons and Actively tracks and resolves breaks with the use of Cash and Asset Reconciliation to make sure daily activities are met.

Juris Doctor in Law – Far Eastern University – Institute of Law (2015 – 2019)

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Financial Management – University of Santo Tomas (UST) (2008 – 2012)