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Leg Prof Villareal PDF
Leg Prof Villareal PDF
By
,
EDGARDO M. VILLAREAL II
BS Psych ology , Far Eaetern U nive rsity
Bache/or ofLaws, Pa ma ntasan ng Lungsod nil' Mayn tla
Lcuu Professor, J ose Rizal Uni versity
Lectu rer, City College of Ma nila
Member, IBP - Manila IV
FIRST EDITION
2002
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Philippine Copyright, 2002
/,.I~~-
j/ noM. VI LLAIl F.AL "
ISBN 978-971-23-3430-6
DEDICATION
No portion of this book may be copied or
reproduced in books , pamphlets, outlines or
notes, whether printed, mimeographed, type - To Papa and Mama, to my Ate who h ad
written, copied in different electronic devices or joined our Creator prior to my being a law-
in any oth er fonn, for distribution or sa le, with - yer, to Kit and Boldt, to my nephew, Dong
out the written permission of th e author except and nieces Bea, Mara, Bianca and Nica and
brief pa ssa ges in books, a rticles, reviews, legal of course, to my very own Lyn and to our
papers, a nd j ud icial or other official proceedings soon to be born child. this book is humbly
with proper citation.
dedicated.
Any copy of thi s book without the corre-
sponding number and the signature of th e
author on this page either proceeds from an
illegitimate sou rce or is in possessionof one who
has no authority to dispos e of th e lame.
Prln'edby
I
I
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cha pter I
INTRODUCTION
1. In troduction to Legal Profession 1
2. NatureofanAttomey ............................................ 4
3. Legal Profession as 8 Subject 6
4. Bri ef history of the Legal Educa tion
in the Ph ilippines 6
Ch a p t e r II
THE STUDY OF LAW
1. Reasons a nd im plicati ons in the study of law ...... 9
2. Basi c skills a nd Qualit ies req uired
in th e study oflaw 11
3. Study oflaw, a serio us matter ,.......... 14
Ch ap te r III
NATURE OF TIlE LEGAL PROFESSION
1. Practice of la w is a Profession 15
2. Three idea s inv olved in a profe ssion 16
3. Legal Profession; a privilege a nd 8 right 16
4. Standa rds of the legal profession 17
Ch a p te r IV
PRACTICE OF LAW
1. Defin ition of la w practice.... ................................... 21
2. What is not considered practice of la w ................. 30
vi i
3. Im portance of knowing what pra cti ce 4. Some decided cases on Legal Ethic s ..................... 85
of lnw it> ........................................................ 0. 31
Chapter IX
Ch a p ter V
THE INTEG HATED BAIt OF
ADMI SSION TO P HACTICE THE PHILIPPINES
1. Power to admit a pplica nts to t he Practice 1. Concept ................................................................... 101
of IIl W ..... . . .. . .. . . . . .. ... .. . . ............ ............. . . . . .. . . . . .. 32 2. Purpose of In te gra tion ........................................... 101
2. Integrat ion of th e Bar ................ ............... ............. 35 3. Powe r to Inte gra te the Bar ... ................................. 103
3. Persons enti tled to p ractice la w ............... ............. 39 4. Constit utionality oflhe move to
4. Where non-la wye rs ma y pra ct ice la w ................... 51 integrate the bar ..... ................................. ...... 104
5. Publ ic Officials prohibited from engaging 5. Mem bership in the IBP ..... .................... ................ 107
in private practice oflaw .............................. 52 6. Organization ..................... ............... ..... ................ .. 107
6. Importance of knowin g who may be 7. Administrative Su pervision of the Supreme
allowed to pra ctice la w ..... ................ ........... .. 53 Court over the Pres ident of the IBP ............. 108
Ch a p lcr VI Chapter X
liAR EXAMINATIONS D1SCIPLINAHY PHOCEEDINGS
1. Nature lind exten t of bar examin ations ...... .......... 54 C hap tcr XI
2. The Bar Exami nation Committee .............. ........... 55
Duties a nd functions of the com mittee ................. 56 CHOI CES OF A NEW LAWYER
3.
4. Conduct of the examinati ons ................................. 56
Coverage of th e Bar Examinations ....................... 58 Chap ter XII
5.
6. Oath and Cert ifica te ......... ........................... .......... 60 GETTING STARTED
Ch a plcr VII I. Qualities a young la wye r needs ........... ............ ..... 119
2. Preventive Lawyering ....................................... ..... 122
lAW STUDENI"S PRACTI CE
Chapter XIII
1. Conditions ................................................ ............. .. 62
I
2. Privileged com mu nication ..................................... 64 AItTICLES ON THE LEGAL
3. Standard of cond uct and su pervis ion ..........:......... 64 PROFESSION
viii
II i.
4. E-Values for La wyers
B y Jus tic e ArtcDlio V. panganiba n . 155
5. Lawyering @Century 21: Globali zati on, ICT
nnd the Lega l Profession
By AU y. Jos e Victor V. C han-Gonza ga ... 164
6. The Lega l Profe ssion in t he 21st Century:
Survival or Extinction?
Chapter I
By Senior Associa te J ustice J os u e N.
Bellosillo . 176 INTRODUCTION
7. Ready for the Bio-Age
B y Hon. Artemio V. Panganiban .- . 182
1. Introduction to Legal Profes sion
8. Legal Egos on t he Loose
B y Atty. Mike P apanto n io .. 187
A layma n sc hooled or not is bound to know the law, as
ign orance of law eXCUHeS no one from compl ia nce therewith
Chap ter XIV (A rt . 3, new Civil Code). The popular m a xim called "ignoran-
CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION tia legis non excu eot. " is on e of t he ba sic principles in law.
FOR LAWYERS This sound principle is premised on t he fact that if the case
is otherwise, every man may j ustifia bly escape from abiding
Bar Matter No. 850 (MCLE) . 190 the law by mere excuse of want of knowled ge of the law. This
Mandatory Continuing Legal Education . 203 may result to chaos or an ab se nc e of th e rule of law in the
Need for MCLE . 205 soc iety. It ha s been said that II comm unity cannot long endure
Signifi canc e of the MCLE ·..··..··..······.. 207 without order and that ord er cannot be attained without laws
to govern the cond uct of individuals . For this reason, t he lega l
Chapter XV profession is a very vital element in nation building since
there is no progress in a country without a ru le of la w.
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR LAW STUDENTS
The lega l professi on is a branch of the administration of
Chapter XVI justi ce whose ma in purpose is to aid in the doing of justice
SOME BASIC LEGAL PRINCIPLES a ccording to law between slate and the individu a l and be-
AND MAXIMS tween man and man. This is the reason why legal profession
is affected with public in terest.
APPENDICES
Legal profession has been regarded 0 8 one of the noblest,
APPENDIX "'N - Lawyer 's Oath .. 22 1 if not the nobles t professi on in the world. In the Philippines,
APPENDIX "B" - RULE 138 · · 22 2 legal profession is imp ressed wit h public inte rest with the end
APPENDlX "C" - RULE 138-A . 23::\ view to wa rd s the administration of justice . Unlike in business
APPENDlX "D" - RULE 139 . 234 concerned with profits, la w profes sion's paramount concern is
AP PENDlX "E" - RULE 139·A .. 237 to obtain justice in the most efficient and effective manner.
APPENDIX "F" - RU LE 139·B . 245
252 Law is a very popul ar career particula rly in the Philip.
APPENDIX "G" - REPUBLlC ACT NO. 7662 . pines . One major rea son for its populari ty is that the law
AP PENDl X "II " - BAR MATTER 730 .. 259
•
2
U :GAL rROt'F.3SION
INTH(lUUCTION 3
At present , there are only abo ut fifty thousand (50,000 ) above all an officer of t he cou rt . Th become a n officer of the
members i n t he roll of attorneys and th is includes members court is not an ea sy task. As a n advocate of justice, he should
wh o have d ied already. Out of this popu lation of la wye rs. a p- be th e defender of the oppressed . His talents i.n law cons titute
pro ximately te n nO) to fifte en (15) percent are actually en- act ive forces aimed at the administration of justice regardless
gaged in priva te practice . Most of t hose who hurdled t he bar of politica l, socia l, economic, or religiou s stations in life of
enter ei ther the government se rvice; engage in husinessea or party-litigants. A lawye r, although employed by a pa rty in a
join the corpo rate world, or purel y devot in g their time in the ca us e to manage the sa me for him , is not a part of t he cause.
academe. Of those engaged in priva te p ra ctice, bulk thereof He should d issociate himself from t he facts of the case and
are based in Met ro Manila and other firf;t class cities or keep himself beyond the influences of the lit iga nts sim ply
municipal ities . Only few or eve n none CAn be found in remote because his primary pu rpose is to stand by the troth .
places. Ma nagin g the cause of a party li tigant d oes not im ply
Society's di ver sified concept about the legal profess ion resort to foul tactics or outright fal sehood s to mislead the
notwithstanding, th e fact remain s th at th e legal profession court a nd the public. H is business is to carry on the practical
has a vital role to play in nation buildin g a nd is therefore an a nd form al parts of the su it , to the best of his a bility, to help
indispensable element of our socie ty. In the Phili ppi nes, law clarify ma tters, a nd proc lai m what is righ t.
professicn is a m taeion. A mission to a dmi niste r jus tice not
only to those who have the ca paci ty to obtai n the services of But first of a ll, there sho uld be an a uthori ty. Th e au thor-
a lawyer but more importantly, to t hose deserving of justice ity of a n attorney commences with his r etainer, Afte r he has
been retained in a case, he ha s certain im plied po wers t herein.
hut have less in life. As a matter of fact, the presu mption is that a n attorney has
au thority to ap pear; if the person he appears for does not
2. Nature of an Attorney disclaim his a utho rity, he is deemed bou nd by the a t to rney's
An atto rney, who is sometimes called a n advocate or cou n- actions or inactions .
sel, is one wh o aids in the a dministration of justice . The te nn As me ntione d earlie r, the first and foremost duty of a
"attorney" is genera lly understood as having refer en ce to a lawyer is the ad mi nistration of justice, a nd h is duty to his
class of pe rsons who are by license constituted officers of courts clien t is subordinate to that. So that. as for a s his relations
of justice, a nd who are empowere d to appear a nd prosecute wit h hi s clie nt are concerned, he is duty boun d to be true to
and/or defend so meone a nd on whom peculiar d uties, respon- the court and to his clien t; to man age the b usiness of his
sibili ties and liabilities are devolved by law in consequencc . It client with care, skill a nd integrity; to kee p his clie nt informed
has also been said th at a person acting professionally in legal as to t he state of his b usin ess; to keep his secrets con fided to
fonnalities, negotiations or proceedings, by warrant or au- him as such. It is however important to note that an attorney
thori ty of hi s client. is an attorney at la w within the usual is not a n insurer of the result in a case in which he is em-
meaning of the te rm. An atto rney may in short be defined as ployed.
a pe rson se t apart by the laws of the land relating to the h igh
interest of pro perty, li berty and life. An attorney at law is Membe rs hi p in t he ba r is an exacting responsibility. As
thus considered as a qu a si-officer of the court su bject to regu- quo ted by one j u rist, "it if! a privilege burdened with condi-
lation. He is a n inh erent element in our jud icia l syste m. tions ," It imposes , a t thc very least, the obligation of attend ing
with due zea l and dil igence to a clien t's cause . Pe rhaps, it is
Although , an attorney may ,,11m be defined as som eon e
worthy to note that an attorney is not expected to k now a ll the
who is employed by a party in a ca use to manage the sa me for
him, it ha s been held in a long li ne of ease s that a lawyer is la ws; he may not be dis barred for an hon est mistake or error.
6 LEGAL PRu FESSION
lNTRODUGrION 7
2Gupit , Jlnw to b<t' a liQ wyu , cited in Coq uia, l...·gal Prcfeaaion. 3Gupit, Id.
14 IS-GAL PROFE.~SION
of persons practicing the profession of la w formed pensed with upon a d m ission th ereto. It is a continuing
and maintained to promote and uphold the pur- qu a lification which a ll la wye rs mu st possess.' The m embers
poses a nd spirit of that profession. are in fa ct , enjoined to a id in guardi ng the Bur against the
ad mission of cand idates unfit , u nqualified or deficient in e i-
2. Learn ing - Professions are learned not only from
ther mo ral character or education ."
the nature of the a rt professed but historicall y ha ve
a cultural, and ideal side which fu rt hers the exer- The la w as a pr ofession preced es from the basic premise
cise of that a rt . Problems of hum an relations in th at membersh ip in the Ba r is a privilege burdened w ith con-
socie ty. of di sease , etc. are to be deal t with by th e ditions a nd carri es with it the re spo nsibility to live up to its
resources of cul tivated in tellig ence. To carry on their exa ct ing standards and honored traditionef
tasks most effectively, they mu st be more th an re-
sou rce ful craftsmen. They mu st be learned men. Although the la w p rofession is to a great exte nt a privi -
lege , whi ch may be wit h held or exte nded i n the exercise of
3. Spirit of Public Serv ice - Every profess ion aims at so un d judicial di scretion , ye t it is a lso a righ t in a lim ite d
the exercise of powers beneficial to mankind. The se ns e. A lawyer cannot be prevented from practicing law ex-
spiri t of public se rvice in which the profes sion of ce pt upon valid cause a nd only after a ffording him due p roc-
law is a prerequisite of a sound adm in istra t ion of ess, He cannot be pre vented from appe ari ng before any judi-
justice. cial , quasi-judicial, or a d minist rative tribunal a s long as he is
a member of the bar in good and regu lar standing.
3. Legal Profession; a privilege a nd a right AJ!J a n officer of the cou rt, he enj oys the p resumption of
Membership in the lega l profe ssion is a privile ge granted regularity in the performance of his duties. lie ha s the ri ght.
by the state only to those deserving indi vidu al s. It is in the to protest in a respe ctful manner a nything whi ch he thinks is
nature of a fr anchi se conferred only for merit whi ch must be prejudicial to the orderly and exped itious administ ration of
earned by hard st udy, learning and good conduct .' Not a ll justice. He ha s the right to stand up for his righ t or the ri ght.
persons wh o want to join the legal profession may be BCCeIJted of hi s client even in the face of a hostile cou rt. These rights
a nd corolla ry to this, not all can practice law in the Philip- and/or privileges enjoyed by a lawyer are nece ssary not only
pin es. For on e to be admitted in the practice of law a nd for a for the protection of h is client but more imp ortantly towa rds
cont inu ed enjoym ent thereof, he mu st possess all the required the speedy, inexpensive and orderly administration of justice .
qualification s needed in th e profession among whi ch is the
conti nue d pos se ssion of good moral characte r. The pra ctice of
4. S tandards of the le g al profession
law is a pri vil ege accorded only to those who measure up to
the exacting stand a rds of mental and moral fitn ess . Thus, i n Justice Vicen te Mendoza in his speech" ma intained. that
one case, a lawyer was disbarred for having exhibite d debased lik e medicine and the min istry, law is a service professi on ,
morali ty. In that case, the Court emp ha sized, that the ancient a nd therefore, it mu st be me asured by the standards of t hose
an d learned profession of law exact" from its members the professions: its ind ependence, its accessibility and its lea rn-
highest standa rd of morali ty'' Good moral cha racter is a con-
diti on wh ich precedes adm iss ion to th e Bar a nd is not dis-
6People VII. Tuanda , 18 1 SCRA 682.
' In TY Puno, 19 SC RA 439 .
4Jn re Syci p, 92 SC RA 1. 81..ede,"na VII. Clirnaco, I Up ru.
&Ba rT1t'n to8 VII. Da a rol , 2 18 SCRA 30. !lJ>ubliRIwd in the t .a wy t'r 'll Revil"w. April 30. 2001, p. 1.
re LEGAL PROFESS ION
20 LEGA L PIH.WESSI ON
unique challe nge to a la wyer 's integrity 8 S well as his com pe-
tence and ability a nd offers psychi c benefits that go beyond
pesos and centavos.
3. Learn ing . The Code of Profession al Responsibili ty Chapter IV
states that " a la wyer (m ust) Herve his client with compete nce
and dili gen ce." But a bar to be a ble to discharge its public PRACTICE OF LAW
d uties a nd responsibilities mu st be a learned organization.
The proliferation of legal ma te rial s an d the emergen ce of ne w
specialti es in la w, brought a bout by the growing complexi ty of
our society, are a cha lle nge to ou r commitme nt to excellence I. D efin ition of law practice
_ whether as members of th e pra cticing ba r of the acade mic The te rm "prac tice of la w" is incapable of exact defini-
branch of the pro fession. tion . Whether a pa rt icula r a ctivity com es with in the meaning
The foregoing cri teria or standa rds of the lega l profes- of the term will depend upon the facts or attenda nt circum-
sion given and discu ssed by Mr. Justice Mendoza , may be too stances of the case ta king into se rious cons ide ra tion the gen -
short of a discussion . Yet, it is a great challenge not only to eral principles and doctrines laid down by the court regarding
those who M e a spiring to be come members of the learned th e su bject mat ter. It usually involves t he carrying on of the
profession but also to those who are already part of it . As fina l calling of an attorney, usu ally for com pe nsation, acting in a
word s, he stressed that: "Th e bar must be able to commu ni- re presen tative capacity a nd rendering service to another.'
cate to the pub lic its aims a nd purposes. It mu st be able to Bla ck's Law Dictionary defines practice of law a s the
expl ain to lay people the la ws a nd regu lation s in clear, sim ple rendition of se rvices req uiri ng the k nowl ed ge and the a pplica-
and understandab le language 8 0 th at pub lic re spect for the tion of lega l principles and techniqu e to se rve the inte rest of
la w will be fostered. This is a n endeavor through wh ich the a not her with h is consent. It is not limited to a ppea ri ng in
learn ing of the bar must be channeled." court or advising or assisti ng in the conduct of litigation. bu t
embraces the preparation of pleadings , and other papers inci-
dent to actions and special proceedings, conveya ncing, th e
preparation of legal instrumen ts of a ll kinds , and the ~>ivin g
of lega l ad vice to clien ts . It embraces a ll ad vice to clients a nd
a ll actio ns taken for t hem in matters con nected with the law.
An a t to rney engages in the "pr acti ce of law " by maintaining
an office where he is held out to he a n a ttorney, using a let-
terhead describing himself as an attorney, counseli ng clie nts
in lega l matters , negoti a ting with opposing counsel a bout
pen d ing litiga tion, a nd fixing a nd collecting feee for services
rendered by his associato.t Therefore, based on the foregoing,
21
PRACTICf': OF l.AW 23
22 LEGAL PROFESSI ON
'"
24 U :GAL PROF ESS ION
Ic PRACTICE OF LAW 25
From t h e foregoing crite ri a , pra ctice of law implies cus- ThUR, th e givi ng of legal a dvice for compensation rega rd-
toma rily or habitually holding oneself out to the public, 8S 8 ing th e legal status a nd rights of another a nd one's conduct
lawyer, for compensation as a source of livelihood or in consid- with res pect th ereto constit ute s pra ctice of la w. One who
e ration of his s e rvi ce.f Moreover, it is more than bll isola ted renders an opinion as to th e prope r interpret ation of a stat-
a ppeara nce for it consi sts of frequent or customa ry actions , a ute , a nd receives pay for it, is to th at exte nt practicing law.
succession of acts of the sa me kind . The appe arance of counsel Providing infonna tion about foreign la ws on marriage, divorce
in one occasion is not conclusive as dete rminative of engage- a nd adoption which e ntails explaining to th e client the intri-
ment in the practice of Jaw. ThUR, it has been held in People cacies of the law a nd advi sing him or her on the proper course
us. Villanueva 6 that the a ppeara nce a s private prosecutor in of action falls squa re ly with in the juri sp, uden ti al definiti on of
one case of a city at to r ney does not const itu te pri va te practice th e practice of law. to
within t he prohibition.
However, un der t he "modem concept" of pra ctice of law, CAYETANO VB . MONSO»
it is defined as "any activity in or out of court, which requires 201 SCRA 210
the application of law, legal procedure, knowledge, training Facts:
and experience. Th engage in th e practice of law is to perform
tho se acts whi ch are chara cte ristics of the profess ion ," Justice Petitioner ques tioned the a ppointment of here in re-
Paras , in the sa id case of Cayetano vs. Mons0cJ8 emphasized : sponde nt a s Cha innan of th e Commission on Elections
"The teat that defines law practice by looking to traditional (COMELEC ) for lack of the necessary qu alifi ca tion of
a reas of la w practice is esse nt ially tautologous , unh elpful having been engaged in the practice of law for at least
defining the pr actice of law as that which th e lawyers do. Th e ten (10) years, It was establis hed that a fte r graduating
practice of la w is defined as "performance of a ny acts ... in from th e College of Law and having hurdled th e bar,
or out of court, commonly understood to be the pra ctice of law. respondent worked in the law office of hi s father for a
Because lawyers perform almost every function known in th e short while , th en worked as a n operati ons officer in the
commercial and governme ntal realm , such definitinn would World Bank Group for a bout two years , which involved
obviously be too global to be worka ble." (emphasis supplied) getting acquainted with the laws of member-countries ,
negotiating loans and coordinati ng legal , economic and
Practice of law is th e "rendition of services requiring the
project work of the Bank. Upon returning to th e Philip-
knowledge a nd a pplicatio n of legal principles techniques to pin es , he worked with the Meralco G rou p, served as chief
serve th e inter est of another with his consent , It is not limited execut ive officer of an investment bank a nd has subse-
to appeari ng in court, or a dvising a nd as sisti ng in th e conduct
que nt ly worked either as chief executive officer or con -
of lit igation , but embraces th e prepara tion of pleadings, and sultant of various compa nies . He was a lso nam ed a s
other papers in cident to a cti ons and special proceed ings, con- Sec reta ry-Ge ne ral a nd la te r Nati onal Chai r man of
veyancing, the prep ara tion of legal instruments of all kinds ,
NAM FREL, whi ch made him knowledgeable in election
a nd giving legal advice to clients.r"
la ws. He a ppeared for NAMFREL in its accre ditation
heari ngs before t he Commission. He a lso claimed to ha ve
work ed with th e unde rprivileged sector s, a nd was also a
~I'e()pl e VB . Villan uev a, supra. member of the Daoide Commission as well as the Const i-
BI4 SCRA 109. tutional Commission.
'CaYl"lano vs . Mon!!Od , 20 1 SCRA 2 10.
ft/d .
9/d . 'OUle p ' B. The Le ga l Clinic, Inc., 42 SCAD 387, 22.1 SC RA 378.
26 Lt;GAL PR(\!"ESSJO N PHACTI C~: OF LAW 27
Issue: Justice Cruz, on the ot he r h and, sta ted: " I have the
unc omfortabl e feeling that one d oes not even have to be
whether or not re sp ondent POSse!:!!1 the requirement a law yer to he engaged in the practice of law a s long a s
of 10 year practice of law'! his activities in volve the a pplication of some la w, how-
eve r, pe ri pherally. Th e stock broker a nd the in surance
Held: adj uster a nd the realtor could com e u nder the definit ion
as they deal wit h or give advice on ma t ters that are
Interpreted in the light of the various definitions of lik ely "to become in volved in litigat ion."
the term practice of law particularly the mod ern concept
of la w practice, a nd taking in to consideration th e liberal He con ti n ued , "The effect of the d efin ition given in
construction in te nded by th e framers of t he Const itu tion, the ponencia is to consider virtually every lawyer to be
Atty. Mon sod's pa st work experiences a s a la wye r-econo- en gaged in th e practice of law oveu if he does not earn
mi st, 8 la wyer-m a nage r, 8 lawyer-ent re p ren eu r of indus- his living, or at lea st part of it , a s a la wyer. It is enough
try, 8 la wyer-negoti a to r of contracts, a nd a la wyer-legis- tha t hi s activities are incid entally (even if only remote ly)
la to r of both the rich a nd the poor, verily more th an connec ted wit h so me la w, ordina nce or regul ation . The
satisfy the constitutional requirement that one must be possible exception is the la wyer whose incom e is derived
engaged in the practice of law for a t lea st ten ( 10) years. from teaching ba llroom dan cing or escorting wrinkled
ladies with pub escent pretens ions.
This decision of the Su preme Court wa s high ly criti-
cized by many, among t hem a re some members of the Justice Gu tierez, for his part criticized the decision
Court who wrote their d issenting opinions: in this wise: "A person ma y have passed the bar exami-
Justice Padilla stressed that "pra ct ice" - refers to nations, bu t if he ha s not d ed icated h is life to th e law, if
the actual performance or application of knowledge as he ha s not engaged in an activity where m embership ill
distingu ished from mere possession of knowledge; it con- the ba r is a requ irement, I fail to see how he ca n claim
notes a n act ive, habitual, repeated cus toma ry action .II Th to have bee n e ngaged in the practice of la w."
"practice" la w, or any profe ssion for that matter, means He adde d, "Enga gi ng in the practice of la w is a
to exercise or pursue an employment or p rofession ac- qu alifi cation not only for COME LEC Chai rman but al so
tively, habitually, repeatedly or customarily. for a ppointment to t he S upreme Cou rt and all lowe r
The refore, a doctor of medicine who is e mployed courts. Wha t kind of Judges or Justices will we ha ve if
a nd is habitually perfonning the tasks of a nursing aide, their mai n occupation is se llin g real estate, m anaging a
cannot be said to be in the "practi ce of medicine: A cer- bu siness corporation, servi ng a fact -finding committee,
tified public a ccountant who wor ks ae a clerk, cannot be working in med ia , or operating a farm with no active
sa id to practice his profession as an acco u ntant, In t he inv olvemen t in t he la w, whether in govern ment or in
same way, a lawyer who is em ployed as a bu siness ex- p rivate practice, except that in one joyful moment in the
ecutive or a corporate manager, other than as head or d istant past , th ey happened to pa aa the bar exami na-
attorney of a lega l depa rtment of a corpora tion or a gov- ti ons?"
ernme n tal agency, cannot be said in the practi ce of la w. Despite co mplex opinion on the mat ter, a nd regard-
less of which view a la wyer may favor, sett led is t he rule
that under the doctrine of sta re decisis, every one must
lIWe1.lllw r 'lI New In ternati onal Dictiona l')'. a dhe re to the controlling decision of t he Su preme Court.
28 LEGAL PROFESSI ON J'RACTI CE OF LAW 29
(Au thor's note : Th e fore going dissen t by the J u s- Filipina Fian cees . Adopti on . Inve stment in t he Phi l. US!
tices was presented only for aca demic purposes without Foreign Visa for Filipina Spouse/Children. Ca ll Marivic.
any ill intent ion whatsoever, a lthough, th e dissent of th oec
J ustices a re conceded ly very sou nd opinions which ca ll
T ilE 7F Victoria Bldg. 429 UN Ave.,
for serious con side ra tion.)
LEGAL Ennitn , Ma nila n r , US EmbnAAY
ULEP VB. LEGAL CLINIC , Inc . CLINIC, INC. Tel. 521.7232; 52 1·725 1
42 SCAD 387, 223 SCRA 378 522·204 1; 521 '()767
Facts:
It is the submission of the petitioner t ha t the abo ve
Petit ioner asked the Court to direct respo ndent to advertisements are champertous, unethical , demea ning
cease a nd desist from issuing a dvertise me nts simila r to of the law profession a nd des tructi ve of the confidence of
or of th e same te nor 88 th at wh at respondent did an d the community in the integrity of the members of th e
further a sked the Court. to perpetually prohibit persons ba r.
or enti ties from ma kin g adv ertisements pertaini ng to the
In its an swer, re spo ndent a verred tha t it is not
exercise of the la w profession othe r than those all owed
engaged in the practice of la w but in re ndering of "lega l
by law.
s u p port servi ces" through pa ralegals with th e use of
Th e a dvertisements com plai ned of by the petitio ner modern computers and electronic mach ines .
a re a s follows :
Issue:
SECRET MARRIAGE?
Whether or not thi s is pract ice of la w a nd
P560 .00 for a va lid marriage,
Info on nrvoncs. ABSENCE , If it is, wh ether or not it is prohi bited a dvertising.
ANNULM ENT, VI SA.
TilE LEGAL CLIN IC, INC. Please call : 521-
Held:
0767, 8 :30 a m - 6 pm Yes , it is cons idered 8S pract ice of la w, a nd s uch
a dvertisi ng is prohibited.
And:
Th e prac tice of la w is not limited to t he cond uct of
GUAM DIVORCE. cases in court. It includes legal a d vice a nd counsel, a nd
t he prepa ra tion of lega l instruments a nd contracts by
DON PARKI NSON which legal rights are secured, a lt houg h such matte r may
or may not be pending in R court.
a n a ttorney in G uam , is givi ng FREE BOOKS on Gu am
Givin g adv ice for com pe nsation regarding t he lega l
Divorce through the Lega l Clinic begi n ning Monday to
s tat us a nd rig hts of a nother a nd the conduct with re-
Friday d uring office hours .
spect thereto cons tit utes a practice of la w. One wh o
Guam Di vorce. An n ulment of Marria ge. Immigra tion r end ers an opin ion as to the proper interpretation of a
Problem s, Visa Ext . QuotalNon-quota Res . & S pecia l statute, and receives pay for it, is to that exte nt, pract icing
Reti ree's Visa . Declara tion of Absence. Remarriage to la w.
30 LEG."J . PROn;SSION Pl tACTICE OF I.AW 31
In providing infonnation about foreign laws on mar- the lega l effects of facts and condit ions , or when ever such acts
ri age, divorce a nd ad opt ion , th e corporation , with its involve t he use of skill and inte llect by a lega l mind tra ined
at torneys and para legals will necessarily h ave to explai n a nd schooled in a legal schoo l of learning likewise doe s not
to th e clien t the intrica cies of th e law a nd advise him/her cons ti t ute pra ct ice or law. Hence, if s u ch work involves only
on the p ro pt~r course of a ction to take 8S may be provided the cle rical la bor of filling in the bla nks on ster eot yped fonn
by sa id law. The act ivity fa lls squarely with in th e juris- or a mere mechan ical act of copying from a file copy or fin-
pruden t ial defin iti on of "practice of law," ished document which involves no lega l thing, is not cons id-
ered leg ul practico.P
The standa rds of the legal profession condemn th e
lawyer 's adve rtiseme nt of his talents. A la wyer can not,
without viola ting th e ethics of th e profession, a dvertise 3. I m p o rtan ce of k nowlog wh at pra c ti ce o f law is
his talen ts or skill s in a manner similar to a merchant
advertising his goods . Th e Code of Professional Respon- It iH important to know if a n a ct con stitutes practice of
sibility provides that a lawyer in mak ing known his serv- la w to determi ne wheth er by the se rvices render by one, a
ices to ot he rs s h a ll u sc on ly t rue, h onest, fair, dign ified la wye r-client relationship has been es tablished so as to e ntitle
a nd objective information or state ments of fact , a la wye r to th e payment of his fees . It may also be the basis
of filing for a n act ion for usurpation of official functions ag a inst
Of course, not nil types of advertising or solicitation one wh o, not being a member of the ba r duly licen sed to prac-
are proh ibited . Th e ca nons of t he profession enume rate tice la w by the Supreme Court, represents h imself a s a la wyer
exception s to the r ule against advertising and define th e to th e public a nd perform s acts pertaining to a lawyer by
exte nt to which they may be undertaken (e.g" publica- means of deception to th e prejud ice of t he ba r, the public a s
tion in a reputable law list; use of ordina ry simple pro - well 8 S the admin istration of justice. I::!
fessional ca rd which may include specia l branch of law
practiced ; simple announcement of openin g of law firm; Moreover, the re are lega l rem edies av aila ble for unau -
listing in te lephone directory but not under a designa- thorized practice of la w to include injunction, declarato ry re-
tion of special branch of law), Taking into considera tion lief, contempt of court, or disqualifica tion a nd compla ints for
th e nature a nd con tents of respondent's advertiseme nts disbarment. A cri mina l complaint for eat afa may a lso he filed
which even includes a qu ota t ion of th e fees cha rged (plu s agai nst a person who falsely represented to be an attorney to
a dvertise me nt of free dist ribution of books on Guam th e dama ge uf a party. Any of these proceedings maybe initi-
Divorce), th e Court held that the same defini tely do not ated by a n aggrieved or interested party or by the bar asso-
fall under a ny of th e a foreetated exceptions . ciation. H
Hel d : tione r. The sa me may also ra tionally fait within the pow er
of Congress to alter, supple ment or modify rules of ad -
Section 2 wa s declared uncon stit utional du e to the
mission to the practice of la w,
fa tal defect of not bein g embraced in the title of the Act.
AB per its title , the Ad should a ffect only the ba r Ounk ers
2. Integration of th e Bar
of 1946 to 1955 Bar exa minations. Section 2 esta blishes
u perman ent sys te m for an indefinite time. It wa s also The Su preme Court h as th e inh erent power to integrate
struck down for a llowing partial pa ssing, thus failin g to the Philippine Bar in the exercise of it.s power to promulga te
ta ke account of the fact that la w" and j urispru dence are ru les concer-ni ng pleading, pra ctice e n d procedur e in a ll courts
not stat ion ary. a nd the a dmission to the pra ctice of law.4
As to Section I, the portion for 19 46-1951 was de- The purposes of the in te gration of the Ba rS in gene r al
clared unconstitutional , whil e that for 1953 to 1955 was are :
declared in force and effect. Th e portion that was stricken
1. Ass ist in the administrati on of justice;
down wa s based under the followin g reasons:
2. Foster a nd maintain on the part of ita members
L Th e law itself admits that the candidates for
high idea ls of integrity, learning, professional com-
admissi on who flunked the bar from 1946 to
petence, public se rvice lind cond uct;
1 ~5 2 had inadequa te preparation du e to the
fact th at thi s was very close to the end of World 3. Safeguard the professional in terests of its members;
War 11; 4. Cultivate am ong its members a spiri t of cordiality
2. The law is, in effect , a judgment revokin g the and brotherhood ;
resolution of the court on the petitions of the 5. Provide a forum for the discussi on of la w, j uri spru-
said ca nd ida tes ; dence, law re form. pleading, practice and procedure,
3. The la w is an encroa chment on the Court's a nd the re la ti on!'! of the Bar to the Bench a nd to the
primary prerogative to determine who may be public, a nd publish informa tion relating thereto;
a dmitte d to practi ce of law a nd, therefore , in 6. Encou rage a nd foster legal education;
excess of legislative power to repeal, alte r and
7. Promote a continu ing program of legal re sea rch in
su pplement the Ru les of Court. The ru les la id
substantive a nd adj ective la w, a nd make reports
down by Congress under this power a re only
e nd rec omme ndati ons thereo n; and
minimum norma, not designed to substitute
th e judgmen t of the court on who can pra ctice 8. Enable t he Bar to discharge its public responaibil-
law ; a nd ity effectively.
4. The pre tended classifi ca tion is arbitrary and Integration of the Bar will, a mong other thing s , mak e it
a mounts to class legislation. possible for the lega l professi on to:
As to th e portion decla red in force and effect, the 1. Ren der more effecti ve ass is tance in main taining the
Court could not muster enough votes to decla re it void. rule of la w;
Moreover, the law wa s pa ssed in 1952, to ta ke effect in
1953. Hen ce, it will not revoke existing Suprem e Court ' In re Inte grat ion of the Phil. Ba r, 49 SCRA 22.
resolu tions den ying admiss ion to the bar of a ny peti- ~ld.
t,
ee I.F..GAL PROfES.<\lON ADMISSION TO PRACTICE 37
2. Protect la wyers and lit igants against t he ab uses of 14. Ge nerate and maintai n pervasive a nd meani ngful
tyrannical judges a nd prosecut ing officers ; country-wide involvement of t he lawyer popu la tion
in the solution of the multifariou s problem s that
3. Discharge fully a nd prope rly, its responsibility in a mid the na tion .
the d isciplining and/o r rem oval of incom pe tent a nd
unworthy judges a nd prosecuting officers;
In the Matter of the Integration of the
4. Shield the judiciary, which tradit ionally can not de- Integrated Bar of t he Philippines
fend itself except wit hin its own forum, from the 49 SCRA 22
assaults that politics and self-interest may level at
it, and assist it to main tai n its in te grity, im partial - Facts.
ity a nd independen ce; Repu blic Act No. 6397 enti tle d "An Act Providi ng
5. Have a n e ffective voice in the selection of judges for the Integra tion of the Philippine Bar and Appropriat-
and prosecuting officers; ing Funds Therefore" was passed in Se pte mber 1971,
ordaining "Within t wo yea rs from the a pproval of thi s
6. Prev en t the unauthorized practice of la w, and break Act , the Supreme Court may a dopt rules of court to e f-
up a ny monop oly of local practice m a in t a ined feet the integration of the Philippine Bar: The Su preme
through influen ce or position; Court formed a Comm ission on Bar Integration a nd in
7. Establish wel fare fun ds for families oi disabled an d Decem ber 19 72, the Commission ea rnestly recomme n de d
decea sed la wyers ; the in tegration of the bar. The Court accepted all com-
ments on the proposed in tegr ation.
8. Provide placem ent se rvices, a nd establis h legal aid
offices a nd se t u p la wyer reference services th rough- Issues:
out the country so tha t the poor not lack competent
legal se rvice; 1. Docs the Court have the power to in tegrate
the Philippine ha r?
9. Distribute ed ucational a nd inform ationa l mate rials
th at are difficult to obtain in many of our provinces; 2. Would the integration of the bar he constitu-
tiona)"!
10. Devise a nd maintain a program of conti n uing legal
educa ti on for practicing attorneys in order to el- 3. Shou ld the Court ord a in the integration of the
evate the standa rds of the profession throughout ba r a t this ti me?
the country;
Held:
11. Enforce rigi d ethical standards , and promul ga te
minim um fees schedu les: In ru ling on the issues raised. the Court firs t ad opted
the definiti on given by th e Commission to "Inte gra ti on"
12. Create la w centers a nd establish law lib ra ries for in this wise: "Inte grat ion of the Philip pine Ba r mea ns
legal re search; the officia l uni fication of the entire lawyer populat io n of
13. Conduct ca mpa igns to ed ucate the peop le on the ir the Phili ppin es . This req uir es mem bership a nd fina ncia l
legal ri gh ts a nd obliga tio ns, on t he importance of support. (in reasonable a mount) of every attorney 8S con -
preventive lega l advice, a nd on the funct ions a nd di tions sine qua non to the practi ce of la w and the re ten-
duti es of th e Filipino la wyer; a nd tion of his na me in the Roll of At torneys of the Su pre me
38 LEGA L PROFE~SION ADMISSION 1'0 PRACTICE 39
Court." The term "Bar" refers to th e collectivity of a ll tegratcd bar, the cou rt held that "such comp u lsion is
persons whose names a ppear in t he Roll of Atto rn eys. An jus t ified as an exercise of the p olice power of the state,"
Integr ated Ila r (or unified Bar) perforce mus t inclu de all
2. Integr ati on is also not violative of the freedom
lawyers .
of s peec h jus t because dues paid by t he lawyer may be
Complete u nifica ti on is not possible unless it is used for projects or pr ograms, which the la wyer opposes,
dec ree d by an ent ity wi t h powe r to do so: t he State. Dar To rule otherwi se woul d make every govern ment exac-
integration th erefore, signifies the setting u p by gove rn - t ion a "free s pe-ech iss u e ," Furthermore, the la wye r is
me nt authority of a n ation al organization of t he legal fre e to voice ou t hi s obj ections to positions taken by the
profession based on the recogni tion of the la wyer as a n integrated bar.
office r of the court.
3. The d ues exacted from la wyers is n ot in t he
Designed to improve th e positions of th e Bar as an n atu re of a levy bu t is purel y for pu r poses of regul ation.
inst rumenta lity of'juatice and the rule of law, integration
As to the thi rd issue, the Cou rt beli eves in th e ti me-
fosters cohe sion among lawyers, and e nsu res, t h roug h
liness of the in te gration . Survey sh owed an overwhelm-
th ei r own organized ac t ion a nd participation , the promo-
in g majori ty of lawyers wh o fa vor ed integration.
tion of th e object ives of th e legal profes sion , pursuan t to
the principl e of m aximum Bar autonomy wi th minim u m
s upervision a n d regulation by the Su preme Cou rt. 3. Persons entitled to practice Law
On the first issue, the Court held that it may inte- Un de r Section I , Rul e 138 of the Rules of Co urt, any
grate the Bar in the exercise of its powe r "to pro mulgate person who has been duly licensed as a m ember of the bar
rules concerning ple ading, practice, and procedure in all a nd who is in good a nd regular s tan ding is entitled to practice
courts, and the admissi on to the pr actice ofla w." Indeed , law.
the power to integrate is an inherent p urt of the Court's
Before being admitted to the bar, an applicant must
constit u tional a utho ri ty over the Bar.
sat isfy the requiremen ts consis ting of the followin g :
The seco n d issu e h inges on th e follo wing cc ns t itu -
1. He/she mus t be a citizen of the Philippines ;
tion al rights: freedom of associa tion and of s peech, as
well as t he n ature of the dues exacted from the law yer, 2. At leas t twenty-one years of age;
i.e., whether or not the Court t hus levies a tax. Th e
3. Of good moral character;
Cou rt held :
4, A resident of t h e Philippines : and
1. In te gration is not viola tive of fr eedom of e seo-
ciation because it doc s not compel a la wyer to become a 5. M ust prod uce before the Supreme Court sat isfac-
member of a ny grou p oi which he ill n ot a lready a m em - tory evidence of h is good moral ch a racter and no
be r. All t hat it doc", is "to provide a n officia l nati ona l charges against hi m , involvin g moral turpitude , hav e
organizati on for the well-defined but unor ganized and been filed or are pending i n any court of the Ph il -
o 0 ,
not practice law lief! on the n ature of the privilege and on the sa tis facto ri ly s how that they ha ve regula rly studied law for
con fide nt ial a nd trus t rel a ti on be t ween a Uorney a nd client, a s four years, an d success fu lly complete d a ll prescribed courace
well a s the condi tion required for membershi p in the bar, such in law school or university officially a pproved a nd recognized
as possession of good moral character, taking of a n oath. a nd by the Secretary of Educa tion. The a ffidavit of the candidate ,
be ing su bject to court's d is cipline. Hut a cor porati on rna)' hi re a ccom pa nied by a certificate from the uni versity or school of
a lawyer a s its in -hou se or retai ner cou nse l. law, shall be filed 8 S evidence of such facts, a nd furt her evi-
dence may be required by th e court.
