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as member of the Board will be in Iligan and that I would then
be disqualified to exercise my profession as lawyer and as
notary public. Such is not the case and I would make it clear
that I am free to exercise my profession as formerly and that I
will have my residence here in Echague, I would request your
kind favor to transmit this information to your barrio people in
any of your meeting or social gatherings so that they may be
informed of my desire to live and to serve with you in my
capacity as lawyer and notary public. If the people in your
locality have not as yet contracted the services of other
lawyers in connection with the registration of their land titles,
I would be willing to handle the work in court and would
charge only three pesos for every registration.
ISSUE: Whether or not the suspension of Luis B. Tagorda is
meritorious.
HELD: Application is give to se. 21 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, as amended by Act NO. 2828, providing The
practice of soliciting cases at law for the purpose of gain,
either personally or through paid agents or brokets,
constitutes malpractice, and to Canon 27 and 28 of the
Code of Ethics adopted by the American Bar Association in
1908 and by the Philippines Bar Association in 1917, to the
case of the respondent lawyer. The law is a profession and
not a business. The solicitation of employment by an
attorney is a ground for disbarment or suspension.
1. Respondent Tagorda is suspended from the practice of
law for 1 month.
2. For advertising his services in the Sunday Tribune
respondent attorney is reprimanded.
DOMINADOR P. BURBE vs. ATTY. ALBERTO C. MAGULTA
AC No. 99-634. June 10, 2002FACTS:
On September 1998, respondent agreed to legally represent
petitioner Dominador Burbe in a money claim and possible
civil case against certain parties for breach of contract. In
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their possession; that they may retain them until their lawful
fees and disbursements have been paid; and that they may
apply such funds to the satisfaction of such fees and
disbursements. However, these considerations do not relieve
them of their duty to promptly account for the moneys they
received. Their failure to do so constitutes professional
misconduct. In any event, they must still exert all effort to
protect their clients interest within the bounds of law.
Respondent fell short of this standard when he converted into
his legal fees the filing fee entrusted to him by his client and
thus failed to file the complaint promptly. The fact that the
former returned the amount does not exculpate him from his
breach of duty.
C. The Practice of Law
1. Definition
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ISSUE:
1. Whether or not Monsod has been engaged in the practice
of law for 10 years.
2. Whether or not the Commission on Appointments
committed grave abuse of discretion in confirming Monsods
appointment.
HELD:
1. YES. The practice of law is not limited to the conduct of
cases or litigation in court. It embraces the preparation of
pleadings and other papers incident to actions and special
proceedings, the management of such actions and
proceedings on behalf of clients, and other works where the
work done involves the determination of the trained legal
mind of the legal effect of facts and conditions (PLA vs.
Agrava.) The records of the 1986 constitutional commission
show that the interpretation of the term practice of law was
liberal as to consider lawyers employed in the Commission of
Audit as engaged in the practice of law provided that they
use their legal knowledge or talent in their respective work.
The court also cited an article in the January 11, 1989 issue of
the Business Star, that lawyers nowadays have their own
specialized fields such as tax lawyers, prosecutors, etc., that
because of the demands of their specialization, lawyers
engage in other works or functions to meet them. These
days, for example, most corporation lawyers are involved in
management policy formulation. Therefore, Monsod, who
passed the bar in 1960, worked with the World Bank Group
from 1963-1970, then worked for an investment bank till
1986, became member of the CONCOM in 1986, and also
became a member of the Davide Commission in 1990, can be
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considered to have been engaged in the practice of law as
lawyer-economist, lawyer-manager, lawyer-entrepreneur, etc.
2. NO. The power of the COA to give consent to the
nomination of the Comelec Chairman by the president is
mandated by the constitution. The power of appointment is
essentially within the discretion of whom it is so vested
subject to the only condition that the appointee should
possess the qualification required by law. From the evidence,
there is no occasion for the SC to exercise its corrective
power since there is no such grave abuse of discretion on the
part of the CA.
Justice Padilla dissenting:
Monsod did not practice law. Justice Padilla emphasized the
following criteria in determining what constitutes practice of
law:
1. Habituality. The term practice of law implies customarily
or habitually holding ones self out to the public as a lawyer
(People vs. Villanueva, 14 SCRA 109 citing State v. Boyen, 4
S.E. 522, 98 N.C. 644) such as when one sends a circular
announcing the establishment of a law office for the general
practice of law (U.S. v. Ney Bosque, 8 Phil. 146), or when one
takes the oath of office as a lawyer before a notary public,
and files a manifestation with the Supreme Court informing it
of his intention to practice law in all courts in the country
(People v. De Luna, 102 Phil. 968).
Practice is more than an isolated appearance for it consists in
frequent or customary action, a succession of acts of the
same kind. In other words, it is a habitual exercise (People v.
