When Vice President Sara Duterte needed a lead lawyer to steer her defense through one of the most closely watched impeachment trials in recent Philippine history, she turned to Atty. Sheila Sison, a litigator whose firm describes her as someone who “roars in the litigation arena” and takes on cases that most lawyers would avoid.
Long before she became a familiar face at Senate hearings, Sheila Sison built a reputation over more than a decade as a formidable trial lawyer at Fortun Narvasa & Salazar, one of the Philippines’ respected litigation firms. Her academic record, capped by graduating as class valedictorian in law school, foreshadowed the meticulous, disciplined approach that would come to define her legal career.
Her leadership of the sixteen-lawyer defense team representing the Vice President has thrust her into the national spotlight, making her one of the most searched legal figures in the country as the impeachment proceedings continue to unfold.
Profile
| Full Name | Sheila C. Sison |
| Born | 1976 |
| Age | 49–50 |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Occupation | Lawyer, litigator; Partner at Fortun Narvasa & Salazar (FNS Law) |
Early Life
Sheila C. Sison was born in 1976. Detailed public information about her childhood, parents, and siblings is limited, as she has generally kept her personal background out of media coverage even as her legal career has drawn increasing public attention.
What is known is that she displayed strong academic promise from an early stage, a trait that would carry through her university years and eventually into a distinguished legal career.
Education
Sison earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts, majoring in Writing, from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).
During her time at UPLB, she was reportedly involved in student leadership, including serving in a sorority leadership role and as an opinion editor for the university’s student publication.
She went on to pursue her law degree at San Sebastian College of Law – Recoletos in Manila, where she studied as a full Academic Scholar of the Recoletos Order.
She was a consistent Dean’s Lister throughout law school and ultimately graduated as Class Valedictorian, an achievement recognised with the Academic Excellence Medal of Honor from the Recoletos Educational Apostolate of the Philippines. She was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2014.
Career
Sheila Sison began her legal career immediately after her admission to the Philippine Bar in 2014, quickly building a focus on criminal and civil litigation. Her communication arts background gave her a strong foundation in analytical writing and courtroom presentation, skills that became central to her approach as a trial lawyer handling increasingly complex cases.
Her career found its clearest expression at Fortun Narvasa & Salazar, where she rose to become a partner. At the firm, she built a reputation for handling high-profile and legally sensitive matters, including numerous cases before the Sandiganbayan, the Philippines’ special anti-graft court that handles cases involving public officials. Litigation before the Sandiganbayan typically demands rigorous preparation and high-stakes courtroom advocacy, and Sison’s sustained work in that arena helped establish her standing among the country’s respected litigators. Beyond criminal litigation, her practice has also spanned civil litigation, family law, appellate practice, labor law, mining law, and corporate law.
Her professional excellence was formally recognised when she was named her firm’s Lawyer of the Year for multiple consecutive years between 2015 and 2018, a rare, sustained honor that reflected consistent performance rather than a single standout year.
Colleagues and observers within the Philippine legal community have described Sison as a “fierce litigator,” a characterisation her firm itself has embraced in describing her professional reputation. Her practice areas, spanning criminal defense, civil disputes, family law matters, appellate work, and specialised sectors such as mining and corporate law, reflect a versatility that is relatively uncommon among litigators who typically specialise more narrowly. This breadth of experience across both private commercial disputes and politically sensitive government cases has allowed her to build a client base ranging from private individuals to public officials facing scrutiny before anti-graft courts.
Sison’s highest-profile assignment to date came when she was named lead counsel on the sixteen-member legal defense team representing Vice President Sara Duterte in her Senate impeachment trial, a case that has drawn intense national and international media attention throughout 2025 and 2026. In that role, she has publicly challenged aspects of the proceedings, at one point describing certain legislative actions in the case as unconstitutional. Her leadership of the defense has significantly elevated her public profile, placing her among the most closely watched legal figures in the Philippines’ current political landscape. Leading such a large defense team on a matter of major constitutional and political consequence represents a considerable escalation in scale from her earlier work, requiring not only legal expertise but also the coordination and strategic oversight of more than a dozen fellow attorneys working under intense public and media scrutiny.
Honours & Recognitions
- Named Fortun Narvasa & Salazar’s Lawyer of the Year for multiple consecutive years (2015–2018)
- Recipient of the Academic Excellence Medal of Honor, Recoletos Educational Apostolate of the Philippines
- Selected as a Poetry Fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University National Writers Workshop
Personal Life
Atty. Sheila Sison maintains a highly private personal life, and very limited information about her family or relationships has been made public.
Her marital status has not been consistently confirmed across public sources, and she has generally chosen to keep such details away from media attention, focusing public conversation instead on her professional work.
Beyond the courtroom, she is known for a literary and creative side; her selection as a Poetry Fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University National Writers Workshop points to a lesser-known dimension of her personality that sits alongside her formidable legal reputation.
Net Worth
Atty. Sheila Sison’s net worth has not been officially disclosed. S
ome entertainment and lifestyle outlets have placed unverified estimates around $500,000, though this figure should be treated with caution given the absence of any confirmed financial disclosure.
Her known income streams are tied to her legal practice, including her partnership at Fortun Narvasa & Salazar and her work on high-profile litigation and appellate cases.
Conclusion
Atty. Sheila Sison’s career reflects a steady climb built on academic distinction, rigorous courtroom experience, and a growing reputation for handling the country’s most sensitive legal battles.
From her valedictorian finish in law school to her current role steering the defense in one of the Philippines’ most significant impeachment trials, her professional trajectory illustrates the kind of disciplined, long-term reputation-building that defines the country’s most respected litigators.
What distinguishes her career is not a single dramatic breakthrough but a pattern of sustained excellence, reflected in her repeated recognition as her firm’s Lawyer of the Year across multiple consecutive years and her consistent presence in some of the most legally and politically sensitive cases to pass through the Sandiganbayan. That steady credibility is likely what made her the natural choice to lead such a high-profile and closely scrutinised defense team, one where a single misstep could carry significant political consequences.
As the impeachment proceedings involving Vice President Sara Duterte continue to unfold, Atty. Sheila Sison’s role is likely to keep her firmly in the national conversation for the foreseeable future. Her handling of the case, regardless of its eventual outcome, will likely be remembered as a defining moment in an already accomplished legal career.