Further, the pra ct ice of la w is reserved onl y to Filipino
citi zen s wh o have success fully hurdled the bar. The present No a p plicant shall be a dmitted to the bar examination
Cons titution provid es tha t "The practi ce of a ll profession s in unless he has sa ti sfactorily completed the following courses in
th e Philippines shall be limited to Fili pino citize ns, sa ve in a la w school or uni versity dul y recognized by the govern ment :
cases provided by law."13 It is ba sed on public policy since an civil law, comm ercia l la w, pub lic and priva te international law,
alie n cannot ma in tain a llegiance to t he Ph ilippi ne Govern- political la w, labor a nd socia l legislation , med ical jurispru-
dence, taxation and lega l et hics ."
ment which is one of the duties of a lawye r.
Section 6 of the sa me rule provide s tha t "No applicant
By way of exce ption to the rul e that only Filipino citi-
for ad miss ion to the bar exa mination shall be admi tted unless
zens may practi ce la w, Sections 3 of Rule 138 pro vide s that:
he presen ts a certificate th at he h a s sa t isfied t he Secretary of
"Citi zen s of the United S tates of Ame rica who, before Education that, before he began the st udy of law, he had
July 4, 1946, were duly licensed mem bers of the Philippine pursued and sat isfa ctorily completed in a n authorized and
Bar, in a ctive practice in the cou rts of the Philippines a nd in recogn ized uni versity or college, requiring for admission thereto
good a nd regul ar standing as such, may upon satisfacto ry the complet ion of a four yea r high school cou rse, the course of
proof of these facts before the Suprem e Court, be allowed to study prescribed therein for a bachel ors degree in arts or
continue such practi ce a fte r taking the oath of office. U sciences with a ny of the following subjects a s major or field of
concentrat ion : Political Science, Lor.ric, English, Sp anish, His-
Furthe r, educational requirement is esse ntia l to the due tory and Economi cs."
performance of the duties of a la wyer. It mu st be borne in
mind that the lawyer is entr us ted the delicate t a sk to protect Ba sed on the foregoing two sect ions of the Rule (Sees, 5
the life , liberty, property or honor of another. Giving such task and 6, Ru le 138), a n a pplicant desiring to take the bar exa mi-
to on e who is not com pete nt may create chao s in th c society. na ti ons , a side from studying in a local school must present
It is therefore the dem ands of public policy that those see king proof or certification thereof. Since graduates of fo reign la w
admissi on to the pract ice of la w must not onl y possess the schools can no t s ubmit said certificat ions, t hey s ha ll not be
required edu cational qu ali fica tions but must a lso show s uch all owed to take the bar exam inaticns .U'
degree of lea rn ing and proficie ncy in law for t he proper per- By way of exceptions, Section 4 of Rule 138 provides
forrnance of his tasks ." th at:
Under Section 5 of Rule 138 , "All a pplica nts for ad mis- "Ap plica nts for a dmiss ion who, being Filipino citizens
s ion shall before bein g ad mit te d to the (ba r ) exa mination, are enrolled attorneys in good a nd regular standing in the
Su preme Court of the United StaWKor in a ny circuit court of
In He: Pct tt ton or Ramon Quisumh ing satisfacto ry cert ificate s that they ha ve practiced a t
for Ad mi ss ion t o the Bar h'llst five yea rs in a ny of sa id courts , a nd that such
Ba r M atte r No. 4 19 (Nov. 1988) pract ice began before Ju ly 4, 1946, an d tha t they
ha ve never heun suspende d or disbarred, ma y, in
th e discret ion of the Court, be ad m itted withou t
Facts:
exa mination."
Ra m on Quisumbing, a cit ize n and re sident of the
In his petition, the applica nt a dmits that he docs
Philippin e s wh o ob t ained his degree i n Ja w from
not entiefy the requiremen t that practice in the foreign
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
jurisd ict ion mu st have commen ced pri or to July 4, 1946.
who took and passed the bar examinations of t he Dis-
However , he in si sts that giv en his qualifi cations a nd
tri ct of Columbia and the State of Virginia and has been expe rie nce, he should neverthel ess, "in the di scretion of
admitted to th e practice of law in various j u risdictions in the Cou rt , be admitted without examination ."
th e United State s includi ng the Federal Supreme Cou rt,
applies for admis sion to the practice of la w without need The correct a pplica tion of t he a forcc itc d Rul e is thut
of taking the bar examinations. The petition made on his di scretion to admit on e to the bar ma y be exe rcised on ly
beha lf relied on the following grounds: after it is shown that the applica nt ha s complied with a ll
th e requirements th ereunder.
1. Sect ion 4, Rul e 138, of the Rul es of Court;
Moreover, there is at present no Philippine rul e a u-
2. Comity or reciprocity, with the S tale of New thorizi ng the admi ssion to the Philippine bar on the basis
York; and of reciproc ity or com ity.
3. The case of In He Shoop, H Phil. 213. Rcciprocity orcomi ty does not operate in the a bstract.
A loca l law governs and regulates the exten t by which reci-
Is sue: procity may be in voked a s t he so urce of a right or privi-
Whether or not , from the foregoing averments, pe- lege. The Rule s of Cou rt promulgated by ih e Supreme Court.
titioner may be admitted to the Ph ilippi ne bar without whi ch und er t he 1987 Con stitution ha s the sole power to
having to take the Bar examina tions. promulgate rules concerning a d miss ion to t he practice of
la w in the Philip pin es , m akes no provision for a dm is sion
to the bar on the ba sis of reciprocity. The Court note s th at
Held:
Ru le 520.9 of the Rules of the N ew York Cou rt of Appe al s
The requirements under S ection 4 , Rul e 138, a re does not impose reciprocity as a condi tion for ad mission of
not met . fore ign tra ined la wyers who ma y be ad mitted to the New
York bar withou t examination.
The pro vision read s:
"Sec. 4 . Requirement s for applicants from other The li mited application of comity as a grou nd for a d-
j urisdictions. - Appli cants for a dm iss ion who, be- m ission to the Philippine ba r is embodied in Ru le 138 ,
in g Filipino citizens, are e nroll ed attorneys in good Sec. 4. Since t he conditions therei n were not met by t he
stand ing in the Supreme Court of the United States a pplicant , then he ca n not clai m th e bcnef lta under the
or in a ny Circuit Court of Appe als or District Cou rt rule.
t he re in, or in the high est cou rt of a ny State or ter- Applicant himse lf admits tha t In Re Shoop "ma y no
ritory of the United States , and who ca n show by longer be a binding precedent." Said case was decided
48 LE(;AL PHOFESSI ON ;\-DMISSION TO PRACTI CE 49
u nder the old rul es for the examination of candidates for Issu e :
ad mission to the practice of law, which became effective
on July I , 1920 , but wh ich had been long supers eded by Whether or not the Su preme Court would allow him
the 1964 Rules of Court. to take the bar examinations .
3. That he had pa ssed the bar exami nations of Acting to his late st peti t ion in 1989, the Court di-
New York a nd had practiced law in tha t State rected the executive judge of the provi nce where the
since 199 0; res pondent is domiciled to su b mi t a comment on respond -
ent's moral fitness to be a member of the bar. In compli -
4. That he has t aken th e fou rth year rev iew a nce th erewi th , the execu tive ju dge filed his com me n t
courses a nd other ba r s ubjects in Ateneo Law stat ing that al though, he is not aware of a ny acts com-
School and is currently ta king the five-month mitted by him as would di squa lify h im fr om a dmission to
Bar Re view Courses in the same school. the Bar. Said j udge, howe ve r, in formed the cou rt that
50 LEGAL PkOFESSION ADM ISSION TC' PRACTICE 51
res pondent h as a pending civ il ca se before hi s court for fac ilitated his procurement of t he free pa tent tit le over
ca ncellation/reversi on proceedings, in which re spondent, t he property whi ch h e cou ld not but h ave known was a
th en wor kin g' 8S Leo d Investigator of the Bureau of pu bli c land. This was mani pulati ve on hi s part a nd docs
Lands, as per complaint filed by th e Office of th e So lici - no t speak well of h is moral character. It is a manifesta -
to r General , is a lleged to h av e secured a free p atent a nd tion of gross dishonesty while in t he public service, whi ch
la ter a certificate of title to 8 parcel oflan d which , u pon cannot be erased by t he termination of the case and where
in vestigation , turned ou t to be a swampla nd and not no determination of guilt or inn ocence was made because
susceptible of acqu isit ion und er fI. free pate nt, a nd wh ich t he suit has been compro m ise d . This is a sad r eflecti on
he later mortgaged to th e ba nk . Th e mortgage wa s late r of his sense of h onor a nd fa ir deal ings.
forecl osed a nd th e land sold a t public auction and re-
s ponden t has not redeemed the la nd since then . Mor eover, hi s fail ure to reveal to t he Co urt the
pendency of t he civi l case for Reversion filed against him
Said case was however been settled whe n th e parties
during the period that he was submitting several peti-
entered in to an a m icable settlement, The sa id a micable
tions a nd motions for reconsid erations reveal hi s lack of
settle ment cance lled the Ori ginal Certificate of Title un-
can dor and truthfuln ess .
der Free Pa ten t in the nam e of th e respondent and the
latter's mortgage in the bank; provided for the s u rrender Although , t he te rm "good m or al charac ter" admi ts
of the certificate of title to t.he Register of Deeds for proper of bro ad dimensions, it h a s bee n defined 8S "includ ing at
annotation; reverted to the m ass of publi c domain t he la nd least oommon honesty." It h as al so been held t hat no
covered by the aforesaid certifica te of ti tl e with respond- moral qu alifica ti on for bar membership is more im por-
ent re frain ing from ex erci sin g ac ts of possession or owner- tant than truthfulne ss or candor.
sh ip over the Raid land. Respondent also paid the bank a
certain su m for the loan a nd interest. 4. Whe r e non-lawyers may p ractice la w
The followi ng a re a llowed limited re presentation on be-
Issue: half of a no t he r:
May re spondent be n ow admitted to the practice of 1. A party may cond uct hi s litigation personally or
la w considering that he al rea dy submit te d three (3 ) tes- wi th t he a id of a friend or agent a ppointed by him
t imonials re garding hi s good mor al character, a n d hi s for th at purpose . In ca se of the lat te r, s uch is a).
pending civil case has been terminated? lowed only if the representati on is ma de befo re the
in ferior courts (MTC's). But t he agent or fri end may
lI el d : not hold h im self out as h abitually engaged in rep -
resenting a pa rty for that will constitute una uth or-
His petiti on must be denied. ize d pr actice of la w. Moreo ve r, in cri minal cases, if
Time a nd again, it ha s bee n held tha t t he practice a party cannot afford t he se rvices of a cou nsel de
of law is n ot a m atter of right. It is a privilege bestowed pa rte. he shall be provid ed a counsel de officio;
u pon individual s who are not on ly learned in the la w but
2. In locali ti es where a d uly lice nsed me mbe r of th e
wh o are al so known to possess good moral character.
bar is not ava ilable, the municipal tri al court hear-
It should be recalled that res pondent worked as Land ing a cri minal case m ay, in its discreti on adm it or
In vestigat or at the Bu re au of Lands, Said em ployment assign a person (who is not a mem ber of th e bar ),
I.F:GAL P ROFESS ION ADMISSI ON TC PHAt.'TICE ~1
"
resident of the province a nd of good refute for pro- 8. T hose who hy s peci al law a re pro h ibited from en-
bity a nd abili ty, to a id the defend ant in his defense ; gag ing in t he practi ce of th eir profession
3. Under t he Labo r Code, a union representative may
a ppear for h is organization or any of its members 6. I mporlanc e o f kno w in g w ho may b e a llowed to
before the N ationa l Labor Relatio ns Comm issi on , p r a c tic e l a w
labor a rbiter or a rb it rator ; The p u rpose of all regulation s for admission to pra ctice
4. A person representing a land cla ima nt in ca daet ra l law is to a ssure the public tha t only t hose who have t he abil-
court: ity, learning a n d sou nd character will h a nd le the ve ry delica te
task of la w a dvocacy, a n d forbidding in competent an d dishon-
5. In ca se of law st ude nt pr act ice 8 11 permitted by the est pra ctition ers to embark in t he pract ice of law. As t he prac-
rule s ;17 tice of law is invested with public interest, it is therefore t he
6. In ca se of th os e a uthorized to represent the govern- right a nd dut y of the s tale to regu late and control it so t ha t
ment. public welfa re will be Nerved a nd promoted . Un der the presen t
Constitution , the power to regulate th e pra cti ce oflaw is vested
Any person appointed or design a te d in accordance with with the judicial dep artment, more s p ecifica lly with t he Su -
la w to appea r for the P hilippine government or any of its preme Co u rt.
official s sh all ha ve all the righ ts of a dul y authori zed mem be r
of the bar to a ppea r in a ny case in whi ch the government ha s A lawyer, how ever, sh ould not be look ed upon as a n
an inte rest, or in which such officia l is charged in his officia l unmistak able being. H e docs not and should not impliedly
capacity. warrant the sound nes s of hi s opinions or ot herwise guara ntee
the ac cura cy of a ll he does . It su ffices t h at he possesses such
reason abl e knowledge of well -settled rules of la w as will en-
5. Public o ffi cials prohibited from en ga gi n g in p ri- able him to perform the duti es he undertake s and exe rcise
vate p ract ice o f la w re asonable "k ill and dili gence in attending to busin ess en-
1. Judges and ot h er officials or employees of t h e court; trusted to hi 8 care. In other wor ds , when a ttorneys undertake
to conduct lega l controversies a nd t ran sactions, they profess
2. Officials and em ployees of the Office of the Soli cito r themse lves to he reasonably well-acquai nted wi t h the law and
General; the rules of procedures, an d they a re bou n d to exercise in
3. Government prosecutors; such proceedings a rea sonable degr ee of ca re, prudence, dil i-
gence a n d sk il l. Attorneys do not profess to k now a ll t he law,
4. President, Vice-P resident, members of the ca b inet, or to be incapable of error or mi stake in a p plyi ng it to the
th eir deputies a nd assistants; facts of eve ry case, as even t.he most erudite a n d sk ill fu l j us-
5. Members of t h e Constit utional Com missions; tice of t h e cou rt woul d hardly be a ble to come up to that
standard .
6. Ombudsm an a nd hi s deputies;
7. All governors, cit y a n d municipal mayors :
each member. The Ba r Exa mination Committee sha ll serve wea pons, camera s, tape recorders , other radio or ste reo eq uip -
for one yea r.! Actin g as a liaison between the Supreme Court ment. communicatio n ga dge ts or a ny oth er elect ron ic device.
and th e Chairm an and the individual members of th e commit- Ea ting a nd smoking in sid e the exam ination a rea is likewise
tee is the bar confida nt whose functi on is purely min isterial. prohibited .
Brin ging of pa pers, hooks or notes in to th e exam ination
3. Duties and function s of the committee room ia a lso proh ibited. Kee ping the exam inee's iden ti ty se-
cret and thus avoid a ny influence to bea r u pon the e xaminer
Every member of the committee is required to exercise in th e evalua tion of his a ns wers is of pa ramoun t cons ide ra-
the greates t care a nd diligen ce in th e performance of his duties.
tion . A name ca rd will he given to him by t he proctor or head-
E very act of th e committee in connection with the exe rcise of wa tche r which the exa minee should accom plish st rict ly fol-
discre tion in th e admission of a pplica nts for membership in lowin g rules , by printing' his na me, affixing his custo mary
the bar must always be in accordance with the established signa ture, indicating t he school where he came from , a nd af-
rules a nd su bject to the fin al a pproval of the Court. fixing his right th umb mark on the space provided therein.
The Committee on Bar Examination prepares the ques- Thereafte r, the examinee sha ll insert the said nam e ca rd into
ti ons which a re th e same for a ll e xaminees. It is likewise a n e nvelop which is a ttached at t he back of the exa mi nati on
vested in th e office of th e committee th e correc tion of the notebook .
exa mination papers, give t he gr ades obtained by th e exami- Th e examinee shall a ns wer the ques tio ns in his own han d-
nees a nd submit the corrected papers to th e bar confida nt . wri ti ng without hel p from a nyonef Only fountain pen s a nd sign
Th e bar confida nt on the other hand tallies th e individual pens in permanent blue, blu e-black, or black ink shou ld be used
grad es of th e exa minee in a ll subj ects, computes th e gener al during th e examinations. Vari ations in the color of ink a nd t.he
a verage a nd prepares a compara ti ve date showing th e per- style of one's handwriting should be a voided. Wh ile a nsweri ng
centage of passin g and failing after which he/she sha ll submit the exa mina tio n, e xaminee s are not allowed to com municate
th e same to t he Bar Examination Committee a nd to the Court with ea ch othe r. Upon a verified ap plicati on made by th e ex-
en bane.s Further, the committee is enjoined to take necessa ry a minee himself stati ng t hat his penmanshi p if! so poor a nd t hat
precautions to prevent subs titu tion of papers or the commis- it is very difficult to rea d h is answe rs without much loss of
sion of fra uds. time , the Su prem e Court may allow said exa minee to use a
noiseless typewriter in answeri ng the questi ons .'
4. Conduct of the e xa m in a t ion s In correcti ng a mistake, th e exa minee is directed to s im-
In th e conduct of the bar examinations, th e ex aminee ply dra w a line ac ross the word or words h e wa nts to cha nge.
mu st know that his failure to take an y subject will bar him Any ot her form of erasures or teari ng 01T of a ny page of th e
from taking th e rest of th e exa minations. exa mination book let as well as writi ng the name of th e exa mi-
nee or ma king unnecessa ry markin g or im pression may be
An examinee who has bee n a llowed to take th e bar ex- cons t rued as a means of identifying his booklet . Th is may be
amination is given a Notice of Admission which shall se rve as a ground for disqualifica tion.
his pass to th e exa mina tion compo und/room. In entering th e
exa mination compound, he is not allowed to bring deadly Th e exami nee s hall not influe nce a ny member of the
Committee on Ba r Exam ina tions. Th furth e r protect t he integ-
-sec. 12. Rule 138. Re v. Ru lctl of Cou rt. 'See . 10. Rule 138. Re v. Ru les of Court.
&I n re Le ncevc, 66 SCRA 245. Ti d.
BAR EXAMINATIONS 5.
LEGAL PROFESS ION
"
c) Property Registra ti on Decree
rity of th e examinat ions a nd to av oid u nd ue in fluen ce or pres- d) Conflict of Laws (Private Inte rn a tiona l Law)
sure, the ide ntity of the examiners a re usu a lly not being di-
vulge pending t he rel ea se of U'lP. exa mination results.
D. TAXATION
Any candid ate who viola tes a ny of the rules conce rni ng
the conduct of th e examinati ons will be ba rred from taking a) Ge nera l Princi ple s of Taxation
the examina ti on a nd t he sa me shall be counted 8 S a failure b) Nationa l Inte rn al Revenue Code
aga inst him. Th e Court may also, in its d iscretion, impose a c) Ta riff and Cu eto rne Code
more severe pen alty like perma nent disqua lification from ta k-
ing the ba r exam ination depending u pon the circum stances of d) Rep ublic Act No. U 25, Cre ating the Court of Tax
the case. Appeal s
e) Provisions of the Local Gov't Code on Taxation
5. Cove rage o f the Bar Ex a m in a t ions
E. MERCANTI LE LAW
The following a re th e us ua l cove rage of the Bar Exami-
nations: a) Some provision s on Code of Com merce
~ b) Bulk Sales Law
A. POL ITICAL AND PUBL IC INTERNATIONAL LAW c) Wareh ou se Receipts Law
a) Constitutional Law d) P.o. No. 115 on Trust Recei pts
b) Poli tica l La w e) Negot iable Instruments La w
c) Ad ministr ative Law (usually excluding: the im ple- o In sura nce Code
menting rules a nd regu la tions) g) Tra nsporta tion La ws
d) Law on Public Officers h) Corporation Law
e) Public Corporations including the Local Gov't , Code i) Chattel Mortga ge Law
o La ws on S uffr age or El ection Laws j) Real Estate Mortgage Law
g) Public Intern ational Law k) La w on Inte llectual Property
I) Insolvency La w
B. LABOR AND SOCIAL LEGISLATION
m) Truth in Len ding Act
a) Labor Standa rds
b) Labor Relations F. CRIM ii,AL LAW
c) Socia l Legislati on s a) The Re vised Penal Code (Books I and II )
b) Indete rmi na te Sentence Law
C. CIVIL LAW
c) Probation La w
a) Civil Code of th e Philippines d) Anti -Graft a nd Corrupt Pract ices Act
b) The Fa mily Code of the Philippines
so LEGAl• • Rl WESSION DAR EXAMINATIONS G1
c) Anti-Fencing Law before he ca n legally pract ice his profe ssi on and/or a ppear in
court.
o Bou ncing Checks La w
g) Dangero us Drugs Act mA. No. 6425, a s amended ) In one case, it was held that the t itle of "attorney" iR
reserved to those who, having obtained the necess ary degree
h) Heinous Crime" <R.A. No. 7659) in t he st udy of law and su ccessfu lly taken the bar exa m ina-
tions , h ave been adm itted to the Integra te d Bar of the Phil-
G. REMEDIAL LAW ippines and remain members the reof in good stand ing, a nd it
is they alone who are a uthorized to pra ctice law in th e Phil-
a) The Rules of Court ippines."
b) The 1991 Revised Rul es on Summary Procedure
c) Local Government Code on Conciliation Procedures
d) The Judicia ry Reorganization Act, a s a mended
1. He ma st ha ve successfully complete d hi s 3rd year 3. 1b ensu re consi stency with the fundamenta l pri nci-
of the re gula r four-year curriculum. That is , he must ple th a t no person is a llowed to practice a pa rticu-
be at lea st a n incoming fourth yea r of the regular la r profession withou t poescs ein g the qu a lification s,
four-yea r cu rricul um. So much 80 that if he is en- pa rti cularly a license, a s requi red by law.
rolled in a n executive cla ss wherethe com pletion of Th e Rule clea rly st a les that the appearance of a la w
the entire cu rriculum takes a period offiv e (5 ) ye ars, stude nt s ha ll be under the direct control and supervision of a
he is not qualified afte r completing h is t hird year member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines du ly a CC11'd ·
residency; ited by the law school. Th e rule must be strict ly construed
because public policy demands t hat lega l work shou ld be en-
62 trusted only to those who p08 s e 8 S tested qua lifications , are
64 LEGAL P ROFl'; SSION
The rules safeguarding pri vileged commu nication bet ween 3. Tb cou n sel a n d mai ntain s uch actio ns or p roceed .
attorney a nd clien t shall apply to similar comm unica tions m ade in gs only as a p pear to h im to be j us t, a n d s uch defen ses on ly
to or rece ived by t he la w st ud en ts, acting for the legal cli n ic. as he believes to be hon estly deb atable u nder t he la w;
4. Th em ploy, for t he purpose of ma intain ing t h e ca uses
3. Standard or con d uct and su pervis io n con fide d to hi m , s uch means only as are consistent with truth
and honor, a nd ne ver seck to mislead t h e j ud ge or a ny jud icia l
The la w stude nt is required to comply with t h e sta n d-
office r by a n a rtifice or false statemen t of fact or law;
a rds of profess iona l con duct gove rning members of t he bar.
F ailure of a n attorney to provide a dequate s u pervision of stu- 5. 1b m a in tai n inviolate the oonfi de nce, and at every
dent pra ctice m ay be grou nd for di sciplinary action. (Circular effort to h imsel f, to preserve t he secrets of hi s cli ent, and to
N o. 19, December 19, 1986). accept no compensation in connec tion with h is client's busi -
ness except fro m him or with his knowl edge and approva l;
6. Th a bstai n fro m all offensi ve personality a nd to
advance no fa ct prej ud icia l to t he ho nor or repu tation of a
party or wit ness, unless required by justice of t h e cause wit h
wh ich h e is ch a rged ;
65
66 LEGAL PROF ESSION
DlITlES AND PR IVILEGES OF A LAWn :R
"
8. N ever to reject , for any consideration perso nal to
hi mself, the ca use of the defen sel ess or oppresse d; person concerned if on ly to the extent necessary to sa feguard
the la tter's rights.
9. In the defense of a person accused of a crime , by all
fa ir and rea sonable means, regardless of his personal opinion Rule 2.03 - A lawyer sha ll not d o or permit to be done
a s to the guilt of the accused , to present every defen se that a ny act des igned p rim arily to solicit legal b usiness .
the law permits, to th e end that no person ma y be deprived Rules 2.04 - A la wyer sha ll not ch arge rates lower than
of life or libe rty. but by due process of law those customari ly prescribed unles s t he cir cumstances so
warrant.
1. The C o d e of Professional Responsibility CANON 3 - A LAWYER, IN MAKING KNOWN HIS
LEGAL SERVICES SHALL USE ON LY TRUE, HONEST,
Chapter I FAIR, DIGN IFIED AND OBJECTIVE INFORMATION OR
STATEMENT OF FACTS.
THE LAWYER AND THE SOCIETY
Rule 3.01 - A la wyer shall not use or permit the use of
CANON I _ A LAWYER SHALL UPHOLD TilE CON- any fal se, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive, undign ified, self-
STITUTION , OBEY THE LAWS OF THE LAND AND PRO- laudato ry or u nfair statement or claim r ega rding hi s qu a lifi-
MOTE RESP ECT FOR LAW AND LEGAL PROCESSES. cations or legal se rvices.
Rule 1.01 _ A la wyer shall not enga ge in un lawful, dis- Rule 3.0 2 - In the choice of a finn name , no false, mis-
lea din g or a ssumed name sha ll be u sed . The continued use of
honest , immora l or deceitful cond uct. .. the na me of a d eceased partner is permissible provided tha t
Rule 1.02 - A lawyer shall not counselor abet activities the finn in d icates in a ll its commu nication that said partner
aimed at de fiance of the law or a t lessening coniidence in the is deceased. .
legal system.
RUle 3.03 - Where a partner a ccepts public office, he
Rule 1.03 - A lawyer shall not , for any corrupt moti ve shall withd raw fro m t he finn and his name shall be dropped
or inte rest, encourage any s uit or prceeedi ng or delay any from the firm na me u nless the law a llows h im to practice law
man's ca use. concu rrently.
Rule 1.04 - A la wyer shell encourage his clients to avoid, Rule 3.04 - A la wyer shall not payor gi ve a ny thing of
end or se t tle the cont roversy if it will a dmit ofa fair settl emen t. value to rep resentatives of the ma ss media in antici pa tion of,
CANON 2 _ A LAWYER SHALL MAKE HIS LEGAL or in return for, p ub licity to attract le ga l business .
SERVICES AVAILABLE IN AN EFFICIENT AND CONVEN- CANON 4 - A LAWYER SHALL PARTICIPAT E IN TilE
IENT MANNE R COMPATIBLE WITI\·TH E INDEPEND- DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEGAL SYSTE M BY INITIATING
ENCE, INTEGRITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PRO- OR SUPPORTING EFFORTS IN LAW REFORM AND IN TIl E
FESSION. . IMPROVEMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF J USTICE.
Rule 2.01 _ A la wyer shall not reject, except for va lid CANON 5 - A LAWY~R SHALL KEEP ABREAST OF
reasons, the cause of the defenseless or the oppressed . LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS, PARTIC IPATE IN CONTINUING
Rule 2.02 _ In suc h a ca se, even if a lawyer docs not LEGAL EDUCATION P ROGRAMS , SUPPORT EF FORTS TO
accept a case, he shall not refuse to render legal ad vice to the ACHIEVE HIG H STANDARDS IN LAWSC HOOLS AS WELL
AS IN TH E PRACTICAL TRAINING OF LAW ST UDENTS
sa I.EI1 AL P(WFE.c;.<;ION
DlITlJ'::S AND I'RIVJl EGr:S 01-' A LA\\'YER 69
CANON 7 - A LAWYER SHALL AT ALL TIME S UP - a) Where the re is a pre-existing agreement with a part.
HOLD THE INT EGRITY AND DIGNITY OF THE LEGAL ner or associ ate that, upo n the la t te r 's dea th, money
PROFESSION AN D SUPPORT THE ACTIVITIES OF T HE s ball be paid over a reasonab le period of t ime to his
INT EGRAT ED BAR . estate or to the person s specified in the a greement ;
or
Rule 7.01 - A la wyer sha ll be a ns werable for kn owing ly
making fal se stateme nt or su ppressing a materi al fact, in con- b) Where a la wye r u ndertakes to com plete unfini shed
nection with his a pplication for a dmiesio u to th e bar. legal bu siness of a dece ased la wyer ; or
Rule 7.02 - A la wye r shall no t support the ap plication c) Where a la wyer or la w firm includes non -lawy er- em-
for a dmiss ion to the bar of a ny person known by him to be ployees in a retirement plan , even if th e plan is based
u nqualified in respect to cha racter, education , or other re l- in whole or in pa rt, on a profit-sharing arra ngement.
evan t attri bute.
C hap ter III
Rule 7.03 - A lawyer sha ll not engage in a ny conduct
that adversely refl ects on his fitn ess to practice law, nor sha ll Tin; LAWYEU ANI> TilE COUIlTS
he, whether in pu blic or private life , behave in sca ndalo us
CANON 10 - A LAWYER OWES CAN DOR. FAIRN ESS
manner to the di scredi t of the legal profess ion.
AND GOon FAITH TO T ilE COURT.
~
,I
i 70 U :O AL I'ROFES.<;ION
DUTIES AND PIHVI LEGES OF A l.A',\'YER 71
I
Rule 10.01 - A la wyer sha ll not do any fal sehood, nor Rul e 12.02 - A lawyer shall not file multiple act ions
a ris ing from the sa me cau se.
conse nt to th e do ing of a ny in court; nor sha ll he misl ead, or
allow th e Court to be misled by an a rtifice. Rul e 12.03 - A lawyer sha ll not, after obta inin g exten-
sion s of time to file pleadings , memoranda or briefs, let the
Rule 10.02 - A la wyer s hall not knowin gly misqu ote or peri od lap se without su bmi tti ng the sa me or offeri ng an ex-
misrepresent the con tents of a paper, the la ngua ge or t he planation for his failure to do so.
argu ment of oppos in g couns el, or the tex t of a decision or
au t hority, or knowingly cite 8 S la w a provisi on already ren- Ru le 12.04 - A lawyer shall not u nduly delay a ca se ,
de red inop erative by repeal or ame ndme nt, or assert as a fact impe de the execution of aj udgment or mi suse Court proc esses .
th at which ha s not be en pro ved. Rul e 12.05 - A lawyer shall refrain from ta lki ng to his
witness du ring brea k or recess in the trial , whil e the wit ness
Rule 10.03 - A lawyer shall observe the rules of proce- is st ill under exa mination.
dure a nd sha ll not misuse the m to defea t t he ends of justice.
Ru le 12.06 - A lawyer shall not knowingly assist a
CANON 11 - A LAWYER S HALL OBS ERVE AND witnes s to misrepresent himself or to imperson ate another.
MAINTAIN THE RESPECT DUE TO THE COURTS AND TO
JUDICIALOFFICERS AND SHOULD NOT INSIST ON SIMI· Rule 12.07 - A lawyer sha ll no t a b use , browbeat or
harass a witness nor needl essly inconvenience him.
LAR CONDUCT BY OTHEllS.
Ru le 12.08 - A law yer shall avoid te stifying in behalf of
Rule 11.01 - A la wyer s ha ll a ppea r in cou rt properly his client, except:
attired.
a) on formal ma tters, such as the mailing, au t he nt.ica -
Rule 11.02 - A lawyer sha ll punctuall y ap pea r at court tion or cus tody of a n instrument, and the like ; or
hearings.
b) on substantial matters, in cases where his testi-
Rule 11.03 - A lawyer sha ll abstain from scand alous, mony is ess ential to the ends of justic e, in wh ich
offensive or menacing language or behavior before th e Courts. event he mu st, during hi s testimony, entrust the
trial of the case to an other cou ns el.
Rule 11.04 - A la wyer shall not attri bu te to a judge
motives not supported by the record or have no materiality to CANON 13 - A LAWYER SHALL RELY UPON THE
the case . MERITS OF HIS CAUSE AND REFRAIN FROM ANY 1M.
PROPRIETY WIIICH TENDS TO INHUENCE, OR GIVES
Rule 11.05 - A la wyer shall s ubmit grievances against THE APPEARANCE OF INFLUENCING THE COURT.
a judge to the proper au thorities only.
Rule 13.01 - A lawyer shall not exte nd extraordi na ry
CANON 12 - A LAWYER SHALL EXERT EVERY EF· at te ntion or hospitali ty to , nor se ck op portunity for, cultivat-
FORT AND CONSIDER IT illS DUTY TO ASSIST IN THE in g familiarity with Judges.
SPEEDYANn f;FF IClE NT ADMINISTRATION OF J USTICE. Rul e 13.02 - A lawyer s ha ll not make public s tatemen ts
in the medi a regardin g a pending ca se le nd ing to a rouse public
Rule 12.01 - A la wyer sha ll not appear for tr-i al un less
opi nion for or against a party.
he has adequately prepared hi mse lf with the law e nd th e
facts of his ca se, the evidence he will adduce a nd the order of Ru le 13.03 - A la wyer sha ll not brook or invite in te rfer -
its prefer en ce . He should a lso he read y with th e ori gin al docu- ence by another bran ch or agency of the govern ment in t he
ments for comparison with the copies. normal cou rse of judicial proceedings .
-a LEGA L PRQFESS I0 1'O Il tIT lE.<;; AND P k lV1U Xi E.<; or A 1..I\WYER 73
Rule 14.02 - A lawyer shall not decline, except for seri- Rule 15.06 - A la wyer shall 1I0t state or im ply tha t he
ous a nd sullicient ca us e , a n a ppointment 8 S counsel de officio is able to infl uence a ny publi c official , tribunal or legislati ve
or 8 S a mi cus curiae , or a request from the In tegrated Bar of body.
th e Philippin es or a ny of its chapters for the rendition of free Rul e 15.07 - A la wyer sha ll i mp re ss upo n his client
legal a id. com pliance with the law s a nd t he pri n ciples of fairness.
Rule 14.03 - A la wyer may 0 (\1 refuse to acce pt repre- Rul e 15.08 - A lawyer who is e ngaged in another pro-
se ntation of a client if: fession or occupa tion concu rrently wi t h the practi ce of la w
shall mak e clear to hie client whether h e is acting as a la wyer
a) he is not in a position to carry out the work effec-
or in a nothe r capacity.
ti vely or com peten tl y;
CANON 16 - A LAWYER S II ALL HOLlJ IN TR UST
b) he labors under conflict of inte re st between him ALL MON EYS ANI> PROP ERTI E S OF lllS CLIE NT TH AT
a nd the prospect ive client or betwee n a present eli- MAY COME INTO Ill S POSS ESSI ON .
en t a nd the pros pective client ,
Rul e 16.01 - A la wyer sha ll a ccou nt for all money or
Rule 14.04 - A lawye r who accepts the ca use of a pe rson property collected or received for or from the clien t.
unabl e to pay his professional fees shall observe the same stand-
a rd of conduct gover ning his re lations with paying clients. Rul e 16.02 - A la wye r sha ll kee p the funds of each
clie nt se pa rate a nd apa rt from his own a nd those of oth ers
CANON 15 - A LAWYER S HALL OBSERVE CANDOR, ke pt by him.
FAIRNESS AND LOYALTY IN ALL HIS DEALI NGS AND
TRANSACTIO NS WITII illS CLIENTS. Rule 16.03 - A law yer shall deli ver th e fu nds and prop-
erty of his client when du e or upo n demand . However, he sha ll
Rule 15 .01 - A la wyer in conferri ng with a prospecti ve have a lien over th e fu nd s a nd may a p ply so m uch thereof as
client , shall ascert ai n a s soon as practicable wh ether the ma tter may he necessary to satisfy hi s la wful fees a nd diabu rserncn ts,
would in volve a conflict with a nother client or his own inter- giv i ng not ice promptly the reafter to h is cl ient. He shall also
es t , a nd if s o, shall forthwith inform the prospective clien t. ha ve H lien to the sa me extent Oil 1111j udgme nts a nd executions
Rule 15.02 - A la wyer shall be boun d by the rule on he ha s sec ured for his clie nt a s p rovided for in the R u l(~ !l of
privilege comm unication in respect of matters di sclosed to him Co u rt.
by a prospecti ve client. Ru le 16.04 - A la wyer sha ll not borrow money from his
Rule 15 .03 - A la wyer sha ll not represent conflicting clie n t unless the clie nt's in terests u re fu lly pro tected by the
~,
I
" LEGAL PROFESSION () UT IES AJ"O D PRIVI Lt;GES 01-' A LAV.'YER
"
'i
na ture of t he case or by independe nt advice. Neit her sha ll a CANON 20 - A LAWY ER SHALL CII ARG E ONLY FAIR
lawyer le nd money to a clie nt exce pt, when in the interest of AND REASO NABU; ;'EES.
j ustice, he has to ad vance necessary expenses in a legal ma t- Ru le 20.01 - A la wyer ~ h311 he guide d by the following
ter he is ha ndling for the client. factors in de termining his fees :
CANON 17 - A LAWYER OWES FIDE LITY TO T HE
a) The t ime spent and the ext ent of the services ren-
CAUS E OF HIS CLIENT AND HE S HALL BE MINDFUL O F
dered or requi red;
TH E TRU ST AND CONFIDENCE REPO SED IN 111 M.
h) The novelty an d d ifficulty ofthe q uestions involved;
CANON 18 - A LAWYER SHALL SERVE HIS CLIENT
WITII COMPETENCE AND DILIGENCE. c) Th e importance of the subject matte r ;
Ru le I R.Ol - A la wyer sha ll not undertake a legal se rv- d) The skill dema nded ;
ice whi ch he kn ows or should kn ow that he is net q ua lifie d to
e) The proba bility of losin g other employment a s a
render. However, he may render such se rvice if, with the con -
sent of his client, he can obtai n a s collabora ting counsel n resul t of acceptance of th e pre fe rred case;
lawyer who is competen t on th e m atter. o The cu stoma ry charges for sim ilar se rv ices a nd th e
Rule 18.02 - A la wyer sha ll no t hand le a ny lega l ma t ter sched ule of fees of the IBP Chapter t o which he
without adequate preparation . be lon gs ;
Ru le 18.03 - A la wyer sha ll not neglect a legal matter g) The a mount inv olved in the co nlroversy and the
entrusted to him , a nd his negligen ce in connection therewith benefi ts resulti ng to the client from the serv ice;
sha ll render him liabl e.
h) The contingency or certainty of com pe nsation;
Rule 18.04 - A la wyer sha ll keep the client inform ed of
t he status of his ca se a nd shall res pond withi n a reasonable i) The character of the employment , whether occasiona l
period of time to t he clie nt's request for infonnation. or established; and
CANON 19 - A LAWYER S HALL REPRESENT illS j) The professional standing of the la wyer.
CLIENT WITH ZEAL WITHIN TH E BOUNDS OF THE LAW. Rul e 20.02 - A lawye r shall. in cases of referral with the
Rule 19.0 1 - A la wyer sha ll employ only fair a nd ho ne st conse nt of the client , be enticled to a division of fees in pro-
mea ns to attain the lawful objectives of his clie nt an d sha ll portion to the work performed a nd res po nsibility a ssumed.
not presen t , participa te in presenting or threaten to present
Rul e 20.03 - A lawyer shall not , withou t t he full knowl-
unfounded cri mina l cha rges to obtain an improper ad vantage
edge a nd con sent of the client , acce pt a ny fee , reward, cost s,
in a ny case or proceeding.
commission, inte res t, reba te , or forwarding a llowa nce or oth er
Rule 19.02 - A la wyer who ha s received infonnation com pe nsat ion wh a tsoever related to his professiona l e mploy-
that his client ha s, in the course of th e represen ta tion , perpe- ment from anyone othe r than the clie nt.
trated a fraud upon a person or tr ibunal , sha ll pro mptly ca ll
u pon the clien t to re ct ify the same, a nd faili ng which he ha s Rul e 20.0 4 - A la wyer sha ll avo id controversies with
to termi nate the re lations hip wi th such client in accordance clients conce rni ng his compen sa tion and shall resort to judi-
with the Rules of Cour t. cial act ion only to prevent im posit ion of inj us tice or fraud .