Villanueva, 14 SCRA 109 citing State v. Cotner, 127, p. 1, 87
Kan, 864).
2. Compensation. Practice of law implies that one must have
presented himself to be in the active and continued practice
of the legal profession and that his professional services are
available to the public for compensation, as a service of his
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extemporaneous. To be engaged in an activity for ten years
requires committed participation in something which is the
result of ones decisive choice. It means that one is occupied
and involved in the enterprise; one is obliged or pledged to
carry it out with intent and attention during the ten-year
period.
What kind of Judges or Justices will we have if their main
occupation is selling real estate, managing a business
corporation, serving in fact-finding committee, working in
media, or operating a farm with no active involvement in the
law, whether in Government or private practice, except that
in one joyful moment in the distant past, they happened to
pass the bar examinations?
There is nothing in Monsods track record which will show that
he Monsod has given the law enough attention or a certain
degree of commitment and participation as would support in
all sincerity and candor the claim of having engaged in its
practice for at least ten years. Instead of working as a lawyer,
he has lawyers working for him. Instead of giving receiving
that legal advice of legal services, he was the one adviced
and those services as an executive but not as a lawyer.
Mauricio Ulep vs The Legal Clinic
223 SCRA 378
In 1984, The Legal Clinic was formed by Atty. Rogelio Nogales.
Its aim, according to Nogales was to move toward
specialization and to cater to clients who cannot afford the
services of big law firms. Now, Atty. Mauricio Ulep filed a
complaint against The Legal Clinic because of the latters
advertisements which contain the following:
SECRET MARRIAGE?
P560.00 for a valid marriage.
Info on DIVORCE. ABSENCE. ANNULMENT. VISA.
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practice of law; whether such is allowed; whether or not its
advertisement may be allowed.
HELD: Yes, The Legal Clinic is engaged in the practice of law
however, such practice is not allowed. The Legal Clinic is
composed mainly of paralegals. The services it offered
include various legal problems wherein a client may avail of
legal services from simple documentation to complex
litigation and corporate undertakings. Most of these services
are undoubtedly beyond the domain of paralegals, but rather,
are exclusive functions of lawyers engaged in the practice of
law. Under Philippine jurisdiction however, the services being
offered by Legal Clinic which constitute practice of law cannot
be performed by paralegals. Only a person duly admitted as a
member of the bar and who is in good and regular standing,
is entitled to practice law.
Anent the issue on the validity of the questioned
advertisements, the Code of Professional Responsibility
provides that a lawyer in making known his legal services
shall use only true, honest, fair, dignified and objective
information or statement of facts. The standards of the legal
profession condemn the lawyers advertisement of his
talents. A lawyer cannot, without violating the ethics of his
profession, advertise his talents or skills as in a manner
similar to a merchant advertising his goods. Further, the
advertisements of Legal Clinic seem to promote divorce,
secret
marriage,
bigamous
marriage,
and
other
circumventions of law which their experts can facilitate. Such
is highly reprehensible.
The Supreme Court also noted which forms of advertisement
are allowed. The best advertising possible for a lawyer is a
well-merited reputation for professional capacity and fidelity
to trust, which must be earned as the outcome of character
and conduct. Good and efficient service to a client as well as
to the community has a way of publicizing itself and catching
public attention. That publicity is a normal by-product of
effective service which is right and proper. A good and
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practice of law even though he is not a lawyer. Karaan replied
by saying that Judge Lubao was only evading the topic at
hand and thus violating again basic rules of procedure and
the law. The OCA dismissed the complaint saying that there
was no evidence of fraud, bad faith or dishonesty of Judge
Lubao in giving the said Orders. OCA said that the remedy of
complainants is a judicial remedy and not an administrative
case. The Supreme Court, in a Resolution dated 24 November
2010, dismissed the complainant against Judge Lubao and
ordered Karaan to show cause why he should not be cited in
contempt. Thus, Karaan moved for a reconsideration of the
dismissal before the Supreme Court.
ISSUE: WON Judge Lubao is guilty of gross ignorance of the
law, rules or procedures, gross incompetency, violation of RA
3019, violation of Arts. 171 and 172 of the RPC and pertinent
provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct
HELD: No. The SC held that not all administrative
complainants against judges should merit sanctions to judges
especially if no bad faith, dishonesty or corruption is present.
Judge Lubao could not be faulted for acting carefully before
proceeding with the civil case and in giving all the parties an
opportunity to be heard.
Further, the SC held that Karaan was indeed engaged in
unauthorized practice of law and he was held in indirect
contempt by the SC. His act of requiring the parties to
execute a Special Power of Attorney in his favor to allow him
to be a party litigant constituted such illegal practice. He was
imposed a penalty of 10,000.00 for his actions.
