Biography
Eliseo Zuñiga, Jr. is the head of Quisumbing Torres' Dispute Resolution Practice Group and a member of the Employment & Compensation Practice Group. He is also a member of the Industrial, Manufacturing & Telecommunications and the Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry Groups. He has over 20 years of experience advising clients on general employment issues, employee termination, executive compensation, benefits transfers and terminations, and general litigation. He actively participates as a speaker and presenter in various regional and local seminars and conferences on labor and employment-related issues. He served as a Chairperson of the People Management Association of the Philippines’ Labor Policy Reforms and Industrial Relations Committee and is currently the Co-Chairperson of the European Chamber of Commerce Human Capital Committee. He has been consistently cited as a Leading Individual for Employment by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2019-2024), Band 3 for Labor and Employment by the Chambers Asia Pacific (2018-2024), Litigation Star for Labor and Employment by Benchmark Litigation (2019 to 2023) and Notable Practitioner for Labor and Employment by asialaw Leading Lawyers (2020 to 2023). Eliseo is also recognized as a thought leader in the 2021 Q3 Lexology Legal Influencers for the Future of legal services - Asia-Pacific.
Practice Focus
Eliseo's practice focuses on commercial and employment litigation, corporate compliance, and general dispute resolution. His practice includes procedures, strategies and negotiations for employee termination; illegal dismissal and labor standard cases; retrenchment, redundancy and downsizing of operations; labor relations/trade unions; executive transfers; and employment contracts, employee handbook and other employment-related documents review.
Representative Legal Matters
- Provide advice and hands-on guidance to a Fortune 500 American company in the conduct of an internal investigation in connection with unauthorized activities engaged into by its employees in a plant in Central Luzon. Assist in conducting and completing an administrative investigation against one of its officers involved in the unauthorized receipt of kickbacks / commissions from the company's contractors / suppliers, which has so far led to the dismissal of an erring employee.
- Successfully represent a longstanding diversified health care company in an illegal termination dispute in the Court of Appeals, which reversed the decision of the appellate division of the National Labor Relations Committee that initially ruled in favor of the dismissed employee. The decision of the Court of Appeals has become final and executory, and the client has moved for the restitution of the executed judgment award. Successfully obtained for the same company a favorable resolution from the Supreme Court upholding the dismissal of a union president.
- Represent an American clothing company in numerous employment litigation cases arising from its contracting/outsourcing arrangements in the Philippines. Successfully defend the company in several cases, which would have exposed the company to liabilities.
- Regularly advise and assist an e-commerce printing company in various labor standards, disciplinary and employment termination concerns, including handling of employment litigation cases.
- Represent a global technology company in numerous employment litigation cases arising from its contracting/outsourcing arrangements in the Philippines. Successfully defended the company in these cases, which would have exposed the company to liabilities.
- Advise and assist an American company operating a worldwide online payments system that supports online money transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods in various labor standards, company policy, disciplinary and employment termination concerns.
- Assist the world's largest independent supplier of medical X-ray tubes and image processing solutions in dealing with employees' efforts to unionize in its local site in Laguna. Provide the local management with substantial inputs and workable strategies towards the implementation of policy changes to address employee concerns. Present in a town hall meeting the implications of having a union and to address the employees' queries and concerns. Represent the employer in the pre-election proceedings to ensure adequate protection of its interest. Ultimately, the rank-and-file employees decided during the certification election that they do not want to be represented by a union.
- Assist a Singapore-based oil trading company in a Petition for Interim Measure of Protection under the Special Rules of Court on Alternative Dispute Resolution filed by the Client against its former Philippines-based joint venture partner.
- Assist an American chemical conglomerate in international commercial arbitration involving a non-solicitation clause in a contract with its local client, which is a subsidiary of a large conglomerate in the Philippines.
Professional Honors
Leading Individual for Labor and Employment, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2019 to 2024
Band 3, Leading Lawyer for Employment, Chambers Asia Pacific, 2018 to 2024
Litigation Star for Labor and Employment, Benchmark Litigation, 2019 to 2023
Notable Practitioner for Labor and Employment, asialaw Leading Lawyers, 2020 to 2023
Legal Influencer, Future of legal services - Asia Pacific, Lexology, Q3 2021
Professional Associations and Memberships
Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Philippines
People Management Association of the Philippines - Chairperson - Labor Policy Reforms and Industrial Relations Committee (2017-early 2020)
European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines - Co-chairperson
Integrated Bar of the Philippines - Member
International Bar Association - Member
Admissions
Philippines (2001)
Education
University of the Philippines (LLB) (2000)
University of the Philippines (AB Political Science) (1996)
Languages
English
Filipino