Rule 19.03 - A law yer shall not allow his client to dic- CANON 2 1 - A LAWYER SHA LL PRE SERVE TilE
tate the procedure in hand ling the case. CON F IDENCES AND SEC RETS OF il lS CLIENT EVEN
U ;GAl, f'ROfo"E3S ION DUTIES AND I'kIYlLEGF-S OF A LAVlYER 77
"
AFTER T ilE ATTOR N EY-CLI ENT HELATION IS TEHM J- e) When the client purs ues an illegal or immoral course
NATED . of condu ct in connection with the matter h e is han-
dling;
Rule 2 1.CI - A la wyer sha ll not revea l the confidences
or secreta of his client except: b) Whe n the client insists that t he lawyer pu rs ue con-
duct violative of t hese canons and rules;
a) when authorized by the client afte r acqu aint ing him
of the consequences of the disclosure; c) When hi s in ability to work wit h co-counsel will not
promote the best interest of the clie nt;
b) when required by la w;
d) When t he mental or phys ica l cond it ion of the la w-
c) when necessary to collect his fees or to defend him - ye r rende rs it difficult for him to carry out t he
se lf, his e mployees or associates or by j udicia l acti on. employment e ffectively;
Rule 2 1.02 - A lawyer sha ll not, to the disadva nta ge of e) When t he client deliberately fails to pay the fees for
his client , use information acquired in the course of employ- the services or fa ils to comply with the retaine r
ment, nor shall he use th e Marne to his own a dva ntage or that agreement;
of a third person , unle ss the client. with full k nowledge of the
circumstances consents thereto. o Wh en the la wyer is ejected or a ppointed to a public
office; a nd
Rule 2 1.03 - A la wyer shall not , witho ut the written con-
sent of hi s client, give inform a tion from his files to a n outside h) Ot he r s imilar cases.
age ncy seeking such inform a tion for a uditi ng', statistical, book- Rule 22.0 2 - A la wyer who wit hdraws or is discharged
keepi ng, acco unting, d ata processing, or any simila r purpose . shall, subject to a retaining lien, im medi ately t um over a ll
Rule 2 1.04 - A la wyer may disclose the affairs of a cli- pa pe rs a nd property to which th e client is enti tled, a nd shall
ent of the firm to pa rtners or associates thereof unless proh ib- cooperate with h is successor in the orderly t ra nsfe r of t he
ite d by the clien t . ma tter, incl uding a U information necess a ry for the proper
handling of t he matter.
Rules 21.05 - A lawyer shall adopt such meas ures as
may be required to prevent those whose services are utili zed
by him, from disclosing or usi ng confidences or secrets of t he 2. Pour-fold Duti e s oC a Lawyer
client. The duties of a lawyer may be classified into four (4)
Rule 2 1.06 - A lawye r sha ll avoid ind iscreet converse- categories, namely :
tion about a clie nt's affairs even with mem bers of his family. a) His duties towards the courts;
Rule 2 1.07 - A la wye r sha ll not reveal that he has been b) His duti es towa rds the society ;
consulted about a pa rti cul a r case except to avoid possi ble
conflict of interest, . c) H is d uties towards his colleagues in the profession;
an d
CANON 22 - A LAWYER MAY WIT H DRAW HIS SgHV-
IC ES ONLY FOH GOOD CAUSE AND U PON NOT ICE AP- d) H is du t ies to his client.
PR OPIllATE IN TH E CIRCU MSTANCES. Mem be rship in the bar entai ls various obliga tions. The
Rule 22 .0 1 - A lawyer may withdraw his se rvice in a ny la wyer's role in the ad ministration of j us tice deman ds obliga-
of the follow ing cases : t ions whic h a re not usu ally expected from a n ord inary lay-
78 LEGAl.. PROFE SSION IlUTIER AN D PRlVII.EGES OF A I.AW'fE R 79
~
:1 ma n. He has s t ro ng influen ce in the community ; m a ny people bu t to the ad ministration of justice. Hence, his client's success
consider hi m worthy of im ita tion a nd as such he s hould not is wholl y subordinate. Fo r this reason, in case of a conflict
only pre ach t he la w b ut mu st lik ewise se t t h e exa mp le by between his du ties to the courts a nd tha t to his client. j l, e
observing and upholding the sa me . con flict s hall be resolved in fav or of t he form e r.
Once 8 p<lrson is gi ve n th e pri vilege or Irnnchi sc to prac- As R la wyer 's duty of prime importance is to observe a nd
t ice la w, he ip so {acto becomes a n adminis trato r of justice , mai n tai n the respec t d ue to the cou rts of j ust ice and judicial
oath boun d serv a nt of society whose firs t d uty is not to his officer s, his conduct be fore the cou rt should be cha racterize
client but towards the ad min istr ation of jus tice. with ca ndor, tru thfu ln ess a nd fai rness. He shou ld come to
cou rt properly attired, a nd should a void insulti ng and di s-
He h a s the duty to h is brothers a nd s is ters to utilize re spectful words in hi s dea lings wit h t he court. Neit he r sha ll
peacefu l a nd lega l mea ns in seeki ng j us tice a n d refrain fro m he mi sq uote a decision of the cou rt under pain of conte m pt. It
doing inte ntiona l wrong to th ei r opponents. lie sh ou ld s t ri ve is a ls o his solemn duty to defen d the court from unj ust cri ti-
to maintain public confi de n ce in the ad mini st ration of j us t ice
cis m. He ha s the righ t however to cri t icize the wron g actions
and in the in tegrity of t he j udiciary. He should di scourage of t he court, but in doing this, he must see to it that his word s
indi vidual s, pa rticula rly t ho se in public office from di sr egard -
though forceful a re digni fied . He should a lso observe the pro per
ing the su premacy of the law a nd respect for the righ ts of
p rocedu re a nd/or remedy in expressing his com pla in t against
citizens.
the court.
The fir~ t a nd foremost duty of a lawyer is to a dvocate for
In one case, ' it wa s held that a p ublication that tend s to
tbe prop er administration of justice as the society ha s del -
im ped e , ernba rraae or obstruct the cou rt a nd constit u te s a
egated to the legal professi on the ad ministra tio n of law a nd
the dispensing of justice. Hence, lawyers are expecte d to be ut clear and presen t danger to t he a dministrat ion of justice is
the forefront in the observan ce and ma inten a nce {Ifthe rule of not prote cte d by the gu a ra ntee of press freed om a nd is pun-
law a nd the pr eservation of its de mocra tic in stitution a nd ishable by conte mpt, it is not neces sa ry to show that the
liberti es. For this rea son , Ilia du ty in cludes perpetual al le- pu bli cation actually obst ructs t he a dministra tion of j ustice, it
giance to the Republic of th e Philippin es , uphold its cons t it u- is e noug h that it le nds to do so. In People us. A la rron ,2 it wa s
tion a nd obey the la ws of the land. held that newspa per publications te nding to impede, obstruct,
e mba rra ss or influence the courts in ad ministe ring jus tice in
While the duty to uphold the constitutio n a nd obey the a pendin g suit or proceed ing cons ti t u te s criminal contem pt
laws of t he la nd is a n obliga tion imposed upon every citizen, wh ich is sum ma rily pu nisha ble by the courts.
a lawyer a ssu mes far more re spon sibilities than that of a n
ordina ry citizen . As a schola r of the law, he should se t a n In In re Thlfo,3 Tulfo's "S a ngk a tutak na Bobo" colu mn
exam ple for the com mon good. lie should not e ng age in u n- (on the SC decision in Va lmon te VB. De Villa ) was held cont u-
lawful, d ishon est, im moral or dec eitful conduct otherwise, he maciou s. Freedom of the press is su bord inate to the au thority,
makes hi mself unfit to re mai n a member of the bar. integrity a nd independence of the j ud iciary a nd the proper
a d m inistration of ju stice. While the re is no law to rest rain or
It is t he du ty of the la wyer to ma intai n toward s t he
pu ni sh the freest exp ression of di sa pprobation or what is done
courts a res pectful a ttitude, not for the sake of the tem porary
incumbent of the judicial office, but for the ma in tenan ce of its
su pre me importa nce . As an officer of the court, his duty to the
latte r is more pa ra mount than his d uties to his client. As ' In re Jurado. 12 J u ly WHO.
~9 Phil. 26..e.
pre viously pointed out, his primary duty is not to his clien t a17 Apri l 1990 .
80 LEGAL I'IWFESS IQN DUTIES AND PIUV TLEGt :S OF A LAWYER 8'
in or by the courts, free e xpres sion mus t. not be UB('d as a duct that should be with all good fideli ty to the courts, T he
ve hicle to s a t is fy ono'e i r ra t ion al obsession to demea n , ridi- duty of an a ttorney to the courts can on ly be maintained by
cule, degrade and even de stroy the courts and thei r me mbers. re ndering no se rvice involving a ny dis respect to the ju dicial
office whi ch he is bound to u ph old."
In In re La ureto." a la wye r was held in contempt and
s us pende d from the practice of la w for wri ting ind ividual le t - The general rule is t ha t e very citi zen, a nd so every
ters to t he members of t he SC division who decided a cas e mem ber of the Bar, has the righ t to com ment upon the rul ings
a gains t his client a r roga nlly questioning their decision and of a j ud icia l officer in a n action which has been fina lly deter-
threatening nn expose if the sa me was not reconsi dered in his mined. Wh en a case is finished , judges a re s ubject to criticism
favor. In Zaldivar us. Sandiganbayan ,!' a member of t he Ba r aa othe r people. In cri ticizing the court, howeve r, the lawyer
who impu ted cha rges of im proper influence, corru ption and must us e respectfullanguage. A lawyer may not attack a court's
other misdeeds to members of the Supreme Court, was su s- decision in word s ca lculated to j ct isso n t he time-honored a pho--
pended from the pra ctice of law, a s "neither the ri ght of fre e rism that courts a re temples of right . Lawyers must come
speech nor th e right to engage in political activities ca n be 80 up with various meth ods, perhaps more effective, in ca lling
construed or exte nded as to permit a ny such liberties to a the court's attention to the issues involved . The language
me mber of the Bar." vehi cle docs not ru n short of expression, empha tic bu t re-
spectful, convi ncing but not de roga tory, illumina ti ng but not
Judges, not be ing wh olly free to defend themselves, are offensiv e ."
peculia rly entitled to recei ve the su pport of the Bar agains t
unjust criticism and clamor. Whenever there is proper ground No twit hstanding his right to crit ici ze the courts, a lawyer
for se rious compla in t of a jud icial officer, it is the ri ght and is s till bound, as a n officer of the Court to give due respect to
duty of the la wyer to submit his grievance to the proper a u- judges in or out of court. An attorney is under special obl iga-
t horities. ti on to be considerate an d respectful in h is conduct and com mu-
nica tion to e judge. He is an officer of t he Court, a nd it is there-
As an officer of the cou rt, the lawyer ha s the duty to fore his duty to u phold its honor a nd dignity. Certain pri vileges
up hold its dign ity and a uthority, Respect to the courts gu ar- attach to him by reason of s uch officia l positi on, lie may in the
antees the st ability of our dem ocr atic institution s whi ch with- trial of cases use langu age concerning wi tnesses, and parties,
out such respect would be resting on a very sha ky foun da - a nd a ll ma t te rs and things in is sue which elsewh ere a nd under
tion.6 In this case , a se nator was punished for contempt for the circ u mstances would be libe lous .
having attacked a decision of the S upreme Cou rt which he
called incompetent and narrow-mi nded , and announcing tha t Lik e membe rship in a ny other organization, it is im pe ra-
he would file a bill for its reorganization. tive for every lawyer to stri ve at all times to uphold the honor
and ma intai n the dignity of t he legal profession , He sha ll
The lawyer should maintain toward the courts a respect - pa rticip a te in the development of th e legal system by initiat-
ful attitude." The sa me ca non makes it peculiarly incumbent ing or supporting the improvement of t he administra t ion of
upon lawyers to s u pport the courts against unj ust criticisms justice, Me mbership in th e bar vests a la wyer certain obliga-
and clam or. The a ttorney's oath solemnly binds him to a con- tions towa rd s hi" brethren in the profession as well 8S to the
organiza tion to which he belo ngs (IBP ). It in cludes observance
;1
of ho norable, candid and courteous deal ings with fellow la w- prote cted . In this regard, the client will be encou raged to
\ yers as well as the establishe d customs and practices of the entrust hi s legal problem s to an attorney, which is necess a ry
profession an d perfo rmance of the d uties to the in tegrated in the p. oper administra tion of justice. Moreover, t he persona l
bar. The Code of Profession al Respo nsibility provides a mong cha racter of th e rel ation prohibits its delegation in favor of
others that a lawyer shall not , direc tly or indirectly encroach a nother lawyer withou t the consent of the clie nt. Wort hy of
upon the professional employment of another lawyer. A la w- note is the fact that the in terest of the legal p rofeeeion as well
yer should not steal t he othe r lawyer's client nor induce the as the sa fety of the client demands a strict recognition and
latter to retain him by a prom ise of better se rvice, good. result enforcement of the rules protective of the re la tion of attorney
or reduced fees for hi s services. However, as se rvant of the and client. The trust an d confide nce whic h a clie nt must nec-
law, he has the du ty to giv e proper advice a nd assistance to essari ly repose in a n a tto rney can only be attaine d by the
those seeking relief aga inst un fa it hful and neglectful counsel. attorney's fa it hful a dherence to them.
This is not to say, howeve r, that a lawyer may not substitute
Th e relat ionship be tween an attorney and client is con-
a not he r la wyer in h andling t he ca se of a client, bu t h e may
sider ed as pe rson al , fidu cia ry a nd con fide ntial. By virt ue
only do so u pon proper notice to the counsel concern ed a nd
the reof, a lawyer owes fidelity to the CU U8C of his client and
only after the latter h ad tendered his withd rawal to the case,
he sha ll be mindful of the trust a nd confide nce reposed in
as a role. him .
It is the right of the lawyer to undertake the defen se of a
person accused of a crime, regardless of h is pe rso na l opinio n as A la wyer in the disch arge of his professi onal d uties is , in
to the guil t of the acc used; otherwise, innocent persons, victims a res tricted sense , an agent of his client. He is ex pected to be
on ly of suspicious ci rcu mstances, might be den ied proper vi gilan t in the prosecution or defen se of his client's ri ghts. As
defense. Having undertaken suc h defen se, the lawyer is bou nd the relation ship is characterized as h ighl y fiduciary, it ha s
by all fa ir and hon orable means, to present every defense that been held in a lon g line of cases that an a ttorney owes loyalty
the law of the land pe rmits , to the end tha t no person may be to his client not only in the case in wh ich he has represente d
deprived of life or li berty, but by due process of law. him bu t a lso a fte r the term ination of the at to rney-clien t rel a -
tionship between them a nd it is not a good practice to perm it
Just like oth er public officers , the lawyer assumes office him afterw ards to defend in another case other persons against
with the attenda nt du ti es a nd privileges, a nd on e such duty his form er clie nt under the prete xt that the case is distinct
is the re nderi ng of free services to poor lit iga nts, upo n sho w- from , a nd inde pe ndent of the fanner ca se. An a ttorney owes
ing tha t th e pa rty is destitute a nd unable to employ an attor- to his clien t a n undivided a llegiance a nd after he has bee n
ney. retained by a nd received the confide nce of his clie nt, he can-
The duty of a la wyer towards his client is in vested with not . without the free and in tell igent consent of his client, give n
public interest in view of the nature of the relat ions hip wh ich after full k nowledge of a ll the facts a nd circumstances, act
is strictly personal and highl y confidential. It in volves mutual both for hi s client a nd for one wh ose interest is a dve rse to or
trust a nd confide nce of the high est degroe.t? The interest of conflicting with tha t of his client in the flame genera l ma tter.
the publ ic requires that the personal , confiden tial a nd fiduci- The rul e is designed not only to prevent the d isho nes t prac-
ary relation between a ttorney and client be prese rve d a nd titi oner from fraudulent conduct but a lso to preclude the hon -
est pra ctitioner from pu tting himself in a position where he
may be required to choose between conflicting du ties. Jt is
'OClaudio va. Subido, 40 SCRA 4tH.
likewise a duty of a n a ttorney to d isclose to the clien t all the
. LEGAL PROFF.5.SIO N n u rrss ANn PIUVILF.GJo:S OF A I.AWYEIt H5
circu ms tances of h is rel ations to the p a rties . a n d any i nte res t 5. li e h a s the ri~ht to protes t, in a respect ful manner,
! in or con nect ions with the controversy, which might influen ce any unwarranted treatme nt of a wit ness or a ny unjusti fied
the client in the select ion of counsel. 11 delay in th e administration of justice : a nd
The exacti ng responsibilities of an at torney to his client 6. P a ssi ng t he ba r is equiva le nt to a first grade civil
sho uld , howeve r, be reconciled wi t h h is duti es to the court of se rvice ellgt biltty for a ny position in t he cla ss ified service i n
which he is an officer, to the ba r of wh ich he is a membe r and the governme nt t he du ti es of which require knowledge of law,
to the public of which he is a lso a part. Thus, it has been held or 8 second grade civil serv ice eligibility for a ny other govern-
m81lY times that where his duties to his clients conflict with ment positi on .
those whi ch he owes to the court or to the pu blic 8 S a whole ,
the form er mu st yield to th e latter. Some Decided Cases on Legal E th ics
A la wyer therefore has a more dyn amic a nd positive role
SE UASTlAN Vii. CALIS
in the community tha n me rely com plying with th e minimal
A.C. No. 5 118. 9 Sep tem ber 1999
technicalities of the statute. As 8 man of Jaw, h e is necessa rily
112 SCAD 1. 31 4 SCRA 1
8 leader of the community, looked up to a s 8 model citize n .
His cond uct must pe rforce be par excellence es pecially 1'10 when
F a c ts:
he volunteers hi s professional servi ces.V
Atty. Dorotheo Calis promised Marilou Sebast ia n
t h a t, for a fee of PI 50 ,OOO.OO he shall secu re for her a ll
3. P rivilege s or a n attorney necessa ry documents req uired for her t r ip to the U.S.A.
In ge neral, an a ttorney e njo ys t he following privileges: Atty. C alis then gave Marilou copies of S u pplemental to
U. S. Non-Immigrant Visa application and a set of qu os-
1. He h as hoth t h e right a nd privi lege to pr actice law
tions to be as ked duri ng the interview. S he was like wise
du ri ng good behavior before eny judicial, quasi-judicial or
made by AU/Calis to assume th e name of Liszette Ferre r.
adminis trative tribunal ; Wh en Marilou re alized that s he would be using s pu rio u s
2. He enj oys the presumption of regularity in the d is- trave l documents, s he dem anded the r..turn of h er mo ne y
charge of hi s fun ctions; but Atty. Celis assured her t h at he was in that lin e o f
business and nothin g would go wro ng. Anyway, he told
3. He e njoys immunity fro m liabilit y to t h ird (3rd) her, s he s hall be refunded in full if something goes wrong .
pe rson, in the pe rfonnance of hi s obligati on to hill clie nt, in-
sofar 88 he does not mate riall y depa rt from hi s ch a ra cter a s Thus , assu red Marilou with t wo others left for the
a qua si -judicial officer; U.S .A. Wh en they a rrived at Singapore, they were a ll
a rrested for carryi ng s puri ous tra ve l docu men ts , detained
4. Hi s statements, if relevant, pertinent or material to at a pri son an d eventually de ported to t he Philippin es .
the s u bject of judicial inquiry are absolutel y privileged : Upon her return to t h e Phili ppines, respondent Atty. Ca lis
took Mari lou's passport a nd prom ised to H<'CUre new travel
docu men ts. Ma ri lou, however, opted not to p urs ue the
trave l a nd demanded t he return of the PI 50,OOO.00.
IlCod e of Profl' iUIiollal RelIpon"ihility.
Respondent ma de h im self sca rce an d s ubsequen tly t r-ans-
12Blanza VlI. Arca ngel , 21 Se RA 2. ferred resi de nce to a n unknown address .
~ 86 LEHAL PHOFt: &<::'I ON DtITlES AND PRM U': GES OF A l.A\\''YER 87
H eM: Facts:
Res pondent W8S rem oved from the H.oll ofAttorn eys Sometime in 1989, Enca rnacion Pascual wa s sued
for unethical , unscrupulous a nd unconscionable conduct for non -remittance of SSS premiu ms which complai nt
toward the complainant for the following rea sons: was a ssigned to Prosecutor Iba nez for preli mina ry in ves-
tigation. In the course of the investigation, Enca rnacion
1. He is guilty of violating Ru le 1.0 1 of Ca non 1 gave the amou nt of Pl,804 .00 to responde nt 8 S payment
of the Code of Professiona l Responsi bility because he de- of her SSS contribution in a rrears. Respon de nt d id not
ceived the com pla inant for material ga in. pay t he SSS, hence on Nov. 10, 1990. a complaint wa s
Deception and ot her fraudulent acts by a law yer filed aga inst the responde nt for professiona l misconduct
are d isgraceful end d ishonor abl e. They reveal moral flaws in allegedly misappropriating the amount. On 23 No-
in a lawyer. They a re un accep ta ble. vember 1990 , the respondent paid SSS the amo unt of
Pl ,804 .00 on beha lf of Encarnacion
The relati on ship of a la wyer shou ld be character-
ized by the highest degree of good faith. fa irness and
Issue:
candor. This is the esse nce of th e lawyer 's oath. The
la wyer 's oath is no t a mere fictile of word s, drift and Whether or not responde nt is gu ilty of misconduct
hall ow, bu t a sac red b ust tha t lawyers must uph old a nd a nd have violated Canon 16 of t he Code of Professiona l
keep invio labl e. The nature of the offi ce of a n a ttorney Responsibility.
requires tha t he must be a person of good moral cha rac-
ter. Th e requisite is not. onl y a condit ion preced ent to the Held:
ad mission to the pra ctice of la w, its conti n ue d possession
It is glaringly clear that re spondent's non -rem it-
is also essential for rema ining in the practi ce of law.
tance for over o ne year of the fu nds coming from
2. Th e practice of la w is not a right but II pri vilege En carnacion is gross viola tion of Rule 1.01 of the Code of
bestowed by the State on th ose who show that they pos- Profess ional Respons ibility. The belated payment does
sess a nd contin ue to possess the qu alifica ti ons requ ired not excuse his miscond uct. Neither would his defense
by la w for the conferme nt of such pri vilege . Membership th at the acts complained of were not done by him in his
in the Bar is a privilege burdened with conditions. capacity as a pra cti cing la wyer but on account of his
A lawyer has the privilege to practice la w only during office as a prosecu tor exculpate h im from res ponsibility.
good behavior. H e can be dep rived of his IiOOJ.se for mis- While Encarnacion may not strictly be consi dered a eli-
conduct ascertained and declared by judgment of the court ent of responden t, the rul es relating to a lawye r's han-
afte r giving him the opport unity to be heard . dling of funds of a client is applicable.
The Court note d the ada ma nt refusa l of the respond- Responde nt 's fa ilu re to immed ia tel y remit the
ent. to comply with the orders of the lUP and his total a mount gives rise to the pres umption of misappropria-
dis rega rd of t he s ummo ns issued by the lOP a s constitu- tion . That is in gross violation of gene ral moral ity as
tive of contemptuous acts reflect ive of unprofessional con- well a s professional et hics , it impai rs publi c con fide nce
duct. in the lega l profession a nd dese rves punishment.
AA LEG Al.. PRm"ESSION DUTiES AND PRIVILJo:GES OF A I.A\~R 88
Th e Supreme Court has repea tedly a d monished has violated his duty under th e Rules of Court, to coun -
lawyers th at II high sense of morality, honesty and fair sel a nd maintain such actions or proc eedings only as
dealing is expected and required of every member of th e a ppea r to him to be just a nd such defenses only 8S he
Ba r. believes to be honestly deba table unde r th e law.
Want of moral integrity is to be more severely con- Furthermore , his having stated false a llega tions in
demned in II lawyer who holds a responsible public of- his mot ion for postpon ement t hat he had to a tte nd the
fice. hearing of a special proceedings on th e same day eet for
pre-trial 8 S well 8 S is purpose ly a llowing the court to
The respondent wa s reprimanded with stem warn-
believe th at he wa s still connec ted with th e CLAO are
in g. employment of means which arc not consistent with t ruth
and honor a nd in fact se-eka to m isl ead the j udge.
AFURONG V8. AQUINO
A.C. No. 1571, 23 September 1999 Respondent has viola ted his duty to employ, for the
112 SCAD 838, 315 SCRA 77 purpose of maintaining the ca uses confided to him, such
means only as a re consistent with truth and honor. and
Facts: never seek to mislead th e judge OT a ny judicial officer by
an artifice or fal se statement of fact or law.
Afuron g filed II complaint for ejectmen t against
Victorino Flores whi ch was decided in her favor, and the A lawye r has an oath to do no false hood and owes
corresponding writ of execution was served on Victorino. ca ndor, fairn ess, and good faith to the court. For his
Victorino sought the a ssistance of th e Cit izens Legal AB- failure to observe such ethical s tanda rds, respond ent was
sistance Office (C LAO) a n d th e ca se was assign ed to Atty. found guilty of malpractice and s uspended from the prac·
Aquino, who was then connected with th e sa id office. tice of law for six months .
Aquino filed a Petition for ReJief from .Judgment TOLEDO ve. ABALOS
which was dismissed. He likewise filed 8 Petition for A.C. No. 51·H. 29 September 1999
Certiorari and Prohibition . He filed an Urgent Motion 113 SCAD 195, 315 SCRA 419
for Postponement rel ative to th e pre-trail conference of
the a bove petition sign ing hi s name as counsel for
Facts:
Victorino and indicating th e address of th e CLAO as his
busi ness address, a ltho ugh he was no longer connec ted Atty. Abalos obtained a loan from Thledo in th e
with th e sa id office. He premised the motion on his al- amount of P20,OOO.OO plus interest a t 5% per month .
leged ap pearance in a special proceedings case. It t urned Afte r failure of AUy. Abalos to pay despite re peated de-
out that the special proceedings case has already been mands, Toledo sought th e as s istance of the InP which
te rm inated before th e pre-trial date for whi ch th e post- refe rred th e ma tter to th e Com mission on Ba r Discipline
ponement was so ught . (C BD ).
The CRO issued a n ord er directing Atty. Abalos to
n eld:
a nswe r but she did not do so. The investi ga t ing commis-
Respond ent should not ha ve filed the petition for sinner issued a n order set ti ng the case for hea ring but
certiorari cons ide ri ng that it has no a ppa re nt purpose despite notice, the respond ent fail ed to appea r. She like-
othe r th an to del ay th e execu tion of a valid judgment. He wise received an ord er considering th e case submitted
90 LEG" L I'KOHSSIO N m rn zs ANn PRM U ;GES o r A LAWYER 91
for res olu t ion bu t again despite receip t of t he order, reo dish on esty in his profession, but 81:-:;0 for gross miscon-
spondent ag ai n did not do a nything about it. duct not connected with his professi onal duties, wh ich
s hows him to be unfit for the office a nd u nworthy of the
Is sue : privi lege whi ch h is license and the law confe r upon him.
Should respondent be s ubjected to disci pline despi te Worthy to note, however, is that fa il ure to pay one 's debt
the fact that obtaining her loan was her conduct in a may not involve such a grievous now on morals as in the
non-professional ca pacity? case at bar.
a nd to net with ca n dor, fairness a nd good faith to the he did not prepa re t he petition on the ground of pressure
courts. of work; And he deliberately hid from h is clients the fact
that a decision had a lready been rendered in t he NLRC
The fa ct th nt t he THO was a mb iguous is no reason
case .
for the respo ndent to have resorted to the na rro wly tech-
n ica l inte r pretation and implementat ion 88 court or der!'! In his comment, the respo nden t a ttempted to re fute
must be respected not because of the respect an d consid- the aJlegat ions against him a nd explained his side of the
eration that should be extended to the judicial branch of controversy. However, othe r th an his self-servi ng claims,
the governme nt. The re spect for ju d icial orde rs is essen - he d id not add uce a ny evidence. Worse, he chos e to ig-
tial if ou r government is to be a government of laws a n d nore the hea ri ngs before the IBP where he cou ld hav e
not of men . shed more ligh t on the controversy.
Respon dent likewise mislead the trial court judge Issue:
into issuing the order to implement the writ of demoli-
tion , in effect violating Rul e 10.01 of the Code of Profes- Whether or not respondent viola ted the canons of
sional Responsibility which states"A lawyer sha ll not do the profession .
a ny falsehood nor consent to the doing of a ny in court."
Held:
A la wyer's res pons ibility to protect a nd advance the
interest of his client does not warrant a cours e of a ction Responde nt ha s violated Canon 18 of the Code of
propelled by ill motives a nd ma licious inte ntions a gai nst Professional Responsibility which provides t hat "0 law-
the othe r pa rty. yer sha ll serv e hi s clie nt with competence and diligen ce."
A la wyer owes fidel ity to the ca use of hi s cl ient a nd must
For violating the a bove duties , respond ent wa s sus- be mindful of the trust a nd confidence rep osed on hi m.
pended for two (2) years from the practice of law.
Respondent's shortcomings however, did no t war-
rant suepenelon from the practice ofla w conside ri ng that
CUIUMATMAT ' 8. GOJAR this was his first offense.
A.C. No. 4411, 10 June 1999
107 SCAD ~K3, 308 SCRA. 340 The Supreme Court ad ded "Litiga nts are reminded
that la wyers are not demi-gods or magicians who ca n
always win t heir cases for th eir clie nts no matter t he
Facts: utter lack of merit of the sa me or how pa ssi ona te the
Atty. Gojar, the cou nsel of t.he former e mployees of litigants may feel ab out their cause."
Uniwide Sales, In c., wa s char ged with lack of fidelity to
his clients' cause on the a llega tion that: The employees SALONGA ' 8.
llILDAWA
filed a petition for review on certiorari before the Sa- A.C . No. 5 105, 12 August 1999
prem e Court a nd Atty. Gojar (he rein respo ndent) moved llO SCAD 663, 3 12 SC RA 279
for the d ism issa l of the petition witho ut. the ir consent;
Atty. Gojar appeal ed from the d ismissal of a n unfair la bor
pra ctice beyond the In-day period to do so; He promised Facts:
to file a peti tion before the S u preme Court after a n a p- The Preside nt of SfAVA charged Atty. lI ilda wa of
pe a l in t he NLRC for money cla ims waR dismissed , bu t ha ving withdrawn a deposit in favo r of SfAVA in the
., LEGAL PROfF..8..<;ION IlUTIES ANn PRIVIL EGE S OF A LAWYF.IC .,
am ou nt of PI04 .543 .80 without a ut horit y a nd of refusi ng (a nothe r complainant) who , a fte r lea rning that the sa me
to t u rn ove r th e wi t hdrawn s u m of STAVA. He was like- h as been s ubmitted for re sol ution, told the resp ondent ,
wise charged wit h a ppearing as cou nsel for KBMB PM , "You are too busy to attend to ou r case, it would be better
an oppon e nt of STAVA. if some body else would ta ke over," to which accor ding to
the re spo ndent he re pli ed, "It is a lright with m e, it is
Iss u e : your pri vilege." Th at h e considered hi mse lf di sch ar ged
as cou nsel in t he t wo ca dastral cases and relieved of th e
Whe t h er or n ot res pond ent is engaging in con flict-
obligation of moving for a reconsi dera tion , file a n ot ice of
ing inter est.
ap peal, or to notify t h e complain ants cft he decision . F ur-
thermorc, th e delay in the s ubs t it ution of Tibu rci o wit h
H el d :
hi s heirs (the ot her compla inan ts), wa s becau se neither
Respon dent is exonerate d from h a ving violated hi s the heirs nor th e ad min is t rato r o f t he i ntestate estate of
obligation to hold in tl"'.181 t h e funds of hi s client, as it Ti burcio inform ed hi m of t h e la t ter's death despite the
t u rned out th at the followi ng day he t urned over the heir's knowled ge th at he wa s the coun se l in the two
amount he received to STAVA's Treasurer as the Presi- ca dastral cases.
dent was then on leave.
Issu e:
Respondent wa s however reprim anded for havin g
pla ced at ri sk hi s obligation of preserving t he confiden - Wa s t he wit hdrawal of cou nsel in confonnity wit h
tiality r el a tion with a previous client. This obligation t he rul es?
continu es even after th e attorney-client relati on ceases.
He shou ld not have a ppea re d as counsel for a party hi s H eld:
clie nt has p rev iously con te n ded with in a ca se sim ila rly
in volvin g the said parties . Respondent violated Can on 2 1 A lawyer sh nll serve h is client with competence a n d
whi ch states, "A la wyer shall preserve the con fidences d iligen ce . Th e lawyer ow es en ti re de votion to the inter-
a n d secre ts of hi s client eve n after the at torney-client es t of th e client, sa ved by the rules of law legally applied .
re lation is term in ated." This sim ply means tha t hi s client is entitled to the ben-
efit of any and ev ery remed y or defense . If much is de -
A UOMIN, ET AL. V 8 . BONCAVI L m ended from a n a t torney, it is because t he en t rusted
A.C. N o . 5135, 22 Sep tem ber 1999 privilege to pra cti ce la w ca rries with it th e correla tive
112 SC AD 760, 3 15 SC IlA 1 duti es not only to t he clien t but a lso to the cou rt, to t h e
b ar a n d to t he public . A la wyer who performs h is duty
with diligen ce a nd ca n do r not only protects t he in teres t
Facts: of hi s client ; he a lso serv es th e e n ds of'juetiee, does h onor
Atty. Boncavil wa s charge by herein comp lai nants to the bar, helps mai ntain the re spect of the com mu ni t y
with violation of the Code of P rofession al Responsibility to t he legal professio n .
relative to two cadast ral ca ses h e filed for one of the -I uhan who a llegedly made t he remark s is not the
com pla in a nts, Tiburcio. Th e complaina nts a nd the re- onl y heir and wa s not s h own t hat he wa s speaking for
s ponde n t live in close pro xim it y with each ot he r. t he hei rs . If res ponde nt really be lieved that he wa s di s-
Respondent allege d that the day before t he ca dae- cha rged as counse l, he sh ould have informed the court
t ral court rendered its decision, he me t by chance, Julian , a nd asked th a t he be d ischarged. Until h is dismi ssa l or
. LEGAl. PRor~ ION oc nra AND P RIVJLEGES OF A L!\WYEIt 97
withdrawal is made of record , Rny judicial notice se nt tc deliver the child in Manila a n d t ha t responden t would
h im was bin ding upon hi s clients even though 8 8 00- ma rry he r. In Manila , respond ent confessed to th e com -
tween them the professiona l re lationship may have been plainant that he could no t marry her because he is a l-
terminate d. read y ma rried to someone else. However, he assured her
Four years after t he dea th of the complainants' that he would support her fin ancially a nd that he would
fat her Tiburci o is sim ply too long a peri od for h im not to work for h is annulmen t, as he has be en estranged to his
have kno wn of hi s clie n t's death, especia lly a s it appears wife for 16 years. Few weeks after givi ng bi rth to the ir
that he a nd compla inants live in dose proxi m ity with chi ld, comp lai na nt exerted much effort to contact him
eac h othe r. but to no avail. Hen ce, this a d mi nistrative complaint.
Respo nd ent WRS suspended from the practice for six Issue:
(6) months with warning.
Whether the respondent resorted to a cts of decei t
and immoral te ndencies to sa t isfy hi s se xual desires a nd
IIARRIENTOS V8 . DAAROL whethe r this would warrant h is di sbarment.
Ad m. Case 151 2, January 29, 1993
Held :
Fa cts: Good moral character is a condi ti on wh ich precedes
Compl ainant Victoria Ba rri entos filed a com plai n t a dm ission to the bar and is not d is pe nsed with upon t he
for di sbarment against Atty. Daarol on grounds of deceit ad m issio n th ereto . It is a cont in uing qu alification which
a nd grossly immora l cond uct . a ll lawyers mu st possess, ot herwise , 8 la wyer may either
be s us pended. or di sbarred.
Barrientos is single a nd wa s twe nty years old when
she had the relationship with the respondent who was The Court believed tha t re spondent resorted to d e-
then forty-one years old . Respondent wall known by the ceit in the sa tisfaction of hi s sexual de sires a t the expe nse
Barrientos fa mily for Quite some time. Respondent would of the oom pla inant. It finds responden t's moral sense a s
felch her a t the family's residence in the morning and "seeing nothing wron g in their rel ationshi p desp ite mar-
would take her horne a fte r eac h day's activities. After a riage a nd having suggested a bortion," 8S se rious ly im-
week of courtship, com pla inant accepted res ponde nt's love. paired.
One eveni ng, they a ttended a AOCiaI functio n with her Respondent's acts of dec ei t a nd im moral tendenci es
pa rent's consent. La ter, t hey len the place but in stead of ha s de monstrated hi s moral d elinquency. Hence, his re-
going home, they we nt to th e a irport at Dipolog City and mova l for conduct unbecoming n member of the bar on
pa rked the jeep a t the beach where there were no houses gro u nds of deceit a nd grossly i mmoral conduct is in order.
aro und. After convinci ng the compla inan t that he would
ma rry her in a m on th's t ime, and compla inan t , believing
IIALAOING V9 . CALDE HON
in good faith tha t he was still single and is true to his
A.M . No . IlTJ-90- 5 8 0, 2 7 Ap ril 1993
promises, succu mb to the sex ua l advances of responde n t
a nd consu m mated the carnal lu st. Their sex u a l tryst re·
Facts:
peated twice or thrice u week u n til complainant got pre g-
na nt. Respondent s uggoe te d a n abort ion but compla in- Prior to th e ad minis tra tive case filed against respond-
ant would not agree. Th avoid scandal, t hey agreed to en t -Iudgc Ca lderon, com plai na nt Atty. Bela oing was se-
I
.8 u:GAI. PROFESSION
:llITIES AND PRIVILEGES or A LAI'tYE R
'"
verely censured in a Resolution of t he Cou rt en banc, for s hown complainant's un fit ness to ho ld the license to
ha vin g instituted a patently u nfounded and frivolous ad- practice la w. Balaoing has u t terly fa iled to li ve up to the
minist rati ve acti on against th e different j udges of'Oloogapo duties and responsibilities of a member of t h e legal pro -
City and Zam bales . An d t hat h is commission of the sa me fess ion . Ilis d isba rm ent is in order.
or sim ila r misconduct will be dealt more severely.
Notwithstandin g t he cen s ure an d s uspe nsion , A tty. F ERNANDEZ vs, GRECIA
Balaoing fil ed a serie s of administrative com plai n ts Adm. Case No. 3694, 17 Jun e 1993
agai ns t a number of judges in Olongapo City and Fuets:
Zamba les, charging t hem with grave misconduct for thei r
alleged fail u re a nd refusal to issu e correspon ding wri t of Co m p lainan ts Drs . Albert o F ernandez , Isab el o
execution prayed for by t he complainant, grave a buse of C ngt.engco and Achilles Bartolome and the St. Luk e's
authority and ma licious de lay in t he a dmi nist ra tion of Medi cal Center, filed a dis barment procee d ing 81ainst
justice, wh ich were all dismissed for lack of merit. responde n t Atty. Grecia for d ishonesty and grave mi s-
con d uct in connection with t he th eft of some pages from
Issue : a medical chart wh ich was m a te rial evidence in a dam.
age s ui t filed by hi s clien ts agai n st the com plainants.
Whether Atty. Balaoing violated Cano n II afthe Code
of Professional Responsibili ty t hat a lawyer shall observe Disb arment is noth in g new to the respondent. He
and maintain the respect due to t he court an d to t he judi- was al ready d isbarred for h is im mo ral comp licit y or
cia l officer a nd sho uld in sist on similar cond uct by ot hers. u n ho ly alliance with a judge in Que zon City to ri p oIT
banks a n d Ch inese bus iness finns which had t he misfor-
t u ne to be s ued in t h e latter 's cou rt. T hree years later,
Held: the cou rt, heeding hi s pleas for com passion and his prom-
The Court fin ds t hat t he complainant Balaoing ha s ise to mend h is ways , rein s tated h im in the profession .
a pench a nt for filing admin is t ra tive charges agai nst Eight mo n ths late r, he was back before t he court facin g
judges in wh ose sala h e has pending cases , whenever the a nother charge of dishonest y and unethica l practice .
lat ter rende r decis ion or issue orders a dverse to him or Re s pondent acts a s counsel for Ally. Damaeo Aves,
to h is clients. While it is true that la wyers owe enti re et al. case vs. St. Luke's Med ical Center 's Drs. Fernandez ,
de votio n to the interest of the client , warm zeal in t he Ongtengco a nd Bartolome , blaming the latte r for th e
mainte n ance and de fen se of h is rights a nd the exertion demise of Atty. Aves' wife , who was d iagnosed, treated
of h is utmost learning and a bility. No fear of judicial a n d died in t he said hospital. In the court proceedings
disfavor or pu blic unpop ula ri t y should restra in h im from against St. Luke's Medical Center, the me d ica l records of
the full disch arge of hi s du ty. t he wife were submitted by St. Luke's . It is from thes e
records t h at t he res pon den t t ried to cove r some medical
Ba laoin g's wanton disregard of t he stem warning facts by tearing two impo rtant pa ges from th e wife's
not to again lite ba seless a nd frivo lous complai nts wh ich medica l chart.
only clog t he a lrea dy full dockets of the Cou rt in stead of
serve t he ends of justice, a nd his adamant re fusa l to Is s u e :
a bide t he Code of Professional Responsi bility wh ich se rves
Did responden t's action consti tute a violation of th e
to regulate a la wyer 's cond uct in thi s jurisdiction, h a ve
ca n ons of t he profession?
100 U ':GAL J'Rm '.:SSION
Held :
The court is convi nced t ha t in stealing pag es and pass-
ing it on to his driver, responde n t ha s viola ted Rule 1.01,
Canon 1 of'the Rules of'Profeesional Reeponsibll ity 8 8 well Chapter IX
as Ca non 7, which provides that "A lawyer she ll at all
times uphold th e in tegrity a nd di gnity of lega l profession THE INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES
and su pport the activitie s of the Inte gr a te d Bar."
