Rules 138 Attorneys and Admission to the Bar talks about the attorney’s appearance in

Court.

Section 21. Authority of attorney to appear. — An attorney is presumed to be

authorized to represent a case in which he appears and no written power of attorney is

required to appear in court for a client. This implies that every attorney who represents a

client and appears in court is presumed to be authorized. There is no need for a written

power of attorney to appear in court for a client. However, there is an exception to this.

The presiding judge, on reasonable grounds, may require an attorney to present a proof

of authority for his appearance in court. He may also be required to disclose the name

of the person who employed him, if it’s relevant to the case and ordered as justice

requires. In instances where an unauthorized attorney appears in a court, and by

unauthorized we mean that he was not employed by the client, the attorney might be

subjected for a punishment for his action as an officer who misbehaved in his official

transactions. Thus, an attorney can only appear in court and represent a client ONLY if

he was employed. It is the duty of an attorney to maintain a professional, courteous and

civil attitude toward all persons involved in the legal system.

On the other hand, Section 22. Provides, Attorney who appears in lower court is

presumed to represent the client on appeal. — An attorney who appears de parte in a

case before a lower court shall be presumed to continue representing his client on

appeal, unless he files a formal petition withdrawing his appearance in the appellate

court. This simply means that if an attorney ever represents a client in a case, and the

client decides to file for an appeal, the attorney is presumed to be representing the

client. Since this is not always the case, changes sometimes occur which results the

withdrawal of the attorney or the client himself. The client can be represented by
another attorney during his appeal in the lower court, but the former attorney must file a

formal petition regarding the withdrawal of his appearance in the appellate court. This is

so to inform the lower court of such changes beforehand.