The Partners
FIDES C. CORDERO-TAN
Founding/Name Partner
FIDES C. CORDERO-TAN is a graduate of the University of the Philippines where she obtained her college and law degrees (B.S. Foreign Service, cum laude, in 1978; and Bachelor of Laws, cum laude, in 1982). She was a member of the Order of the Purple Feather, the honor society of the U.P. College of Law. She was the Secretary, and thereafter, the President of the U.P. Law Student Government. She was a member of the Philippine team that competed in the Philip C. Jessup Moot Court Competition in Washington DC, USA, and actively engaged in various civic and cause-oriented projects.
Ms. Cordero-Tan started her law practice in 1983 as an associate in the Law Firm of Castillo Laman Tan and Pantaleon. In late 1983, she joined the firm of Puruganan Ongkiko and Chato. She was promoted as a junior partner in 1986 and as a full partner in 1988. She taught Criminal Procedure, Insurance Law and Corporation Law in the U.P. College of Law in 1985 – 1986 and Evidence in 2016.
Ms. Cordero-Tan is a seasoned litigator, with over ten (10) years of litigation and appellate practice involving civil and criminal cases. Thereafter, she focused on commercial law practice, specifically, tax and property transactions.
Ms. Cordero-Tan is past Dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law, past President of the UP Women Lawyers’ Circle (UP WILOCI), and a member of both the Federacion International de Abogadas (FIDA) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).
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*On Leave
FE L. CONCEPCIÒN
Managing Partner
FE L. CONCEPCIÓN is a lawyer and a Certified Public Accountant. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines in 1986 and her Bachelor of Commerce degree, cum laude, from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in 1981.
Ms. Concepción joined the House of Representatives, Congress of the Philippines immediately after being admitted to the bar and served in various capacities from 1987 to 1989. She started her private law practice, first as an associate, and subsequently as junior partner, at the law firm of Ledesma Saludo and Agpalo where she stayed from 1990 to 1993. In 1993, she joined Autocorp Group, an automotive distributor and car assembler, as Assistant Vice President for Corporate and Legal Services.
In June of 1994, Ms. Concepción moved to the Puruganan Chato Tan & Eleazar (PCTE) Law Offices first, as senior associate, and as junior partner starting in October of 1996. In September of 1999, Ms. Concepción left PCTE, together with two (2) other partners and six (6) associates, in order to form the law firm Tan Concepción & Bawagan, now practicing under the name Tan Concepción & Que, where she is currently Managing Partner. Ms. Concepción practices in the fields of general corporate work and special projects, including contract review and documentation and legal counseling in the areas of property acquisition and conveyancing, taxation, estate planning, foreign investment, business organization, and intellectual property rights.
Ms. Concepción is a court-appointed rehabilitation receiver for a semiconductor company.
GRACE ELOISA J. QUE obtained her law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law in 1994, graduating second honors and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at the same university in 1990. She was a member of the Ateneo Law Journal from 1991-1994.
In 1992, she worked as an apprentice at the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and at the Sanchez Law Offices. In 1994, she joined Puruganan Chato Tan & Eleazar Law Office (PCTE) as a junior associate. In PCTE, she handled general corporate law practice, contract review and drafting, information technology work and other special corporate projects.
Ms. Que has since developed an expertise in the field of labor law. She handles a substantial number of cases before the National Labor Relations Commission and the Department of Labor, and, with very rare exceptions, secures favorable awards and decisions. She is also an active advocate for NGO’s which provide her with opportunities for local and international travel, and accompanying exposure to international funding agencies and other entities in developmental activities.
GRACE ELOISA J. QUE
Name Partner
VIVIENNE TIEMPO-MENDEZ
Partner
VIVIENNE TIEMPO-MENDEZ obtained her degrees of Bachelor of Laws in 1997 and Bachelor of Arts, major in Political Science, Cum Laude, in 1993, from the University of the Philippines; and was accepted as a member of the Philippine Bar in 1998. She was a consistent College and University Scholar from 1989 to 1993, and an Inductee at the Pi Gamma Mu Honor Society in 1993. Ms. Tiempo was the Class Secretary and served at the Electoral and Judicial Tribunal of the U.P. College of Law, and at present a member of the UP Women Lawyers’ Circle (UP WILOCI), and of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) – Quezon City Chapter.
In December of 1997, after taking the bar examinations of the same year, Ms. Tiempo joined the Puruganan Chato Tan & Eleazar Law Firm (PCTE) where she handled varied projects and cases in different fields of law and acted as negotiator in dialogues and conferences between individual and/or corporate clients and adverse parties and/or counsel, arriving at successful settlement of disputes prior to or even during litigation. She has also handled patent and trademark registration projects as a Registered Patent Agent/Attorney of the Intellectual Property Office since 2000.
When Ms. Tiempo left PCTE in 2001, she gained four (4) years work experience in the banking industry, covering legal review of bank documents and transactions, representation in cases for or against the bank, legal review and handling of trust and agency arrangements, and relationship management of corporate trust and agency accounts. She served as a Legal Associate in Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO) Legal Department, Assistant Trust Counsel in BDO Trust Department, and Assistant Vice President (AVP) Corporate Trust and AVP Corporate Trust and Loan Agency in The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). Before Ms. Tiempo-Mendez joined BDO Trust Department in 2006, she had a brief stint as a Legal Associate at the Kintanar Jamon Paruñgo and Ladia Law Firm where she handled different projects and cases in both litigation and corporate law. In 2007, Ms. Tiempo-Mendez graduated among the top of her class from the One-Year Trust Course of the Trust Institute Foundation of the Philippines (TIFP).
At Tan Concepción & Que, Ms. Tiempo-Mendez supervises the litigation team and handles general corporate work and special projects. In May, 2015, she received a Plaque of Recognition from UP WILOCI for her handling, as a legal aid volunteer, of cases involving marginalized women and children.
MARLEEN JOYCE P. ABESAMES-GUTIERREZ is a lawyer with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines College of Law (2004) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Ateneo de Manila University (2000). She is a member of the UP Women Lawyers' Circle (UP WILOCI) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).
Ms. Abesames-Gutierrez began her legal career at Divino and Gavino Law Offices in 2005, where she managed accounts for a special purpose vehicle and supported corporate secretaryship functions for various companies. She gained experience in contract review, corporate housekeeping, and the setup and reorganization of corporations. In addition to her corporate work, she handled civil and criminal litigation, corporate rehabilitation, labor, insurance, intellectual property, immigration, and family law. Over the years, she has represented a diverse range of clients, from individuals to corporations in industries such as energy, banking, construction, telecommunications, manufacturing, and real estate.
Currently, at Tan Concepción & Que, Ms. Abesames-Gutierrez co-leads the litigation team while continuing to handle corporate matters and special projects. Her dedication to legal aid has been recognized by UP WILOCI for volunteer work in cases involving marginalized women and children.