By descend in g to the le vel of a common thief, re-
sponde nt Grecia has dem ean ed an d disgraced th e lega l 1. Co n c e p t
profession. He ha s demon strated his moral un fitness to
Inte gration of the bar mean s the offici al unifi cation of a ll
continue a s a member of the honorable fraternity of law-
the la wyer s in the Philippines. This requires membership and
yers. He ha s forfeited hi s me m bersh ip in the BaT. financi a l s upport (in reasona ble amount) of e very a ttorney a s
The court fin ds Atty. Benjam in Grecia guilty of grave conditions si ne qua non to the practice of law a nd to the re-
miscond uct . dish onesty, a nd grossly unethical behavior tention of his n ame in the Roll of Attorneys of th e Supreme
as a lawyer. Conside ri ng t hat this is a lready his second Court. The te nn "Bar- refers to the collectivi ty of a ll persons
offense a gainst the canons of the profession, th e court whose names app(!ur in the Roll of Attorneys . An Inte gra te d
impo se the supre me pena lty of disbar men t. Bar (or Uni fied Bar) perforce must incl ude a ll la wyers. Com -
plete unifica tion is not possible un less it is de cree d by an
e ntity with powe r to do so - The State. Ba r in tegration ,
there fore , s ign ifies the setting up by gove rnmen t a uthority of
a nationa l org a nization of the lega l profession ba sed on the
recognition of the la wyer a s a n officer of the court. Designed
to improve the position of the bar a s a n instrumen tali ty of
justice a nd the rule of law, inte gration fos ters coh esion among
la wyers a nd ensu res, th rough their own organized act ion and
participation, the promotion of the objectives of the legal pro-
fession pursuant to the principle of ma ximum ba r a utonomy
with minimum supervision a nd regulation by the S upreme
Cou rt;'
\01
THE INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PIIILlPl'lNES 103
102 LEGAl. PROn:SS JON
2) Foste r a nd maintain on the part of its members 7) Establish welfare funds for families of di sabled a nd
h igh ideals of in te grity, learning, p rofessional com- deceased la wye rs :
petence, public se rvice and cond uct; 8) Provide placement services, a nd establish legal ai d
3) Safeguard t he professional interes ts of its members; offices and set up la wyer r eference services through-
out the country so that the poor will not lack com-
4) Cu ltivate among its mem ber s a spirit of cordiality petent legal service;
a nd brotherhood;
9) Dist ribute ed uca tional an d in fonna tion al material s
5) Provide a foru m fer the d iscussion of Jaw, jurispru- that are difficul t to obtain in ma ny of o ur provinces ;
dence, law reform , plead ing, pract ice a nd procedure ,
10) Devi se a nd mai ntain a program of contin uing legal
and the relations of the Dar to the Bench and to the
ed uca tion for practicing attorneys in order to el-
public, a nd publish information rela tin g thereto;
evate the sta ndards of t he profe ssion throughout
6) Enco urage and foste r legal educa tion; the country;
7) Promote a con ti nuing program of legal research in 11 ) Enforce ri gid ethical standards, a nd promulgate
substantive and a dj ective la w, a nd ma ke reports minimum fees schedu les;
a nd recommenda tions thereon; a nd
12) Create law centers and es tablis h la w libraries for
8) Enable the Bar to disch arge its pub lic res ponsibil- legal research ;
ity effectively. 13) Cond uct ca mpa igns to educate the people on t he ir
Integration of the Ba r will, among other things, makes it legal rights a nd obliga tions, on the importance of
possible for the legal profession to : preventive lega l advice, and on the functi ons and
duties of the Filipino lawyer; a nd
1) Rend er more effective assistance in main taining the
Rule of Law; 14 ) Gene rate and ma intain perva si ve a n d mea ningful
count ry-wide involvement of th e law ye r population
2) Protect la wyers a nd lit iga nts against the abuses of
in the solution of the multifarious probl ems that
tyrannica l judges a nd prosecuting officer s ;
afflict the na tion.
3) Discharge, fully a nd properly, its responsibility in
the disciplining a nd/o r removal of incompetent and 3. Power to Integrate the Bar
unworthy judges a nd prosecuti ng officers;
The Constitution vests upon the Su preme Court the power
4) S hield the judiciary, which trad it ionally can not de- to in te grate th e Philippi ne bar , Art, VIII , Sec. 5(5), gives the
fend itse lf exce pt within its own foru m, from the Supreme Court the power to "prom ulga te rules concern ing
assaults that politics and self-interest may level at . . . pJeadings ,2 pra ctice a nd proced ure in a ll courts, the ad-
it, a nd assist it to maintain its integrity, impa rtial- mission to the pract ice of la w, the in tegra ted bar , . ," S uch
ity and indepen den ce; , power is a n in herent part of the court's constitutional author-
5) Ha ve a n effective voice in the selectio n of j udg es ity over the ba r. In providin g t hat "the S upreme Court may
a nd prosecuting officers; adopt rul es of cou rt to effect the integrati on of the Philippine
bar," Republic Act No, 6397 neither confers a ne w power nor
6) Pr even t. the un a uthori zed practi ce of law, a nd break
u p any mon opoly of loca l practi ce maintai ned
t hrough influence or position;
'lIn re In te gra t io n or the Bar, p. 27.
." LEGAL PROFESSION THE INTECRATfm HAl< or THE I'HILIPPII\'ES 10'
rest ricts the Cou rt's inh erent power, but is a mere legislative Integr ation does not make a lawyer a membe r of a ny
decla ration tha t the integration of the bar will promote public group of wh ich he is not already 8 member. He became a
interest or, more s pecifically, will r aise th e standard s of the member of the bar when he passed the Bar examinations. All
legal profes sion, im prove th e adminis tra tion of j ust ice. and that integration actua lly does is to provide a n official n ational
ena ble th e Bar to discha rge its public respons ibility more ef- or ganization for the we ll- defi ned b ut unorganized and
fe cti vely. incohesive group of which every la wyer is a lready a member.
Bar integration does not compe l the la wyer to associate
4. Constitutionality of the move to integrate the bar with a nyone. He is free to a ttend or not to attend the meet-
M to the issu e whet her th e unifi cation of th e bar would ings of his Integr ated Bar Chapter or vote or refuse to vote i n
be constit utiona l vis ·a-vis the lawyer 's oonsti tutional right to its elections as he chooses . Th e very compu lsion to which he
associa tion , fre edom of speech , and on the nature of th e dues is su bjected is the paym ent of a nn ua l dues.
exacted from him , th e Su preme Court held the following: Otherwise stated, membership in the Unified Bar im-
Courts ha ve inh erent power to supe rvise an d regulate poses only the duty to pay du es in reasonable a mou nt. The
the practice or law. issue, th erefore, is a qu estion of compe lled fin ancial su pport of
group activities , not involuntary membership in a ny other
The practice of la w is not a vested right but 8 privilege; as pect.
a privilege, moreover, cloth ed with public interest, because a
lawyer owes d uties not only to his client, but also to his breth- The greater part of th e Un ified Bar activities serves the
ren in t he profession, to th e courts a nd to th e nation and fun ction of elevat ing th e educationa l a nd et hical standards of
ta kes part in one of the most important functions of th e Sta te, th e bar to th e end of improving th e qu ality of the legal service
th e ad minis t ra tion of justice, as an officer of th e cou rt, avail able to the people. Th e Supreme Court, in orde r to fur-
th er th e Sta te's legitimate inte rest in evaluating t he qu ality
Because the practice of law is a privilege clothed with
public inte re st, it is fair and just that th e exercise of that of professional services, may require that the cost of improv-
privil ege be regulated to assure compliance with the lawyer's ing th e profession in thi s fash ion he sha red by the subjects
public responsibilities. and beneficiaries of the regula tory program - the lawyers.
These public responsib iliti es can beet be discharged Assuming that ba r integration does compel a lawyer to
through collective action; but th ere can be no collective actio n be a member of the In te gr ated Bar, such compulsion is j ustl-
without a n organ ized body; no organized body can opera te tied aa an exercise of the police power of the Stale. The legal
effectively without incurring expenses; therefore , it is fair and profession has long bee n regarded as a prope r su bject of leg.
just tha t all attorneys be required to contri bute to th e support tslative regulation a nd control. Moreover, the inhe re nt power
of such organized body; a nd given existing bar conditions, th e of t he Sup reme Court to regulate th e Bar includes the aut ho r-
most efficient means of doing 80 is by inte grating th e bar ity to integra te the Bar.
th rough a rule of court tha t requires all lawyers to pay ann ual
dues to t he In tegrated Bar. b. Regulatory Fee
a. Freedom of Association For th e Court to prescribe du es to be paid by the mem -
bers does not mean th a t t he Court levies a tax.
Th compe l a la wyer to be a member of an Integrated Bar
is not viola t ive of his consti tutiona l freedom to associate (or A membership fee in the Integrated Bar is an exaction
corollary ri gh t not to associate). for regulation, while t he pu rpose of a tax is reve nu e. If t he
106 LEGAL PRO FF~<;.gl aN TIlE INTEGRATEIl BAR 010' THE PH IUPPINES 107
Court has inherent po we r to regula te th e Bar, it follows th at new regula tion, it will give the members of the Bnr a new
a s an incident to regulation, it may impose 8 me mbers hip fee syste m which they hitherto have not had and through wh ich,
for that pUrpORC . It would not be possible to pu sh through an by p roper work , they will receive benefit s Ih...y have not here-
Inte gra te d Bar program without me ans to defray the concomi- tofo re e njoyed, and discha rge t he ir public responsibiliti es in a
tant e xpenses. The d octrine of implied powers necessarily m ore e ffect ive manner than they hav e been ab le to do i n the
includes the power to impose such a n exaction . pa st . Beca use the requirement to pay du e s is a va lid exercise
The onl y limitation upon the State's power to regulate or a regulatory power by the Court, because it will ap ply equally
the Bar is that the regulation does not impose an un constitu- to a ll la wyers, young a nd old , at the time Ba r integratio n
tional burden. The public interest promoted by the integra- take s effect, and becau se it is a new regulation in exchange
tion of th e Ba r far outweighs the inconsequential in conven- for new benefits , it is not retroactive , it is not unequal, it is
ience to a member th at mi ght result from his required pay- not unfair.
ment of an nual dues.
5. M embe rship in the IUP
c. Freedom o f S peech
All la wyers whose names were in t he Roll of Attorneys of
A la wyer is free, 8S he ha s always been, to voice his the Supreme Court on 16 J anua ry, 1973 and a ll those whose
views on a ny su bject in any manner he wishes, even though n am e s were included or a re entered the rein a fte r sa id date,
such views be opposed to positions taken by the Unified Bar. are automatically and without exception members of t he In -
For the In te gra ted Bar to use a member's d ues to pro- tegrated Bar. Every member who ha s paid all membership
mote measu res to whi ch said member is opposed would not d ues a nd a ll au thori zed s pecia l a sse ssments , plus surcharges
nu llify or adversely a ffect his freedom of speech. owi ng the reon a nd who is not under suspension from the
practice of law or from membership privileges, is a member in
Si nce a State may constitutiona lly condition t he right to good standing.
practice la w upon membership in t he Integra ted Bar, it is
difficult to u nders tand why it should become unconstitutional
for the Ba r to use the member's du es to fulfill the very pu r- 6. Organization
poses for which it was established . The officers of the Integrated Bar arc compose d of both
Th e objection would make every governme ntal exa ction national a nd local officia ls . The national officers are composed
the materia l of "free s peech" issu e. Even the income tax would of a President, Executive Vice·President and nine Governors
be sus pect. The objection would carry us to le ngths tha t have and who shall comprise the Board of Governors , a Secretary
never been dreamed of. The conscie ntious objector, if his lib- and a Treasurer.
erties were to he thus extended, mig ht refuse to contribute The President of the In tegrated Bar is the Chief Execu-
taxes in furth erance of war or of a ny other end condemned by tive of the Organi zation . lie sha ll hold office for a term of two
his conscience a s irreligi ous or immoral. The right of pri vate years and until his successor shall ha ve been du ly cho sen and
judgment has never yet been exalted above the powers and qu alified. Next to him iR the Executive Vice-President who
the compu lsion of the agencie s of the government. as sumes his office in his ab sence or ina bil ity. He sha ll like -
wise pe rform tasks as ma y be assig ned to hi m by the Presi -
d. Fair to All Lawyer-s de nt.
Bar integration is not unfair to lawyers already practicing The Boa rd of Gove rnors is com posed of nin e Governors
because a lthou gh the requirement to pay a n n ua l d ues is a from the nin e region s, on the repre sentation basis of one gov-
I,
108 LEG.U PROFESSIOK
T he t wo primary objects of di sb arment a nd suspension Following the prin ciples of fair play, a ny r es pondent-law-
a re: yer is gi ven a fair chance to defen d hi mself from accusatio ns.
Not all accusations are true. So it is likewise mandated that,
1) Th compe l the a t torney to deal fairly a nd honestly
no atto rn ey shall be re moved or sus pe nded from the practi ce
wi t h his clients;
of his profession , unt il he has ha d full opport uni ty upon r ea-
2) Th rem ove from the profession a person wh ose mi s- sonable notice to a nswe r the cha rges a gains t him, to prod uce
conduct has proved him unfit to be entruste d with witnes ses in his own beh al f, a nd to be hea rd by h imself or
the duties and re sponsibilities belongin g to the of- counsel. But if upon re a sonabl e notice he fai ls to appea r and
fice of nn at to rn ey. a nswer the a ccusation , t he court may proceed to determine
the ma tter ex pa rte,7
The following are th e comm on grounds for suspension or
disbarment : The notice to a n a ttorn ey to appea r a nd sho w cause why
he should not be punis he d for contem pt, can not be con sidered
1. Deceit; a s a notice to show cause why he sh ould not be suspend ed
2. m alpractice or other gross mi sconduct in office; from practice. A lawye r has the right, after d ue notice, to be
heard. a nd defend himself in suspensi on proc eedings .tl
3. grossly immoral conduct;
In disbarment proceedings , defendant should be allowed
4. conviction of a crim e involvin g moral turpitude;
a reasona ble tim e to m ake his defense. In ordinary t rials, th e
5. violation of oath of office; inability to procu re witnesses lifte r th e exercis e of du e dili -
gen ce, is ground for postponem ent, a nd s uch cases a re of no
6. willful disobedience of any lawful order of a ny su-
gre ater im portance th a n adisba rment proceeding to a n attor-
perior court; or
ney.
7. corrupt or willfu l appearance as an attorney for a
A citi zen ha s sufficient interest to institute a proceedi ng
party to a case without authority to do 8 0 .
and bring the unprofe ssional cond uct of an a ttorney to th e
In a recent case , it wa s held that acquittal in a crimina l a ttention of the proper a uthori ties. Carelessne ss and neglect
case is not a bar to disciplinary proceedings aga inst a member of professi onal du ty, and fraud and misconduct towards his
of the bar.4 Likewise, pa rdon by the offended party will not clients , a re grounds for sus pension of a member of the bar,
a utoma t ically resu lt in the dismissa l of the d isbarment case
However, d isciplinary proceedings again st m embers of
aga ins t the respo nden t.s
the bar must be grou nded on violation of their oath or the
AB a rul e, respondent in disbarment or sus pension pro- ca nons of the profession a nd not for merely losing a case . It
ceedings e njoys the lega l presumption that tie is innocent of the would place an in tolerabl e burden on a member of the bar if,
cha rges until the cont rary is proved, and as a n officer of the just because a client fa ile d to obtain wh at is sou ght by her
court, he has performed his dutie s in accordance with his oath. after d ue exertion of the requi red effort on his pa rt, he would
Thus. in every ca se, the burde n of proof lies with the compla in- be held accoun table. S uccess in litigation is ce rtainly not the
ant to show that the re spondent is guilty of th e acts cha rgedf test of whether or not a lawy er had lived. up to h is duties to
a clien t.
4Ga tc ha lia n Promoti o ns va. Atty. Naldcee, AC 4017, 29 Se pt. 19 99, 113
SCAD 184.
6Cord OV B VB. Cordova , AC 32 49, 29 Nov. 1989. "Rule 138, See. 30. Rul es of Court.
6Atie n~ ve. Evangeli sta, 80 SC RA 338 . "InIT Cce ncc , 4 1 P hil. 32 .
112 LEGAL PROFESSION
113
11' LE GAL PROFKSSIQN CHOICF-S or A Nt: "" LAWYER U5
me et the high cost of necessary expe nses like re ntals, su p- look down u pon young lawye rs before t heir sal a .
plies, eq uipments, a nd other overhead expe nses. Ord inarily, a perso n will refra in from entrusting hi s
case, specially if the s ame involves his own life and
Adva n ta ges -
liberty or th a t of his fa mily or of his wealth to a
1) Ind epend ence of acti on - A n ew lawyer ca n a ct in - new lawyer. He will most definitel y look for the
depen dently a s he e njoys the privilege of being his expe rienced a nd teste d . Th is m ay also some ti mes
own boss a nd is not accountable to a nyone except holds t ru e with the j udge. H e will be likely he per-
himself a nd hi s client. There is no one t o restrain suaded by a la wyer who ha d been in the profess ion /
him from adopting a certain course of action, which for quite someti me s ince the latter ha s more expe-
he believes is appropriate under the circum stances . ri en ce.
2) R ushed to experience - By force of circumstances,
b) Joining as a n associete/asa ietant in a law firm
he is most likely to become a seasone d pra ct itioner
in a short spa n of time. Having no one to r ely on for The a dv antages/disa dvantages a young lawyer will get
guidance or assista nce, he has to exhaust much effort in j oining a la w finn wi ll depe nd on the size of the law finn
to insure the correctness and completeness of hi s he is joining.
assign ments.
Advantages -
3) Projecting own im age - A 8010 pra ctitioner build!'
his own name all to himself without reference to or 1) Gen erally, compared to solo practice, an a ssistant
connecti on with a ny oth er more senior la wyers. or a ssociate rece ives proper advice a nd counsel from
more senior la wyers . All h is contemplated actions
Disadv antages - a re seriously scruti nized by mo re senior la wye rs,
which save the young la wyer from emba rrassme nt.
1) Lack of exper ience - Inexperience may cost a new
lawyer costl y mi stakes . Wh en a new law yer is 2) In view of the numerou s a nd often t imes identical
practi cin g a lone, he is more often not equipped with cases the law office is handling, a young lawyer
the expe rience that makes one a sharp, quick-witted pre paring a pleadi.ng can pick u p the plead ings in
a nd confident la wyer. Being new in the profession, an old case and pattern his own pleadin g after the
he will a lways be nagged by doubts in hi s actions. said ca se, th us saving him t ime a nd effort .
The principl es a nd th eori es he learned in the a ca- 3) Fin ally, as he never runs ou t of cases, he is con-
deme may pe rhaps give him the idea and courage stantly exposed to actua l court practice, opportu ni -
but definitel y not the confide nce. ties of facing reputable la wyers and learning from
~) Lack of facilities - Un less a new la wyer or his th e m, so much so that within a short lime he a c-
family is well-off, he cannot afford all the tools of qu ires the t raits of a seasone d la wyer. Thi s is par-
the tra de like ha ving a notable office s pace, with ticul arly tru e in small to medium size d law firms .
adequa te eq ui pme nts , su pplies and personnel. This
usuall y frust rates him from a ttrac ti ng good paying Disad vantages -
clien ts . I) An associate is red uced to t he s ta tu s of mere e m-
3) Lack of Confidence - Clients usuall y lack confi- ployee susceptible of bei ng exploited by more se nior
den ce with a new lawyer while Borne judges may lawyers .
, "' LEGAL PRm'F SSION' CHOICES OF A NEW LAWVER 111
pri ce before. They a re the products of va st exp eri e nce, sac ri-
fice, ha rd work. persevera nce, pati en ce a nd de dication.
While investing his time and efforts to build u p hi '! own
Chapter XII name and rep utat ion in the legal profession. 0 you ng lawyer
may engage himself in some viabl e side line s which mayor
GETTING STARTED may not be related to his la w career like leachi ng in the
academe or writing a rticles deali ng with la w. A lawyer may
also enga ge in more lucra tive sideli nes lik e being a n insur-
Fresh from hi s great moments when he pa ssed th e bar an ce agent/broker, real estate agent/broker, e tc. In this re-
a nd probably still sa voring the splendor of hurdli ng the rough - ga rd, while ga ining enough experience and e xposure in the
est examination s in t h e la n d , a you n g lawyer will event ually area of practice, a young lawyer will be a ble to augment his
be confronted with t h e sa d re aliti es of getting started. finan cial needs . Moreover, these sidelines may, in one way <>r
a nothe r, help hi m in his la wyering career, like when he is
With the exception of those who h ave la wyer parents , teaching la w or writing legal a rticles, he will s ure ly keep him-
u ncles, a un ts, or other close relatives who have an established sel f upd ated with the current la ws a nd/or j u ri sprudence re -
pract icing ca reer, a yo ung la wye r will 800n rea lize th at start- lated t herewith. Teachi ng a nd legal writi ng a lso improves one's
ing a la w career as a practit ioner is never easy. He may either command of the English la nguage and fa cili ty of expression.
practi ce solo, or join a la w firm , but whatever way he shall Lastly, it wi ll a lso give him a n opportunity to a ttract clients
start, his new world will seem to be host ile to him. As a solo in need of legal se rvices.
pract itioner, he may ha ve his own la w office but may not have
the clients, to a ss ure of a deq uate incom e to sus tain his need s . Although , he ha s to exte nd his working ti me in attend-
A good payi ng client would expectantly not entrust the han- ing to his si deline or part-time job, a nd in e ffect putting aside
dUng of a com plicated ca se to a n attorney wa nting in exist - some of his ti me for socia l, recreation , fa mily, a young la wyer
ence. sho uld rea lize the beneficia l effects it can give, both tangible
an d intangible, present .end future .
Upon the ot her ha nd , if the new la wye r teams up with
a partnership fi rm, he may be given a bulk of cases wit h a It must be em phasized however that t he Code of Profes-
mea sly income not sufficient even for his nee ds . Law finn s eional Res ponsibility mand ates that when engaging in some
would usuall y jus ti fy thi s by a rguing that t he meager com- activity conc urrently of his profession, the lawyer must see to
pensatio n package t hey give to their young a ssociate is a n it that his client if! aware of what ca pacity he is dea ling wit-h.I
offsetting fa ctor as rega rds the mistakes the la tte r is expected
to commit which may be detri men tal to the reputation of the 1. Qualiti es a you ng la wyer n eeds
lew finn .
1) 1ble ran c e for Pressure/Stress Man a g ement
Truly, the initial years of la w pra ct ice may prove to be a n
un reliable ca reer in te rm s of compensation . But this shou ld Since la wye ring is a very stressful career, as the former
not I~ the rea son for loosing the morale of a new lawye r. He is bei ng paid to s houlder the bu rden of a nother, stress is
co ncededly inhe re nt in la wyeri ng.
must alway s remember that lawyers are ma de and not born .
This mean s that good a nd successful la wyers have paid t heir
By pla nning ahead a nd managing his time, a la w- On e of the most common ca uses of stress is doing'
yer ca n avoid stress. Avoid meeting deadlines a nd s ched- too m uch beyon d your lim its . Remember tha t you a re
ul e your activities one a t 8 time by knowing your priori - just a human bei ng with 80 many limitations , do not try
ties a nd alternative courses of action. to rea ch the im possibl e for you w ill only be fru st rate d in
the e nd.
b) Always be ca lm and pa tient
A lawyer must a t a ll times try keep his cool even at 2) Sel f-Con fidence
the most unlikely situation. Remember that a little de-
A you ng la wyer needs to develop self-confidence in order
gree of patience could a void unnecessary stress.
to withstand the pressures ofl a wyeri ng especially wh en a rgu-
c) 1Ty to consult others op inions ing with u sea soned la wyer. He should be witty and quick in
making sound judgm ent wh en having B court battle with B
It is always advi sable for a lawye r to seek other
seasoned practi tioner but careful enough to avoid making preju-
lawyer 's opinion on a certain issue which faces him. Even
d icial mistakes. Us ually, sea soned lawyers thrive on the mis -
senior and respectable la wyers, from time to time, do
see k the opini on of their la wyer-partne rs or somet imes takes committed by the ir young adve rsaries .
even their new associa tes.
3) A bility to bu ild c lien tele
d) Stay Healthy
A young lawyer should start employing marketing tools
A la wyer needs to be physicaUy fit in orde r to cope to develop a pool of hi s own clien te le , which is a n indispensa -
up with his vcry demanding work. For this reason, it is ble a ttribute of law practi ce. O f cour se, the best too l for clie nt
impera tive for a lawyer, both young a nd old to exercise developm ent is the satisfact ion of exi sting clients. These cl i-
regularly, eat he a lthy foods, ha ve a regu la r check-u p with ents will se rve a s yo ur networking tools , who will in t he fu-
his doctor, a nd hav e enough re st and sleep. It needs no ture will either hire you ag ain, refer you to other better-pay-
e mphasis the value of being a hea lth con scious in order ing client" or provid e you with opportunit ies for professional
to ha ve a sound mind a nd body. imp rovem e nt .
e) A lways sm ile I laugh A lawyer may a lso j oin one or more organi zati ons, rel i-
It ha s bee n proven that laughter is the best medi- giou s , civic or othe rwise. In this rega rd , he wi ll ha ve opportu-
cine . Therefore, ha ving a good se nse of humor, an d tak- nities tel meet people who in the future might seck his se rv-
122 I.EGAI, PROn;SSION GETTING f'TARTED 123
ices. Aside from this, it will also provide him a n outlet to stay a nd this is particularly t rue with regards to negotiation. This
awa y momentarily from his legal work and to engage in other is for t he protec tion of both the lawyer a nd t he cl ient . In ou r
worthwhil e activities. j uris dict ion , a compro..... isc agreement en tere d into without a
s pecia l a uthority from the client ren ders th e judgment based
on a com promise agreement, null and void unless ratified by
2. Preventive Lawyeri ng
th e client him self.
Afte r very long yea rs of wa il ing, a young lawyer will The ess ential eleme nts in nego tiation are:
finall y enter the field of legal profession . For a young lawyer
who from hi s childhood had dream ed of be coming one, his a) proposa ls to t he ot her side o r party;
immedi ate goa l is usually to ente r the field of trial practice. b) cou nter-proposa ls;
This is somew hat expected since th e pop ular conception for a
lawyer is one who a ppe ars in court and argue h is case. Al· c) reconsiderations ;
thou gh , this is the maj or task of a la wyer, this is not however d) compromise;
his only task. The duties of a la wyer include among others:
legal a dvice or counse ling, drafting of legal ins trume nts, liti- e) a dvice to clien ts :
gation, financing, pro perty mana gement, a nd ne got iation or o clien ts Instruction to coun sel.
conciliation. The concern of this topic is negotiation a nd con-
ciliation, for lawyers, t his is a lso called preoentioe la wyering . Us ually, cases or disputes may be settled s peed ily with-
out resorting to court litigation resulting to a ' w in-wi n" situ-
Ne gotia tion is defin ed as the process of s ubmission and
conside ration of offers until acce pta ble offer is made and ac- ation for the conten ding parties . By enc ouragi ng a settlem ent
cepted. It is the de liberation, discussion, or conference upon of a dispute withou t reso rt ing to litigation , a la wyer is per-
th e te rms of a proposed agreeme nt. It is the act of settling or forming his duty as an officer of the court in facilitat ing t he
arranging the terms and cond itions of a bargain, sale, or other s peedy a dministra tion of j us tice by unclogging the dockets of
business tranee cti on.t the cou rts. Negotiation/conciliation als o help s the parties to
avoid the tro u ble, expe nse a nd anxiety of a public trial.
Concilia t ion refers to the adjustment a nd se ttlement of a
dispute in a friend ly, un antagonistic manner. In some juris- In man y insta nces , it is not only beneficial for a cl ient to
diction s, used in courts before tria l with a view tow ards a void- set tl e hi s cause or claim s rather tha n litigate, it is a lso
ing trial and in labor disputes before arbitration.s favorable to a lawyer wh o wants to sa ve time and effort, a s it
may happen that the total claim bein g mad e is less tha n what
Th ere a re usuall y two sides in volved in a negotiation it would cost to defend. Incidentally for a new lawyer who
which, more ofte n than not , a re being handl ed by two persons, lacks a deq uate experience in court liti gation, se t tleme nt is a n
usuall y both la wyers . It gene rally occurs in a fa ce-to-face con- effect ive mean s to settle cont rove rsies. By successfully resort-
ference or by te lepho ne conversat ion or corresponde nce. It is ing in to this tool, he will not lose h is fees an d his cl ien ts.
important to rem ember th at a lawyer must have a s pecial
power of attorney before he acts for a nd in behalf of his client, Settlement, is a major part of a la wyer 's e normous task
in the proper ad minist ration of j ust ice and this should be
e ncouraged by every lawyer before resorting to lit igation which
~ Bl ack'B Law I)id ionary, lith Edition . is time -consuming and e xpensi ve. Litigat ion may even deprive
n« a la wye r more pro fitabl e office pract ices.
12. Lf';GAL !'!toFESSION
12 5
127
"6 LF.GAL PROFES.<;ION ARTICLES ON TIl E U XiAL f'ROFESS IC:-.J
tion fever. Once when she W A S hein g made to drink her mil k, Inte rn a t ional Crim ina l Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia .
she remonstrated: "Objection, you r honor, but I have a lrea dy Peggy Ku o, the young la wyer, wa s s uccessful in persuadi ng
done so!" And so when the trial wa s abruptly sto pped, many the judges to consider ra pe committed by Bosnia n Serbs again st
missed the coverage a nd often re minisced severa l mem orabl e Muslim wom en during the Bosnian wa r a s a war crime. In all
scenes. inte rview wi th Time Maga zine recentl y, s he was asked whethe r
she due s not get personally a ffected by th e pligh t of the women
But the impeach men t t rial br ought to public view not victi ms . H er reply was: "Sometimes when you're talking to
only the legal profession's triumphs but. also its sho rtco ming s. th em you just ha ve to cry, an d it's O.K. It's part of the work ,
I a m certain th at the se will be t he s ubject of debate for a long an d then you move on." (TIme Magazine , March 26, 2001. p.
time to come. Functi oning in a la y society that is no lon ger 53). Tha t is wha t I mean by getting im mersed in the case of
intimidated by the jargon of la wyers , the legal profession is no one's clie nt a nd then wit hdrawing fro m t he emotiona l expcri-
longer likely to e..ca pe-pu blic scru t iny for its performance . ence a s a necessity for maintaining on e 's in ciepcnden ce, if n ot
By wha t sta nda rds should its performance be judged? one's bal ance .
Like medi cine a nd the ministry, law is a service profe ssion , A rel a ted aspect of the ind ependen ce of th e bar concer ns
and, therefore , it has been suggested it must be measured by its a ut hori ty over the discipline of its me mbers. At present ,
the standa rd s of those professions : its independence, its a cces- the inves tigation of er r ing mem bers is undertaken by th e
sibility, a nd its learning. (Paul A. Freund, The Legal Profes- In te grated Bar of the Philippines a nd its cha pters. This ena-
sion, Daeda lus 35, 39 [1965]), Time does not allow for a full bles la wye rs to police thei r own ranks . It is of course true th at
explora tion of each. Let me just discuss each one briefl y. the ult im ate responsibility for the d iscipline of lawyers res ts
The firs t is independence. A lawyer 's rela tion to his clie nt in the S u preme Court, but the scree ning fun ction of the bar,
entails ethical problems. Lawyers a re not hired guns out to do wh en taken se riously, allows for j udgment by one 's peer t ha t
their clie nts' bidding. They a re professional s, who must ac- in the proce ss promo tes the independence of th e bar.
cordingly conduct them selves in a professional way. Th be su re , The second sta ndar d of the lega l profession ill its ncccn-
a lawyer owes entire devotion a nd loyalty to his client. But it sibility , How readily ava ila ble are its service s to our people?
is devotion a nd loyalty within the bounds of honor. AP, the By this I do not only mean the ma intenance of legal a id clinics
Code of Professional Responsibility puts it, "'A lawyer [must] for indigent perso ns, im portant 8S this a spect of the work of
represent his client with zeal wrthin the bounds of the law." the organized bar is. Just as deserving of legal a id a rc those
Justice Brandeis's ad vice to young lawyers was that they should persons who a re ei ther financiall y ca pa b le of paying in full for
have clien ts rath er than be somebody's lawyer. the servi ces of a la wyer or are unable to pa y in full but non e-
Indeed, the in volvement of la wyers in their clients' causes thele ss ca n not be conside red ind ige nt persons.
should not make them oblivious to the cross currents of cern- You may think it parad oxical that pe ople wh o a re Finan-
peting claim s. What they should do is to get immersed in cia lly a ble would need help. The truth is that they often do
their clients' cases but not to drown them selves into their not know whom to enga ge a s counsel; wha t they thu s O(!Cd is
clients ' causes - they must get in volved in the ca ses, lest a r eli able system of referra l which a bar orga nization should
they become deta ched a nd cold ly di spassionate, but they must be ab le to provide. Very ofte n. many a ba lik bayan needs refer-
likewise learn to get out of the e xperience so to speak lest ral se rvice eithe r becau se he has lost co ntact with local peop le
t hey become bemused a nd se nti me ntal . from ha ving lived abroa d so long, or because his problem in-
I recently ca me across a n account of a young H arvard volves complex questions, such as estate planning an d laxa-
Law School gradu ate, who is one of the prosecutors in the tion .
128 LEGAL PROFFSS ION ARTICI.F.8 ON TIl E LEGAL PHOFESS IOS 129 tH
In these instances, the bur sh ould he able to aid the ad opte d the Manda tory Continui ng Lega l Edu cation for mem-
public in the sel ection of a competent la wyer 8S part of its bers of the IBP. Un der the program , IBP mem bers a re reo
duty to mak e its se rvices availab le. Le ga l services are needed qu tred to und ergo every three (3 ) years a t lea st t!-:.irty-six (36)
no t on ly by indigent persons , but even by those who a re able hours of legal ed ucation as follows: six (6) ho urs in legal et h -
to pa y t heir way bu t do not know whom to engage as counsel. ics, fou r (4) ho urs in t rial a nd pre-trial s kills, five (5 ) hou rs in
Not on ly must lega l services be availa ble wall. Lega l serv- alternative di spute resolution, nine (9) hour s ill recent dcvel-
ices must be ma de availa ble at the ea rliest possible time, a nd opm enta in s u bstantive and procedural la ws, four (4) in legal
not when a case is a lready in court. Fo r j ust as the re is a need writing a nd oral advocacy, n n d t wo (2 ) hours in inte rn ational
for preven tive medi cine, t he re is also a ne ed for prevent ive le - la w and inte rna tional conve nt ions. The bala nce of s ix (6) hours
ga l cou nseling so that parties will be saved th e tro uble, the ex- will be devoted to such subjects as may be p re scribed by the
pense, and th e anxiety of litiga ti on. S uc h services can ra nge MCLE Comm ittee.
from the draft ing of cont racts to the making ofwi Us. Th e MCLE progra m is administe red by a comm ittee com-
Finall y, in discussing the availability of the ba r, let u s posed of a ret ired j ust ice of the Su pre me Court, as cha irperson,
no t forget a nother cha lle nge - the read iness of its members and four (4) members, one nomin ated by the lBP, a second mem-
to e nga ge in public service . One proud trad ition of the bar in ber no min ated by the Philippine J udicial Aca demy, a t hi rd one
thi s country is that it ha s been t he source of leadership in our nom ina ted by a law cente r, a nd the fourth nom ina ted by an
government. Despite the financial opportunities offered by a ssociation of law schools and/or law professors.
priva te pract ice , ma ny la wyers ha ve cho sen government serv-
Lega l education acti vit ies will be held either by provid-
ice , thus vindicating the legal profession as one "charged with
ers a pproved or certified by the MCLE or by t hose required by
public duties a nd respo nsibility." Lawyers mus t be a ble to la w to give contin uing lega l ed ucation.
s h u ttle between private pract ice a nd g-overnme nt se rvi ce ,
enj oying not only t he fin an cial privileges of the form er but Those who fail to comply with the MCL E withou t sa ti s-
a lso t he civic rewe-ds brought about by the latter. Publi c factory expla nat ion will be required to pay a "non-com plia nce
serv ice, t hough a dmitted ly short on mon etary ga ins, poses a fcc" a nd cons ide red deli nqu ent membe rs of t he ba r, wh o will
unique cha llenge to a la wyer's integrity as well as his compe- be su bject to d isci plina ry action by t he board of governors of
tence a nd ability and offers psych ic be nefits that go beyond the IBP and by th e Su preme Court.
pesos a nd centavos.
Exemption from the requirement to lake the MCLE is
This leads me to the th ird sta nda rd of a professi on, provi ded for certain ind ivid ua ls, such as the Preside nt and
na mely, its warning. The Code of Professional Responsibility Vice-Presid ent of the Ph ilippines, members of Congre ss end
states that a "lawyer [must ] serve his clien t wit h competence mem be rs of the j ud iciary by re ason of th eir positions in the
a nd dili gence." But a bar to be able to discharge its public govern ment a nd qu a si-public institutions. After they ceas e to
duties a nd re spon sibilities must be a learned organi zation. hold office by virt ue of whi ch they were exe mpted from th e
Th e prol iferation of lega l ma teria ls and the emerge nce of new MCLE , these members will, like any ot her member of the JBP,
specialti es in la w, brough t about by t he growing com plexity of be required to comply with the MCLE.
ou r society, a rc a cha lle nge to ou r com mitment to excelle nce
- whe t her 11M members of the pract icin g ba r or the aca demic On the othe r han d, exemption from t he requ iremen t to
branch of th e profession. lake the MCLE may be obta ine d by certa in individu al s, s uch
as those who are not in la w pra ctice or those who hav e retired
It is in response to the t rem endou s de velopm ents in la w from law pra ct ice. In a ddi ti on, pa rti al credits m ay be ea rned
in the la st t wo deca de s t hat the S u preme Court recently for certai n a ct ivities s uch as a ttendn nce in se minars , confe-
l:,-
130 LEGAL PROFESSION ARTICU;S ON THE LEGAL PROFESSION 13 1 I
'(
rences and t he like , acting 8 S lect ure r, resource person, corn- Grea t Leaden were Lawyers"
municator, etc. , or wri ting books, a nd teac hi ng. By
We should not , however, delude ourselves into thinking Atty. Leo n L. Asa"
th at conti nuin g legal edu ca tion a lone can make the legal pro-
fession a lea rn ed profession . We must know much more than "You may chain my hands, you may sha ckle my
the specia lized skill s a nd technical ru les of our craft. The bar feet, you may eve n throw me into a da rk prison; but
must be ab le to com municate to the public its aims a nd its pur- you sha ll not enslave my th inking because it is free."
poses. It must be able to expla in to lay people the laws and
regulations in clear, simple , a nd understanda ble language 80
- Kahlil Gibran
that public respect for the law will be fostered . This is an
e ndeavor th roug h which the lea rning of t he bar must be
cha nneled. It is a glowing tribute to th e legal profession t hat a
nu mber of th e world's greatest leaders were lawyers,
I began by ind icating what in my opinion are the impli-
ca t ions of the recent impeachment t ri al on our profession. For Lawyers, as a class , embody th e noblest ideals of cour-
beyond its politica l importance to the nation, it has lessons, age , j ustice, a nd public service. They are always at th e fore -
too, for the bar. 1. close by expressing th e hope that th ese front in time s of nationa l crisis . By rea son of th eir profession ,
lessons be not lost on us RS la wyers , proud as we are of our which is a ll-embracing t he affa irs of men , the people look up
heri tage, a nd prou der still of our achieve ments that for so to them especially in times of great political a nd constitu-
long have made our profession 8 dominant force in our coun- tional crises , Fear lessly, t hese noble men would sacrifice their
try. Where the im pea chment trial has shown us strengths, let lives and fortunes for t he ca use of freedom a nd publi c duty.
us resolve to preserve th ose strengths . Where it has shown us Ma ny a country's constitu tion was fr a med by its national
failures. Jet us re solve to do right next time. Correc tio n should lea ders, most of them la wye rs . The figh t for independence in
come from wit hin, more than from without, our profession. severa l instances has a lways been re lentlessly pur sued by
la wyer-leaders .
The 1935 Phi lippine Constitution wa s framed by our coun-
try's best legal minds; t he Declara tion of Independence of t he
United States of Ame rica was written by 8 great lawyer who
became one of its greatest P residents ; and India's long fight for
independe nce thro ugh non-violence was incessantly, tenaciously
and successfu lly pursued by its greatest leader who beca me
martyr in the cause offreedom a nd publi c service.
Mahatma Gandhi, President Abra ha m Lincoln, President
Thomas Jefferson, and our own Presid en t Manuel L. Quezon
"Pu blis hed in lhe Lawy er ', Review, Vol. IX, 30 Nov. 1995.
"Pa rt ne r; La ure l Law Offire ,,; LL.B.'56. Fra ncisco Law School (CIW18
Valedictorian and MrJj(na Cum Laudt ); Asst. Atto m ",y• •"ra ncisco Law a ffire"
11957- 19651,
132 LEGAL PROfES SION A1IT1 CI.ES O N TH l'~ LJ.:G.\L PROf Jo::s.'iI ON 1 ~1
and P residen t Jfl!,\C P. Laurel were all famed lawye rs who It was in 19J 5 tha t Gandhi returned to Ind ia a nd within
beca me gr ea t. nationallcaders a nd legiti ma te pride of the legal five (5 ) yea rs , he beca me t he lea de r of t he Indian N ation ali st
profession . Movemen t , Durin g: World Wa r 11 , Gand hi contin ued his st rug-
gle for Ind ia 's freedom t hrough non -violent disobedience to
Bri ti sh rule .