2. The Supreme Court and the Integrated Bar of the
Philippines
IN THE MATTER OF THE INTEGRATION OF THE
INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES
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IN RE CUNANAN
94 PHIL. 534
FACTS: Congress passed Rep. Act No. 972, or what is known
as the Bar Flunkers Act, in 1952. The title of the law was, An
Act to Fix the Passing Marks for Bar Examinations from 1946
up to and including 1955.
Section 1 provided the following passing marks:
1946-195170%
1952 .71%
1953..72%
1954..73%
1955..74%
Provided however, that the examinee shall have no grade
lower than 50%.
Section 2 of the Act provided that A bar candidate who
obtained a grade of 75% in any subject shall be deemed to
have already passed that subject and the grade/grades shall
be included in the computation of the general average in
subsequent bar examinations.
ISSUE: Whether oR not, R.A. No. 972 is constitutional.
HELD: Section 2 was declared unconstitutional due to the
fatal defect of not being embraced in the title of the Act. As
per its title, the Act should affect only the bar flunkers of
1946 to 1955 Bar examinations. Section2 establishes a
permanent system for an indefinite time. It was also struck
down for allowing partial passing, thus failing to take account
of the fact that laws and jurisprudence are not stationary.
As to Section1, the portion for 1946-1951 was declared
unconstitutional, while that for 1953 to 1955 was declared in
force and effect. The portion that was stricken down was
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based under the following reasons:
1. The law itself admits that the candidates for admission
who flunked the bar from 1946 to 1952 had
inadequate preparation due to the fact that this was
very close to the end of World War II;
2. The law is, in effect, a judgment revoking the
resolution of the court on the petitions of the said
candidates;
3. The law is an encroachment on the Courts primary
prerogative to determine who may be admitted to
practice of law and, therefore, in excess of legislative
power to repeal, alter and supplement the Rules of
Court. The rules laid down by Congress under this
power are only minimum norms, not designed to
substitute the judgment of the court on who can
practice law; and
4. The pretended classification is arbitrary and amounts
to class legislation.
As to the portion declared in force and effect, the Court could
not muster enough votes to declare it void. Moreover, the law
was passed in 1952, to take effect in 1953. Hence, it will not
revoke existing Supreme Court resolutions denying admission
to the bar of an petitioner. The same may also rationally fall
within the power to Congress to alter, supplement or modify
rules of admission to the practice of law.
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ca se back to the Court for its proper disposition. The IBP
findings and the stated penalty thereon are merely
recommendatory; only the Supreme Court has the power to
discipline erring lawyers and to impose against them
penalties for unethical conduct. 23 Until finally acted upon by
the Supreme Court, the IBP findings and the recommended
penalty imposed cannot attain finality until adopted by the
Court as its own. Thus, the IBP findings,
by themselves, cannot be a proper subject of implementation
or compliance.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Court resolves to:
1. NOTE the Report and Recommendation dated January 14,
2013 of the Office of the Bar Confidant;
2. SUSPEND from the practice of law for a period of one ( 1)
year Atty. Artemio V. San Juan for violating his Lawyer's Oath
and Rules 18.03
and Rule 18.04, Canon 18 of the Code of Professional
Responsibility, with a WARNING that the commission of the
same or similar act or acts shall be dealt with more severely;
and
3. DENY the motion filed by Atty. Artemio V. San Juan in the
letter dated August 28, 2012 that he be allowed to return to
the practice of law.
3. Admission to the Practice of Law
A. Citizenship
BAR MATTER 914
FACTS: In 1998, Vicente Ching finished his law degree at the
Saint Louis University in Baguio City. He eventually passed
the bar but he was advised that he needs to show proof that
he is a Filipino citizen before he be allowed to take his oath.
Apparently, Chings father was a Chinese citizen but his
mother was a Filipino citizen. His parents were married before
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Philippine citizenship is certainly not a tedious and
painstaking process. All that is required of the elector is to
execute an affidavit of election of Philippine citizenship and,
thereafter, file the same with the nearest civil registry.
Chings unreasonable and unexplained delay in making his
election cannot be simply glossed over.
B. Residency
C. Character
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D. Academics
Re: Application of A.M. Hernandez July 27, 1993
FACTS: Hernandez is a Filipino citizen who have a degree of
Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in New York and
passed the bar examinations in the same City in 1990. He is
currently taking bar subjects in Ateneo Law School and taking
a 5 month bar review course there. He now asks the court to
allow him to take the bar exam in the Phils.
ISSUE: WON the S.C. may allow him to take the bar exam in
the
Phils.
HELD: Yes, he may be allowed to take the bar because there
were some instances in the past where a Filipino studied law
in a foreign law school and were allowed to take the bar in
the Philippines. However, the court held this time that in the
following year, applicants for the Bar must study in a local
law school in the Phils. And must present certifications
required by Section 5 and 6 of Rule 138 to be able to take the
bar. Such certification however is not issued to foreign law
school graduates therefore anyone who wants to take the bar
in the country should study in any of the law schools in the
Phils. to be able to take the bar exam.
