Theresa obtained her law degree from San Beda College of Law and her masters in International Commercial Law at the University of Nottingham, England. Among the areas of interest she focused on were: Security Interests in Intangible Property, International Sale of Goods, International Banking Regulation, International Trade Finance, Maritime Law and International Carriage of Goods. She graduated with honors from Assumption College with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Economics. She previously taught economics at an exclusive women’s university.

Theresa is highly experienced in intellectual property litigation and trademark enforcement consisting of opposition and cancellation actions against third party marks. She counsels on issues pertaining to the protection of intellectual property rights in the Philippines, including the issuance of and response to cease and desist notices. She handles availability search, registration and maintenance, recordal of assignment, mergers and change of corporate name, trademark audit and due diligence. She also handles international filings. She manages a broad trademark portfolio for foreign and local clients covering a wide range of industries and products: pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, banking, finance and insurance industry, courier services, automotive, fertilizer, software, hotel, media and entertainment, aviation, personal and household products, fashion, consumer products, footwear, cosmetics, telecommunications, and real estate, among other things. She is a member of the IPAP, APAA, and INTA.

Recently, Theresa successfully completed the Intellectual Property Rights Training Course for Trademark Experts, a training program organized by the Japan Patent Office, Japan Institute for Promoting Invention and Innovation, and the Overseas Human Resources and Industry Development Association.

Theresa was the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Maritime Law Association of the Philippines (MARLAW) from October 2011 to October 2012 and President from October 2010 to October 2011. She was a member of the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the House Transportation Committee of the Philippine Congress in drafting the Proposed Maritime Code. As resource person, Theresa provided inputs on Ship Mortgage, Maritime Liens, Maritime Arbitration, and International and Domestic Carriage of Goods. She is regularly invited as a speaker on ship arrest, the most recent was at the Lloyd’s Maritime Academy in London. As a maritime litigator, she handles cargo claims, ship arrest, and foreclosure of ship mortgages. She regularly advises foreign clients on a variety of wet and dry maritime matters.

Theresa wrote an article on the “Recognition and Enforcement of a Foreign Arbitral Award in the Philippines” for a Philippine law journal. She also co-authored an article relating to the latest developments in the shipping industry which was published in the 2014 edition of The Shipping Law Review.

As a seasoned commercial litigator, she has contributed to jurisprudence on arbitration, employee termination, intra-corporate dispute, and criminal procedure as several of the cases she handled at the trial court level were upheld by the Philippine Supreme Court.