M ahutma Gan d h i
In March 1922, Ga ndh i was cha rged before t he Distri ct
It is parad oxical tha t Ma hatma Gandhi , the greatest a nd S ession s Judge by the Advoca te Ge neral of bringing or
leader of Indi a a nd un denia bly one of the top worl d lea ders , a ttem pti ng to bri ng ha tr ed or conte m pt, or exciting, or at-
nev er occu pied any public office. But he was a dedi cated law- tempting to excite, disaffection to wa rd his Maj esty's govern-
yer who devoted hi s lifetim e fighting for th e independe nce of ment , established by la w in Briti sh India , a nd tha t Ga ndhi
his country a nd people under British rule. wa s guilty of these things because of three a rti cles he had
written a nd publish ed in hi s weekly maga zine.
Gandhi st udied in th e University of London and received
his early training in law in the In ns of Court. It wa s u pon the Gandhi broke in : "I plead guilty to a ll the cha rges."
advi ce of a family friend that he went to England to s tudy la w. And the Judge said: "Mr. Ga ndhi, do you wish to make
He pawned hi s wife's marria ge jewels for money a nd with his a statement on t he question of se n tence?"
brother's hel p, left for En gland telling hi s friends , "I hope th at
som e of you will follow in my footsteps , a nd tha t afte r you re- Ga nd hi replied : "I do not ask for mercy," he said to J ud ge
turn from England , you will work for big reforms in Indi a." Broomsfield, who presided a t the t ria l. "I do not plead any
exten ua ti ng act. I a m here , t herefore, to invi te and cheerfully
After finishing his la w st ud ies, he returned to India in su b m it to the highest pena lty that can be inf li cted upon me
189 1 to pra ctice la w. Though he refused cases which he re- for wh at in law is a delibera te cri me and what appea rs to me
garded a s u njust , he soon built up a lu crative clie ntele, ave r- to be the hi ghest duty of a citi zen. The only course open to
aging a n income of $25,000 a year. But Ga ndhi ga ve up a ll yo u, sir, is either to resign you r post or to infli ct on me t he
thi s for a ca us e, a new case to t ry - the case of the oppressed severest pe nalty."
against the inju stice of the oppressors .
J udge Broomsfield, not to be outdone in chiva l ry, replied :
In 1893 , Gandhi went to Sou th Africa which was at that "It would be impossibl e to ign ore the fact tha t in t he eyes of
ti me und er British control. He wa s a buse d because he was a n m illion s of you r cou ntrym en you are great patriot a nd a great
Indian claimi ng his righ ts as a British subject . Seeing other leader. Even those who differ from you in politics look upo n
India ns suffering the sa me abuse, injustice a nd di scrim ina- you as a man of high ideals a nd of noble , a nd eve n sai ntly,
ti on, he aba ndoned his law practi ce a nd devoted 21 years of life."
his life in Sou th Africa to work for In dia n righ ts.
The judge , ha ving prai sed Gandhi for the j us tice of his
Gandhi led many ca mpa igns for Indian righ ts in South ca use se n tenced hi m for the illegality of his cond uct.
Africa a nd edited a weekly newsp ap er, India n Opinion . He
Gandhi wa s se n te nced to two years si mple imprisonm en t
began to experimen t with his new method of non-violent ac-
on ea ch count of the cha rge or s ix yea rs in a ll.
tio n called "salyagra ha ," prom oted man y civi l di sobedien ce
ca mpaign s , a nd orga nized a strike am ong Ind ia n mi ner s. Il l' The fr iends of Gandhi cro wed aroun d him , a s the judge
was a rreste d man y ti mes by th e British bu t his efforts brought left the cou rt, a nd fell at hi s feet . Bot h me n and women were
about important reforms. sobbing but Ga nd hi was sm iling a nd cool, gi ving e ncou rage-
134 IS-GAL f'kOfo·E...
~ION ARTICLfo~ ox TIlE LEGAL PROFESSION '36
men! to everybody who came to him . After h is friend s had To the Indians, Ga ndhi was the "Mahatma" which mea ns
tak en leave of h im , Gan dhi was taken out of court to t he "Great Soul"; to the world , he was the wor ld's great lea der
Sabarmati jail. who won in d epe ndence through non-violence, and a IIltuiyr to
the cause of freed om .
In 1930, Gandhi was a gain a rrested togethe r wi th 25,000
followers. In the twilight of his life , Mah atma Ga ndh i wrote a most
in spi ring essay entitled "Measure of a M an" which sums up
Gandhi was thrown into jail several t imes bu t hi s fight-
his philosophy of life - th e life t ha t h e li ved.
ing spirit wa s never effected. On the contrary, h is fervor an d
devotion to t h e cause of freed om he wa s fighting for became
even more intense. "l\leasurc o f a Man·"
For the la st time, Gandhi wa s j ailed in 1942 . Alt ogether, It is not the critic who counts, nor the mtlll who
he spent a total of seven years in pri son for his political be- points out how the strong man st um bles, or wh ere
liefs and activities. He firmly believ ed that it i!'l honorable to the doer of deeds could have done better.
go to jail for a good cause.
Th e credit belongs to the man wh o is actually
It was on August 15 , 1947 when Gandhi was alrea dy 77 in the arena; who.'ie face is marred by dust and sweat;
years old that IND EPE ND ENCE FOR INDIA came , soone r who strives valiantly. who errs and may {ail again.
than he expected a lthough he had sai d that he wou ld achieve because there is no effort without error or shortcom-
it in his lifetime. The fr ee dom of h is cou ntry a nd people for ing, but who does actually strive to do the deeds:
wh om he had fought so long and so well was crowning glory who does kn ow the great en thusiasm; the great de-
of his life. votion; who spends him self in a worthy ca use; who
at best, krwws in the end the triumph of high achieoe-
On J anuary 13 , 19 48 , Gandhi , at the age of 78, began a menlo and who at the worst, if he fail s, at least fails
fast for the purpose of ending bloodshed among Hi nd u, Mos- while daring greal/y, so that his place shall Mver be
lem and other groups . Five days later, the facti ous leaders with those cold and timid souls who k now neither
pledge to cease fighting. Ten days alte r on his way to a prayer vic tory nor defeat:"
service open to followe rs of any re ligion, Mahatma Gandhi
wa s gunned down by a high-ranking Indian Brahman who
feared Gandhi's tolera nt teach ing and programs . P resident Abraham Lincoln
Thus ended the life of Ma hatma Gandhi, frail and slight In the survey conducted among the pr ofessors of history
in built but poeeeseod of limitless ph ysical st re ngth a nd th e in t he different universities and colleges in the Un ited States,
greatest moral courage and conviction. the choice was unanimous that Preside nt Abraham Lincoln is
the greatest and the humblest American President.
Mahatma Gandhi's e a rthly possessions consi sted of a pai r
of eyeglasses , loin cloth, a pa ir of sa ndals and ne edle a nd In 1834, Lin coln was convi nced by John T, Stuart, a n
t hread. His simple a nd hon est life puts to shame other lead- attorney in Springfield and a member of the legisl a tu re, to
ers, who ca llous ly a mass we a lth in publ ic office , plu nd er their s tu dy la w. He borrowed la w books from Stuart an d studied
nations' wea lth and impoverish thei r own peo ple without the
slightest tw inge of cons cience, unabashe d by the condem na- "It Wil li former- Amhllll8ador J ORC S. Laurel III who gave to the author
tion of their own people a nd by the verdict of history. the printed oupy or the _y_
1:16 LEGAL PI(OFESSI ON A HTI C LE~ ON Ti ll': I.EG AL I' HCl-'ES xIO N 1:17
them. Lincoln received h is licen se to practice law on Septem- Presiden t Abraha m Lin coln took his oa t h of office as the
ber 9 , 1836 a nd his nam e wa s entered on the roll of attorneys 16th President . of t.h e Uni te d States on M a rch 4 , 1861. He
on March I , 1837. l'.t that time. there were few law schools took over the Presiden cy at a most cru cia l period of America n
a nd most lawyers si mply "read la w" in the office of a n a ttor- histo ry. The Civil Wa r wh ich sta rted on Ap ril 12. 186 1 la sted
ney. four yea rs a nd left a heritage of grief a n d bitt ern ess. It di-
vided the people of th e Uni ted States a nd in ma ny fami lie s
Lincoln's method of study is rev eal ed in the followin g
brother fought ag ainst brother. He Faced agunizi ng problems
classic a dvice he gave to a la w student :
and ma de decisions of life a nd death day a fte r day. Pr esident
-If you are resolut ely determined to ma ke a Lincoln suffered so mu ch a gony duri ng the years of the Civil
lawyer of yourself, the thing is more than. half done Wa r that his fa ce became more ema ciate d . Bu t he W 8R uble to
already. It is but a small matte r whether yo u read preserve th e Union.
I.ci1h. anybody or not . I d id not read with anyone. Presiden t Lincoln 's intense religio us fa it h gave him spir-
Get the books. and read and study them until you itua l and moral strength d uri ng the four ago nizing yea rs of
understand them in their principal features: and th e Civil Wnr. He ca me to have a qu iet confidence in his own
that is the main thing. It is of no consequence to be judgme nt as he met the trials of t he wa r, b ringing out in him
in large town while y ou are reading. I read at New the gentlest a nd noblest qu al ities of the hu man heart - hu -
Salem, which never had three hundred people liv ing mility, sympa thy, understa nding, compa ss ion a nd forgiven ess .
in it. The ~ and your capacity for understand- He wa s sym pathetic a nd compassionate and wrote numerou s
ing the m, are just the sa me in all places . . . Always lette rs of condolen ce to grieving pa rents . H e wrote to the
bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is moth er of five sons killed in battle, "I pray that our Hea venly
more important than any other one thing." Fath er may assuage the a nguish of your be rea ve men t , a nd
lea ve you only the che rishe d memory of th e loved and the lost,
AP, a lawyer, Lincoln is well known for his honesty. Mem- a nd t he solem n pride that must be yours to ha ve laid so costly
be rs of the noble profession of la w would do well to remember a sacri fice upon the a ltar of freedom."
hi s following admonition :
President Linco ln ha d the ability to express his idea s
"Resolve to be honest a t a ll events ; a nd if in and convict ions 8 0 cle arly and forceful ly that mill ion of his
your judgment you ca nnot be an honest lawyer, countrymen ha ve made hi s words their own. Ofte n quoted a re
resolve to be honest without being a lawyer." expressions from his first and second ina ugura l a ddresses, his
a nn ua l me ssages to Congress, his Gettysb urg Address a nd his
Winning a case once , Lincoln received from his happy numerou s lette rs, many of which were done in hi s own hand-
clien t as attorney's fees $50,000, a most substantial a mount writing. His clea r a nd direct sty le of writin g wa s gre a tly in-
at that time. Upon rece ipt of t he sum, he wrote back thanking Iluen ced by the H oly Bible which he cons ta ntly rea d even
hi s client for his gene rosity but returning' $25,000, saying, "I when he wa s n young man . AF. President, he kept a Bible on
a m not a n expens ive man." his desk a nd ofte n opened it for comfort a nd guida nce. Bibh-
Lincoln pra ctice la w a nd ha ndled very important cases ca l re fere nces a nd q uotations en riched hi s writings a nd
in Springfield. He represented big corporations a nd big busi - speeches.
nesses frequ ently in law suits, a nd soon prospered . His repu- His immortal Gettysburg Addrt~ 8s la sti ng: hut thr ee min-
tation grew stea dily a nd in 1850 , he wa s known as one of the utes , is a cla ss ic in Amercian lite ra ture - "t hat this nation,
lea ding lawyers of Illinois . under God s ha ll have a new birth of freedom - a nd that
ARTIC LES ON T HF. LEGAL I>RO F'Jo:s..<>IO N 139
138 LFX;AL PROF ESS ION
J efferson is also h('Ht remembered for h a vi ng wor ked for On J uly 4. 1826. 50 year s after th e a dopt ion of the Dec-
t he establis hme nt of t he Universi ty of Virginia whose cam - la ra t ion of Independen ce. J effers on died .
puses lind buil d ings a t Cha rlott esville he designe d him self Presi de nt Thom as Jefferson is regarded as one of the
Th e Uni ve rsity of virginia wa s founded "based on the illimi t - five greatest American Pre sidents. His greatest monume nt in
a ble freedom of the h uman mind to ex plore a nd to expose Am eri can hi story is hi s Decla rat ion of Ind ependen ce which
e ve ry s ubject s usce pt ible of its contemplation." ha s contin uously ins pired nati ons the worl d over in their glo-
Du ri ng P res ide n t J efferson's term, one of t he most im- ri ous qu est for freed om, justice. liberty a nd democra cy.
portant Su preme Co u rt decisi ons in Ame ri can h istory was t he
ce lebrated case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803 . Pre siden t President Manuel L. Quezon
Ada ms had a ppointed William Ma rb ury 85 one of the 42 jus-
t ices of t he pe ace a p pointed to five-year t erms in the District President Man uel L . Quezon , the champion of Philippin e
of Co lu mbia . Ma r bu ry a pplied to t he S up reme Court for a In depe nde nce a nd the first President of the Philippine Com-
writ of ma nda m us, orderi ng Secre tary of Sta te J am es Madi- monw ealth, is one of the greatest Filipinos who steadfastly
s on to deli ve r h is commiss ion. The S upreme Court refused to fought for his country's freedom. He had complete fa it h in the
force Madi son to deliver Marbu ry's commission. decla rin g tha t cap acity of the Filipino people to govern them selves .
the Judicia ry Act of 171:1 9 wa s unconstit ution al.
After groduating Summa Cum Laude with th e Degree of
It wa s also du ri ng the two te rms of President J efferson Bachelor of Arts from San Juan de Letra n in 1895, Que zon
that the Uni ted States dou bled in area with t he purch ase of studied law a t Sto. Tomas from 1896-1899 , a nd in 1903 wa s
the vast Lousi sla ne 'Terri tory from Napo leon for $16 mill ion
admitted to the bar.
- a real estate bargain a t 3 cents a n acre . The Louis iana
Purch ase ranks 8 S one of .Jeffers on's greatest ach ievem ents . AB a la w'yer; Quezon had the highes t respect for truth
a nd deeply committed to the proper ad ministration of justice.
In the twilight of his life. Thom a s J efferson design a ted Although he could earn more in the pra ct ice of la w. he ac-
the marker for his own grave a nd wrote the followin g epitaph:
cepted the position of Provincial Fiscal of Mindoro where his
Th e following inscr iption a nd not a word more: fighting s pirit was manifested.
'Here wa s bu ried Th oma s J efferson , Author of the It. is notew orthy that the case of U.S. us. Berry wh ich he
Decla ration of Inde pen den ce, of the Statute of Vir- prosecuted when he was Provincial Fiscal of Tayabas was the
ginia for reli gious freedom , and the Father of the firs t cri mina l case during the early pe riod of the Ame rican
Univers ity ofVi n.rinia.· Because by t hese. a s te stimo- regime when a Filipino Fiscal dared to file a cri mina l com-
nial s that I have lived, I wish most to be remem- plaint agai nst an American. wh o was al so a lawyer, a nd the
bered ." firs t ti me that a Filipino secured the con viction of an Ameri -
can in a court presided over by an America n j udge.
J efferson ex pla ined t ha t t hese t hree were things he had
given to the people, wh ile a ll the ot hers , from mem bership of Qu ezon beca me interested in politics , a nd in 1905 w e e
the Virgi ni n H ou s e of Il ur gesses to the presidency. were thi ngs elected Governor of Tayabaa (now Quezon) a nd t hen to the
the people had ",r iwn h im .1b quote t he political thought of th..• First Phili ppine Asse mbly in 1907. He wa s chosen Delegate to
greates t Lebanese poet -write r-phi losopher Kahlil Gibra n which the In terna tional Congress of Navigation in S1. Petersbu rg,
was paraphras ed by Pre sid ent .lo bn F. Kenedy in his In au gu - Rus si a in 1908 and from 1909-1916 , was Re sident Commis-
r al Add ress , "Ask not wha t yuu r country can do for you but sioner to the United S ta tes. He beca me the President of Ole
wha t you ca n d o for yuur country" Se na te from 1916 to 1934.
142 l.F.G AL PROFESSI ON ARTICI.E." O N THE U:GAL I'HOf ESS10 N 143
His dre am wa s fu lfilled on Novem ber 15, 1935 when he a ne w one. S hortly afterward , t he Tydi ngs-Mc Duffie Bill was
wa s inaugu rated F irst President of the Ph ilippine Com mo n. pa ssed by the America n Congress a nd accepted by the Filipi-
wealth . It was also in 19 35 that he organized the Phil ippine no s in 1933. Upon the acce pta nce of t his bill , pla ns for the
Army with t he hel p of Ge neral Dougla s Mac-Arthur. Ph ilippi ne Commnn woa lth com me nced .
As Presiden t. he con tinued to ha ve the greatest concern On the histo ric date Nove mber 15, 1935 , Quezon assumed
for t he prope r a dm ini stratio n of justice. It is hi s since rest t he Presid ency of the Phili ppi ne Com monwealth lending to
convictio n t ha t in order to ad minis ter un im pea chable j ustice inde pendent nationhood wh ile Sergio Osm ena assu me d the
a nd to maintain the peo ple's fa ith and confidence in the courts, Vice-P re sid ency, unt il 1944.
j udges shou ld be men of learning a nd unqu estioned mora l On Augu st I , 1944 , Pres ide nt Quezon died at Sara na c
characte r. Lak e , New York a nd was bu ri ed in Ar li ngton Ce metery, the
In In re J udge Geronimo Paredes for remova l as J udge Ame rican Nationa l S hrine at Wa shin gtnn. Afte r the war, hi s
of the Court of First Instance, Presiden t Quezon, in disregard rem a ins were sent back to t he Philippines - the la nd he
of the recommenda tion of the Supreme Cou rt, ordered t he loved so dearly a nd so well.
ju dge's re signation . In h is own inimitable language, h e de- Like Ma hat ma Ga ndhi , Presiden t Quezon's figh t for the
clared: i nde pende nce of his coun t ry is the crowning glory of his life.
Preside nt Laurel's sleepless nights and agony reac hed In his impassioned plea in the PL'OpJe's Court facin g his
its peak whe n the J a panese H igh Command pre ssed him to accusers, President La urel , in a voice ringi ng wit h emotion ,
conscript Filipino soldiers to fight side by side with the J ap a- explai ned :
nese a rmy. He wa s aware that a wrong decision mig ht start
the wholesale ma ssa cre of the helpless civilian popul ation. "T he policy ofsu rvival in order to tide the Fili -
U ndergoing immea surable sufferi ng a nd agony which only a pinos to better times was the sole Purpose of my
man of Spartan disciplin e and a Stoic Philosophe r could bear government during the Japanese occupation .
wi th eq ua nimity a nd serenity, in the middle of the night be- I am no t expecting a decoration. I do not expe ct
fore he had to ma ke hi s decision, he was found by h ia Ron, to be promoted. I do not claim to be a hero, bu t J
Laurel Ill, in th e Ma laca nang chapel in deep prayer a nd ha oe the right to recognition of my people of th e
meditation. moral valu e of my efforts.
Wh en he arose the following morning, strengthened and If 1 am a traitor, then I d eserve the death of a
blessed with Divine gui dance, President Laurel got on the traitor. I h a ve no regrets, J am ready to {ace God
radio and publicly annou nced that the Philippi nes had de- and th e people, consci ous of what I have done was
clared war on the Ll.S. a dding howeve r, "I will see to it that for th e good of my country and my compatriots and
no Filipino will be cons cri pted to fight in this war." Afte r the what J sincerely believed to be right in serving as I
bro adcast , the enraged top Japanese mi litary officers came to did th e Philippines at a time when national sur-
him screaming, "Wha t is war without conscription?" President vival was the main concern.
La urel's bri lliant lega l mi nd had out witte d the Japa nese mili-
tary officers! A lth ough human j ustice may err, wh a t matters
is that I sta nd i nnocen t before my conscience and
After Japan surrendered on August 15, 194 5, Presiden t my God, and when I face my C1'f>(Jtor, J shall face
La urel was a rrested on September 14, 1945 by agents of the
Allie d Forces, placing himself a t General Dougla s MacArth ur's
disposal. He wa s confined at Yoko hama Prison House, later at
-rs, b oo k wa s "The World in 2030 A.n .· writl(>n by Uw Brit.ish II(OOll1 r-
Sugamo Prison outside Tokyo, in solitary confinem ent for more scient ist Lord Birke nhead.
··Salvad or II. Laurel beca me Se na to r and Vice Presid ent,
HR LEGAL J'ROfo'Jo;SSION
ARTICLF.8 ON THE LEGAL PROf''K''SION 14 ~1
,
him in the full confide nce tha t I ha d dedicated my ticing President in Phil ippin e h istory, If Ame ri ca had its
power, my ta lents and my energy to th e service of my Abra ha m Lincoln a nd Ind ia its Mahatma Gan dhi , th e Philip-
cou ntry at a ti me when she needed m e most. pin es had its J ose P. Lau rel.
I sta nd ready to account (or all my actio ns, for The lega l Profession takes legit ima te pride in the fa ct
all that I h ad done, J did with th e sole purp ose of th at indeed some of the wor ld's gn at leaders we re grea t law .
serv ing th e interest and welfare of th e Filipino peo - yers .
ple d uring their most crucial a nd d arkest hour. "
The fam ous Ame ri can poet, Henry Wad sworth Longfellow,
had beautifu lly wri tten :
The foregoi ng are bu t excer pts from his defense. All of
President Laurel's remarks before the People's Court fill hu n-
d red s of pages . Lives of great m en a ll remi nd us
President LAurel knew that his political collabo ration We can m ak e our li ves su blime,
with the J a panese was non-trea sonable a nd he wa nted to A nd, depa rting , leave behind us
continue with the trial to pro ve his in nocence and to vindicate Footpri nts on t he sands of time. ..
his name. But President Manuel A. Roxa s , in his Amn es ty
Proc lamation on J a nuary 28, 194B. declared tha t "the ques-
tion of collaboration is esse ntial ly politica l in nature a nd should
be settled in accordance with the conscience of t he majori ty of
the people." President Roxas' Amnesty P roclama tion was in
fa ct concurred in by the Senate a nd the House of Represen ta-
tives of the Congress in February 1948 . With t he proclam a-
tion gran ti ng a m ne sty to a ll politi cal a nd econom ic colla bora-
tors, Dr. Laure l, Cla ro M. Recto. Cami lio Osiaa, .Jorge Va rg-as,
and se veral others accused were se t fr ee .
In t he 1951 se natorial elections , President La urel's clea r
vindi cation 88 a patriot a nd defend er of the Filipi no people
beca me manifest for th e electo rate gave him t he hi ghest
nu mber of votes ever received by a candidate - "the con-
science of the majority of the people."
Like Presiden t Lincoln , President Laurel was the lead er
of his cou ntry a nd people during the most crucial period of
na tiona l su rviva l. Like Mah a tma Ga nd hi, he waa also imp ris-
oned for servi ng his cou n try a nd people . Perhaps that is the
fa te of t hose brave and noble sou ls who gi ve their very best to
se rve their Motherland.
In Presiden t J ose P. Laurel's death on Nove mber 6, 1959,
we lost the most heroic, courageous, b rilliant, a nd sclf-eecri-
LEG.\L PROfo'lo:SSIGN ARTICI..ES ON THE LEGAL PROFESS IO:'i I t'l
''''
Youn t: Lawyers Move On . • . S h ar e in like them, vested with singul a r task of furthering the goa ls of
the Unfolding of the Uivine P la n" the profession a nd carryi ng on its best traditions. But, unlike
thorn , you also bear as new lawyers of t his millennium the
By responsibility of linking and reconcilin g these time-honored
H o n . Josue N. BclJosillo beliefs, values a nd practi ces with th e insuperable demands of a
modern world in the th roes of t ransition a nd cha nge.
These are troubled a nd troubling ti mes. Barely ha s the
Th e Honorabl e Chief J us tice and Associa te Justices of t he Court,
dust of the new millennium settled when ma nkind a lrea dy
Mem bers of th e 1999 Commi ttee on Bar Exami nat ion s,
appears to be hurtling towards Borne u nknown destination ,
Law Deans a nd Law Professo rs, irresistibly propelled by forces revo lutioni zing human thought
Th e Successfu l Exa min ees , thei r Paren ts , Rela t ives an d Fri ends. a nd behavior in ways unforeseen a nd in com prehensible , a nd
Distinguished Gu ests, Ladies a nd Gt'n tlemen. th e instit ution of the la w has not been s pared of the effe cts of
MAY IT PLEASE THE COUltT: this extraordinary phenomenon. Th e manifold discoveries a nd
a d va nces in science and technology that a ffect the practice
Five (5) yea rs ago, R S Chairman of the 1995 Committe e and administration of the law have already caused pe rmuta-
on Bar Exam ination s, I wa s pri vileged to address the newest tions in juridical principles whi ch in the pas t only belon ged to
mem bers of the Philippin e Bar. Thday I am Cha innan again, the realm of the improbab le and unimagi nabl e.
by specia l manda te, a nd the occa sion repea ts its elf this a fte r- How then have lawyers been cond ucti ng t hemsel ves to
noon as I appe a r before this elite ba tch of young men a nd res pond to the impo sitions of these crit ical times? The evolu-
women preordained by so me cosm ic design to bec ome t he first tion of the practice of law as a fonn al institution ha s indeed
Filipino la wyers of the thi rd millennium . been remarkable for the past eight (8) centuries. Since t he
Let me then welcome our new brethren to the fraternity time law practitioners in 13th century England were granted
of the law - this preeminen t, exa ct ing a nd excit ing profes- the right a nd privilege of appea ri ng befor e th e courts to the
sion wher e many aspire to belong but to wh ich only a chose n exclusion of all other ad vocates, the profession has e ndeavored
few a rc admitte d, It is a profession tha t has behind it a his- to a dhere faithfully 1.0 its duty of up holding the law a nd living
tory of nobility a nd greatness , respon sible for providing rhyme, greatly in it .
order and reason to this restl ess world. Its imma nen t involve- The lawyers th en, by dint of their sacred tru st. were
ment in matters of the mind and s pirit , its obses sion for truth cons ider ed a political aristocra cy, a class by themselves, a
a nd j ustice, a nd its que s t for a better life for a ll, are its core su pe ri or breed of learned and dedicated individua ls . They
philosophies that de a l with th e essentia lity of man himself. helped shape and formulate norma of behavior which by con -
May I especially address therefore ou r New Mem bers: You stant ap plicat ion gradually deve loped into a n effective mecha -
a rc a re now welded to the se sublime ideals, as a ll oth er advo- ni sm for social regu la tion , in teraction a nd d iscipline , Lawyers
cates and min isters of the la w in the past had been. You a re, were the n held with mu ch res pec t and reverence so that into
their hands was commit ted humanity's fin a l deli verance from
inequi ty and oppress ion.
' Add reN" cl,,!iv('n>d by Semor M s . Ju"t ice Jo"ue N. Hell08illo, Ch air-
m an , 1999 Com m it ...... on lia r Jo:xam inationll, on th e OlXa sion of t he O ath- Over the years however, man's prima l admira tion if not
Th kin j( of the S uCt"ellllful 199 9 Hilt Ca ndidawa he ld on 3 May 2000 at 3 o'clock reverence for the legal profession gradually waned. A tectonic
in the afternoon I<t th e Pic e Plenary Hall , lto xa s Hlvd., MIa. (Pu hliNlwd in
shift in the public perception of lawyers ha s developed , a n d it
The l.awyt.>t'S IWvif!W Vol. XIV, 30 J une 20001.
152 I. EGAL PROFESSION ART I C;I.F ~ ON TilE l.l~r.AL P" OFl-;S."'ION 1!53
is not a coveted image to beh old! Time was when la w, medi- deep reorie ntation away from the im peria l he roics of prowess
cine and th eology formed the classic triad of learned disci- and fut urism towards an a ppreciation of a rich past an d the
plines, each ministering to a ba sic concern of man - jus tice, renaissance of a n old wisdom.
life and death. But one wonders now if law ia stil l part of that
It is therefore imperative for the profession to di stance
triumvira te of a ncie nt professions. For its seems to he th e
itsel f from the sed ucing in fluence of pSRRing wealt h, fa me and
fashion these days not onl y to a scribed to the law profession,
glory, a nd ret urn ttl the imm ortal virtue s of Truth , .Iustice,
righ tly or wro ngly, the grievous si ns of falsehood, greed and In tegrity a nd Love. For these a rc ma tte rs of mind a nd spirit
inju sti ce, bu t even to assail a nd undermine its worth. with wh ich the practice of law is essenti a lly in te rt wined .
Deside ri us Erasmus once said that lawyers were "the There fore , re solve not to be pa rt of the transg ression s inflicted
most learned species of profoundly ign orant men! " An d an by me n u pon men; resolve not to ca use the afflictio ns lh at
epitaph on which wa s written, "He re lies a la wyer a nd a n in fest socie ty a nd the law profession ; d eve lop among you r-
hon est man," elicited the wry obse rvation tha t times mu st selves II u nifo rm sense of ou trage for what is false a nd wha t
indeed he hard for t wo (2) person s to be buried in t he flame is unjust, a se nse of u nity a nd cohe rence in the practice of law
grave! The implica tion of these , sad ly enough, is that the re by focusin g not only on your own se lf bu t a ls o on socie ty, on
has been a virtua l abandonmen t by lawyers of the noble ten- ma n a nd hi s fu nda mental ri gh ts .
ets of their profe ssion that endowed them, in the first place, If you center you r goal a nd happiness on ly on obtaining
with mora l a scendan cy and suasion over their fellowmen . a bachelor 's degree in Law, a nd even pa ssing the most diffi-
.My friends, we ha ve to commit oursel ves to pursue our cult Bar Exa mina tions, you r life may s im ply end ther e, for
calli ng in the great trad ition of those who came before us wit h you de rive your identity a nd the meanin g of your existence
utmost rationa lity, honesty, integrity and dedication . In this only from a la w dipl oma a nd a certificate that you pm.s the
light, I urge you to he lp s et the ton e from hereon for the new Bar. Pa thetic and tragic ind eed that this early you should
practice of law and be a cti ve participants in th e lofty endeavor. cea se to exist! You must refu se to di e; you must refuse to give
Red irect its course and raise it up to the pedes tal it once in ; you must refuse to give u p. You mus t ra ge and rebel against
occupied, a nd recapture the glam ou r, the elega nce, the en- narrow a nd se lf-seeking concerns. Widen you r vision in stead
chant ment of the lega l profession. and expand you r goals outward - from self to family to corn-
munity to coun try a nd ul tim a tel y to all me n - like co ncent ric
I have trepidations when I talk about enchantme nt in circles from t he ripples of a sto ne cast into a lake.
the disenchanted society. But, given your yout h, you r vitality,
Young law yers, mak e a good a nd me nningful start, the n
the "fire in your be lly" in the word s of Holmes, a nd your fresh ,
move on a nd sha re in the un folding of t he Divine Plan for the
untrammeled and uncorrupted vis ion of th e future, yo u can
wh ole mankind . For it is only in shari ng with others you r
transform this inert knowled ge, as it is in your power to do,
spi rit . you r hea rt, you mind, you r soul - by giving strength
into a kinetic, living Jaw a nd help re invent the la w profession
to the weak, voice to those who ha ve non e , and hope to the
into a potent defender of truth and authen tic purv eyor of
hopel es s - that you will fin d genuine mea ning an d su bsta nce
justice.
in the la w profession . Then you will k now - tru ly know -
Bu t , you m u st fir st recon st ru ct yo u rselves b y wh a t it take s to he a n authe ntic lawyer. And when you do, you
deco nstructing you r li ves . Reject a nd discard wha t is wro ng, will become -
wicked a nd false. Cente r in stead on what is cent ra l a nd es -
se ntia l to man. For the overall effect of a life well lived , ac- The impossib le possible Philoso pher's ma n,
cord ing to Tho mas Moore, is a transform ation in culture, a The man who has the ti me t o t hink en ough ,
ARTICLES ON TIl E l£GAL PROF ESSI ON IS!)
154 LEGAL PRmT.•S.<:;ION
Congratulations and may God be with us - a lways! May I begin by congratulating your new president, Atty.
Emilio C. Ca pulcng J r., and the other officers of the Calamb a
City La wyers League on their induction tonight.
It is sa id that Supreme Cou rt justices are better read
th an h ea rd . For thi s reason , I try to limit my publ ic appear-
ances. But I cannot t um down t his invita tion of Componere
Capulong , because J want to encourage h im in h is crusade to
usc hi s legal knowledge, not for person al honor or p rofit , but
for t he benefit of th e undcrprivilege and th e oppressed. A
leading light of Bantay Kat a ru nga n and K ilosbayan , Atty.
Capu long eq uates hi s being a la wyer to h is being a se rvant of
t he Lo rd. Hi s dual loyalt y to the la w of hum an beings and to
t he command ments of t he Lord is, in fact, the in spiration for
my address tonight .
Trul y, it h as bee n said t hat t he legal professio n m ay be
lik ened to a religious vocation . I believe t hat t he adage "Ma ny
are called but few are chosen" has relevance to lawyers a nd
clergy a like. Indeed, the road to t hat elusive title of "Atty." is
no easy pa t h to t ra verse. Fe!' it dem ands pa t ie nce, persever-
a nce and prayer, much lik e the virtues r eq uired of the men
and women of the Church. Th e st ri ngent trainin g in law school,
t he extensi ve preparati ons for t h e bar exams, a nd the agoniz-
in g wait for the bar resul ts a ll form pa rt of that one great
experie nce every la wyer must inevitably go t hro ugh. Simi-
larly pri est , pa stors, ministers, rabbis , imams and other reli-
gious ecclesiastics must pa ss t hro ugh rigorou s stages of edu-
cation, t raining, sac ri fice a nd soul-se arching to become wor-
thy leade rs of their faiths .
' Add rt' lIll delivered bydustice Panganibun. as b'UCllt of h oner, during
the ind uction of office rs or th e Cala mba Cily La wye rs League he ld on Au/{tUI t
24 , 200 1, at t he Monte Vista Soc ia l Hall , Punsol, C a la m ba, Laguna , cPu,,"
lished in UII! La w yere Rev iew, Vol. XV, Se pte mbe r 30 , 200 1),
156 u ·;r. AL f'HOFFSS ION ARTICLES ON TIl E U ;GAL PROFESSION 157
Allow me to pun;uc t he paralleli sm even further by say- or other fields of en deavor, the image of a la wye r is certainly
ing that la wyers, j ust like th eir reli giou s counterparts, should far from exem plifying the quintessential ma n or woman of th e
be looked upon wit h res pect, ve nerat ion and esteem . Or are Church. And so you a sk, why th e compa rison?
they? Can we possibly eq uate the stat u s of lawyers with that
This see mingly "irre vere nt and irrecon cilable" ana logy,
of the holy men ? Does the a p parent symmetry between the
although initia lly hard to compre hend, will be rele vant to those
leg al a nd the rel igious profession s crumble aga inst the reali-
who, like Atty. Capulong, consi der the legal profession as a
zation t hat la wyers a re not ex actly a n admi red, a dored or
vocation or a calling in itself. In an y case , we ma y a s well
a d ulated lot?
treat our work with a s much convict ion a nd pa ssion as reli -
In his book, Happiness 1,'0 A S erious Problem,l Den nis gious cleri cs cheri sh theirs. More important, I a m sure t hat
P rager says: "[Mlany people who graduate from law sch ool there a re many of us who wish to venture into the journey of
a re wor se human bei ngs than they were prior to enrolling . life not on ly in the ways of the law, but in th e way s of the
Why? BL'C8use la w school te ac hes students to stop thinking in Lord a s well.
mo ral te rms a nd to sta rt thinkin g in legal term s to ask ' Is it
Certainly, it would be unfa ir, if not imposs i ble , to im pose
legal?' Rather than 'Is it right',"
the priestly vows of obedience, poverty and ch a stity on law-
Closer to home, former Senate Pre sident Mr. J ovito R. yers. I ca n e n umerate a nd expound on some of the reasons
Sa longa , a legal giant a nd highly este em ed s ta tesma n, but- why, but I am sure you already have a mill ion and one an -
tresses this observation. In a speech- before the In tegra te d swers to why we j us t can not embrace such vows. Let me in-
Ba r of the Philippines, Rizal Cha pte r, he observed : "LT]he rc is stead share with you t hree (3) fundam ental princi ples whi ch
wi des pread cynism about la wye rs in gene ral and the prevail - have come to be the cornerstones of my profess ion al a nd per-
in g beli efs is that there are too man y la wyers for the public eonal life. These rudimen ts ha ve consistently u nderscored my
good." B e ru es that whereas "before ma rti al la w, most presi- speeches, because I be lieve that. they are timeless a nd ind is-
dents {in ou r country] were la wyers , no lawyer has been cho- pensable in this brave new world of technological a dvance-
se n presiden t since Ferdina nd Ma rcos" - a ba rometer of how ment, mod ernization a nd globa lization. Allow me then to dis-
low public esteem for our brethren ha s sunk. cuss the important values whic h I refer to a a the three E's;
namely, excellence, ethics and eternity.
Admittedly, th e depreciative percep tion of la wye rs has
al ways bee n a cause for conce rn. Yet it seems to be a pe re n-
n ial problem with no foreseeable solution. Indeed, many law- Excellence
ye rs are look ed upon with cynicism, consternation and even
conte m pt, es pecia lly when they are depi cted 8 S scheming, in- Excellence in the conte xt of th e legal pro fession m eans
sidious an d unscrupulous pro fessiona ls whose primary con- more t ha n j ust knowl edge of t he law, mastery of legal proce-
cern is winn ing battles , me rely for the sake of posaeesion a, dure, and tale nt in maneuvering courtroo m batt les . It con-
power or prestige. Worse, they a ppea r to thrive on t his pre.. notes not merely professi onal competence or the a bility to
concei ved notion and actua lly live the derogatory ste reo type develop legal skills to a n opti mum level. More than these, it
to the hilt. Be it in the a re na of politi cs , business, law pra ct ice involves taki ng responsibility for the consequences of ou r ac-
tions, bei ng s incere in our intentions and ma king a differe nce
in the liyes of ot hers.
In our line of work , we arc faced with di fficult qu estions
Ill a rpl' r Collin". 1!:I98 ed.: see -Here '8 a n Idee : IA't '1I lle an 1I11 1..awy.-ra,"
7hd o.l' , AU f{UIlt 19, 20(H . p. 7. an d controversia l issues, which requi re not only the a pplica-
2KI/"sooyu n M n!o:a l;' U', A U/{Ullt 2 00 1 i llIlUf', p. 57. tion of the law, but t he discernment of wha t is right , so that
158 LEGAL PROFESSION AlnICLES ON THE LEGAL PP.OF'F~"""l0~ 159
j ust ice in its truest se nse may be rea lized. In ou r qu est to stance, lawyers s hould not en ga ge in unl a wful , dishonest,
de fend or prosecute, we find ourselves in an introspective imm ora l or deceitful conduct." Nei ther should they be pa rt of
examination of our beliefs, prin ciples a nd moral s vis-a-(,i,." the a ny activit)' a imed at defi a nce of t he la w or at les se ning con-
goa l we seek to attai n. Ul ti ma te ly, our motivation should be fide nce in the legal system ." Moreover, they must a lways try
directed to the end that our conscie nce can rest ea sy in know- to en courage a fai r settle ment of controversi es as wou ld admit
ing that genuine justice had been rendered. of a proper d ispens ation of justice for all parties." In deed, th e
1b many, this a ttit ude may seem like a virtual surrender practice of law is a privilege gra nte d only to t hose who pos-
of the "astutely asse rtive attitude" commonly possessed by the sess the strict intellectu al and moral qu alifications r equired
typical success-driven lawyers. On the ot he r han d, let me just of la wyers as inst ru ment s in the e ffective a nd efficient admin -
say that we can never truly achieve th e success we as pire for istration of'juatice.? Thi s privilege is bestowed by the State on
unless our minds , our hearts a nd ou r souls arc a t peace. For those who sho w that they possess . and continue to POS SCflS ,
wh en the days are done an d all is gone, we will come to the qualifications required by law for the confer me nt of s uch
realize that short-lived gains in this earthly existence cannot p rivi lege.f
compare with the rewa rd s tha t awaits us yonder. No less than ded ica tion, fervor a nd pa ssion should char-
Another attribute of exce llence ill devotion to work. Law- acterize our attitude tow ards the profeseic n . More t han the
ye rin g has a lways been viewed as a dignified, prestigious and egoti stic motivation of personal achievement, the dignity of
lucrative vocation. As a matter of fact , man}' lawyers will the lega l profession should be the primord ial consi deratio n in
readily admit that honor, prestige a nd mon ey were the most a ll ou r undertakings. Indeed , the Code of Pro fessiona l Re -
influential factors that le ad the m to pu rsue a career in law. s pons ibility mandates t ha t a la wyer shall a t all ti mes uphold
Sad to say, very few are in it for the a ltruistic feeling of being t he integrity and d igni ty of the legal profe ssion ."
able to help in the ad ministration of justice, which should be
As lawyers, we arc give n so much opportu nity to make
the foremost respon sibility of every la wyer. Such distorted
a difference in our comm unity, in our country an d in the world.
perceptio n of t he legal profession has led many of our profes-
siona l brethre n astray and, consequently, paved the way for Indeed, there is so much t hat ca n be done a nd the re is 80
the proliferat ion of t he so-ca lled "rotten feW' amo ng our ranks. much we can do. Unfortunately, our idea lism and exuberance
a s young lawye rs to "ma ke a difference in society" soon dwin -
Indeed , t here is no substitute for hard work a nd deter- die into not hingness. This ha ppens wh en our concerns sud-
mi nation, which charac terized all successful me n a nd women, denl y shift to climb ing the corporate lad der, maki n g "big bucks"
of ages past and present, in the Philippine s an d around the and get ting head in ou r chose n career, These as pirations , al-
world , But these efforts should be infused , not with a desire
for power or weal t h or acclaim. Ra ther, la wyers shoul d find
inspiration in t he very nature of their profession and adopt a
sincere outlook towards settling disputes, providing legal serv- as Chirrnan; and JU8tiC(' Cllrolillll-Grifio-Aquino,AUya. Gcnaalc W. Gon ulfOS,
ices and upholding the rule of lew, Ma.ulo B. Fernan , Camilo D. Qu illllOn . JOlie F. ElipiOO88 a nd Carmelo V.
