Dear clients and friends,

The year 2011 was a good year for BDB Law.  Despite being a newcomer in the industry, we landed in the Top Tier 3 tax advisory firms in the Philippines as rated by the World Tax 2012 of the International Tax Review.  World Tax has rated BDB Law as a firm with no international affiliation but with a strong reputation in the country and is highly recommended.  In terms of growth, our projected increase in clientele base, quality of new cases and over-all revenue efficiency were far exceeded.  Advocacy efforts on tax-related undertakings were fruitful.

The year 2011 also opened new doors of opportunities for BDB Law.  The changes happening around the world in the area of tax practice has become more apparent in 2011 with the European Commission’s sweeping proposal to prohibit auditing firms from providing non-audit consultancy services, such as tax services, to their audit clients. These changes are all in line with the business concept for which BDB Law was created – that is, to offer itself as an alternative tax firm to the Big 4 who may be faced with independence or conflict of interest issues in so far as providing tax and consulting services are concerned.

In 2011, there was also a notable change in the behaviour of clients in the selection of tax providers.  We noted a shift in preference from big full-service law firms to specialized boutique firms.  This trend, based on interviews, is driven by client’s requirement for a more personalized service, lesser red tape, efficiency and shorter turn-around time in the delivery of services.  BDB law happens to be in this niche  - a boutique law firm specialized in taxation. 

In the World Tax Service (WTS) Alliance, with which we are affiliated internationally, there has been a significant expansion of the network.  Membership and alliances with firms having a country or regional stronghold has increased remarkably.  The scope of services was likewise expanded to cover 3 areas of practice - Tax, Business Consulting and Legal Services, a big shift from being a core tax-service network.

Likewise, the change in leadership and an invigorated focus on tax evasion by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has created a demand for certain tax services such as assistance for assessment, tax litigation, tax compliance review and tax advisory. The sustained and unrelenting efforts of the BIR in going after RATE cases may lead to a continuous demand for these services.

With all these changes in 2011, the demand for tax services in 2012 is expected to increase. Thus, BDB Law has prepared itself by putting in place a structure- organizational structure, staffing, business processes - that would be able to absorb the increased demand for its services and be able to serve our clients the best we can.


Dick Du-Baladad
Managing Partner and CEO