INTERNATIONAL tax and business lawyer Edzyl Josef Magante took his father’s advice to heart that one will not get very far in life without a strong education.
After earning his Juris Doctor degree with honors from Ateneo de Manila Law School in 2004, Edzyl pursued graduate education at the world’s best law schools, while progressing his Philippine legal career. He first obtained an LLM (Master of Laws) in Corporate and Commercial Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), under a British Chevening Scholarship and, thereafter, an LLM from Harvard Law School with a concentration in international law. Now, he is an international associate at Roy Legal Group Inc. in California, USA.
“Like a typical transatlantic flight, my journey has been quite long and occasionally turbulent, but the destination is worth it,” Edzyl said.
He launched his legal career at the country’s leading litigation firm, Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices, where he worked as a business-litigation attorney.
Edzyl later joined the law faculty at Ateneo and coheaded with his mentor, Dean Sedfrey Candelaria, a nationwide project funded by the British Embassy, entitled “Capacity Building on Public and Private International Law Issues for the Philippine Judiciary.” Their final output was the country’s first Manual of Reference on international law for civil and commercial court judges, where Edzyl wrote a chapter tackling fundamental principles.
Inspired by senior Ateneo faculty members, Edzyl sought graduate studies in the United Kingdom through the Chevening Scholarship program, a scheme administered by British Embassies worldwide that targets current and future leaders, influencers and decision-makers in each participating country. Edzyl won a Chevening award to study at the LSE in 2010, and was then one of only three Filipino awardees across all fields. He received the award while occupying the critical role of Court Attorney VI in the office of former Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, now the country’s Ombudsman.
After earning his LLM at the LSE with merit, Edzyl returned to become an Associate Director at Ernst & Young Philippines. He advised Fortune 500 companies on international tax and business-law issues affecting their multijurisdictional transactions and investments. Ernst & Young recognized Edzyl as an Ernst & Young Visionary for his strong performance and communication skills.
While his Philippine legal career advanced tremendously, Edzyl never stopped thinking of his childhood dream of attending Harvard. He secured a place at Harvard’s LLM program in 2015, and was again one of only three Filipinos admitted.
After Harvard, he landed his current role in California, despite the harsh conditions of the United States legal job market, where law-school closures still abound because of low enrollment rates stemming from high unemployment.
When asked how he did it, Edzyl replied, “I just dared to try and never ruled out any options. Harvard and the LSE taught me that the study and practice of law ought now to be borderless.”
Recently, Edzyl was awarded a Certificate of Congressional Recognition in Los Angeles. Congressman Ted W. Lieu of California’s 33rd District signed the certificate, which stated that it was being awarded in “honor and recognition of your outstanding community service and with sincere appreciation for your remarkable dedication and commitment to the public welfare of the Los Angeles community.”
2 comments
Wow, great job!
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