Sylvette Tankiang: ‘All women are created equal, but only the most courageous become lawyers’
"All women are created equal, but only the most courageous become lawyers."
This inspirational quote perfectly describes Sylvette Tankiang who defied the odds and broke barriers to become the first female managing partner of Villaraza Angangco (V&A Law, aka The Firm), a top-tier full-service Philippine law firm with recognized expertise in litigation, taxation, intellectual property, corporate, and commercial law.
If you think all women lawyers, with their horn-rimmed glasses and crisp corporate suits, are intimidating, you just have to meet the elegantly charming Atty. Sylvette Tankiang.
Sylvette describes herself as a lawyer. “I’m thoroughly engaged and attuned to my clients’ problems. I frequently handle complex legal issues and use my analytical and logical skills in crafting solutions with creativity for my clients but always guided by personal integrity. I consider myself a resilient, determined and persevering person, (qualities that) have enhanced my law practice. I’m not boxed in to follow standard solutions because I believe there’s always a better solution than what has been frequently used before.”
Amid a privileged and comfortable life, Sylvette chose to step out of her comfort zone and blaze her own trail.
“I owe this attitude of breaking barriers to my father, Antonio Tankiang, because among his seven children, he chose me, and not the boys, to take up law,” Sylvette says in tracing her lawyering beginnings.
“My father decided that I should be a lawyer because I was always arguing with him; I had a questioning mind.”
She chose corporate law, having graduated from De La Salle University with an economics degree, summa cum laude.
She recalls, “Back then, I was very much aware of poverty and the sufferings of the poor, how it was to live under a dictatorship during the martial law era. The gap between the rich and the poor was so wide, there was hardly any middle class. As an economist, I thought I would go into government work and be part of the think tank to solve the problems.”
She got married at 24 before she took the bar and already had six children (plus one who died a day after birth) by the time she finished her Master of Laws degree at Harvard University. With six children to raise, aged from six months to 10 years old, she refused to leave her law practice and be a stay-home mom.
She asserts, “That was a comfort zone I broke through because even if I wanted to have a career for myself and my husband didn’t want me to, I decided to take my children, leave an abusive marriage, and move back to my parents who gave me a little house on their property so I didn’t have to pay rent.”
Being a single mom entailed a lot of self-sacrifice for Sylvette who worked 10 hours a day and made sure her children went to the best schools.
Juggling the demands of work and family, she was as involved in lawyering as she was in parenting. She shares this parenting tip: “I made it a point to attend PT conferences and, out of six kids, I acted as co-parent officer with five, just to show my kids, ‘Hey, I’m here, I’m involved.’ Show your children you’re involved and very much interested in their lives, their school life in particular.”
She adds, “I always want to keep my work-life balance even while I endeavor to be an excellent lawyer. But when my children need more of me, I will always put being a mother first before the demands of my work. I must say, however, that in my practice of law for decades, I have used time management and delegation of work in order to meet my mother duties and responsibilities.”
The best and most effective way to deal with your clients’ concerns is not to be emotional because it tends to cloud your judgment.
In navigating a gender-biased career path, Sylvette couldn’t be more thankful that she was mentored by Pancho Villaraza, V&A Law chairman/CEO. She shares, “Pancho Villaraza never saw me as a woman; he saw me as just another lawyer. He was the one who advised me to get out of my comfort zones. From him, I learned to blaze a trail, to have courage. With Pancho’s guidance and support, The Firm empowered me as a woman and as a lawyer. It didn’t matter that I was a single mom of a broken marriage. They allowed me to work until I became the first female managing partner at V&A Law.”
In her 45 years of law practice, Sylvette has amassed enough accolades/awards to fill a cabinet, including Dealmaker of the Year and Managing Partner of the Year.
Despite a failed marriage, Sylvette says no to the Divorce Bill. She explains, “I availed myself of annulment, which is a better alternative. I had my marriage annulled so I could use my name.”
