Maria Rachel V. Riego de Dios is a Special Counsel at Federis & Associates Law Office focusing mostly on tax and corporate matters. The growing interest of many clients to do business in the Philippines because of the improving economic climate in the country has made Rachel’s role very important as more and more clients are starting to venture into business in the Philippines for the first time.

Rachel began her career at SGV & Co., the country’s largest accounting firm, where she worked for almost 9 years. At SGV, she provided corporate consultancy and tax advisory services to leading local and foreign companies. She also worked at Federis & Associates Law Offices for 2 years handling intellectual property cases before establishing her own law firm, where she assisted companies in securing tax rulings from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), handled tax assessments, and provided other tax planning opportunities. She also advised companies with respect to Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) registration, and in obtaining the required government approvals in different types of corporate restructuring arrangements such as increase in capital stock, conversion of debt to equity, dividend declaration, and amendments in the company’s articles of incorporation and by-laws. Rachel is highly experienced when it comes to assisting businesses in registering with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority to avail of various economic incentives.

In addition to her professional experiences, Rachel has been a part-time lecturer in Taxation courses at the Ateneo de Manila University John Gokongwei School of Management (ADMU-JGSOM) (2006-2007). She also served as the University Counsel/Consultant (Corporate Group) at the University of the Philippines (UP) System in 2008.

At Federis, Rachel primarily handles tax and corporate matters and counsels clients on tax issues including those that relate to trademark and technology transfer arrangements, exclusive distributorship agreements and franchising agreements. She assists clients in securing official rulings from the Bureau of Internal Revenue to ensure that tax obligations are consistent with relevant tax treaties. Rachel also advises on issues of formation and registration of corporations, obtaining permits and licenses from appropriate governmental agencies.

Rachel graduated with Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law (1996) and a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from the UP School of Economics (1990) (cum laude). She completed the Leadership and Management Development Program (LMDP) at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Center for Continuing Education.