Sison lla membe r a; wit h fomwr Ch ief Just ice Hob..rto Concepc ion and form er
Geared towards this end, some pertinent guidelines a re .Ius tjce J Olie D.L. Reyes 8 S consultants; and I' rof, Myrn a S. Felician o and
provided by the Code of Professional Responsibility- For in- Atty. Cono-pefon LiIl1..J arddl ·~ 1I a s fClIOUrTI' per'llllllM.
4f',ode of Pmfeseional «,'"~nsi bility, Canon 1; RlIlt' 1.01.
nu«, Rule 1.02.
nu«, Ru le 1.l}4.
% ill Code waa prlHnu!gat.ed by the Supreme Court on June 21, 1988. 11" R~: AI Argollino, 2H2 SCRA 24H. Novembe r- 28, 199 7,
It wall initi a lly drafted by t he lntegnt.ed Ba r of th e Phihp pinee ' Committee !Arri l'ta v. Lloea, 282 SeRA 248, Novembe r 28, 199 7.
on Responsibility, Disciplin e and Disbarment composed of Dean Irene COrte8 nu«. Ca non 7.
160 l Jo:GAL PROFf;SSION ARTICU;S ON TIl E I.EGAL PROn:SS)o =-- 16 1
th ough well-m eaning a n d justified, should not, however, be a always be faithful to the ca use of their clients a nd bo mindful
con venie nt s u bterfuge lo renege on our duty to hel p th e un - of the trust a nd confidence re posed in them.l- Also, they should
de rprivileged , champion the cau se of the oppressed, a nd en- observe candor, fairness and loyalty in a ll their dealings and
su r e proper observance a nd resp ect for th e law by all-ri ch or transa ctions. IS Com petence nnd diligence should cha racte riz e
poor, nobility or commoner, renowned or na mele ss. t he kind of work they do for their c1ients,16 whom t hey re pre-
se n t with utmost zeal within the hounds of the la w.t? Comin g
Accordingly, la wyers s hou ld make their legal servi ces avail-
in even a further third a re the pe rsonal interests of the law-
able in an efficie nt a n d con ven ient ma n ner compatible with the
independence , the in tegrity a nd th e effectiveness of'the pr ofes - ye rs. which at a ll ti mes mu st bow to the deman ds of fiducia ry
sio n. IO E xcept for valid rea son s th ey must not rej ect t he ca use rel ations with the clien ts , and, more impo rtant, to the exact-
of the defen sel ess and the oppressed!' or withh old their se rv- ing standa rds of j ustice as a d minis te red by the courts.
ices from the nee dy.12 The blessin gs we share with others and Frankly spea king, I se ri ously dou bt whethe r this three-
our good deed s that mak e a better world will live in the memory fold responsibility of lawyers is still bein g observe d by eve ry
of those we have helped , lon g after our personal ga ins and tri- one of us. I have come acro ss se ve ral cases involvi ng lawyers
umphs sha ll a lready be en lost a nd forgot ten. who seem to have understood the hi erarchy of res pons ibilit ies
the other way a round. AB a matter of fact , some of the m have
Ethics com e to believe that their inte rest comes firs t , next is the
interest of their clie nts; a nd la stly, if a t nil, the inte res t of
A discussion of the va lue of ethics would a ppear to be out justice .
of place in this speec h, consi deri ng that we are a ll a ware of
the Code of Professional Responsibility. After having taken For the guida nce of the bench a nd the bar, let me j ust
legal ethics in law school a nd in the bar exams, we a re , in fact clarify that the Supreme Cou rt has not issued any ci rcular or
presumed to know the conte nts of the Code (a t lea st its es- memorandum revers ing the lawyer's hierarchy of r-esponsib il'i-
se nce) by he art. A perusal of its important provisions will tie s . I hope thi s se rves as a reminder to all , lest you be de-
provide guid elines on how to conduct ourselves a A lawye rs or luded by th e actuations of some of our mis guided colleagu es.
jurists. Be that as it may, let me just em phasize the hi er a rchy Suffice it to say th at the Code a nd the Canons hav e be en
of respon sibiliti es , whi ch should always be observed by all formulated and promulgated for the good of the legal profes-
lawyers in the performance of their duties. sion and its mem bers . They a re there for the convenience, the
protection and the service of a ll lawyers. Accordingly, we owe
It must always be remembered, fir st a nd foremost, that compliance, therewith, not only to ourselves a nd our peers ,
lawyers are officers of the court with th e prima ry duty to see but to the profess ion a nd the cou ntry as well.
to it that justice is served . 1b be sure, th ey sho uld exert effort
and cons ider it their duty to aseiat in the speedy a nd efficient The va lue of ethics, which proce ed s frum personal integ-
rity, moti va tes us to act in a ccordance with wha t ill true a nd
ad minis tratio n of j us tice .13 Thus, the interest of thei r clients
comes in a far second, ever subservient to the ca use of j ustice. hon e st reg-ardless of personal conseque nces. Th act with in teg-
In thi s con necti on, it is impo rtant to note th at lawyers should rity is to act with moral coura ge. In t hese times of material -
Lawyering @ Century 21: We take our bearin gs aga in from Cc vet ono v. M on.,<;od.5
Globalization, ICT a nd t h e Legal P rcte s aion" You will reca ll that in that case, the S u pre me Court wa s a sked
to constru e or defin e the clau se "pract ice of law," in regard to
By: the cons ti t utiona l requirement that t he Chairm a n of the Com-
Atty. J ose Vietor V. C han -G onzaga" mission on Electi ons mu st have been in the practi ce of law for
te n yea rs pr ior to his appointmen t.
INTROD UCTIO N As a backgrounder, it may be wise to recall some of th e
In 1999. when Olivetti s udde n ly took over Telecom Italia , establis hed j urispruden ce prior to the 1987 Con stitution. In
not only were the fina ncial peopl e commuting to and from In re Del Ro..·;;a rio,f" it wa s simply equated with membe rship in
Turin an d Rome; ra th er, t hey we re joined by lawyers from the Philippine Ha r. In the celebrated ca se of PLA 11. Agrava ,7
British an d American law firms lik e Sulliva n & Cromwe ll a nd whe re it wa s an issue as to whether a ppe ara nce before the
Herbert Sm ith. Han d in hand with the Ita lian la wyers of Patent Offi ce , a nd preparing an d prosecu t ing pa te nt applica -
Eredee Aesocia ti, these foreign la wyers collaborated on such tion s thereat were practice of law, th e S u pre me Court, speak-
issues as a ntit ru st a nd regula tory matters. ing through Mr. Justice Montem ayor sa id :
Just the yea r before, in 1998 , when Daimler-Benz was "In ou r opinion, the practice of la w includes
negotia ting its merger wi th Chrysle r, t h ey were a dvise d not by suc h a ppearances before the Pa tent Office, the r ep-
Germa n firm s, bu t by th e local office of S h earman & Sterli ng, a resentation of applica nts , opposito rs a nd other per-
law finn based in New York City. and who advised them on sons , and t he prosecu tion of t heir a pplica tions for
German la w.3 Globa l com pa nies , She a rman managing partne r
pa tent, their oppositions the reto, or the enforcement
Stephen R. Volk was qu oted a s saying, wa nt global la w firm s.'
of thei r righ ts in pa te nt ca ses."
Investment banki ng. Insu ran ce, Accounting. Advertisin g.
These are only some of the majo r a reas which ha ve now been
Six yea rs la ter, in 1965, the Co urt sa id in People e.
dominated by a few transnational giants - mostly Bri tish
Villanu eva 0 21 Phil. 894 ), th at "pra ctice is more than iso-
a nd American . Now it a ppears, it is the turn of t he legal
la ted a ppeara nce , for it consists in freq uent or cus tomary
profession , or is it legal trad e?
actio n, a succession of act s of the sa me k ind." Thus, in absolv-
ing a prosecu tor wh o a ppea red ua priva te prosecutor in 8 crim i-
IMPLICATIO NS na] cas e a nd wa s charged of pract icing- law without the J us-
tice Secretary's permission , the Cou rt e m phasized that "prac-
Natu re of Practice of Law tice of la w . . . h a s been interpreted a s customa ri ly or habitu-
Developmen ts a rou nd the world today can be rea sonab ly all y ho lding one's self to the public 8 S a la wyer a nd demand-
expected to change the way we pe rceive the nature of la wyer- ing payment for s uch se rvices."
ing, or even in defi ning the pract ice of law. Cayeta no 11. Monsod , however, ha s broa de ned nnd liber-
a lized ou r unde rstand ing of the meaning of "practice of law,"
'Published in th e LawyE"f'lI Re view, 3 1 J an . 200 1
··Prof. Cha n-GonUKa teache s Law on SUoee;llIlon. I ~Kal Writi ng a nd
Lega l Profellllion, at th e AU-nell Law School.
:!William Underhill, Lorlil Arm of I ht' L..aUlJi'rtI. !'it'wllwf>ek 36 (7 J u n.. &20 1 SC RA 2 10 (1991).
1999). ' 52 Phil. 399.
ild. 7105 Phil. 173.
166 U :GAL PHG F~SSI ON AHTICLES ON THE LEGAL r~OFESSION 167
by introducing a n a lleg-ed "mode rn COOl"Cpt." The court li.b:cr:. inte rna t .icna l Iega l issu es, suc h argument may be inco nsisten t
a lly defined practice of law as "any activity, in or out of court, with the ra t ional e for requ iri ng prior a dm is sion to the bar
which requires the application of law, legal knowledge, trai n- before being a ble to pra ctice. Th e rigid r equir ements and con-
ing and e xpe rie n ce. n8 Generally, th e refore, to "pract ice la w is ditions are not in tended to create a monopoly in the lega l
to give advice or render a ny kind of s e rvice involving lega l profession .t ! Rathe r, it is to p rotect the public, the court. the
knowledge or s k ill.'? It includes the me re p re pa ra t ion of legal client and the bar from th e incompetence a nd dishonesty of
instruments a nd contracts with which legal rights are secu red, those who are unfit to become members of the legal profes -
which mayor may not he pending in co urt.P sion.12 And incompetence and d ishonesty a re lik ewise rele va nt
It is evident from t he foregoing, t h erefore , t hat even if a evils that the State will have eve ry right to guard agains t -
foreign lawyer(s ) does not a ppea r in Phi li ppine courts or agen- maybe espe cially so - in cases whe re t he advising counsel is
cies, for as long as his relation ship w it h a f ili pino, whethe r a foreign er who is abroad.
an individual or a corporation, entai ls t h e application of la w, It cannot be denied a lso that in view of the in ternati on-
legal knowledge . or legal train in g, then he would be consid- alization of a number of legal conce pts a nd issues. local clie nts
ered a s being in the pra ct ice of la w in the Philip pines. And it have to d raw more a nd more on the expertise and experience
seems that in respect to how practice of law is curren tly de- of foreign law firm s, particula rly with respect to issues on
fin ed by j urisprudence, eve n advisory services on internati onal internation al Bale, t rans-continental, multi-modal trane porte-
law, conflict of laws a nd perhap s even foreign la w, would be tion , a n ti-trust an d regulatory ma tte rs, multi-jurisd iction al
considered pract ice of law, if done within the territorial bou nda- taxation , and eve n simple choice-of-law consi deratio ns .
ries of th e cou ntry.
This wri ter is not necessarily arguing, however, that the
Ma tters a rc more com plicated in the inte r-connected world said 'p ractice' be mad e illegal or irregular. It is merely p ro-
of tod ay, where it becomes relevan t to bear in mind the lack posed that it is a phen omenon 'P t ha t s hould be recognized as
of defini te clarity with respect to the tran sactional situs in extant a s soon as possible, if only to provide for the proper
case a la wyer in Boston, for exa m ple, a dvises a Filip ino cor- framework in wh ich "the public, the cou rt, the clier.t a nd the
poration entering into a merger with B Washington corpora- bar" remains adequately protected,
t ion, but only through the inte rn et.
Wh ether, therefore, it is a case of a foreign lawyer
A com plication, therefore, a rises i n view of the Phili p- 'pr acticing la w' in the Philippin es hy eithe r coming here or
pine Constitution's rule that only those ad mitted to the Phil- sending a dv ice through the internet, it is su bmitte d that glo-
ip pin e Bar a nd are members of good standing thereof, may balization a nd tec h nology shall one day force th e Court to re-
practice la w in the Phi lippines . While it may be a rgued that exa mi ne simple tra ditional issues like "pr a ct ice of law" in a
the foreign lawyer is not pract icing lu w in the Philippine s milieu that shall make Cayetano u. Monsod see m lik e a k in-
si nce he is not physically pre sent or is giving advice on ly on derga rten lesson.
Profession or Track ? as any se rvice in any sector exce pt those su pplied in the ex-
erci se of governmental authority. IS Unde r t he classifica tion
It could also become necessary to determine whether in
devised by the WTO Secretaria t, legal se rvices would fall under
t he worl d created by the digital revolution, the practice of law
the Bueinese Services, which inclu des p rofessional servi ces. HI
shall rem ain a "hallowed profession ," or mere ly a "tradeable
service." The GATS covers a ll four possible mode s of su pplying
services inte m ationally'" These are as follows:
At th e ou tset, it should be empha sized that this section
is relevant only to a situ a tion wh ere no commerc ial presence • Cross-border supply. This is a mode in which nei -
is yet al lowed in the loca lity.14 ther the producer nor the consumer moves physi -
cally, but in tera ct instead through a communication
Jurisprudence has clearly established that th e law is
or a telecommunications networ k. One can just
neithe r a trade nor a craft. bu t a profession.P The fulfillme nt
imagin e the potenti a l of the in te rnet for this Per-
of the 'professional obligation' requires tha t professional stand-
ticu lar mod e of supply. This mode of su pply is spc -
a rds be constantly imb ibed by la wye rs a nd that the ru les and
cially relevant to la wyers, who can now give legal
ethics of the profession be embodied by a body of ethical prin-
opinions or ad vis e to anyone anywhere in the world,
ciples . AJJ such, a n attorney possesses specia l powers of fidu -
from anywhe re in t he world.
cia ry t rust reposed in h im by hi s clients. Thus, in 8 limited
sense, he is an officer of t he courts, whose inti mate relations • Consumption A broad . This ia where a con su mer
with the latter is described in S alcedo u. Hernandez ,16 as being moves te mporarily to a supplie r's country of rest-
that of a priest of justice. deuce. It ha s very little relevance to the focu s of
this paper.
The practi ce of law is a profession, a form of public trust,
the performance of which is e ntrusted only to those who a re • Commercial presence. Th is is where a commercia l
q ualified and wh o possesses good moral chara cter.J" Th e pro- organization moves to th e consumer's count ry of
fe ssion al spi ri t, the refore, - the spiri t of public servi ce - residen ce. This is a no ther mode that may be signifi-
constantly curbs the urge of the profit instinct. Thus , as lawyer- ca ntly relev a nt to la wyering, particul arly if the
ing is constantly described, it is a matter vested wit h public Ph ilippines decid es to Include legal se rvices in its
interest. Dean Roscoe Pound e mphasizes that it does not cease sche dule of commitments under the GATS.
to be a profession just because it a lso hap pen s to be a means
• Presence of natural persons. This is where t he indi-
of livelihood.
vidual se rvi ce s u pplie r movcs temporarily to the
On the othe r han d, the provision of legal services would consumer 's count ry of residen ce. Bu t this doe s not
come under the purview of the Gene ral Agreement on Trad e include a case where a foreign lawyer comes to the
in Services, since the term <servi ces> is defined by the GATS Philippines to see k em ployment in our law firm s;
rather, that si tuat ion would rema in covered by our
immigration a nd la bor laws .
14 11 may be presumed that if there is commercia l pre sence already,
then the Govern ment may req uire that the fo~ign lll wye~ pl"1leticing Ioeally
should come under th e su pervision of the appropriate authorities.
15Director v. Bayot, 74 Phil . 749 ; In I? Tagordll , 53 Phil. 37; lind People
v, Debe n, GR 31429, 21 Jan uary 1972. I~Art. H 3)(bJ, GATS 1994.
1'61 Phil. 74 (1935). l'No. 86 1 in th e Ce ntr a l Products CllI.8sifiClltion.
I1Agpa lo, su.p ra note 9. at 12 . ~ Art. 1(2) of the (}(o ne ra l Agrnement on Trade in Sroni«,1'l (1994)
ARTICLES ON THE U:GAL PROt"l':SS IOS 171
170 LEGAL PROFESS ION
the guide line"! for mut u al recognition agreemen ts in the ac - The strategic choices for such position ing would ran ge
cou ntancy "ector. While non-bind ing, these gu idelines a re from open ing one's own offices in 110 Chi Minh City, to a full-
a n ticipated to make it easie r for governments to n egotia te blown merger of law firms, and to buying up local brain power,
mutual recognition agreeme nts in profess ional q ualificarions.P as th e Americans are doing in London .
When th e world, the refore, includ ing the Philippines , It must further be noted th at Singapore recently a warded
becomes th e mar ket place of legal se rvices, Filipino la wyers seven licen se s to foreign law finns for joint ventu res with
h a d bette r be prepared to compete in ternation ally. For glo- local finns , givi ng U.S. and U.K. lawye rs in creased access to
bali zation is integration , and integration inevitably leads to th e Singapor e market.u While th e agreem ent does not in-
com peti tion. And it is fervently hoped that this will not end clude mergers, it allows a group of selecte d law firms to com-
up - as with th e globa l battle of the bank s - as a competi- bine certain practices, such as banking and corporate finance,
l ion between the Bri ti s h a nd the Americ ans. in joint ventu re structures. The internat ional firm s are Clifford
"What we a re seeing is a n absolute scramble for interna- Chance, Linkla tere, Freebfields, Lovella a nd Allen & Overy of
t ionalization," Alan Peck of F reshfield a, a London la w firm , London; and White & Chase and Orrick, He rrington & Su tcliffe
told Newswee k in 1999 .2 • Philippine legal educa tion, th ere- of the Unite d States. This move should not. only strengthen
for e, must res pond to tha t particular developmen t in th e pro- the ti es of Singapore a nd foreign lawyers , but this will en-
feasion, a nd pr epare Filipino lawyers in th e compe titio n th at hance th e expertise and capa bility of Singapore la wyers in
is soon to come. Lawye ri ng does not require capital not tech- inte rnational law, as well 88 boost its s igni ficance as a j-e.
no logy; it merely requ ire s t raining, hard-work, experience, and giona l hub for international la w.
pure gu ts and sa vvy. This is a n area of international trade
where th e playi ng field may virtually be level. Philippine la w IMPACT O N TIlE JUDICIARY
schools , th erefore, shou ld ensure that their s tudents are
equipped with the requisi te exposure to interna tional legal The treatment of th e topic of this paper will not be com-
iss ues, and more importan tly, imbued with the proper global plete if nothing is sa id, even bri efly, abo ut the most fund a-
pe rspective. men tal impact of informati on and communications techno logy
on the work of the judiciary.
And if the Ph ilippin es were to really look farther into the
futu re, local firms should think about expanding its opera- Indeed , Mr. Justice Artemio Panganiban, duri ng th e
tions, by affilia tion a t the very least , into other southeast Asia Manila Overse as Press Club Judiciary Night on 10 March
and east Asian nations. For regardless of the 1997 financi al 2000, has cle arl y acknowledged that Mount Olympus (r efer-
crisis, these two region s from t he backbone of the promise of ring to the Court) "has been invaded by mi crochips, modems
t he 21st century, in te rms of trade, investmen ts a nd ca pital. a nd media, and the lives of the gods have irre versibly been
The geographical proximity, th e sha red history, and th e simi- alte red ."'26 But what would perha ps pose t he most serious
lar cultu res would se rve the Ph ilippines in good stead, in terms challenge to the judicial function in t he near fut ure would be
of getting II foothold on some of th e more important capitals the in evitable inte rp lay between tech nology a nd legal issues.
like Singapore, J aka rta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Seoul, To- Th ere will be ce rtain zones of differences or conflict, where
ky o, a nd Beijing.
2I; Kons u n ti n Rich ter, Si"l/fllJO'"t Allow' Law Firm li>nll.l" !" The Alian
iJpa rcn llwl icully, it wa ll not too lonll ago !.hat quali fied Filip ino la w- Wall Street J ournal 2 (11-13 August 2(00).
yen could a Ulumatica lly be admitted to certain America n Sta te Bara 31Microchip.. Modem.. and Medi a lnvade Mou nt OlympWI , XlV Tiu
"'Und,'r hi1l, sup m nnw 3, at 36. Lo~n Revk w No. 3, 68 (31 M~h 2001).
Li':GAL PROFJ-;SSION ARTICLES ON THE LEGAL PROFE SSION 175
'"
t the legal issue's determination will hinge on a fund am en tal
unders tanding of some technology today.
lional noti ons of evidence, cont racts , lax a tion a nd even, con-
stl t c tional la w. Our la wyers must necessarily be equipped with
i the skill and information necessary to contin ue being relevant
It is no surprise, therefore , tha t one of the qu es ti on s
I ra ised by Microsoft in its a ppeal of the order to split the
in a legal world that will no longer be content with a knowl-
edge of our a ncient and ana chronistic legal codes.
compa ny in two, is the inability of the tri al judge to compre-
hen d the facts, after s uc h a technical a nd esoteri c tri al. Note A world lead er as ked j ust before midnight on New Year's
a lso that the complexity issue is under discussio n by a legis- Eve in 1999: wh at. will the story of the 2 1st century be? We
la tive task force in Ma ryl and , which is studying th e possibil- hav e the single opportunity at. the beginning of this new age
ity of havin g a special court for hi gh-technology c8ses.27 to answer t hat question, and to cha rt our cou rse in the a ppro-
priate direction. Indeed, we find ourselves at the cross roads.
Th is concept developed from the commercia l divi sion of
Before us is a n uncharted pa th , a road of no parallel, and ye t
the Supre me Court of N ew York County, which hears com p lex
a lso a route we are only starting to understand .
comme rcial and business disputes in volving sum s of more than
$ 125,000, which already had 5,884 cases in 1999 alone. Other
States with specific judges or special divi sions to handle busi-
ness cases are Illinois , Ma ssachusetts, North Carolina, Penn-
sylvania , and Wiscons in , Delaware has its 208-year old Court
of Chan cery, which is s pecia lly equipped to handle lega l case s
involving the many businesses that in corporate in the state .
While the Philippine judiciary has not ye t been faced
with such complicated cas es, the d ismi ssal of the criminal
complaints against the 'love bug' cre ator should give us some
idea on how prepared t he legal sy stem is for the ma ny new
things and concepts that will emerge out of globalization.
TIlE LEGAL PROFESSION IN THE 21st Bar, a nd spent the best years of my la w pract ice serving in that
CENTURY, S URVIVAL OR EXTINCTION?' capaci ty. Since then I hav e fa ithfully ma inta ined my member-
By, ship in this Chapter despite my a ppointmen t to the Judicia ry.
Senior Associate Justice Josu e N. Bellosillo I cannot help recalling my stint as Pr esident of the Capiz
Bar. That wa s fr om 196 1 to 1972 when I fin a lly gav e up the
position as I wa s a lrea dy a member of the J udici a ry. I enjoyed
'Ib be in the good compa ny of Capiz Lawyers, a s I am my presidency because I had the full su pport a nd cooper ation of
this evening, is a lways a great source of joy an d inspiration th e entire membership. Unlike in othe r cha pters , politics never
for me, a nd I a m confide n t the feeling is mu tual! For, so mu ch en tered into the management of the a ffairs of the Ce piz Ba r. I
is gaine d in t he genuine cam a ra derie tha t an a ssembly of would say tha t there wa s perfect harmony a mong the mem-
la wyers pr ovides. It gene rates a comforting assurance th at bers.
.the law profession is well an d very much ali ve, a nd th at the
la w contin ues to play 8 vital role in the regulation of the I had barely s tarted with my law practice he re when I
a ffairs of men a nd society. That, I a m sure, is the main con- was elected Presid ent, an d ou r se nior mem be rs, whom we
cern of the President of the Integrated Ba r of the Philippines! resp ected so m uch , cooperated fully with me and my officers.
An d thut is why he is with us this evening. In fa ct , to night, I would like to pay tribute to a prominent
mem ber of the Capiz Bar who to me was t he symbol of unity
J wa s with Atty. Arthur D. Lim 186t Wednesday at the and mutu al respect in t he association. I a m referring to the
Awards Night of the Su preme Court Searc h for Centennial late lamented Jud ge Ibarra Bisnar. (May I ask each one to
Judges a nd Court Employees a t the Westin Philippine Plaza, rise and sa y a minute of silent praye r for his e te rn a l repose,
wh ere we were both in the Board of Judges, and it wa s there a nd for all the dep a rted members of our Chapter!).
whe re I learned that he was coming to Ro:I88 City for this
Affair. Of course, I was happy that he would make his officia l My fri ends, in augura l affa irs s uch as this are special
visit to our Chapter a nd a t the same time induct its officers. occa sions for congenia lity a nd fraternization a mo ng lawyers.
I would say that it is indeed a great honor for our officers to They a lso offer e xcellent means for lively a nd provocative
be installed by the Presiden t of the IBP. exchange s of insig hts as well as concerns a bout the current
drift and d irection of la w practice a nd the la w profession. In
On a personal note, this a ffa ir doubly assumes a special this respect, it is well nigh that the Ca piz C ha pter should
a nd signi fica nt d imension beca use, once again, I am a fford ed take a long hard look at its elf a nd its performa nce record over
the opportunity to be a mo ng my colleagu es in the Ca piz Cha p- th e yea rs a n d a s k if it h a s t rul y d one i t s s ha r e in
ter of th e IBP - to be with my fellow la wyers with wh om I hav e mainstreaming its members in the p ractice of la w in the con-
su bstantially shared my profession al life in tangible or vicari - tex t of the new world in which it now finds itself.
ou s ways. I was Presiden t of this Cha pter for more tha n ten
(1 0) consecutive years, tha t wa s be fore the integrat ion of the
We ha ve already crossed the threshold of a new millen-
nium and a re con stantly discovering from t he vantage point of
the Bar tha t it is t he wor ld of revolutionary change and fer-
men t out there, a world so inti ma te ly interconnected by infor-
·S~h de livered by Senior AB80ciate J ustice JOIIue N. BeIlOllillo as mation tec h nology that people are virtua lly six-te nth (6110) of
G uest S pea ke r on th e occasi on of the Induct ion of t he New Office ra of th e a second a wa y fro m each other, or t ha t in six-te nth (6110) of
Cepe Cha pter, Integrated ILtr of the Philippines, held at Marc's Beach Re-
sort, Bay bay, RollI'S City, o n Satu rday, 9 J une 2001 st 7:00 o'd ock in the a second on e ca n rea ch a colleague at the farthes t end of the
ev ening. (Published in t he La wyers Re view, Vol. XV, 31 J uly 2001). earth , a world that is increasing t he demand s from the law
II'.
'u
17' LtGAL PROFE SSI ON ARTICLE:S ON Til E Lfo:GAL l ' litl'n :SSION I7! 1
profession a constan t qualitative u pdat ing, reinventing a nd Truly, the se arc cha llenges we ca n ill-afford to igno re.
restructuring of philosophies an d practices . For it appears that determinative as the se arc, of our futu re an d our very exist -
it is the on ly via ble alte rnative to a futu re professional life of ence .
unqualified irrelevan ce a nd obsolescence .
It behooves the legul profession t he refore to reinvent its elf.
Indee d, so m uch concern has been a ired about the future It is not too la te to open our doors to techn ology which is now
of the profession of law a nd how members of the Dar can la id right a t our door step. "Compute r techno logy," a ccordin g
e ffecti vely become the la wyers of the 2 1st century. This is a n to the wen -known futuri st Jennifer J ames, has dramatically
a rea where our Cha pter can perhaps st udy a nd explore. We changed our work habits : we can retri eve da ta at un prec-
m ust begin to ask how we wa nt our profession to be shaped ede nted rates; we can consult our colleagu es without lea ving
in the ne xt twenty (20 ) to thirty (30) yea rs, and seek the our hom es or offices; we can represe nt clie nts via tel eph one or
correct a nswe rs th erefore by cons ideri ng the global perspec- even cell pho ne , and employ the computer as our receptionist
t ive of contem porary socio-economic, politica l, technological an d secretary handling phone calls, messages , work process -
and regul atory forces. More importantly, we must examin e ing, sched uling, researc h assignments and ma ny more.
h ow these an swers ca n be transformed into concrete courses
of action that will im pa ct on us a s private ind ivid ua ls and as Inte ract ive video conferencing through sa tellite transmi s-
sion can facili tate th e delivery of testimo niee and sa ve consid -
law practitioners .
e rable tri al tim e a nd t r avel ex pense s . Tran sc ri pts of
Th e third mill ennium opened with the lega l profession ste nogra phic no tes of trial proceedin gs will be availa ble by
being particula rly confronted with a host of challenges. among modern trans mission right after t rial. Traditional paper flow
wh ich, the advent of infonnation tec hnology a nd its impact on will M pre-emoted by s peed-of-light t ransmissio n. Indeed , the
law a nd the courts , the public disen chan tment over the del iv- possibilities of la w practice wit h t he hel p of tec hnology are
ery of justice and the contin ued attacks on j udicia l independ- mind-bogglin g and far -reaching!
ence, the ri sin g costs of litigation and ina dequate delivery of
An d now, with rega rd to t he relationsh ip of Ber...-h a nd
affordable legal se rvices to the poor an d the middle class. (It
Ba r, it is ti me that la wyers take a concerted stand in helping'
has been said , perha ps in jest, that la wyers nowadays ca n no
red uce the attacks on j udges and the j ud icia ry by standing u p
longer afford the services of la wyeral).
and spea king out in defense of jud icial ind ependence. More
Qu ite threateningly are the dilu tion s of the practice of than a ny other institution of society, the Bar possesses the
law by the conjoining of la w pract ice with othe r profession s, obligation to espous e actively the need of the judiciary to be
a nd the emergent tole rated practice of law by non-lawyer truly left a lone and to ensu re that j udges lind courts are frec
professionals who prin cipally engage a nd compete with bono from intervention in th e duti ful pe rform a nce of their adjudi -
(ide lawyers in taxa tion proceedings, domesti c relations, docu- cativc function s!
mentation and con veyancing, and lega l research. to name a
Where legal services a re concerned. la wyers and lega l
few.
proce sses are becoming more and mo re irrele vant, t herefore
These shou ld sou nd an a la rming call to a ll of us , as detached , and a lien , and therefore distant , because no one ca n
verily, they a lftd grea tly the continued existe nce of the lega l afford them anymore. Thi s cannot be truer in our society in
profes sion. Thi s should t herefore underscore the imperati ve these time s of peril and anxiety wh en poverty indic ators con-
that we should wake up. gear up an d sha pe up . if we hope to tin ue to pa int a blea k scena rio of th e inaccess ibility of justi ce
stay on a s legal d isciples a nd practitioners of the la w in the to a great number of our countrymen . A sit uati on where ac-
21st century! C( ' S S to ju sti ce is possi ble only on the basis of fin ancia l
180 LF.GAL I'HOf ESS ION ARTICLES ON 'fII E LIm,\). PROFr:~ION m
e ffor dubiltty pr ovid es fertile seedbed for extra-legal resolution social dev elopments. We m us t determin e our core compete »-
of disputes . cit's, wh ich may cove r commu n ication s kills, logic and reason-
I mu st s t ress that these cha lle n ges cannot be m et unl ess in g a n d information gat heri ng and data a nalysis. WI' mu st he
we recognize th at we ha ve to grow a s a pro fession al org aniza - able to id entify ou r core se rvi ces - serv ices th a t h a ve real
tion. I spe a k not of growt h s imply for the sa ke of growth . I va lue to ou r clients a nd to ou rselves, se rvi ces tha t a re pe r-
s pea k of growth as a proce ss of ch a n ge and tra nsformation. a fonn ed n ot only for materia l profi t bu t for thei r in tri nsi c va lue
turning back from the detritu s of old practices a nd met hodolo- to t he in d ividual a nd the comm u nity. F ina lly, we m ust stu dy
gil'S th at no longer work in a ra pid ly cha nging envi ron ment. trends, both globa l a nd profession al - th e info-globalization
of the la w, t he commerc ia liza tion of the la w, t he eocio-cultu re
India n t ri bal wi sd om say as t hat when yo u di s cover t hat aspect of law, and th e polit iciza tion of law.
you a TC rid in g- a dea d ho rse, th e bes t strategy is to d is mount .
This is a lesson we lawyers must lea rn . Charles F. Robinson My fri ends, we ca n no t in sist ri din g t he prove rb ia l de ad
lamen ts that we la wyers always seem to be a fraid to d is- hors e while all other professions a rc mount ing spi rited charges
mount eve n if the h orse is obviously a nd unm istaka bly dead ! ga llo ping at full s peed toward s new p ossibiliti es a n d a new
T hus, in our obstinate refusa l to di smount, we ign ore the fact a ge . We ca nno t afford to be left behind. en sconced in ou r ow n
t h at t he h orse is dead, a nd use other strate gi es with this private comfort zones a nd say th a t we will on ly cross t he
"dead horse," lik e b uying a new whi p, or a rgu ing tha t "this ill bri dge when we reach t h ere. We do n ot a lways go where t he
t he way we h ave a lway s ridden t hi s horse," or a ppointi ng 8 path le ads; we also go wh ere there is no path , and blaze a
committee to s t u dy th e horse , or arranging vis its to other la w trail!
firms to see if they have new ways to rid e a dead horse, or
declaring tha t t he horse is "bet te r, faster and ch ea per" de ad We need to blaze a t ra il. We nee d to re invent ou rselves
or, even harnessi ng seve ra l dead ho rses for more s t rength a n d and "step out of the frame !" We need II n ew vision of intellige nce
a nd the i ntelligence of vi sion t h at will lead us to qu es tion our
in creased s peed ! If we keep on pra ctici ng 19t h a nd 20th cen-
us ual a ssumptio ns, to rein in our judgmen ts and to take a fresh
tury law in a 21st cen t ury set ting. then we are, for all intents
look at the law profession in rela tion to t he wor ld a ro u nd u s,
and purposes, riding a dead horse .
exam ine what we really k now about it and determine wh at we
How, therefore, do we dis mount? "Be vision a ries ," says wa nt from it. We mu st do this to chart t h e des tiny of the profes-
Robinson . We need to form all y en visi on ou r future wit hout s ion we all love, a nd save ours elves a nd t he profes sion from th e
re lyi ng 100 much on th e past. We lawyers , profes siona lly born , terrible fate of irrelev ance and m argina li za ti on, a n d u ltimately,
raised a nd educated in stare decis is a nd case precedents, a re from possi ble extinction . Thi s is my challenge to you, now, m ore
often accused of too much conse rvatis m, oflooking at t he futu re than eve r, ladies a nd gen tl emen of'the Capiz Chapter, In tegrated
through a rea rv ie w mirror, a fraid to confront the futu re a nd Ba r of the Philippines !
h angin g on to the past for dea r life . We mu st turn a rou nd this
perception by ca u tiousl y weaving ou rselves from t h e past a nd
mo vin g a h ead to flou ri sh a nd t h rive, a nd no t m erely m u d-
d ling t hro ugh to s urv ive.
We must lea rn t he s kills required of us. We m u s t dete r-
mine our pe rsona l a nd professi onal core va lues , wh ich m ay
i nclude con tinu ing lifelon g legal educa tion and learn in g, corn-
potence, in te grity and indus t ry, a nd a tt u nemcnt wi th current
182 :"Jo:GAL I'ROFES.<;ION AJiTICU :'C: ON T in: LEGAL I'H OF fo::SSION 1113
HEADY FOH TilE BIO.AGE' mote a nd more challenging conce pts of health, longevity, hu-
Hy
ma n wellncs s, ethnics, morality a nd the very ca use and CII-
sence ofl ife itself. In tum , the se new scie nces will cause - as
lion. Artemio V. Panguntban" in fa ct they are now causing - me ga -sh ins in the ways of
discove ri n g and precessing t ruth, matters tha t will profou ndly
a nd r ad ically a ffect judicia l dispensati on.
Justice Claire L' Heu rea u x-Dube (of the Ca na d ia n Su-
preme Court) spoke e loq uen t ly of jud icial and constitutional The critical question the refore is this: a re the judiciaries
globalizat ion . Indeed , this phen omen on is brought a bout by of t he world ready to tac kle these new, interesting phenom -
many new pa ra digms wh ich face the judiciaries of t he world ena?
as the new century beckons .
J ustice Dube a rt icula te d the Ca nad ian res ponse, and in
the process gave two concrete case samples : the Harv ard mouse
Various Challenges To Courts and Mons a nto's ca nola.
For a start, in economics a nd tra de. the new poli cies of
d eregu lation. liberali zation a nd priva tizati on a re breakin g The Philippine response To the Challenges
down traditional sove reign bord ers and are shrinking the world o f Biosclences
in to a borde rlees global vill age . The world 's jud iciaries have Initi all y, I hope to respo nd this question by giving a sur-
h ad to adj us t their a tti t ude towards the old modes of protec- vey of the poss ible ans wers of the variou s judicial a ut horities in
tioni sm like tariffs, import qu ota s, currency cont rol, tax ha -
my part of the world - As ia. However, limitation s of ti me do
vens an d tax ince ntives, which a re giving way to free trad e as
not a llow s uch extended discu ssion . It is, on the other hand,
espoused by the World Tr ad e Organiza tion. more than a consola tion th a t a nothe r member of our pa ne l,
So too , the new infonnation high way - the third wave Judge Clifford Wall ace - a member of the US Court ofAppeals
of microchips a nd mod ems, the inte rnet and the broadban d a nd a con sultant of more tha n 40 judicial authorities world-
fiber optics - have a ltered a nd continue to a lter t raditiona l wid e - would probably take this up when he speaks a fter me.
concepts of acc umula ting vast wealth . New pa ra digms of com-
Le t m e then answer the qu ery from the point of view of
mercial and political preem in ence have eme rged: from the
the Philippine judiciary. I will begin by relating that three
manufacture a nd sa le of products to the rend ering of se rvices,
weeks a go, on J une 11, 2001 , the Philippin e Su preme Court
and from the exploitation of na tural resources to the ex plora-
celebrated its cente nary A hundred years ago, the Secon d
t ion a nd use of knowledge .
Philippine Commission in our country establishe d this Court
But pe rha ps t he most daunti ng of these 2 1st century 8S well aa the lower courts: the Courts of F irs t Instance and
cha llenges is t he on e brou gh t abo ut by the new sciences of t he Justi ce of the Peace courts. This Commission had been
genomics, genetic engi nee ri ng an d biotechnology, wh ich will tas ke d by the US government with t he mission of setti ng up
a ffect not j ust our material concern s but also t he more inti- a civil govern ment to repl ace 8 military group that took con-
t rol after th e Ph ilippine Islands were ceded by Spain to t he
US th rough the 1898 Treaty of Pari s whi ch ended the Span-
'Remarks delivered by J U9tiCt.' I'anga n iha n a s a pa ne l member during ish -American War.
the "Working Co nversation" betwee n juris tll a nd lICi ent illle on bieeciencee and
biotechnology. h..ld in Ko na , Haw aii on Jun.. 30 to J uly 4. 200 1 s po nsore d by Eve n before 190 1, however, ther e had been courts exist-
the Einstein Inst it ute for Sc ie nws, lI ..alt h and lh .. Court.ll m IN SHAC). ing in ou r country like the one t hat we re esta blishe d by the
"Associate Juslice , S u pre me Court of t he Phihppinee . US mil ita ry an d the Spa nis h conqu istadores, an d th at lasted
". LF.GAL PROFF,sSION ARTICIJo;'<; ON T ilE Lfo:nAL PHO I "fo: S."W l :-"· l l;.'i
for al most 400 ye a rs . But we reckon the founding of ou r Su - ~ra v ity as to de p rive the los in g' part:lo of du ('
p reme Court on ly in 1901 , because it wa s only in tha t year process.
th a t a tribun al which e njoye d judicial independence, 88 we
know it today, wa s set up. Since then, th e Cou rt h a s fu nc- 3) Ad mi nistra tive supe rvision uf a ll lowe r courts . wit h
t ioned ind ependently of the other branch es of governme nt like t he sole powe l' to di scip line and dism iss j udges .
t he execu tive and t he legi sla tive . I mu st add, though , that its 4) Con trol of admi s sion to the p r ncticc of law a nd dis-
decision were a ppealab le to the US Suprem e Cou rt, until in cipli ne of er-ri ng la wye rs .
1946 wh en th e US withdrew its sovereign cla ims ove r our
co u n t ry. 5) Preparation a nd prom ulgation of r-ul es of proc edu re
e n d e vidence in a ll courts . (Co ng ress ca nnot increa se
By independent I mea n : the jurisdict ion of the He witho ut its conscn t .)
