Alex Acain

Alexander Llanes Acain Jr. is a co-founding and managing partner of Guzman Acain LLP, with more than 26 years of practice spanning corporate and transactional law, aviation, telecommunications and ICT regulation, intellectual property, immigration, criminal law, cybercrime, tax, and private wealth. He advises an international client base across more than 20 countries.

Aviation Law

Alex served as General Counsel of Kuwait National Airways (Wataniya Airways), where he handled the legal aspects of some of the airline’s most consequential transactions — including an A320Neo Purchase Agreement with Airbus signed at the Farnborough International Airshow, an E195-E2 Purchase Agreement with Embraer, and long-term aircraft operating leases with AerCap and ICBC involving the E195-E2 fleet. He has issued Philippine law legal opinions accepted by foreign regulatory authorities, lessors, and financial institutions across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

In 2018, Alex participated in the invitation-only Air & Space Law Masterclass at Leiden University’s Institute of Air and Space Law in the Netherlands — one of the world’s most prestigious gatherings of aviation law practitioners and academics.

Telecommunications & ICT

Alex advises foreign technology companies, telecommunications firms, and BPO operators on Philippine regulatory compliance before the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), including Value-Added Service (VAS) licensing, ICT regulatory frameworks, and due diligence for telecom M&A transactions. He previously advised JonesDay, one of the world’s largest law firms, on Philippine internet and telecommunications matters.

Intellectual Property

Alex manages a multi-regional IP practice covering trademark and patent registration, PCT national phase filings, IPOPHL proceedings, and IP enforcement litigation. The firm has represented clients from the US, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and ASEAN in securing and defending their Philippine IP rights — including a successful defense against Pfizer in a patent infringement case.

Immigration Litigation

Alex is one of the Philippines’ leading practitioners in Bureau of Immigration blacklist removal — including in categories previously considered beyond the reach of legal remedy. In 2025–2026, he successfully obtained the lifting of the Bureau of Immigration blacklist for two foreign nationals who had been blacklisted as registered sex offenders — a category that had been categorically prohibited from blacklist removal under prior DOJ policy. Following the DOJ’s relaxation of its rules in 2024, Alex filed and secured approval of the Petitions from both the Secretary of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration. His clients were among the first in the Philippines to benefit from the policy change.

Criminal Law & Cybercrime

Alex represented the former owner of 8chan — one of the internet’s most controversial platforms — in a high-profile cyberlibel case in the Philippines, a matter covered internationally by The Washington Post. The case involved complex questions of platform liability, Philippine jurisdiction over offshore digital content, and the application of RA 10175.

Media & Public Legal Commentary

Alex appeared on the US television series 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days providing an on-camera K-1 fiancé visa legal consultation — demonstrating the firm’s capability in Philippine-US immigration matters to an international audience. He is an active legal commentator on Philippine constitutional law, Supreme Court proceedings, and geopolitical developments, and publishes regular analysis on X (formerly Twitter).

Public Service

Alex holds the rank of Commander in the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA), a promotion signed by PCG Commandant Admiral Joel Garcia on May 29, 2020. In March 2022, he appeared alongside co-founding partner Val Guzman before the Philippine Senate Committee on Public Order.