Atty. Michael M. Bandal

His practice experience includes civil, criminal, labor and administrative litigation before trial courts, appellate courts and quasi-judicial bodies. He has worked as a litigation lawyer and partner in private practice, with responsibilities that include client portfolios and litigation strategy. These areas place different procedural and evidentiary questions before a lawyer; each matter requires attention to its particular record, applicable law and available remedies.

His corporate and business work includes drafting contracts, compliance matters and negotiation. This work sits alongside his litigation experience: a legal document must be understood through both its written terms and the obligations it creates. Questions about an agreement call for examination of the parties’ intended arrangements, the relevant documents and the law governing their rights and responsibilities.

As a former Dumaguete City Councilor, he authored and co-authored ordinances and resolutions concerning governance, public order, education and youth development. His committee responsibilities included rules, personnel, tourism, public ethics, youth and sports, and the People’s Law Enforcement Board. This legislative experience provides context for reading local measures as part of a wider legal framework, including the limits of public authority and the responsibilities of local institutions.

His teaching experience includes law instruction, mentoring students in legal research, writing and advocacy, and guiding bar examination preparation. These responsibilities involve breaking down legal questions, identifying the authorities that bear on them and explaining the reasoning behind a position. They complement work that depends on careful reading and clear written and oral communication.

He holds a law degree and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Management. He also served as Executive Director of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry, directing programs concerned with trade, investment and enterprise growth. Together, these experiences provide a business and institutional context for considering how legal questions arise in organizational decisions.