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Section 2. Requirements for all applicants for admission to the
bar. Every applicant for admission as a member of the bar
must be a citizen of the Philippines, at least twenty-one years of
age, of good moral character, and resident of the Philippines;
and must produce before the Supreme Court satisfactory
evidence of good moral character, and that no charges against
him, involving moral turpitude, have been filed or are pending
in any court in the Philippines.
Section 5. Additional requirements for other applicants. All
applicants for admission other than those referred to in the two
preceding section shall, before being admitted to the
examination, satisfactorily show that they have regularly
studied law for four years, and successfully completed all
prescribed courses, in a law school or university, officially
approved and recognized by the Secretary of Education. The
affidavit of the candidate, accompanied by a certificate from the
university or school of law, shall be filed as evidence of such
facts, and further evidence may be required by the court.
No applicant shall be admitted to the bar examinations unless
he has satisfactorily completed the following courses in a law
school or university duly recognized by the government: civil
law, commercial law, remedial law, criminal law, public and
private international law, political law, labor and social
legislation, medical jurisprudence, taxation and legal ethics.
Section 6. Pre-Law. No applicant for admission to the bar
examination shall be admitted unless he presents a certificate
that he has satisfied the Secretary of Education that, before he
began the study of law, he had pursued and satisfactorily
completed in an authorized and recognized university or
college, requiring for admission thereto the completion of a
four-year high school course, the course of study prescribed
therein for a bachelor's degree in arts or sciences with any of
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4. Law Practice of Non-Lawyers
a. RULE 138-A: Law Student Practice Rule
Section 1. Conditions for student practice. A law
student who has successfully completed his 3rd year of
the regular four-year prescribed law curriculum and is
enrolled in a recognized law school's clinical legal
education program approved by the Supreme Court, may
appear without compensation in any civil, criminal or
administrative case before any trial court, tribunal, board
or officer, to represent indigent clients accepted by the
legal clinic of the law school.
Section 2. Appearance. The appearance of the law
student authorized by this rule, shall be under the direct
supervision and control of a member of the Integrated
Bar of the Philippines duly accredited by the law school.
Any and all pleadings, motions, briefs, memoranda or
other papers to be filed, must be signed by the
supervising attorney for and in behalf of the legal clinic.
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Rule 138 Section 34. By whom litigation conducted. In the
court of a justice of the peace a party may conduct his litigation
in person, with the aid of an agent or friend appointed by him
for the purpose, or with the aid an attorney. In any other court,
a party may conduct his litigation personally or by aid of an
attorney, and his appearance must be either personal or by a
duly authorized member of the bar.
D. Legal Ethics
1. Definition
Legal ethics: branch of moral science which treats of the
duties which an attorney owes to the court, to his client, to his
colleagues in the profession and to the public.
- It is the embodiment of all principles of morality and
refinement that should govern the conduct of every member of
the bar.
2. Lawyers Oath
I, ____________, do solemnly swear that I will
maintain allegiance to the Republic of the
Philippines; I will support its Constitution and
obey the laws as well as the legal orders of the
duly constituted authorities therein; I will do no
falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any in
court; I will not wittingly or willingly promote or
sue any groundless, false or unlawful suit, nor
give aid nor consent to the same; I will delay no
man for money or malice and will conduct myself
as a lawyer according to the best of my
knowledge and discretion with all good fidelity as
well to the courts as to my clients; and I impose
upon myself this voluntary obligation without any
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judgment was issued against them, thus they lost possession
of their car. Apparently, their counsel never appeared in court
for them. Atty. Elayda failed to inform the spouses of the date
of hearing as well as the order of judgment. No motion for
reconsideration or appeal was interposed by the lawyer as
well.
In his defense, Atty. Elayda said that it was the spouses who
never went to court; that the spouses neglected to check on
their case in court; that one time when their case was
scheduled, he even notified the court stenographer to notify
him if the spouses are in court so that he could be there for
them as he was in another court branch for another case.
ISSUE: Whether or not Atty. Elayda should be disciplined.
HELD: Yes. It was established that Atty. Elayda was remiss
and negligent in handling the Aranda case. Although it is true
that the client and their counsel must equally share the
burden of communication, it is the primary duty of the
counsel to inform the client of the status of their case in court
and the orders which have been issued by the court. He
cannot simply wait for his clients to make an inquiry about
the developments in their case. Close coordination between
counsel and client is necessary for them to adequately
prepare for the case, as well as to effectively monitor the
progress of the case. Also, his excuse that he did not appear
in court because the spouses failed to appear in court is not
tenable. His attendance at the hearing should not be made to
depend on the whether the spouses Aranda will come or not.
The IBP Board of Governors recommended a 6 month
suspension. This was adopted by the court.
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