1) Our Courts exercises powers and makes decis ions
th at are not reviewable by any other entity or agency Readiness of the Phili ppine ,Jud icinry
of gove rn me n t. On the ba si s of these powe n. a nd res ponsibi hues, let me
2) It ha s fiscal independence guaran teed byour Consti- now discuss t he exten t of pro puredness of t h u P hilippin e ju-
tution. AB a conseq uence, Congress cannot decrease diciary, es pecia lly the Supre me Court, in meeting the cha l-
judicia l a ppropria tions given the previous year. len ges of biosci e nces a nd biote chnology.
3) Members of the jud iciary enjoy security of tenure First, by its certiorari a nd ord ina ry re vi ew powers, t he
(up to age 70) a nd security of compensation, both of judiciary is able, in a ppropriate cases, to pa s s upon th e ac-
which ca nno t be reduced by Congr ess or by the tions of a ll government agencies in volved in science, heal th
President. Mem bers of the Supreme Court may be and tech nology like the Depa rtment of Health , Depa rtmen t of
rem oved from office on ly by impeachment. Agriculture, Bureau of Pa tents , a nd the Food a nd Drug Ad -
mini stration. It cnn, on constit utiona l grou n d s, void laws a nd
executi ve o rd ers like those dealing wit h a bo rti on, clonin g,
P owe rs of the S u p reme Cou rt gene tic, tl' sting, privacy and confid e n tiali ty concern s. a nd
Our Constitution has granted our Supreme Court and conseq uences of biotechnology.
our judiciary not just independence but also vast powers and Second, by its ru le-making power, the Supreme Court
hea vy responsibili ties , which I classify into five: ca n prom ulgate rules on DNA finger printing, the use of genes
1) Review of ordinary appeal s from judgment of lower as evide nce , a nd the a dmission of bio technol ogy and ge netics
courts. as evidence. Already, our Court is dra fl in g rules on electronic
evidence . S oon, it will also prepa re rules of procedu re in ge -
2) Extraordinary re view - by writ of certiorari - of neti cs a nd biote chnol ogy cas es .
the act of a ny agency of government, including the
Presidency a nd Con gre ss, on ground of grav e a buse Third, by its admi nistrat ion of bn r e xe minatione, it in-
of discretio n which may cons ist of; fluen ces d irectl y the cu rri cula of la w schools. It also directly
provides , through its ed ucation arm , t he Philippin e Judicia l
a) Viola tion of the Constitution, the la ws or judi- Academy, con ti nuing lega l ed ucation for j udges and qua si-ju -
cia l doctrines ; d icia l office rs .
b) Whim si cal or a rbitr a ry action a rising from Fourth , th rough its power to d iscipline lower court mag-
manifest bia s or person al animosity, of such istra te s , the Supreme Court assures uniform applicat ion of
I.EGAL PROFES..:;ION
AkTICLES ON THE LEGAL r ROF F <;SION 187
186
ge netic an d bioscienti fic pri nciples to ethics. as well a s to Legal Ego,. on the Loose"
legal a nd social doctrines. By
Fifth, because it enjoys j udicia l independence, it can ente r Atty. Mike Papantonio'"
into bilateral and internat ional agreements with the judicial
a uthorities of other cou n tries, as Justi ce Dube is proposing,
without need of ap proval of a ny other age ncy of govern me nt. In my research for a new book about the unhealthy ef-
fects of a mbition and ego in the lega l profes sion, 1 sent 8
questionnaire to more tha n 500 lawyers throughou t America.
Epilogue: New Ways or Discovering Truth Wh at 1 found is that lawyers, on the whole are dissatisfied
Let my conclude by saying tha t Time magazin e, in its with wh a t they ha ve and a re striving for m ore.
Novem ber 13, 2000 issue, re ported tha t in the United States, More than 70 pe rcent sa id they did no t feel financi ally
80 convicts by final judgmen ts ha ve la ter on bee n exonerated secure today, a nd they weren't sure they e ve r woul d. Yet a bout
because subseque nt DNA eviden ce had shown that they were 40 percent of that gro up had incomes of $150 ,000 to $300,000.
com plete ly innocent of the crimes attributed to them . Perhaps recognizing tha t the quest for money h a s a downside,
more than 90 percent of a ll respondents a greed th a t "a mbition
If this ha s hap pened in the US, the most technologically
within our profession clearly has the pote ntia l to take on an
a nd economically a dva nced na tion in the world, then it has
addictive nature."
probably happened in the Philippines and other countrie s. I
shudder to think that during th e la st five (5) years, our trial A handwritten note in one envelope e labo ra ti ng on this
courts ha ve impo sed on more than 1,500 persons the pen alty cau ght my a ttention. Here is what it said, in a shortened form :
of dea th _ a pen alty which, incidentally, I personally oppose
"I sa w a nothe r one of those articles where a handful of
on constitutional and philosophical grounds.
lawyers were bragging about the multimillions they made. They
Th e availa bility of new bre akthroughs in science and were posed in front of their pal ati al estates, bragging about
technology and the positive re sponse of the judicature sho uld wh at they owned and wh at they were going to buy . ..
make us more confide nt that in the future, mistakes in the
- I can honestly say 1 felt absolutely no envy as I looked
discovery of truth can be minimized, if not totally avoide d.
a t those pictures and read that article. H owever, as I read on,
1 thank you , I did pa use to wonder wh eth er I had some de fect in my makeup
or character as a lawyer. 1 wondered wh ether I wa s mi ssin g
some vital h elix in an important DNA st rand tha t should be
pu shing me to wa nt more prestige, more power, more wealt h,"
2. AUTIIORSII IP, EDmNGANU REVIEW (c) Teachin g in fl law school or lecturing in a ba r re-
view class.
2.1 LAWBOOK OF NOT FULL C U FOR THE PUBUSHED BOOK
LESS TH A N ' 00 SUBJECT PER COM- SE C. 3 Claim for non-participatory credit units. _ Non-
PAGES PLIANCE PERI OD participatory cred it uni ts may be claimcd per complian ce pe-
1/2 OF THE CU OF PUBLl SHI-.:D
riod for:
2.2 BOOK EDITOR BOOK
AUTIlOItSHIP CAT- WITH PROOf' AS EDI·
EGORY TOR (a ) Preparing, as an author or co-aut hor, written mate .
rials published or accepted for publication , e.g., in the fonn of
2.3 RESEARCII PAPER 112 OF CU FOR THE DULY CERTIFl EDlPUB· an article, chapter, book, or book revie w wh ich contribute to
INNOVATlVE PRO - SUBJ ECT PER COM- LISHED T ECH N ICAL the legal education of th e author member, which were not
G RAM/ CREAT IVE PLlAN CE PERI O!) REPORTIPAPER
prepared in th e ord ina ry course of th e member's practice or
PROJEC7 empl oyme nt.
2.4 L EGA L ARTICLE 112 OF CU FOR THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE (b) Editing a la w book, la w journal or legal newsletter.
OF AT LEAST TE N SUBJE CT PER COM-
(10) PAGES PLIAN CE PERIOD
Rule 6. COMP UTATIO N OF C R E DIT /lOURS (C/I)
2.5 LEGAL NEWS LET· 1 CU PER ISSUE PUBLISHED NEWS·
TER/LAW JOUR· LEnER/JOURNAL
NAL EDITOR SECTION 1. Computation of credit hours. - Credit hours
are computed based on actual ti me spent in a n education
2.6. PR OFF. SSORIAL FULL CU FOR THE CE RTIFIC AT IO N O F activi ty in hours to the nearest one-quarter hou r reported. in
CHAIR/BAR RE· SUBJECT PER COM· LAW DEAN OR BAR decimal s.
VIEW LECTURE PLlANCE PERIOD REVIEW DIRECTOR
LAW TEACHINGI
Rule 7. EXEMPTIONS
~.
(a) Attending approved edu cation activities like semi- {c) The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the
na rs , conferences, conventions, sym posia, in-house education Su preme Court, incumbent and retired members of the judi-
programs, work shops, dialogues or round table discu ssion. ciary, incumbent members of t he Judicial and Bar Council
and incumbent court lawyers covered by the Philippine J udi-
(b) Speaking or lect uri ng, or acting as assign ed pan elist, cia l Academy program of continuing judicial education;
reactor, commentator, reso urce speaker, moderator, coordina-
tor or facilitator in approved education activities. (d ) The Chief State Counsel, ChiefState Prosecutor and
Assis tant Secretaries of th e Depa rtme nt of Justice;
CONTINUI:m LEGAL ED1ICATI ON ros I.Awyr:HS 197
196 LF.G AL PROFF_'l..<:;ION
(e) T he Solic itor Ge ner al a nd t h e Assistant Solicitors en d on the sa me dey as that of all other members in the same
Complia nce Group.
General;
(0 The Governmen t Corpo rate Counsel, Deputy an d SEC. 5. Proof of exem ption. - App lication s for exemp-
t ion a from modifi cation of th e MCLg requirement s ha ll be
Assistant Government Corpora te Counsel;
under oath a nd su pported by docume nts.
(g ) The Chairmen and Members of the Constitutiona l
Commissions; Rule 8. STANDARDS FOR AllP R OVAL
(h) Th e Ombudsm an, the overall Deputy Ombudsman, m' EDUCATION AC TI VITIES
the Deputy Ombudsman and the Special Prosecutor of the
Office of the Ombud sman; SECTION 1. Approva l of MCLE prngm m . - S ubject to
the implementing regulations that ma y be a dopted by th e
(i) Head s of government a gencies exercising q uesi-iu-
MCLE Committee, continuing lega l ed ucati on program may
d icial functions: be granted approval in either of two (2) wa ys : ( 1) the provider
(j) Incumbent deans. ba r reviewe rs a nd profe ssors of of the activity is a n accredited provider a nd certifies that the
la w who ha ve teaching experience for at lea st ten (0) years activity meets the criteria of Section 2 of this Rule; and (2 ) the
in accredited law schools ; provider is specifically mandated by la w to provide contin uing
lega l education.
(k} The Chancellor, Vice-Ch ancellor an d members of th e
Corps of Professors a nd Professorial Lecturers of the Philip- SEC. 2. S tandards (or all education activities . - All
pine J udicia l Academ y; a nd continuing legal education activities must meet the following
standards:
(l) Governors a nd Mayors.
(a) The activity sha ll have sign ifica nt current intellec-
SEC. 2. Other parties exempted from ttu M CLE. - The
tual or practical content.
following Members of the Bar a re likewise exempt:
(b) The activity shall constit ute an organized program
(a) Those who a re not in la w practice, private or public.
of lea rn ing r ela ted to lega l subjects and the legal profess ion,
(b) Those who hav e retired from law practice with the includ ing cross profession activities (e.g ., accounting-tax or
approval of the IBP Board of Governors. medical-legal) that enhance legal skills or the ab ility to prac-
tice law, as well a s subj ects in legal writing a nd oral a dvocacy.
SEC. 3 . Good cause for exem p tion from or modifica tion of
requirenl£nt. _ A member may file a verifi ed request setting (c) The ac tivity shall be conducted by a provider with
forth good ca use for exem ption (such as physical disabili ty, adequate professional expe rience.
ill ness, post graduate study abroad, proven expertise in law, Cd) Wh ere the activity is more than one 0 ) hou r in
etc.I from compliance with or modifi cation of a ny of the re- length, su bs tant ive written materia ls must be distributed to
quire ments , including a n exte nsion of time for compliance, in a ll participants . Such materials must be distributed at or before
accord ance with a procedure to be established by the MCLE the lime the activity is offered.
Committee.
(e) In-house ed ucation act ivities must be scheduled a t
SEC. 4. Cha nge of status. - The compliance period sha ll a time and location so a s to be fre e from interruption like
begin on the first day of the mon th in wh ich a member ceases telephone calls a nd other distractions .
to be exempt und er Sections 1, 2, or 3 of this Rule a nd shall
1" LEGAl, PROFESS ION CONTINUING I.EGAL EDUCt.nON FOR LA\\'YERS 199
Rule 9. ACCltEDiTATION OF PHOVIDERS participants identifying the tim e, date, location, s ubject mat-
ter a nd length of th e activity.
SECTION 1. A ccredit ... .ion of p rooidere. - Accreditation
of providers shall be done by th e MCLE Committee. (d) The provider sh a ll a llow in-person observativl1 of
all a pproved continuing legal ed uca tion activity by THE MCLE
SEC. 2. Req uirement s (or acc redita tion of p rooide re, -
COMMITTEE, mem bers of th e lBP Board of Governors, or
Any person or group may be accredited a s a provider for a design ees of the Committee and lBP staff Board for purposes
tenn of two (2) yea rs , which may be renewed, upon written of monitoring complia nce with these Rul es .
application. All provid ers of continuing legal educa tion activi-
ti cs , incl ud ing in -house providers, are eli gi ble to be accred it ed (e) Th e provider sha ll indi cate in promotional materi-
providers. Application for accreditation s h a ll : a ls, the nature of th e acti vity, th e time devoted to ea ch topi c
and identity of the instructor s. The provider sha ll make av ail -
(a ) Be s ubmitted on a form provided by th e MCLE
able to ea ch participa nt :1 copy of THE MCLE COMMITTEE
Com mittee; -approved Education Activity Evalu ati on Form.
(b) Contain a ll infonnation requested in the Conn;
(f) The provider shall maintain the completed Ed uca -
(e) Be accompanied by th e appropria te a pprova l fee . t ion Activi ty Evaluation Fonns for a period of not les s than
one (1) year after t he act ivity, copy furni shed. the MeLE Com-
SEC. 3. Requirements of all p roviders. - All approved mittee.
acc redited providers shall agree to th e following:
(g) Any person or group who conducts a n unauthorized
(8 ) An official record verifying the attendanc e at the
activity under thi s program or issues a spurious certifica te in
activity shall be ma intained by the provider for at lea st four
violation of these Rul es sha ll be subject to appropriate sanc-
(4) years afte r the complet ion da te . The provider shall include tions .
the member on th e officia l record of a ttendance only if the
member's signature was obtained a t the time of attendance at SEC. 4. R enewal of provider accreditation . _ The ac-
the activi ty. Th e official record of a t te ndance shall contain the creditation of a provider may be re newed every two (2) years.
member's name and number in the Roll ofAttorn eys a nd shall It may be denied if the provider fails to comply with any of
identify the time, da te, location, subject matter, and length of th e requirements of these Rul es or fails to provide satis factory
the education activity. A copy of such re cord shall be furnished edu cation activities for t he preceding pe riod.
th e MCLE Committee.
SEC. 5. Revocation of provide r accreditation . _ The ac-
(b) Th e pr ovider shall certify that: creditation of a ny pro vider referred to in Rul e 9 may be re-
(1)This activity ha s been a pproved BY THE voked by a maj ority vote of the MCLE Committee, after notice III
Hod hearing a nd for good cause.
MCLE COMMIITEE in th e amount of _ _ hours of il
which hours will apply in (legal ethics , etc.), as
appropriate to th e content of th e a ctivity;
iII
Rule 10. FEE FOR APPROVAL OF ACTIVITY
(2) The acti vity conforms to the s tanda rds for AND ACCHEDITAT ION OF PROVIDER
a pproved educatio n activities prescribed by th ese Ru les
a nd such regulations a s may be prescri bed by th e MCLE SECTION 1. Pay ment o((ees. - Application for a pproval
of a n ed uca t ion a cti vity or accred itation a s a provider requires
COMMITT E E.
(c) Th e provider sha ll issue a record or certi ficate to all
payment of th e appropriate fee as provided in th e Schedule of
M eLE Fees.
r
LEGAl. r ROF ESS ION COr-.'TINUING LEGAL F.nlICATION t'(I R lA WYERS 201
200
R ule u, G ENERAL COMPLIANCE <0 AtlY other act or omission ana logou s to a ny of the
PROC. :nURES foregoing or intended to circum vent or evade com plia nce wit h
the MCL E req ui rements.
SECTION 1. Com pliance curd. - Each member shall SE C. 2. No n -com pl ia nce notice a nd 60-day period to at-
secure from th e MCLE Committee a Comp liance Card before tai n compliance. - Members failing to com ply will receive II
the end of his complia nce period. He shall complete the card Non-Complia nce Notice sla ting the specific defi cien cy and will
by attesting under oath that he has complied with the edu ce- be give n sixty (60 ) days from the dale of notifica tion to file a
tion requi rement or that he is exem pt , specifying the nature response clari fyi ng the deficiency or oth erwise showing com -
of the exempt ion. Such Compliance Card must be returned to pliance with t he requirements. S uch noti ce shall contain th e
th e Commi ttee not later th an th e day after th e end of th e following la ngu age ne ar the begi n ning of the notice in ca pita l
me mber's com plia nce period. letters :
SEC. 2 . Member record keeping req ui rement. - Each
member shall maintain sufficient record of compliance or ex- IF YOU FAIL TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE PROOF
em ption, copy furnished the MCLE Committee. The record OF COMPLIANCE WITH MCLE REQ UIREMENTS
req uired to be p rovided to the me mbers by the provider pur- BY (IN SERT DATE 60 nAYS FROM n ATE OF
sua nt to Sect ion 3(c) of Rule 9 should be suffici ent record of NOTICE ), YOU SHALL BE LISTEn AS A DELIN-
QUENT MEMBER ANn SHALL NOT BE PERMIT-
a ttenda nce a t a participatory activity, A record of non-partici-
TEn TO PRACTIC E LAW UNTIL SUCH TIME AS
patory activity shall also be maintained by the member, as
ADEQUATE PROOF OF COMP LIANC E IS RE -
re ferred to in Sec tion 3 of Rul e 5. CEIVED BY TH E MCU; COMMITTER
Rule 12. NON-COMPLIANCE PROCEnURES Members gi ven sixty (60) days to res pon d to a Non-Com-
plia nce No tice may use thi s pe riod to a ttai n the ad equa te
SECTION 1. What constitu tes non-compl iance. - The number of credit units for com plia nce . Credit units earned
followin g shall cons titute non -compliance : during thi s period may only be cou nted tow a rd compliance
with the prior complia nce per iod req uirement unl ess u nits in
(a ) Failure to complete the educa tion requi reme n t excess of the requirement a re earned , in which case the e xcess
within the com pliance period ; may be counted toward meeting th e cu r rent complia nce pe-
(b) Failure to pro vide a ttestat ion of compliance or ex- riod requirement.
em ption;
(c) Fai lure to provide satisfa cto ry evidence of compli- !lule 13 . CONSEQUENCES OF NON·COMPLIANCE
ance (including evide nce of exempt sta tus ) within the pres-
SECTION 1. Non -complian ce [ee, - A m ember who, for
cribed period ;
wh atever reason, is in non-compl iance at the end of the com-
(d) Failure to sa t isfy the education requirement a nd pliance period sha ll pa y a non-comp liance fee.
furn ish evide nce of such com pliance within sixty (60) days
S EC . 2. Listing a s delinquent member, - A member who
from receipt of non-com pliance noti ce;
(e) Failure to provide non-complia ncc fee within the
fail s to com ply with the requ irem en ts a fte r the sixty (60 ) day
period for complian ce has expired, shall be listed a s a delin-
/
prescribed pe riod; qu e nt member of the IHP upon the rec om men da tion of th e
202 LEGAL l'ROFESSJO~ CONTlli"UING LEGAL f<:n UCATION ro n LAl,I,"YERS 203
MCLE Committee. The investigation of a membe r for n on- for a term of three (3) years an d sha ll receive such compen-
compli a nce shall be conducted by th e IB P's Com mission on sat ion as may be determined by t he Court.
Bar Discipline as a fa ct-find ing ann of th e M~ LE Committee.
SEC. 2. Duty ofthe Committee. - The MCLE Committee
SEC . 3. A ccrual of membership fee. - Mem bersh ip fees sha lt a dministe r and adopt such imp lementing ru les as may
shall conti nue to accrue a t th e active rate aga inst a member be nece ssary subject to the a pprova l by the Supre me Court. It
during th e perio d he/she is listed 8 S a delinquent membe r. sha ll, in consultation with the IBP Boa rd of Governors, pr e-
scribe a sched ule of MCLE fees with the approva l of the Su -
preme Court.
R u le 14. REINSTATEMENT
SEC . 3. Staff of th e M CLE Com m ittee . - Subject to the
SECTION 1. Process. - The involu nta ry listing as a approval by th e S up rem e Court, t he MCLE Committee shall
delinquent member shall be determi ned when th e me mber employ such statT as m ay be necessa ry to perform the record -
pro vides proof of complia nce with the MCLE requirement, keeping, au diti ng, reporting, approval a nd othe r necessa ry
including paym ent of non-complian ce fee. A member may at- functions.
tain the necessary cred it unite to meet the requirement for SEC. 4. Submission of a nnual bu dget . - The MCLE
the peri od or non-compliance during the period the member is Com mittee shall subm it to th e Supreme Court for approval,
on ina ctive status. These credit uni ts m ay n ot be counted a n a nn ual budget for a [subsidy) to establis h, operate a nd
toward meetin g the current complia nce period requirement. maintain th e MCLE Program .
Credit units earned d u ring th e period of non-complian ce in
Thi s resolution shall take effect on the fifteenth of Sep-
excess of th e number needed to sa tisfy th e prio r compliance
te mber 2000, following its publication in t wo (2) newspa pers
period requirem ent may be counted towa rd meeting th e cur-
of ge ne ra l circula tion in the Philippines .
rent compliance period requirement .
Adopted this 22nd day of August, 2000, a s amended on
SE C. 2. Termination (If deli nquent li sti ng is a n adminis- 02 October 200 1.
trative process. - The termina tion of listing a s a delinquent
member is administrative in na ture AND it shall be made by Daoide, Jr., C.J ., Belloedlo; Melo, Puna, Vitug, Kapuna n
the MCLE Committee. (On Offu:ial Leave), Mendoza, Pangan ibwl. Quisumbing, Pardo,
B uena , Gon z ag a -Rey es , Yn o r es -Sontiag o, De Leon, Jr. .
Sandoval-Gutierez, JJ.
Rule 15. CO MMI'ITEE ON MANDATORY
CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION
a s u rprise to som e when it was finali zed. "'"h ile ot he r profes- engaged in the practice of law a re obligated to undergo the
sions s upervised by t he Professional Regulations Com mission MCLE.
have been required for so me time now to comply with the so-
called "con ti n uin g pro fessional education ," it was onl y v ery Need Cor l\1CLE
recently that th e legal professio n adopte d its very own sim ila r
progra m . Funda me ntal is th e lawye r 's duty to "x x x kee p abrea st
of legal developments , pa rticipa te in contin uing lega l ed uca-
The purpose of the MCLE , 8 S worded in Secti on 1 of the ti on programs, su pport t he efforts to ach ieve high standards
Ru les on Man datory Con ti nuing Legal Education is : in law schools as well a s in the practi cal train ing of la w stu-
dents a n d assist in disseminating information regardin g the
"Se ction 1. Pu rpose of the MCLE. - Cont inu - la w a nd j u ri sprudenco.! Evidently, cont inuing legal ed ucation
ing lega l ed ucation is requ ired of members of th e ha s a lway s be en en couraged and recognized, as part of a law-
Integrated Ba r of th e Ph ilippi nes (lBP) t o ensu re yer 's responsibili ties. This obligat ion em a nates from the du-
that thro ughout their career, th ey keep abreas t with ties one takes on , as he becom es a member of the Bar. Thus,
law and jurisprudence, maintain the ethics of th e lawyers need to be cu rrent in and expand their knowledge of
profession and enha nce the sta nda rds of the prac- la w. This he owes not only to hi mse lf, but a lso to his profes-
tice of la w." sio n a nd to the publi c. Regrettably, only a handful ha s taken
this r esponsibility seriously. Thou gh progr a ms for continuin g
In essence , the MCLE calls for the participation of law-
lega l ed ucati on have a lways be en a vaila ble, only a number of
yers in legal ed ucation activit ies a nd completion of at least
la wyer s ha ve taken a dva n tage of t hem. They ha ve a lways
thirty-six (36 ) hours of sa id activities a pproved by the MCLE been contented with wh at they have le a rned in la w schools
Committee, aM a condition sine qua non for them to be consid-
and in t heir p ractice .
ered as having in good and regular standing lind not a deli n-
q uent member . The Supreme Court has laid down the sub- Lawyers have a lways been accor de d with res pect. They
je cts to wh ich these activities mu st involve, and the nu m ber hcve long be en regarded in high esteem . They are viewed as
of hours to he d evote d to each . Hence, at least six (6) hours knowledgeable, educa ted, a nd even influential. It is beli eved
must be dedicated to lega l eth ics, four (4) hou rs to trial and that the hi ghly difficult learning pro cess one ha s to go through
pre-trial ski lls, five (5) huurs to alte rnative d isp ute resolu - in la w school, plus the ul tima te test of h u rd ling the extremely
ti ons, nin e (9) hours to updates on substantive e nd procedural difficult ba r e xa min atio ns serve a s sufficient training ground
laws, a nd juriaprudence, four (4) hou rs to legal writing a nd for la wye rs. Regrettably, i n rec ent times, s uch a characteri ze-
o ral advocacy, two (2) hours to international la w and in te rna- tion of lawyers has sign ifican tl y changed . Ma ny now a re of
tion a l convent ions , a nd six (6) hours to such su bjects as may the con vic tion t hat a number of lawyers are inco mpetent.
be pres cribed by the MCLE Committee.e Cons equen tly, complaints have bee n m ade against them for
gross ignorance of the la w, and unethica l practice s. Some are
The a bove requirement must be complied with within a
also conside red as in the profession on ly for pecun ia r-y gain
three...year period . The MCLE does not cover all la wyers though .
who could no t care less a bou t t he interests of t heir vocation.
Some a rc admittedly exe mpte d, lI S provi ded for in Sect ion 7 of
The MCLE a dd resses this problem. One of the primordial goals
the Rules on MCLE. g HHentially, all la wyers who are act ively
of the MCLE is inculcate u pon members of the Bar legal
knowledge that have come up in re cent memory. Lawyers need of laws that we h ave is multiplyin g a t a fast pace. And th e
to be constantly conscious of t he developments in their field of Su preme Court has varied in t he inte rp retation of the laws.
learning. They need to be on th eir toes all the time, a nd ca n- Moreover, dev ol....p-nents and moderni za tion in society bri ng
not afford to slacken in their practice. Lawyer s aeod to main - out a nd hi ghli ght more and more areas of legal concerns . It
tain the highest level of integrity in thei r professi on and by th us becomes im pera tive for lawyers to keep upd a ted with t he
going back to basic lea rni ng , th ey a re reminded of t he real developm ents not only in la ws a nd jurispru dence, but also in
na ture of th eir advocacy. othe r fields of interests that have legal implica tions. It is not
It is true that la wyers learn a grea t deal in th e practice enough t hat lawyers read about th em , but st udy the m as well.
of their profession, more so if they a re in volved in litigation. Thi s is exactly the inten tion of the MCLE.
But it cannot be denied that at times it ta kes some hits a nd
m isses. The practi ce of law thus be com es some sort of an Significance or the MCLE
expe riment, which naturally involves failures. This may be
alright if no rights or int erests are compromised. Simply put, The MCLE, in essence is a tool that a llows la wyers to
what one acquires in the cours e of learning the ropes of the become compe ten t in th eir profession. It a fford s them the
trade, 80 to speak, is not enough . Conti nuing legal educa tion, opportunity for self-improvement. It instills in them the a ware -
to a certain exte nt, reinforces a nd even validates what law- ness of the stri nge nt standards of th eir profession which they
yers lea rn in th e practice of their profession. It serves as a mu st always maintain. It is a mean s of putting in to work th e
reminder of legal facts a nd information that lawyers may have principles laid down in the Code of Profess ional Resp onsibil-
over looked or even forgotten in tim e. ity, which contains th e most basic responsibihttea of lawyers.
Evcn lawyers who a re not involved in litigati on per se, It mu st be noted that th e requisite s ubjects under th e
need to be upd ated . It is a well-accepted principle that almost MCLE is not entirely confined to purely technica l legal con-
all facets of hum an life have some legal leaning s. Every now cerns. AP. ca n be gleaned from Section 2, Ru le 8 of the Rules
and th en, lawyers involved in jobs other than lit igation, are on MCLE , activities which consti tute contin uing legal edu ca-
thus confronted with questions the a nswers to which need to t ion must conform to th e following stan dar ds:
have some legal anchor. They are also at times confronted
with the duty of dispen sing advicea which necessitate some "x x x
legal support. If they would depend only on their fund amental (a) The activity sha ll have the sign ificant
knowledge, or on what they have learned in school, chances curre nt in tellectual or practical content .
a re, th ey would be shellin g ou t incomple te, if not inaccurate
re sponses. (b) The activity sha ll consti tute an orga nized
program of learning rel ated to legal s ubjects and
Certainly, a lawyer's life necessarily involves cont inuous
I
th e legal profession, includ ing cross- p rofessi on ac-
learning. They can never afford to rely on the knowledge th ey tiviti es ie.g., account ing-tax or medical-legal) tha t
have acquired so far, and expect th at it would carry them over enhance legal skills or the ability to practice law, as
to the future. The strict dem ands of their profession require well as s ubjects in legal writing a nd ora l advocacy. I'
them to be a ware of th e la te st a nd th e developing trends in
x x x..
t he area of law.
There is no doubt th at our laws a re dynamic. They evolve, The a bove rule clear ly is in recogniti on of the fad th a t III
grow and cha nge, to meet the dem ands of times. Laws are the legal profession relates to other disciplines as well. Un -
being passed a nd enacte d every 8 0 often . In fine, th e number doub tedl y, th ese di sciplines ha ve some bearing in th e law, and
208 LEGAL rROf'ESS ION CONTINUl!'l'G U :GAL ED UCATION t'OR I.AWn ::R.c> 2\) 9
ultimately. they draw out issues that hav e lega l significa nce. settle controversy if it will adm it of a fair settlement ."" In
Lawyers cannot brush a side these concerns , on t he assum p- bringing a bo ut liti gation , they hav e u nwittingly clogged ou r
tion that they are not purely legal matters . No matter how courts wit h ca ses that could have been resolved amicably.
diminutive the legal implications of these concern s are, it Moreover; once these c...ses are pending in courts, the)' may
cannot be denied tha t they carry some influence in the law, remai n pending for quite a long time on acco unt of the dila-
and are in themselves influen ced by the law. It therefore tory machin ation s em ployed by some counsel s, con t rary to his
becomes essential for lawyers, in the discharge of their duties task containe d in Ca non 12 of the Code of Profession al Re-
to society a nd the public, to be a wa re of these concerns, and sponsibility, which states :
the MeLE equips them with such awareness, wh ich in the
end brings about proficiency. "CANO N 12 - A lawyer shall exert every ef-
fort and con sider it his duty to assi st in the spee dy
The MCLE works of the assumption that being upd ated and efficie n t administrat ion of j us tice .
on the leteet trends in the field of la w tran slate s into compe-
tence. There is no gainsaying that our laws and j urispru dence x x x
evolve at a very fast clip . What may be prev ailing now may Rul e 12.04 - A la wyer shall no t unduly del ay
become a different matter tomorrow. 1b keep up with the a case, im ped e the execution of a judgmen t or mis-
requirements of their work, it is material for lawyers to con- use court processes .
tinue to be in the know. Otherwise, they shall become stag-
nant and would be reduced to being obs olete, and thus betr ay x x x"
their sworn duty of doing honor to the profession.
As the MCLE devote s five (5) hours to a lterna tive dis-
It must be stressed here that the MCLE allots the most pule resolution, it is hop ed , nay expecte d, tha t there would be
number of hours to updates on substantive and procedural a major reduction in th e filing of unmerito rious cases, or at
laws and jurisprudence. This is only practical consideri ng that the very lea st, there would be an increa se in the early termi-
as already mentioned, changes in the law come up every so n ation of the same.
often, and at a very fast pace a t that. Tim e and again, eeteb-
liehed doctrines are modified or even ab andoned by the Su- In the ir practi ce of la w, lawyers, sad to a dmi t, someti mes
preme Court. It has in fact become increasingly hard for law- accide ntally trample u pon the et hical stan da r ds established
yera, especially those swamped with a heavy workload to keep for the vocation. Though their numbers may be far and few
track of these changes . Often, they find themselves working between, nonetheless, lawyers in general suffer from a swee p-
on certain premises which no longer h ave a ny su pport in the ing acc usation of viola ti ng the moral code of thei r profess ion.
law. Often too, they anchor their beli efs on rules which have The public ha s come to conside r some lawyers to be abus ive,
already been discarded, whi ch in the process is sacrificing the offensive and conseque ntly unfit to practice law. AB mentioned
intereete of their clients. earlier, com pla ints a gai nst the m have in fa ct been instituted.
Ind eed , la wye rs are presu med to be acting within the scope of
it is a common belief that our justi ce sys tem works slowly. what is et hica l. Regret tably though , la wyers cannot escape
And this can be a ttributed to the voluminous caseloed of ou r the fact tha t there are some of them who di sp en se wit h ethi-
courts. It is und eni abl e that there a re lawyers who, in their cal norms . It ca n be a rgued tha t law ye r s need not he re-
haste to become successful, whi ch they often equate with mind ed of the mora l principles they are s worn to uphold, as
monetary gain, handle ca ses, which could hav e bee n eas ily
worked out without bringing them to courts, thus infringing
1
the primary duty of encou ragi ng their "client s to avoid, end or f>(:llno rJ I , Rule l. UI , Codt! of Prefessicnnl Hl·"pollliLility.
210 I. ~~GA.L PHOFESSION CON'nN llING LEGAL EDU CATION FOk LAWYE RS 211
t hese are fund am ental roles th ey are constantly exposed to. Ultimate ly, th e MCLE would provide liti gat ion la wyers
But with th e number of complaints a ga inst them multiplying the ideal a ptitude for the trial of t heir cases, thus maintain-
at a n ala rmi ng ra te , it has now become a very preestng need ing a nd even enhancing t he professional competence re quired
to in stit utionali ze t he moral educatio n of la wyers . In t h is of them . Un der the pro gr am, lawyers would be incessa ntly
regard. the rule on t he MCLE ha s m andated six (6) hou rs of tutored in th e intricacies of pre-t ria l and trial result ing in th e
continuing lega l ed uca tion to t he study of legal ethics. Of rein forcement an d expa nsion of their sk ills in ha ndling court
course, lea rning is one thing nnd a pplyi ng wha t ha s been cases . Needless to state, non-litigat ion lawyers would also
learn ed is ano th er. But wha t 8 S la wyers from now on need to e ndure the same benefit. Alth ough it may a ppear that there
deal with iss ue s on legal et hics, they would freque ntly be is really no need for t hem to develop their s ki lls in liti gati on,
remi nisce nt of their moral obligation, wh ich is anticipate d to still, it is undeniable th a t th e MCLE would build in them th a t
wield it s in fluence on them a ll the ti me . sense of rea diness a nd pre paredness to ta ke on the challenge
Those opposing the MCLE may invoke the conte nt ion of litigati on, when th ey need to . Th ere would then be n o point
th at only lawyers who are in liti gation would benefit from it. to be fearful when they need to handle cou rt cases, tor th ey
This may have som e sembla nce of truth, but it should not be woul d know exactly what needs to be done. And even if they
forgotten th at liti ga tion is only one of t he many facets of the continue functioning in th e non-litigation aspect of th e prac-
practice of la w. It is an established rule that the term "prac- tice, acquiri ng skills corollary to litiga tion work is certainly
tice of law" means "any activity, in or out of court, which ben eficial. It must be r emem bered th at the pr actice of law
requ ires th e a pplica tion of law, legal principle, practice or "consists in no smal l part of work performed outside of court.
procedure a nd ca lls for legal knowl edge, t rain ing or experi- It e mbraces giving legal advice 0 11 a la rge variety of subjects,
ence.t" Practi ce is more than a n isola ted appearance, for it conveyancing a nd th e preparation and execut ion of legal in-
cons ists in frequent or cus toma ry action, a succession of acts st ru ments covering a n extensiv e field of bu siness an d trus t
of th e same kind. In other word s, it is a habitual exercise." rela t ions a nd oth er affairs. Th ey require in many aspects a
Hence, it can be safely said th at virtually all la wyers are in high degree of legal ski ll, a wide experien ce wit h men a nd
the pra ctice of la w. Conti nuing legal education then extends affa irs a nd grea t capacity for ada ptation to difficult. a nd com-
to a ll lawyers, as it provides a mechanics for renewing the plex situatio ns. These customa ry functions of an attorney bea r
skills, knowl edge a nd training th ey need in the pr actice of a n inti ma te relat ion to the administra t ion of justi ce by the
their profession . It can also be said that those who a re in cou rt.t
litiga tion would stand to gain more th an th ose who a re con-
In lit iga tion , t he re exists the idea that cases are won, to
nected with oth er a rea s of the professi on. Whatever their
some extent, by th e ple adings submitted a nd filed in courts.
engagemen t ma y be, th e bottom line is , th e MCLE would
How well a docume nt is written is th erefore impo rtant as it
benefit lawyers who are in the practice of la w. Inciden tall y,
could tra nslate to victo ry or defea t . It can neve r be empha-
th e nile reco gnizes th is fact by making lawyers who are not
siz ed enough th at lawyers a rc a lways ta ught of th e valu e of
in the pr actice oflaw or have retired from it alrea dy exempted
from the MCLE .8 a clear, concise pleading. This holds true eve n for non-litiga-
tion papers . Lega l docum e nts, whether to be used in court or
not , need to comply with bas ic require ments la id down by t he
la w. Lawyers may neve r forget th ese elementary rules . But as
laws develop , so do such r-ules. In the sa me breath , la wye rs
61'hiJ. Lawyers AstIn. VlI. Agrava, 105 Phil. 173, al80 in Cayplaoo V8.
Mon...sd.
' People va. Villa nue va, 14 SC RA 109 .
"&>c. 2, Rultl 7. ~lhil. La wyera Assn. V8. Agravll , Ibid .
212 I.EOAL PROfov ..c;SION OOJ"jT !NUING ' ..;GAL EDUCATION FOR !..AWYERS 2 13
are a lways required to contain th eir oral argu ments wit hin he n sion is more imagin ed than re al. Nonet heless , to be a n
th e bounds of the la w. They should not pu t up s uch argu- effecti ve tool for im provement, continuing legal ed ucat ion must
men ts j ust for the sa ke of it. Their beliefs are ofte ntimes af- start from with in . La wj era must have a genuine desire to
fected by wh at they know. The MeLlo: is not pre tentious as to learn and acqui re new skills , otherwise, whatever k nowledge
in still certain st y les or writing or s pea king, for styles a re they would obtain from the MCL E would be meaningless , a s
developed by lawyers them selves. Legal education tries to ta p it would remain unused .
into and work on the talen ts of la wyers, a nd not cont rol them.
It merely upgra des them with the lates t ad vancem ent in th ese
a re as, in the hope that they would be applied eventua lly in
the pr actice of la w.
Certainly, a s society moves in the threshold of moderni-
za ti on or globalization, d ealin gs with other socie t ies become
inevitable. AB t hese societi es are governed by t heir own la ws,
which may be d ifferent from ours , conflicts a rise. Lawyers,
who are a lways looked. up to in cases of problems, need then
to focus some a ttent ion on theses issues . Th ey however can not
mainl y rely on the knowledge they hav e acquired through th e
years in dealing with suc h issu es . As a lready d iscussed, laws
a re a lways in a state of evolution. Th ey are regula rly a ltered
a nd modi fied to comply with th e changi ng needs of time. Thi s
is even tru er in the ca se of international la ws , which more
often than not, a re generally ign ored by lawyers, for appar-
e ntly having little sign ificance in our lives. In t he end how-
ever, such changes wou ld affect our ve ry own society, 8 S it
moves towards modern times. With the influ x of progressive
way s of life, it is now important for la wyers to keep abrea st
with the highly unpredictable lega l cha nges in the in terna-
tiona l community. By doing so, they become globa lly competi-
tive a nd thus a t par with their internationa l counterparts,
thus enhancing thei r status as professionals .
Despite t he fa ct that continuing legal ed uca tion ha s been
around for qui te some tim e now, its being .mandato ry is a
rela tively new concept. How it wou ld work to ac hie ve its goals
rem ai ns to be seen. It ha s bee n obse rved tha t man y lawyers
have ru shed into pa rticipating in MCl.g - accred ited act ivi-
ties, not because of thei r as pira tion to lea rn. The y ha ve heen
motivated in to joining such activi ties only for purposes of
complia nce with the req uir emen ts . It if! hope t hat thi s a ppre-
I PRACT ICAL TIPS FUR LAW STUDENTS 215
a nd willing to imp rove on it , go on and you will definite ly rea p e) I mp rove penmanship
wh at you ha ve sown."
A la w stude nt should a lso im prove his pen manship, not
b) Learn ta lave reading necessarily nice but should be eas ily re ad able. Try to remem -
Studying law entails a lot of reading. So if you a re not ber that the ba r examina ti ons is in writing a nd tha t no one
fond of reading a nd yet wa nting to become a lawyer, this is in ou r country will become a la wyer u nless he pass t he bar
the ti me to mak e reading a part of you r everyday life . If you exam inations.
rea lly cannot love reading, forget to be a lawyer. Incidentally for this purpose , it is better to start practicing
you r self to use sign pens, foun tain pens or ot he r similar ink
c) Imp rove study habits
pens as these are th e only types of pens th a t are a llowed to
Study habits will either bring the students in the ladder be used in the bar examina tions. Hence, by constantly using
of success or in the brink of trouble. If one is reall y deter- the se pens, one will get familiar with it withou t prej udicing
mined to be a lawyer, he mu st be r ead y to set aside some of his s trokes a nd the neatness of his writings.
his val ued activities to 1,tive t ime for his studies. It ha s been
st ressed many times that t he stu dy oflaw carries wit h it a lot
o Observe com mo n sense
of sac rifice, e.g., family, rela tionships, fri ends, etc. Self-denial Almos t al ways, law deala with the a pplicatio n of corn-
is an inescapabl e fa ct in the la w school and it needs no fur- mon sense. In studying la w, always switch on you r faculty of
ther elaboration. On e sh ould come to class a dequ a tely pre- reasoning and logic.
pared. AB ha s been sai d earlie r, a la w s tudent is pres umed to
be pre pared in his lesson upon his entrance in the classroom.