Her advice to women with marital problems, like infidelity?
“You have to believe in yourself, be focused,” she stresses. “God will only allow problems if He thinks you can carry them. There’s always a solution.”
Is lawyering a taxing job? She says, beaming, “If you have passion and you enjoy what you’re doing, it’s not a job. For me, it’s like my leisure, I’m having fun.”
Does she get emotional when handling cases? She replies, “I think the best and most effective way to deal with your clients’ concerns is not to be emotional because it tends to cloud your judgment.”
So why is the symbol of justice a blindfolded lady holding scales? Sylvette explains: “She was an ancient goddess and she’s blindfolded because when she metes out justice, she doesn’t look at the person.”
Sylvette hastens to add that the symbol of justice is a lady because women are really the intelligent sex. And certainly, not all women have to become lawyers because they’re already the ones who lay down the law—at home.
Arthur ‘Pancho ’Villaraza: ‘To be a good lawyer, one must be courageous and outrageous’
To be a good lawyer, one must be courageous and even at times, outrageous.” This bold statement comes from Arthur ‘Pancho’ Villaraza, chairman/CEO of V&A Law - The Firm.
“The most important thing we learned from him is to be relentlessly bold, to be courageous,” a sentiment shared by The Firm’s team of dynamic young lawyers.
Staying firmly on top, The Firm has a stable of 72 lawyers, 37 of them female and 35 male, each with his/her own room. “He’s scary but fun,” says a lady lawyer.
This lunchtime, from where we’re seated at the long dining table at The Firm’s cozy Rainmakers Penthouse Lounge, we see a kind, gentle, funny and well-loved boss, swapping jokes and stories with his staff.
Why is it called The Firm?
Pancho explains, “It was (the late Philippine STAR columnist) Louie Beltran who called it The Firm because he said nothing happened in this country during the Ramos administration unless it had the approval of The Firm. So, I had to find a way to meet him. And when I met him, I said, ‘Louie, why do you keep attacking us? You don’t even know me.’ And Louie said, ‘Because I want you to be my lawyer.’”
The Firm was founded in 1980 under the leadership of young lawyers, including now Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio and F. Arthur L. Villaraza, student leaders and top graduates of the University of the Philippines. It now boasts clients who are big names in politics, business and society.
Its elegant and stylishly luxurious building is located at 11th Avenue corner 39th Street, Bonifacio Triangle, Bonifacio Global City.
Yes, The Firm has pro bono (free-of-charge) clients who are really poor, some of whom can only pay in kind, like clients who come from the provinces with their vegetables.
“We even get kisses, they’re so grateful,” says a delighted Pancho. “We devote 15,000 hours a year to pro bono cases assigned by the IBP (Integrated Bar of the Philippines) or the court. But we refuse to represent pedophiles.”
We put Pancho on the stand and ask, “Who make better lawyers—women or men?”
Pancho is quick on the draw: “Women have a better grasp of details, unlike men who tend to skip some. And so, they’re better in servicing and solving problems. They’re also more creative because they know you cannot solve problems unless you’re creative and imaginative.”
Do lawyers sometimes get emotionally involved with their clients?
Pancho tells us, “We intentionally try to avoid getting emotionally involved. We must remain logical. That’s the problem between men and women. Women are always affected by emotions and feelings while men are purely factual, logical and reasonable. Women make decisions emotionally.”
At the recent wedding of his niece, Pancho gave this friendly piece of advice to the men: “If your wife wants to paint your house pink (or fuchsia), just accept it. If you leave in the morning for work, don’t look back.”
Are lawyers liars? Pancho’s firm reply: “Lawyers don’t lie. It’s their clients who do.”
What legacy does Pancho Villaraza want to leave at The Firm? “The continuity of The Firm,” Pancho declares. “To make sure The Firm continues to serve its clients with the same passion, courage and dedication.”
Passionate, courageous, dedicated? Pancho Villaraza of The Firm is guilty on all counts.
