From defending powerful tycoons in high-profile corporate battles to serving as the government's chief legal strategist, Estelito Mendoza's career was a tapestry of legal victories and controversies.
Mendoza, “Titong” to those who knew him, was a prominent corporate lawyer, a man who secured legal victories in those high-profile intra-corporate disputes that make headlines.
During and after the administration of former President Corazon Aquino, Mendoza served as counsel for prominent business figures, including Lucio Tan, Roberto V. Ongpin, and San Miguel Corporation (SMC) boss Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.
“President Aquino, in creating a PCGG [Presidential Commission on Good Government], provided ready clients for me. All those being sued by the government became my clients, like Lucio Tan and Danding Cojuangco, who even up to now are my clients in their businesses," Mendoza once said.
Among his notable wins was Cojuangco’s successful bid to regain control of SMC, where Mendoza faced off against Andres Soriano III and the PCGG, which held sequestered SMC shares.
Following Cojuangco’s return as SMC Chairman, Mendoza joined the conglomerate’s board of directors and served on its executive committee until his death.
Mendoza also represented Tan in the battle for control of Philippine Airlines against other consortium members who had acquired the flag carrier from the government.
He further represented Tan's business empire in various high-profile tax and labor cases and held board seats at Philippine Airlines and Philippine National Bank (PNB).
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PNB acknowledged Mendoza's directorship since Jan. 1, 2009, and expressed "its deepest gratitude and appreciation for his valuable contributions."
Mendoza considered his involvement in the merger negotiations between Tan’s Fortune Tobacco Corporation and Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing, Inc. among his most significant corporate cases.
More recently, he defended Ongpin against insider trading charges involving PhilWeb Corporation, which Ongpin later sold to Gregorio Araneta III.