Incidentally, even if the student is not prepared with his les-
son for a particular day, it is st rongly advised that. he should
st ill come to class because he could still learn from the class
discuss ion especially the pointers to be gtven or stressed out
by the professor.
Memorizin g important provisions of law may a lso work
a n advantage though it is not a lwa ys a must. However, don 't
j ust memori ze for the sa ke of memori zin g, in order to pass the
day's reci tation or exa minat ion . Memorize with understand-
ing.
2 18
32. Morti s Causa - By reason of death.
220 LEGAL PROFESS ION
221
I APi -i": NDlX · R· :123
SEC. 6. Pre-La w . - No a pp l icant for admission to the bar bring pa pe rs, books or notes in to the exami na tion rooms . The
examina tion shall be ad mitted unless he presents II certificate q ue stions shall be the sa me for all examinees a nd a ropy
that he has satisfied th e Secretary of Educa tion that, before he t hereof, in English or Spanish, sha ll be given to each exemi-
began t he study oflaw, he h a d pursued an d satisfactori ly com- nee. Exa minees sha ll answer t he questions personally with-
plete d in an authorized and rec ogni zed university or college, out he lp from a nyone.
requiring for admiss ion t hereto the completion of a fou r-yea r Upon verified a pplica tion mad e by a n examine..ee stating
hi gh school course, the cou rse of study prescribed t herein for a that his penman sh ip is so poor that it w ill be difficult to read
ba chelor 's degree in arts or sciences wit h a ny of the following his a nswers wit hout much los s of time, t he Su preme Court
s ubjects 8S major or field of concentration: political science, may a llow such examinee to u se a typewriter in an swering
logic, English, Spanish , history, a nd economics. the question s. Only noisele ss type wri t ers s ha ll be allowed to
SEC . 7. Time for fi ling p roof of q ualifICation s. - All be used.
applicants for a dmissio n shall file with the cler k of the Su- The committee of bar exa m ine rs sha ll take s uch preca u-
preme Court the evidence required by sect ion 2 of this rule at tions as are neces sa ry to prevent the su bstit ut ion of papers or
leas t fifteen (15) days before the beginni ng of the examine- com missi on of other frauds . Exami nees shall not place the ir
tion. If not emb raced within sec tions 3 a nd 4 rithis role, they na mes on the exa mination pa pers. No oral examination shall
shal l a lso file within the same period the a ffidavit a nd certifi- be gi ven .
cete req uired by section 5, a nd if embraced wi thin sections 3
and 4 they shall exhi bit a license eviden cing the fact of their SEC. 1I. A nnu al examination . - Examina ti ons for ad-
admission to practice, satisfactory evidence tha t the same ha s m ission to t he ba r of the Philippines shall take pla ce an n ua lly
not been revoked, a nd certificates as to their professional stand- in the City of Manila. They shall be held in four days to be
ing. Applican ts sha ll a lso file at the sa me time t heir own designated by the chairman of the comm ittee on ba r examin-
a ffidavits as to th eir age, residen ce a nd citizenshi p. e rs . The s ubject shall be d istribu ted as follows: First day:
Political and Inte rnationa l La w (morning ) a nd Labor a nd Social
SEC. 8. Notice u{ applications. - Notice of a ppli cati ons Legi sla tion (afternoon); Secon d day: Civi l La w (morni ng) and
for admission shall be published by the clerk of the Supreme Taxation (afternoon); Third day : Me rca ntile Law (moming)
Court in newspa pers pu blished in Filipino, English and Span- and Cri m inal Law (afternoon ); Fourth day: Remedia l La w
ish, for a t lea st te n (0) days before the begin ning of t he (morn ing) a nd Legal Et hics a nd P ractical Exerc ises (after-
examination. noon ).
S EC. 9. Examination; subjects. - Applicant.s, not other- S EC . 12. Committee of examiners. - Exami nations shall
wise provided for in sections 3 a nd 4 of this rule, shall be be cond ucted by a committee of bar exami ners to be appointed
subjected to examinations in the followin g subjects: Civil La w; by the S u preme Court. Th is committee shall be composed of
Labor a nd Social Legislation; Mercantile Law; Cri minal Law; a Justice of the Supreme Court, who sha ll act 8 S chairman,
Political Law (Const itutional Law, Pub lic Corporations, and a nd who shall be design ate d by the court to se rve for one year,
Public Officers); International La w (Private and Publ ic); Taxa- a nd eight members of the bar of t he Philip pines, who sh all
tion ; Remedial La w (Civi l Procedure, Criminal Procedure, a nd hold office for a period of one year. The na me s of the members
Evidence); Legal Ethics a nd Practica l Exer cises (in Pleading of t his committee shal l he publ ished in each volume or the
a nd Conveyancing). official reports .
SEC . 10. Bar exam ination . by qu estion» and ansuiers, SEC. 13. Disciplina ry measures. - No ca nd idate shall
and in wri ting. - Pe rso ns taking the examination sha ll not endeavor to influence any member ufthe committee, and du ring
,.." LEGAL "UOfESSIO N
APl'gNDIX -n- 227
SE C. 15. Report of th e Com m ittee; filing of exa mina tion a) To maintain allegiance to the Repub lic of the Phil .
papers. - Not la te r than F ebrua ry 15t h after th e ex amina- ippinea and s u p po rt the Constitution a n d obey th e Jaws of th e
tion, or as 800n a s t hereafter ne m ay be practicable , the com- Philippines.
m ittee shall file its report on the result of such exam inati on.
b) To observe a nd ma intain the respect due to t he
Th e exa mi na tion papers a n d notes of t he committee sh a ll be
cou rts of justice An d jud icia l officers;
filed with the clerk a nd may there be exam ined by t he parties
in interest, afte r t h e court h a s a pp roved t he report. c) To couns elor mai ntai n such actions or proceedings
SE C. 16. Failing candidates to take review course. - only as a ppea r to him to be j us t, and s uc h d efenses only as he
Cand idates who hav e failed t h e bar exam inations for three be liev es to be h on es tly debatable u nder the law;
t imes shall be di squalified from taking' a n ot her exam ination d ) To employ, for t he purpose of maintaining the ca uses I,
u n less they show to the satisfac t ion of the court that t hey confided to hi m , s uc h means only as are consistent with truth
ha ve enrolled in and passed regular fourth year review classes a nd honor, a n d never seek to mislead t h e jud ge or any j udicial
as well as attende d a pre- b a r review cou rse in a recogni zed officer by an a rtifice or false statemen t of fact or law;
la w school.
e) To m ai n tain inviola te the co nfidence, a nd at every
The professors of t he indi vidu a l review subjects attended peri l to h imsel f, to preserv e t he secrets of h is clien t , and to
by t h e ca ndidates u nder this rule s hall certify unde r oa t h that accept no compensation in con nection wi t h h is clie nt's bust- III
t h e ca ndidates ha ve regularly a t ten ded classes and pa ssed ness ex cept from him or wit h h is kn owle d ge a nd ap proval;
the s ubjects under t he sa me cond it ions as ordinary stu dents
a n d the rat ings obtained by t h em in the particul a r subj ect. o To a bsta in fro m all offensive personality a nd to
a d va nce no fa ct p rejudicia l to t he ho no r or reputation of a
SEC . 17. A d mission and oath of successful applicanie. >« party or wit ness, unless requi red by the j ust ice of t he cause
An appli ca nt wh o h UB pa s sed the required exa mi nation. or of whi ch he is charged;
2:.!R L EGAL I'HOf<' F.sSION
J API'I<:NDIX -u- 229
233
I AI-'PENDI X ~ D"
' Inserted by Republic Act No. 6397, it took f'fTect on J an uary 16, 1973.
237
23>3 I.EGAI. PROFESSION APPENDIX "EO 239
(c) Bicolandia , cons isting of the provinces of Albay, (g) Zamb oan ga City an d Ba sila n City.
Cama rin cs Norte, Ca marince Sur, Catandu ancs, Masbate, and Unless he oth erwise regi ste rs his prefe rence for n pa r-
Sorsogon; t icular Chap ter, a la wyer sha ll be consi dered a m embers of
m Eastern Visayas , consisting of th e provinces of Bohol, the Cha pter of the Provin ce, city, polit ical su bdi visio n or area
Cebu , Ea stern Sama r, Leyte, Northern S a ma r, Sama r, an d where hi s office or, in the abse nce th e r-eof h is residence is
Sou thern Le yte: loca te d. In no case s hall an)' la wyer be a member of more than
one Chap te r.
(g) Western Visay QR. cons is ti ng of the provinces ofAklen,
Antiqu e, Ca piz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental , Negroe Oriental, Ea ch Cha pter shall have its own local government as
Palawan , Rombl on, a nd Si quijor; provided for by uniform rules to be prescri bed by t he Boa rd of
Governors and a pp roved by the Supreme Court, t he provi-
(h) Eastern Minda nao, consist ing of the provinces of
sions of S ect ion 19 of th is Rule not with standi ng.
Agusan del Norte, Agusan del S ur, Bukidnon , Cami gui n, Dav ao
del Norte, Davao del Su r, Dava o Ori ental, Misamis Ori ental, Chapters belongin g to the sa me Regio n shall hold r e-
Surigao del Norte, a nd Surigao del Sur; a nd gi ona l con ventions on matters a nd problem s of common con-
cern.
(j) Western Minda nao, consisti ng ofthc cities of Basilan
a nd Zamboanga , and the provinces of Cotahato, La nao del SE C. 5. House of Delegates . - The Integra ted Ba r shall
Norte, Lanao del SUf, Misamis Occid en tal, South Cotabato, ha ve a House of Delegates of not more than one hu ndred
Sulu, Zam boanga del Norte, a nd Zamboanga del Sur. twenty members who sha ll be a pportione d among all the
Cha pters as nearly as may be according to t he nu mber of
In the event of the creation of a ny new province, the
their re spective members, but each Cha p ter shall hav e at lea st
Board of Governors shall, with the approva l or the Supreme
one Delega te . On or before Decembe r 3 1, 1974 , a n d e very four
Court, determine the Region to which the said province sha ll
yea rs thereafter, the Boa rd of Governors sha ll make a n a ppor-
be long. tionment of Delega te s .
SEC. 4. Chap ters. - A Cha pter of the Inte grated Bar
The term of the office or Delegates sh a ll begi n on the
shall be organized in every province. Except as hereinbelow
d ate of the opening of t he an n ua l convention of th e House a nd
pro vided , eve ry city shall be conside re d part of the province
sha ll end on the day immediate ly pre ceding the date of the
within which it is geographically situa ted .
opening of the next succeeding annua l conv ention. No person
A se pa rated Chapter s ha ll be orga ni zed in each of'fol low- may be a Delega te for more tha n two terms.
ing polit ica l subdi visions or areas:
The House shall hold an annu al conve ntion at t he call or
(a) Th e sub-province of Aurora ; the Board of Governors a t any time du ring the month of April
(b) Each congression al distri ct of the City of Manila ; of eac h year for the e lection of Governors, t he rea din g a nd
d iscussion of reports incl u ding the a nn ual re port of the Board
(c) Qu ezon City ; of Governors, the transaction of such other busin ess as may
(d) Ce loocen City, Mal abon a nd Navota s; be referred to it by the Board a nd the cons ide rat ion of such
a dditiona l ma tters 8S may be requested in w riting by a t least
(e) Pa say City, Mak ati, Mandalu yong and San Juan twenty Delegates , Speci a l conventions of the House ma y be
d el Monte ; ca lled by the Board of Governors to consider onl y s uch mat-
<0 Cebu City; and te rs as t he Boa rd sha ll i nd icate. A maj ori ty of t he Delega tes
240 LEGAL P"OFE.." SIO N I
I
APPENDIX _I:,... 241
who ha ve registered for a conve ntion, whether an nual or spe- The President a nd the Executive Vice President sha ll
cial , shall constitute a quorum to do hu ainese. hold office for a te rm of one yea r from the date of their e lec-
SEC . 6. Board of Governors - The Inte grate d Ba r sha ll tion a nd u ntil their success ors shall have d uly qualified. The
be governed by 8 Boa rd of Governors . Nine Governors sha ll be Executive Vice President shall automa tica lly become the Preai-
elected by the Hou se of Delega tes from t he nine Regions on den t for t he next succeed ing full term. The Presidency sha ll
the representation ba sis of one Governor from eac h Region. rotate from year to year among a ll the ni ne Regions in such
Each Governor shall be chosen from 8 list of nominees sub- orde r of rotation as the Board of Governors shall pres cribe. No
mitte d by the Delegates from the Region , provided that no person shall be President or Executive Vice President of the
more than one nominee shall come from any Chapter. The Integrated Bar for more tha n one tern•.
President and the Exe cutive Vice Pres ident , if chosen by the The In te gra ted Bar- shall ha ve a Secretary, a Treasurer,
Governors from ou tside of themsel ves 8 S provided in Sect ion and such ot her officer and employees 8 S may be required by
7 of this Rule, s ha ll ipso fact i) become me mbers of the Board. the Boa rd of Governors, to be a ppointed by the P residen t with
The me mbe rs of th e Boa rd shall hold office for 8 tenn of the consent of the Board, and to hold office at the pleasure of
one yea r from t he d a te of their election and until their succes- the Board 'or for such term a s it may fix. Said officers a nd
sors shal l ha ve been du ly elected and q uali fied. No person emp loyees need not be mem ber s of the Inte gra ted Bar.
may be a Governor for more than two terms.
SEC. 8. Vacancies . - In t he event the President is ab-
The Boa rd shall meet regul arly once every th ree months , sent or unable to act, his dutie s shall be performed by the
on such date a nd at suc h time and pla ce as it sha ll designate . Executive Vice Preside nt; and in the eve nt of the death , res-
A majority of a ll the members of the Boa rd sha ll constitute a ignation, or remov al of the President, the Executive Vice Presi-
quo rum to do business . Specia l meetings may be called by th e den t sha ll serve 8S Acting P resi dent d uring the remainder of
President or by five members of the Board. the term of the office thus vacated. In the event of the death,
Subject to the a pproval of the S upreme Court, the Board resignation, removal, or disa bility of both the Pres iden t an d
shall adopt By-Laws an d promulgate Canons of Professional the Execu tive Vice Pr esident, t he Board of Governors shall
Responsibility for a ll members of the In tegrated Bar. The By- elect an Act ing President to hold office unti l the next succeed-
La ws and the Canon s may be amended b) the Supreme Court ing election or during t he period of di sa bility.
motu proprio or u pon the recomm endation of the Board of The filling of vacanc ies in the H OU flC of Delegates , Board
Gove rn ors . of Governors, and all ot he r positions of Officers of t he Inte-
The Board shall prescribe suc h ot he r rules and regula- grated Ba r shall be as provided in the By-La ws . When ever the
tion s as may be nec essary a nd proper to carry out th e pur- term of an office or position is for a fixed period, the person
poses of the Inte gra te d Ba r 8S well as the provisions of this chosen to fill a vacancy therein sha ll serv e only for the unex-
Rul e. pired te rm .
SEC . 7. O/licers . - The Integr ated Bar shall have a SEC. 9. Membership dues . - Every member of t he Inte-
President and an Executive Vice President who shall be cho- grated sh all pay such a nn ua l dues as the Board of Governors
se n by the Governors immediately after the la t te r's election ; sha ll determ ine with the a pproval of the Supreme Court. A
eithe r from a mong themsel ves or fro m other members of the fixed s um equivalent to ten percent (10% ) of the collections
Integrated Ba r by the vote of at lea st five Governors. Each of from each Cha pte r sha ll be se t aside a s a Wel fare Fu nd for
the regional mem bers of the Board sha ll be ex officio Vi ce disabled me mbers of t he Chapter and the compulsory heirs of
Presiden t for the Region which he represents. dece ased members th ereof.
242 l.E GAL P ROFESSION
I AI'PEN DIX ~ I-.: . 243
245
APPENDIX "1'- 247
:l46 Lfo;GAL PKOFfo;SSION
In vesti gato r. Such bea ri ng s sha ll a s fa r as practicable be termi- SEC. 12. R evi ew and de cision hy th e B oa rd of Govan·
nated wit hin fifte en (15) d a ys fro m its commencement . Th ere- or.'1. -
a fte r, the IBP Board of Governors sha ll wit hi n a like period of
fifteen (15) day s issu e a resolution setting forth its findings a) Every C81'le heard hy a n investigator sha ll be re-
and recommenda tions, wh ich shall forth wit h be transmitte d viewed by t he IBP Board of Gove more upon t he record a nd
to t he Supreme Court (or final action and if wa rranted, the evidence trans mitted to it by the In vestiga tor with this re-
imposition of pena lty. port. Th e deci sion of the Board u pon s uch r eview sh ull be in
writing a nd shall clea rly a nd di stinctly sta te the fa cta and the
SEC. 9. Dep ositions, - Depositions may be taken in ac- reasons on whi ch it is based . It shall be p romulgated wit hin
co r da nce with th e Rul es of Co urt wit h le a ve of t he a period not exceed ing thirty (30) daya from t he ne xt meeting
Investi ga torta). of the Boa rd following th e s ubmit tal of the Inv estiga tor's re-
Wit hi n t he P hilippines, depositions may be take n befo re port.
a ny me mber of the Board of Governors, the President of any
b) If the Boa rd , by th e vote of a m ajority of its total
Chapter, or a ny officer a u t horized by law to administe r oaths .
rnemberehi p, d etermines that the res ponde n t should be sus-
Depositions may be taken outside the Philippines before pended fro m the practice of law or di sbarred, it shall iss ue a
8 di plomatic or consula r r epresentativ e of the Philippine Gov- re solu tion setting forth its fin di ngs a nd recommenda tions
ernment or before any pe rson agreed u pon by the parties or which, together with the whole record of the case, sh all fort h-
de signated by the Board of Governors . with be tr ansmitted to the Su preme Co urt for fina l action.
Any suitable mem ber of the In te grate d Bar in the place c) If the respondent is exone ra te d by the Boa rd or th e
where a deposition sha ll be take n may be design ate d by the di sciplinary sanct ion imposed by it is less t ha n sus pension or
In vest iga tor to a ss ist the com pla inant or the respon dent in dis barment (such as admonitio n , rep rima nd, or fine ) it shall
taking a deposition. issue a deci sion exonera ting res pond ent or imposing such
sanction . The case shall he deemed terminated unless upon
SEC. 10. Report of Investigator. - Not la ter than t hirty
petition of the compla inant or other interested pa rty filed with
(30) days from the te rm ination of the 'investigation , t he In vee-
the Su preme Court within fiftee n (15) days fro m not ice of th e
tigator sha ll submit a r eport containi ng his findings of fact
Boa rd's resolution, the Supreme Cou rt orders otherwise.
a nd recommenda tio n to the IBP Boa rd of Governors, toge ther
with t he ste nograph ic note s a nd the t ra nscript thereo f, a nd d) Notice of the resolution or decisi on of t he Boa rd
a ll the evidence p resented during the in vestigati on. The eu b- sh a ll be given to all parties through their cou nsel. A copy of
m ission of the report need not await the transcription of the the same shall he transmitted to th e Sup reme Court.
stenographic notes , it being sufficie nt that the report repro-
duce eu betanti ally from t he Investigato r's persona l note" any
relevant a nd pertinent testimonies. n, PROC EEllINGS IN THE S UPREME CO URT
SEC. 11. Defects. - No defect in a complaint, notice , SEC . 13 . Investigation by S oli ci tor General. - In pro-
a ns wer, or in the proceeding or the In vestigator 's Report sha ll ceedings initiated motu proprio by t he S u p reme Court or in
be considered as substan tia l unless the Board of Governors, ot her p roceedings when the interest of j us tice 8 0 requi res, the
upon cons ideri ng the who le record, find s th at such defect ha s S upreme Co u rt may refer the case for i n vest igation to the
resulted or may result in miscarriage ofjusti oo, in which eve nt So licitor Ge neral or to a ny officer of the Supreme Court or
the Board sha ll take such remedi al actions a the ci rcu mstances j ud ge of a lowe r court, in which case the investigation sha ll
may wa rrant, incl uding inv alidation of the entire proceedi ngs . proceed in t he flame manner pro vided in sections 6 to 11 hereo f,
250 n :GAL PROJo'ESSI ON API' ENDIX ~I-- 251
save that the review of the re port of investi gat ion shall be SEC . 18. Confidentiality . - P roceed ings agains t attor-
cond ucte d di rectly by the S upreme Court. ney s shall be private and confidential. However, the fina l order
SE C. 14. Report of t he Solicit or General or other Court of the Supreme Court s ha ll be pu blished like its decision s in
designa ted In vest igat or. - Based upon the evidence add uced ot he r cases.
a t the investiga tio n, the Solicito r Ge ne ra l or other Investiga- SEC. 19. Expenses . - All reasonable and nec es aa ry ex-
tor design ated by the Supreme Court sha ll submit to the pen ses incurrod in relation to disciplinary a nd di sbarment
Su preme Cou rt a report containing his findings of fact and procee dings a re la wful charges for whic h the parties may be
recommendations togethe r with th e record and a ll the evi- taxed as costs .
dences presen ted in th e in vesti gation for th e final acti on of
the Supreme Court. SE C. 20. Effectiv ity and Tra nsitory Provision. - Thi s
Rule sha ll take effect on J une 1, 1988 and sha ll s u persed e the
present Ru le 139 enti tled "DISBARMENT OR SUSPENSION
C. COMMON P RO VISIONS
OF ATI'ORNEYS: All cases pen ding investigation by the Office
SE C. 15. Suspension of a ttorney by S upreme Court. - of the Solicitor Genera l sha ll be tr ansferred to the Inte gra ted
Afte r receipt of respond ent's a nswe r or la pse of the peri od Ba r of the Philippines Board of Gove rn ors for investigation
therefore , the S upreme Court, m otu proprio, or at the instance and d ispositi on as provided in this Ru le except those cases
of t he IBP Board of Govern ors upon the recommendation of where the inve stigation ha s been su bstantially com pleted. (Bar
the Investigators , may sus pend a n a ttorney from the pract ice Matter N o. 35 6, Resolution A pril 13, 1988)
of his profession for a ny of the ca uses specified in Rule 138,
Section 27, during the pende ncy of the investigation until such
sus pens ion is lifted by the Supreme Court.
S EC. 16. S uspension of attorn ey by the Court of Appeals
or a Hegionol Trial Court . l - The Court of Appeals or Re-
gional Tri a l Court may sus pend a n attorney from practice for
a ny of the causes nam ed in Rule 138 . Secti on 27, until furth er
act ion of the Supreme Court in the case.
SEC. 17. Upon suspension by the Court of Appeals or
Regional Trial Cou rt, fu rther proceed ings in Supreme Court.
- Upon such s us pension, the Court of Ap peals or a Regional
Trial Court shall forthwith transmit to the Supreme Court a
certified copy of the orde r of sus pension a nd a full statement
of the fa cts upon which the same was ba sed . Upon rece ipt of
suc h certified copy and stateme nt, the Su preme Court shall
ma ke a full investigation of the ca se a nd may revoke , shorten
or extend the suspensio n, or di sbar th e attorney as the facts
may warrant .
I
APPENDIX 'G~ 2a:~
Be it enacted by the Senate and Hou se of Repreeentatioee of 1) to impa rt a mong law stude nts a broad knowl-
the Philippines ill Congress assem bled: ed ge of law an d its various fields , a nd of legal insti tu-
tion s ;
S ECT ION 1. Title. - This Act sha ll be known as the 2) to enha nce thei r legal re search a bilit ies to
"Legal Educa tion Reform Act of 1993." ena ble them to ana lyze, a rticula te a nd a pply t he law
effecti vely, a s well as to a llow them to ha ve a holisti c
S EC. 2. Declaration of Policies . - It is hereby declared
a pproach to lega l proble ms a nd issues;
the policy of t he Stale to up lift the standa rds of legal educa-
tion in order to pre pare la w stude nts for adv ocacy, counseling , 3) to prep are la w students (or ad vocacy, counsel-
probl em -solvin g, and decillion-mak ing; to infuse in the m the ing, problem -solvin g a nd decision -mak ing. a nd develop
et hics of the legal profession; to impress u pon them th e im por- their a bility to deal with recognized legal problems of th e
tance, nobil ity a nd dign ity of the legal profession as a n equal present a nd the fut ure;
a nd indispens ab le partner of the Bench in the adm inis tration
of juatice: a nd to devel op socia lly-com mitte d la wyers with 4) to develop competence in a ny fiel d of law as is
in te grity a nd com pete nce . necessa ry for ga inful employment or sufficie nt 8S a foun-
da tion for future tra ining beyond the ba sic professional
Towa rd s t his end, the Sena te sha ll undertake appropri- degree , and to develop in th em the desire a nd ca pacity
ate reform s in th e lega l education system. require proper for continuing study a nd sell-im provement ;
se lect ion of la w atude nta , mai ntain qua lity among Jaw schools,
a nd require legal ap prenticeship a nd continuing legal educa- 5 ) to inculcate in t hem the ethics and r ospo nsi-
tion. bili ties of the legal profession; a nd
SEC _3. General ami Specific Objectives of T..Rgal Rduea - 6 ) to prod uce la wyers who conscienti ously pur-
tio n. - a) Legal Education in t he Phil ipp ines is gea red to sue the lofty goals of their profession and fait hfully ad-
a ttain the follow ing gene ral objecti ves : here 10 its et hical norm a.
1) 10 prepare students for the practice of law; S J<: C. 4. IA!gu l Educatio« Board; Creation. and C() mp osi-
tion. - 10 ca rry out the pu rposes of thi8 Act, there is here by
252 created th e Lega l Edu cation Boa rd, herei nafter referred to as
254 U :GAL PROFl':SSION APrl:.NlllX · C 25:.
the Board , attache d solely for budgeta ry pur poses a nd ndmin- T h at their sa la ries s hall not be dimi nished d u ri ng th eir t erm
istrati ve support to the De partment of Education , C u lture and of office .
S po rts.
SEC. 6. Offi ce an d Staff Support. - The Dep.. rtmen t of
The Board s ha ll be composed of a Chairmen, who s ha ll Education, Culture a nd Sports sha ll provide t h e necessa ry
preferab ly be a former j ustice of the Supreme Cou rt or Court office a nd staff s u pport to the Boa rd, wit h u principa l office to
of Appe al s; and t h e following as regular me mbers; a repre- be located in Metropolita n Ma n ila .
sentative of the Integr a ted Bar of the Philippines (JBP); a The Board may appoint such ot her officers and em ploy.
representative of the Philippine Association of La w Schools ces it may deem necessary in the perfo rmance of its powe rs
<PALS); a re presentative of the Philippi ne Association uf Law and functions.
Professors (I'ALP); a representa tive from the ranks of active
la w pr acti tioner ; and, a re presentative from the la w s tudents' SEC. 7. Powers and Fu nct ion s . - Fo r t he purpose of
sector. The Secretary of t he Department of Education, Culture achieving th e objectives of this Act , t he Boa rd s hall have t he
a n d Sports, or hi s repres e ntative, shall be a n ex offi cio mem- following powers a nd fun ction s:
ber of th e Boa rd. a) to ad minis ter t he legal ed ucation sy stem in t he
With the exception of the re pre sentative of t he la w stu- coun try in a ma nner consiste nt with th e provisions of t h is Act ;
dents' sector, the Chairma n and regul ar members of t he board b) to su pe rvi se the law school s in t he cou ntry con sist-
must be na tural bo rn cit ize ns of the Philippi nes an d mem bers ent with its powers a nd fu nctions a s here in enumerated;
of t he Philippine Ba r, who h av e been e ngaged for a t least ten
(1 0) years in t he practi ce of la w, as well a s in the teach ing of c) to set t he s tandards of a ccred it ation for la w school s
law in a duly a ut horiz ed or recogni zed la w sch ool. taking into account, among others, th e s ize of enrollme nt, th e
qualification s of the members of the facu lt y, the library a nd
SEC . 5. 1erm ofOfficc; Compensation . - The Chairmen ot her facilities, wit hout encroaching upon the academic free-
a n d regular members of t he Board shall be a ppo inte d by t he dam of in sti tutions of high e r learni ng;
President for a te rm of five (5 ) years without reappointme nt
d ) to accre dit law schoo ls that meet the stand ards of
fro m a list of at lea st three (3 ) nom inee s pr epared, with prior
accre ditation;
authorization from t he Supreme Cou rt, by the Judicial and
Bar Cou nci l, for every position or vacancy, a n d n o s uch a p- e) to prescribe minimum standards for la w admi ssion
pointment s hall need con firmation by the Co mmission on a n d mi ni mum quulifica tion s and compen sat ion of faculty
Ap pointments. Of those first a ppoin ted , t he C hairman a nd members ;
t he rep resentative of t he IBP s hall hold office for five (5 ) years;
t he representative of t he PALS a nd PALP for t hree years; and
n to pre scri be the basic curricula for the course of
study a ligned to t he req uirements for adm ission to th e Bar,
the re presentative fro m t he ranks of active la w practi tion ers law practice a nd social consciousness a nd s uch ot her courses
a nd t he re presentative of the law st u dents' secto r for one (1) of study as may be p rescribed by t he la w sch ools a nd colleges
year, withou t reappo in tment. Appoint men ts to any vacancy under t he different levels of a ccre ditati on statu s ;
s hall be only for th e unexpired portion of t he term of the
predecessor. g) to estab lish a law practice in ternsh ip a s a require .
ment for taking th e Ba r which a law s t ud ent s hall underg o
The Cha irman a nd regular members of t he Boa rd sha ll wit h any d uly acc redited p rivate or pu blic law office or firm
h a ve t he sa me sa la ry a nd ran k a s t he Cha irman a nd mem- or legal assistance grou p a nytime duri ng t he la w course for u
be rs, respecti vely, of the Constit utiona l Comm ission s: Pmvided , s pecific period t hat t he Boa rd may decid e , but not to exceed
I
256 U;GAI. I'RfW f<:S ."lION API'I·::-mrx ~G ~ 2m
u total of twelve (12) months. For t hi s purpose, t he Board 19 94 , a nd from s uc h don ations , lega cies, gr un ts-in-a id a nd
s hall pre scribe t he necess a ry guidelines for such acc re ditation other forms of contributions recei ved by t he Boa rd for the
a nd the spec ifica tions of s uch internsh ip which shall incl ude pu rposes of this Act .
t he actual work of a new member of t he bar;
Being special en down mc nt fun d, on ly t he interes ts earned
h) to a dopt a sys tem of continu ing legal educa tion. For on th e Legal Education Fund s h a ll be used exclusi vely for t h e
this pur pose , the Boa rd ma y provide ftlr the mandatory at- purposes of t hi s Act , in clu ding s u pport for faculty deve lop-
te ndance of p ra cticin g: lawyers in s uch courses and for such ment grants, professoria l chairs, libra ry improvements and
d uration as t he Board m ay deem necessa ry; a nd s im ilar programs for th e a d va ncement of 1,.'01.' teaching and
education in accredited la w schools.
i) to pe rform such other function s and prescri be such
rules and regulation s n ecessa ry for the at ta in men t of th e T he Fu nd s hall al so be u sed for t he opera tion of the
policies a nd objectives of this Act. Hoard. For t his purpose, a n d a mount not ex cee ding t en per.
cent 00%) of t he interest on the Fund s ha ll be u tilized.
SEC. 8. Accredi tation of Law S chools. - Ed uca tiona l
in stitutions m ay not ope rate a la w school unless accre dite d by Th e Boa rd , in consu ltation with t he SSS, s hall ieeue t he
the Board. Accreditation of la w sc hools may be grant ed onl y necessary r ules a nd regul ati on s for t he collection, administra-
to educational institution s recogn ized by the Govern ment. t io n and utilization of t he Fund .
SE C. 9 . Withdrawal or Doumgraduu; ofAccreditat ion . - SEC. 12. Coverage . - The provisions of t his Ad s hall
The Board m ay withdraw or downgra de the acc red itation sta - a pply to a ll schools a nd colleges of la w wh ich are presently
tus of a law sc hool if it rail s to maintain the standards se t for under th e supervision of t he Dep ar t ment of Education, C u l-
its accreditation stat us . ture a nd Sports. Hereafter, s a id s u pervision shall be t rans.
SEC. 10. Effecti vity of Withdra wal or Dou mgrading of
ferred to the Board . Law schools an d colleges which s hall be
established following the a pprova l of t his Act s hall lik ewise b e
A ccreditation . - T he with drawa l or down grading of accredi- covered.
tation stat us s hall be effecti ve after the lap se of the se mester
or trimes ter following the receipt by th e school of the notice SEC. 13. Appropriation . - The amount of One million
of withdrawal or downgrading unless, in the meantime, t he pes os (P l ,OOO,OOO.OO) is h ere by a u t horized to be charged
school m eets a n d/or upgrades the standa rds or corrects t he aga ins t t he cu rrent yea r's a p propriati on of t he Co n ti ngen t
deficien cies upon which the wi thdra wal or downgrading of t he Fund for t he initia l expenses of t he Board .
accred itation s tatus is ba aed. To for m pa rt of the Legal Educati on F u nd, th e re s hall b e
SEC. 11:Legal Education Fund . ·- Th ere is hereby cre- a p prop ria ted a nnually, u nd e r t he bu dget of the De pa r tme nt of
a ted a special en do wment fund , to be known as the Legal Education , Cult ure and Sports, t he amount of Ten Millio n
Ed ucati on Fund, wh ich s hall be under t he control of t he Board, Pe sos (P IO,OOO,OOO.OO) for a pe ri od of ten (10) yea rs effecti ve
and administered as a se pa ra te fund by the Soci al Security Jo'isca l year 1994 .
System (SSS) wh ich s hall in vest th e sa me with d ue and pru- SEC. 14. Separability Clau se. - If a n)' provisi on of this
den t regard to its so lvency, s afety a nd liquid ity. Act is declared u nconstitu t ional or t he u ppliceticn ther eo f to
The Le gal Ed ucat io n Fund s h a ll he establ is he d out of, a ny person , circumstance or t ra n s a ct ion is h eld in va lid , t he
an d maintained from , the amou nts a pp ropria ted pu rsu ant to validity of t he rem aining provisi ons of t h is Act and t he a pp li -
paragra ph 2, Section 13 hereof, lind from s ixty percent (60%) ca bility of s uch pro vis ions to ot he r pe rso ns, circumsta nce s a n d
of t he privi lege tax pa id by every lawyer effecti ve Fiscal Year t rans action s s ha ll not be e ffected t here by,
U :GAL I'ROFESSIO~
~"
This Act , wh ich is a conclusion of House Bill No. 4698 IN RE: NEED THAT LAW STUDENT PIlACTICING UNDER
and Senate Bill No. 100 , was fin ally pa ssed by the H ouse of Rule 138·A BE ACTUALLY SUPERVISE D DURING TRIAL
Represen tat ives a n d the Senate on Decembe r 15 , 1993 and (BAR MATTER NO. 730).
December 14, 1993, respectively.
The issue in this Consul ta is whether a Jaw stude nt who
(Sgd.) DEMAREJo: J .B. RAVAL (Sgd.) CAM ILO L. SABIO a ppea rs before th e court under a Law S tudent P ractice Rul e
A cting Secretary of the Se nate Secretary General (Rule 13B-A ) should be accompanied by B mem ber of t he bar
l louee of Representa ti ves duri ng t he trial. This issue wa s raised by re ti red S upre me
Cou rt J ustice Antonio P. Bar-red o, cou nsel for t he defendant in
Approved: December 23 . 1993 . Civil Case No. BCV-92·1l entitled Irene A. Caliwara us. Roger
T. Ca tbagan filed before the Regiona l Tri a l Court of Bacoo r,
Cavite.
ISgd.) FIDEI. V. llAMOS T he record s show that the plaint iff in Civil Ca se No.
President of th e Philippines nCV-92-11 wa s repre se nted by Mr. Cornelio Carmona, Jr., an
in tern at th e Office of Leg al Aid, U P -College of Law (U P-
OLA). Mr. Ca rmona con ducted h ea ri ngs and completed t he
p resentat ion of the pla in ti ff' s evidence-in-chief wit hout the
presence of a su pervising lawye r. Ju s ti ce Barreda question ed
t he ap peara nce of Mr. Carmona during t he hearing because
t he la tter was not accompanied by a duly acc redi ted lawy er.
On Dece mber 15, 1994, Presiding Judge Ed elwina Pastoral
iss ued I:I.n Order req u iring Mr. Carmona to be accompanied by
259
260 I.!·:GAL I'I\O Ff';S.<; lON -tr-
A I'I'E:~ OIX
'61
a s upervising lawyer on the next hearing . In comp lia nce wit h 3. to ensure cons iste ncy with the fund a menta l pri nci-
sa id Ord er, UP-OLA a nd the Secreta ry of .Iustico executed a ple that no per-sen is allow ed to pra ct .i co a particul ar profes-
Memorandum of Agreement di recti ng Att ~ ,. Cat ubac a nd Alty. sian withou t posses sing th e qualifications, particu larly a li-
Le gay ad e of the Public Attorney's Office to supervise Mr. cense, as required by law.
Carmona du ri ng t he subsequent hea ri ngs.
The matte r IIf a llowing a law st udent to a ppear before
Jus t ice Barredo 81'1SertR tha t 11 la w s tudent a p peari ng the court ulHtccOlnpanicd by a s u pe rvi s tng lawyer can not be
before the tri a l court unde r Ru le J3B·A should Ill' acco mpe- left to the d iscretion of the presiding j udge . The rule clea rly
ni ed by a supervising lawye r. On the otherhand , UP-OI .A., states that the a ppearance of t hu la w student s ha ll be under
th rough its Director, Atty. Alfredo F. Tadinr, s ubmit s t hat "t he the d irect co ntrol and supervision of a member of th e l nte-
matter of all owing a la w intern to uppear un accompan ied by grated Ba r o( the Philipp ines d uly accredited by the law $chools.
a duly accredited s u pe rv is ing la wye r s hould be . . . left to the The rule must be strict ly construed because pu blic policy
sound d iscretion of th e cou rt after h uvine made lit lea st one dem a nd s that lega l wor k should he ent rusted only to those
s u pe rvised a ppear a nce." who possess tested qua lifications, are sworn to obse rve the
rul es a nd et hics of th e legal profession a nd subject to judicia l
For the guidan ce of the bench an d th e bar, we hold that
d iscip linary control. We sa id in B ulacan us. 1bn:ino:
11law student appeari ng before the Regiona l Tria l Court un-
der Rule 138-Ashould a t a ll ti mes be accompanied by a su per- I "Court procedures a re often technical and ma y prove
vis ing la wyer. Secti on 2 of Rul e 138-A provid es: I like s na res to th e ignora nt or t he unwary. In the pas t,
"Sec. 2. A ppea ra nce . - Th e a ppearance of the law our la w has a llowed non-la wye rs t o a ppea r for party liti-
student authori zed by th is rul e, sha ll be under the direct ga nts in places whe re duly aut horized members of the
su pervis ion a nd control of a member of the Integrated ba r a re not availa ble. (U.S . vs. Ba cansas , 6 Phil. 539).
Bar of the Philippines duly accredi ted by the law school. For rel ati vely simple litigation before munici pa l courts,
Any and a ll pleadings , motions, briefs, mem ora nda or the Ru le still a llow a more e d uca ted or ca pa ble person in
oth er pape rs to be filed , m ust be signed by th e su pervis- be half of a liti gan t who ca nnot get a lawyer. Bu t (or the
ing attorney for a nd in be half of the legal clinic." pro te cti on of the pa rti es a nd in t he in terest of j ustice,
t he requirement for a ppea rances in regional trial courts,
The phrase "d irec t su pe rvisi on and control" requires no and hi gher courts is more stringent ."
less than the physical presence of the supervising la wyer du ring
the hearing. This is in acco rda nce with the three -fold ration- Th e U IW Student Practice Rule is only a n exceptio n to
a le beh ind th e Law Student Practi ce Rule, to wit: th e ru le. Hen ce, the presidin g jud ge s ho uld see to it that the
law student a ppearing be fore the court is prope rly gu ided an d
1. to ensure t hat there will he no miscarriage of jus- s upervised by a mem ber of th e bar.
tice as a result of incom petence or inex perience of la w stu-
dents, who not ha ving as yet passed the tes t of professional Th e rule, however, is d iffere n t if the law student appea rs
competence, are presu ma bly not fully eq uipped to act as ccun- before a n in ferior court, where t he is sues a nd procedures are
eels on their own; rela tivel y s imple. In inf{'rior cour ts, a law st udent may appear
in his pers on al capacity withou t the s upervision of a lawyer.
2. to provi de a mechan ism by which the acc redited Sect io n 3 4, Rule ] 38 pro vides :
la w school clinic may be a ble to protect itself from a ny pote n-
tial vicarious liab ility a rising from some culpable action by "Sec. 34 . By whom litiaation is cond ucted . _ In the
their law st udent..,; and court of 11 justice of the peace, a party may cond uct his
2. 2 LE<;AL PROn :SSION