LAWYERS

Legal career and accomplishments

1. Miriam Palma Defensor Santiago

 She is the first Filipino and the first Asian from a developing
country, to be elected in the United Nations as judge of the
International Criminal Court.
 She was chosen as laureate of the Magsaysay Award for
Government S. She was cited “for bold and moral leadership in
cleaning up a graft-ridden government agency.”
 She was named one of “The 100 Most Powerful Women in the
World” by The Australian magazine.ervice, known as the Asian
equivalent of the Nobel Prize
 She served as legal officer of the United Nations in Geneva,
Switzerland. She also served as a consultant of the Philippine
embassy in Washington, D.C.
 Dr. Santiago was a U.P. law professor for some 10 years,
teaching evening class after office hours.
 She has written some 30 books, many of which are very scholarly
textbooks in law and the social sciences, well advanced of our
time.
 In the Philippine Senate where Dr. Santiago is on her third term,
she has filed the highest number of bills, and authored some of
the most important laws.
 She has been fearless in exposing and naming notorious criminal
suspects in legislative investigations, particularly in naming
jueteng lords and illegal logging lords.
 In all three branches of government, she has been showered with
awards for being outstanding, making her the most awarded
public official in our country today.
2. Justice Antonio T. Carpio
 Justice Carpio is the Chair of the Second Division and Chair of the
Senate Electoral Tribunal.
 He was a Professorial Lecturer of the U.P. College of Law
 He was appointed Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, with cabinet
rank, by then President Fidel V. Ramos. As such, he worked for
major reforms in the telecommunications, shipping, civil aviation,
and insurance industries.
 In 2001, at the age of 52, he was one of the youngest appointees
as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
 He launched for the judiciary the Supreme Court e-library, the first
full-text searchable and retrievable on-line law library in the
Philippines and among the first in Asia.
  He was elected President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines,
Pasay-Makati Chapter (1985-1986).
 For his “distinguished and exemplary service” to the Republic,
Justice Carpio was awarded in 1998 the Presidential Medal of
Merit by then President Fidel V. Ramos.
 In May 2017, Justice Carpio published the book titled “The South
China Sea Dispute: Philippine Sovereign Rights and Jurisdiction in
the West Philippine Sea.”
 In 2015, the Department of Foreign Affairs sponsored Justice
Carpio on a world lecture tour on the West Philippine Sea dispute.
Justice Carpio presented the Philippines’ perspective on the
dispute before think tanks and universities in 30 cities covering 17
countries.
3. Conchita Carpio Morales
 Appointed as Ombudsman of the Republic of the Philippines in late
July 2011
 In 1986, President Corazon Aquino appointed her as RTC Judge
in Pasay City.
 In 1994, President Fidel V. Ramos appointed her to the Court of
Appeals where she eventually headed its 7th Division
 In 1994, President Fidel V. Ramos appointed her to the Court of
Appeals where she eventually headed its 7th Division
 Chosen as the Philippines’ 2016 Ramon Awardee for restoring
faith in the rule of law.
 On 6 January 2017, the Local Government Unit of Quezon City
conferred on Ombudsman Carpio Morales the Tandang Sora
Award in recognition of her ideals and virtues that mirror that of
Filipino heroine Melchora Aquino who took the monicker Tandang
Sora.
 She was cited for possessing the virtues of honesty, industry,
service, word of honor, kindness, caring, and protectiveness. The
award also recognized the Ombudsman’s dedication and
untarnished record as a public servant.
 Ombudsman Carpio Morales holds the distinction of being the first
woman magistrate to administer the oath of office of a Philippine
President.
 On 10 February 2015, the Philippine Constitution Association
honored her with “The Fearless and Peerless Crusader Award
(Against Graft and Corruption in Public Service).”
4. Abraham Lincoln
 Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States
  A great American lawyer who was infamous for winning a murder
case as a criminal defense attorney by using an almanac to argue
his client’s innocence.
 Lincoln's law practices handled more than 5,000 cases, both
criminal and civil.
 He took on a wide range of cases, including property disputes,
assault, and murder, and he frequently served as a railroad
attorney. Debt collection and breaches of contract were common
issues presented in courts during his time as a lawyer, and as a
result, these types of lawsuits represented many of his cases.
 One of Lincoln's greatest strengths as a lawyer was to take
complex cases, parse out the key points, and simplify it in court.
 According to historical records, Lincoln represented approximately
175 cases before the Illinois Supreme Court.
 It is believed that Lincoln may have also given law lectures in the
1850s. While evidence that a lecture actually took place is scarce,
his July 1, 1850, "Notes for a Law Lecture" have been found and
preserved.
5. Barack Obama
 The 44th president of the United States, and the first African
American to serve in the office.
 After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil
rights lawyer with the firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland.
 He also taught constitutional law part-time at the University of
Chicago Law School between 1992 and 2004—first as a lecturer
and then as a professor—and helped organize voter registration
drives during Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign.
 Between Inauguration Day and April 29, 2009, the Obama
administration took action on many fronts. For his efforts during
his debut in office, the Nobel Committee in Norway awarded
Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.
 Obama undertook a complete overhaul of America's foreign
policy. He reached out to improve relations with Europe, China
and Russia and to open dialogue with Iran, Venezuela and Cuba.
 In his first 100 days in office, Obama coaxed Congress to expand
health care insurance for children and provide legal protection for
women seeking equal pay.