Who Is Atty. Lorna Kapunan? Her Famous Cases, Career and Role in the Sara Duterte Impeachment

Why is Lorna Kapunan in the news in 2026?

Kapunan is part of the private prosecution team assisting the House of Representatives in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.

The House announced the first group of private lawyers on June 11, 2026. Contemporary reports said they were serving pro bono and assisting the House prosecutors with legal research, document preparation and witnesses.

On July 7, Kapunan told the impeachment court that the prosecution was reserving its right to seek a subpoena for Duterte’s presence or testimony in connection with the article involving alleged threats. That statement did not mean Duterte had already been compelled to testify. It preserved a legal position for the prosecution to pursue under the court’s rules.

The role has placed Kapunan in a familiar position: practicing law while the entire country is watching. Duterte has denied wrongdoing and has described the proceedings as politically motivated.

How old is Atty. Lorna Kapunan?

Lorna Patajo-Kapunan was born on April 1, 1952. She is 74 years old as of August 8, 2026, according to the professional résumé published by her law firm.

The same résumé identifies her parents as retired Supreme Court Justice Lino M. Patajo and Cristeta Taaca Patajo.

Where did Lorna Kapunan study?

Kapunan studied at the University of the Philippines. She earned an AB Political Science degree in 1973, graduated from the UP College of Law in 1978 and passed the Philippine Bar in 1979.

Her professional record also lists further courses in intellectual property and international humanitarian law in Japan, South Korea, Italy and at Magdalene College in Cambridge.

Who was Lorna Kapunan’s husband?

Kapunan was married to the late Judge Eduardo Roden E. Kapunan, who served as a Regional Trial Court judge in Guagua, Pampanga and Manila. Her law firm says the two were classmates at the UP College of Law.

This also clears up a misconception that sometimes appears online: Lorna Kapunan herself is not a judge. She is a lawyer. Her late husband was the judge.

What are Lorna Kapunan’s most famous cases?

Kapunan’s public profile grew because she repeatedly became counsel in disputes involving people who were already national news. But association with a famous client does not mean she represented that person in every case involving them, and it does not mean that every matter ended with a courtroom victory.

That distinction is especially important in understanding her work for Janet Lim-Napoles.

Janet Lim-Napoles and the Benhur Luy illegal detention case

Kapunan became one of the most recognizable lawyers connected to Janet Lim-Napoles during the height of the pork barrel controversy. Kapunan later said her representation concerned the serious illegal detention case involving whistleblower Benhur Luy and did not extend to the plunder cases arising from the PDAF controversy.

She withdrew as lead counsel in October 2013, citing differences over legal strategy within the defense team. Napoles was convicted by a trial court in 2015, but the Court of Appeals acquitted her of serious illegal detention in 2017 after finding reasonable doubt. Other cases involving Napoles were separate proceedings.

The distinction matters because Kapunan’s name continues to be linked broadly to the Napoles scandal even though the legal engagement for which she is most clearly documented was narrower than public shorthand often suggests.

James Yap and Kris Aquino

Basketball star James Yap was another major public figure represented by Kapunan. She acted as Yap’s lawyer during the highly publicized dispute over visitation involving his son with former wife Kris Aquino.

The matter became national entertainment and news coverage because both parents were major public figures. It demonstrated another dimension of high-profile litigation: a family dispute unfolding simultaneously in court and in public.

Hayden Kho

Doctor and television personality Hayden Kho became the center of a major national controversy after intimate videos involving him and several women were circulated publicly.

Contemporary reporting identified Kapunan as Kho’s lawyer during the 2009 controversy. In media statements, she argued that Kho’s privacy had also been violated while acknowledging that recording the intimate video was wrong. The episode placed questions of consent, privacy, exploitation and public judgment under intense scrutiny.

Rhian Ramos

Actress Rhian Ramos was represented by Kapunan in her dispute with radio personality Mohan Gumatay, popularly known as Mo Twister.

Reports said Ramos, through Kapunan, pursued protection under the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act and sought to stop statements she alleged caused emotional and psychological harm. Ramos later said the matter had been resolved in her favor.

The West Tower oil leak and the first Writ of Kalikasan

One of the most legally significant matters associated with Kapunan had nothing to do with show business.

In 2010, she represented residents of West Tower Condominium and Barangay Bangkal after a petroleum leak linked to a First Philippine Industrial Corporation pipeline in Makati. The residents asked the Supreme Court for environmental protection.

The Supreme Court issued what was reported as the first Writ of Kalikasan under the Court’s then-new environmental rules and temporarily stopped operation of the pipeline. The case places Kapunan’s career within the development of Philippine environmental litigation, not merely celebrity law.

Liz Uy and the Fashion Pulis libel complaint

Celebrity stylist Liz Uy retained Kapunan in a highly publicized dispute involving the Fashion Pulis blog.

In 2015, Uy filed online libel and grave slander complaints against blogger Michael Sy Lim over posts and statements she alleged were false and damaging to her reputation. Kapunan acted as her legal counsel. The complaint brought together reputation, online speech, celebrity culture and cyberlibel, issues that became increasingly important as public disputes moved to digital platforms.

Who are Lorna Kapunan’s famous clients?

Published reports have associated Kapunan with prominent clients including Janet Lim-Napoles, James Yap, Hayden Kho, Rhian Ramos, Coco Martin and Liz Uy, among others.

Reducing her career to a celebrity client list, however, misses the larger record. Her professional background includes litigation, corporate law, intellectual property, family law, commercial transactions, environmental advocacy and rights-related work.

Did Lorna Kapunan run for senator?

Yes. Kapunan ran for the Philippine Senate in the 2016 elections under Aksyon Demokratiko, the political party founded by the late Senator Raul Roco.

During her candidacy, she supported the presidential and vice-presidential tandem of Grace Poe and Francis Escudero. She did not secure a Senate seat. Her candidacy is another reason she occupies an unusual space in public life: courtroom lawyer, political candidate, media commentator and advocate.

What law firm does Lorna Kapunan belong to?

Kapunan is the founder and senior partner of Kapunan & Castillo Law Offices. The firm describes itself as a full-service law practice with work in litigation, regulatory, corporate, commercial and other fields.

Is Lorna Kapunan a human rights lawyer?

Kapunan has long been publicly associated with advocacy involving women’s and children’s rights, domestic violence, human rights, environmental protection and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Calling her only a celebrity lawyer therefore gives an incomplete picture. A more accurate description is veteran litigator and public advocate whose most visible clients happened to place part of her work inside the national media cycle.

Why is Atty. Lorna Kapunan famous?

The simplest answer is that Kapunan repeatedly handled disputes involving people and issues already under intense national scrutiny. Longevity is the other half of the story.

She graduated from UP Law in 1978 and passed the Bar the following year. Nearly five decades later, she is appearing in one of the country’s most closely watched constitutional proceedings.

The controversies changed. The clients changed. The political landscape changed. Kapunan kept appearing where law, power, reputation and public opinion intersect.

The answer to who Atty. Lorna Kapunan is, therefore, is larger than a list of celebrity clients. She is a veteran litigator whose career stretches from corporate and family disputes to environmental litigation, public advocacy and politically sensitive proceedings.