ATTY. MARY GRACE HERMOSA CASANO

Executive Director for Legal Aid – IBP Cebu City Chapter and Cebu City Justice Zone

Atty. Mary Grace Hermosa Casano is a legal professional, educator, researcher, systems developer, and advocate for justice. holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of the Philippines and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Carlos School of Law and Governance.

Before becoming a lawyer, Atty. Grace was a researcher in the University of the Philippines, where she developed a deep understanding of policy development and good governance.   She also held various management and consultancy roles in the private sector which shaped her holistic approach to legal and organizational work.

With her entrepreneurial mindset, management skills, and legal experience, Atty. Grace specializes in economic zone accreditations and operations, immigration, labor relations, collective bargaining negotiations, corporate law, estate management, ISO compliance, and intellectual property rights. Additionally, she is a professor at the University of San Carlos School of Law and Governance, one of the top law schools in the Philippines, where she teaches Legal Research and Writing, Legal Forms, and Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP).

As a dedicated advocate for justice, Atty. Grace leads initiatives for the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City Chapter and the Cebu City Justice Zone (CCJZ), focusing on access to justice for marginalized groups including Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL), Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL), and Indigenous Peoples (IPs). She conceptualized and implements pioneering and award-winning programs and initiatives such as the Humanity Behind Bars: Integrated Jail Decongestion and Management Program, Colors for Second Chance: Holistic Changes for CICL at Operation Second Chance Center, Integrated Developmental Legal Aid for IPs, weekly Access to Justice City-Wide Legal Aid Caravans, the Legally Not Blind program, Clinical Legal Aid Program Academy, and The Good Earth Steward.

Atty. Grace’s leadership in championing access to justice efforts have positioned IBP Cebu City as the Top 2 among 86 chapters of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and garnered multiple awards, including not one but Four Most Outstanding Legal Aid Program nationwide. The 10 e-systems she developed, such as the Online Legal Aid and Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) Data Management System among others, received recognition for Most Outstanding Innovative Practice, along with several other recognitions for excellence in non-legal aid practices. Her extensive civil-military humanitarian work for Operation Tabang Civil-Military Actions earned IBP Cebu City the recognition as one of the Top Civil-Military Humanitarian Operations partners of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Office of the Vice President of the Philippines Service Award. 

Closest to her heart is the Humanity Behind Bars, which provides not only legal assistance but also developmental, medical, educational, training, and psychosocial services, benefiting thousands of PDL, significantly reducing congestion in jails, and improving conditions of PDLs. IBP Cebu City’s Humanity Behind Bars has consistently been recognized for its outstanding contributions to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), the PDL, and both PDL and Jail Officer Paralegal earning the BJMPRO7 Gawad Penolohiya Jail Service Special  Award for 2023 and 2024.

Atty. Grace’s leadership has set a gold standard in access to justice, and she has been honored as the Most Outstanding Legal Aid Lawyer in the Philippines for four consecutive years, from 2019 to 2023.

Currently, she continues to make a profound impact on her community’s legal landscape as a member of the PNP – Cebu City Police Office Advisory Group representing the legal sector, Vice President of the Cebu Lady Lawyers Association, Inc., Technical Working Group (TWG)  member and resource person of the Justice Sector Coordinating Council, and Executive Director for Legal Aid of the Cebu City Justice Zone and IBP Cebu City Chapter.