'Top-of-the-line' Firm

The Vilaraza Cruz Marcelo and Angangco Law Firm or CVC Law quietly inaugurated its new top-of-the-line building located at the Global City in Fort Bonifacio a couple of months ago with employees and partners. On Thursday, March 10, “The Firm” is inviting friends and clients to the formal opening of its new headquarters. Called the CVCLaw Center, the building has 17 floors with a private helipad –five below ground for basement parking and 12 above ground to house various offices and facilities with cleverly catchy and playful names that are amusing but nevertheless stark reminders about the legal profession.

For instance, the cocktail reception for the formal launching will be held at the “Rainmakers Lounge” located at the Penthouse. A rainmaker of course refers to a lawyer who brings in a lot of business to the firm – no doubt inspired by John Grisham’s novel, “The Rainmaker,” which was turned into a Francis Ford Coppola movie (starring Matt Damon) sometime in 1997 about a young law grad who goes against a big insurance company and succeeds despite great odds.

Then there’s “Disbar,” a small adjacent bar that serves coffee and drinks – with many wondering if the coffee shop’s name does not serve as an uncomfortable reminder to a sad fate that could befall lawyers. Both Disbar and Rainmakers’ function areas are in granite and onyx.

A huge, 24-seat boardroom goes by the name “En Banc” – perhaps referring to the Supreme Court where The Firm’s founding partner Antonio Carpio now sits as Associate Justice. And as if to reinforce the idea of sound mind and sound body, the building has its own spa and gym dubbed as “Firmness First,” with techno-gym equipment designed by Ferrari engineers. What’s really impressive is the fact that the cuisine for all 80 lawyers and 150 support staff are by well known caterer and of Cibo Resto fame Gaita Fores.

The new building is certainly a far cry from the Firm’s old HQ at the LTA Bldg. on Perea Street, Legaspi Village. The lobby with its onyx wall is imposing despite its minimalist design. Everything about the building connotes top-of-the-line: Murano glass chandeliers; high-end quality furniture by Walter Knoll and Herman Miller from Germany; restroom fixtures are from Toto (Japan’s number one bathroom luxury brand) and Hansgrohe (the “green” company that makes water and energy-saving products). The high-tech, high security building is fully automated, with railed electronic push button compactors for easy storage and retrieval of documents, especially convenient for its library where voluminous books are stored in shelves that open up with the touch of a finger.

A spokesperson for CVC Law told us that the standard fees for clients has not increased, assuring that they will not be charging higher rates anytime soon just because they have moved to a swanky, top-of-the-line new building.

Tonyboy’s new five-star hotel

Speaking of inaugurations, businessman Tonyboy Co-   juangco’s new Subic Bay hotel and resort at Nabasan Wharf will no doubt become one of the top destinations within the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) free port. With 60-plus rooms, five star facilities and services, the new hotel will soon be launched in time for the Holy Week – when tourists and travelers will be racing to get out of Metro Manila.

Tonyboy’s partnership with Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd. and other businessmen to form budget airline AirAsia Philippines will definitely come in handy since it could make air travel affordable to a lot of Filipinos not only for local destinations but within the region as well. AirAsia Philippines will be partnering with Clark to make it the airline’s regional hub. The airline business is something Tonyboy (who sits as AirAsia’s chairman) has always wanted to be in. The Imelda Cojuangco family briefly controlled Philippine Airlines before “El Kapitan” Lucio Tan took majority control.

Spy tidbit

– Sports fans are wondering whether the heated exchange of blows between boxing champ Nonito Donaire Jr. and sportscaster Chino Trinidad would escalate from the verbal to the physical. It all started with media reports detailing the feud within the Donaire family over money matters, with Nonito Jr. accusing his father Nonito Sr. of squandering money reportedly on other women. Then it became even more heat-ed when the boxer’s wife Rachel released a VTR segment in Donaire’s official website naming Chino and his father Recah plus several other media men as the culprits who spread the “tsismis” about the Donaires and made things worse between Junior and Senior. This was followed by a menacing Facebook post from the champ telling Trinidad et. al. to “shut up” or else they will “feel what Montiel felt” – referring to the Mexican fighter who suffered a second round knockout during their championship bout last February.  Trinidad immediately issued a verbal counterpunch in the vernacular – calling Donaire an asthmatic and cry baby, saying he is not afraid of the fighter and that he will be waiting.

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