Reviewer Ethics.docx

treatises and decisions which must be observed by all members of the Bar in the exercise of their profession whether in or out of court as well as in their public and private lives.

BASIC LEGAL ETHICS (REVIEWER) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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ESSAY 1. ORIGINAL SOURCES/BASES OF LEGAL ETHICS Legal Ethics in the Philippines is originally based and rooted in the following: a. Canons of Professional Ethics – The Canons were framed by the American Bar Association in 1908. The same were adopted in the Philippines in 1917 by the Philippine Bar when the country was still a colony of the United States. The Canons were subsequently revised. The revised Canons were adopted in the Philippines in 1946. b. Supreme Court Decisions – many of our rules on ethics were drawn from decisions of our Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States which have relevance and bearing to the practice of law in the country. c. Statutes – some laws provide for sources of legal ethics like the Civil Code, the Revised Penal Code and many special laws. d. Constitution – The Constitution bestowed on the Supreme Court the prerogative to promulgate rules on the admission to the Bar, the integration of the bar and legal assistance to the underprivileged. e. Treatises and Publications – Works on the subject of well-known authors have been used and cited by courts as standards and guidelines on the right conduct in the practice of law. f. Code of Professional Responsibility – main basis of legal ethics. It is the embodiment into one Code of the various pertinent and subsisting rules, guidelines and standards on the rule of conduct of lawyers sourced from the Constitution, Rules of Court, Canons of Professional Ethics, statutes, special laws,

2. ------ (no copy ) ----3. The rule on representing conflicting interest bars an attorney to represent an adverse party of his client in a proceeding related to his former client. To determine whether a lawyer lies within the prescription, the lawyer must represent the opposing party of his former client in a case wherein the interest of his former client is at risk. In order not to be accountable, the lawyer must first seek the consent of his former client for him to represent the adverse party of the prior case.

4. X is not guilty of immorality to warrant his suspension or disbarment. Under Rule 1.01 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, a lawyer shall not engage in unlawful, dishonesty, immoral, or deceitful conduct. In the case at bar, X did not commit any immoral act when he had sexual intercourse with the 30 year old woman because he is still unmarried at that time. If the 30 year old woman is married at the time when they had sexual intercourse, X can be guilty of immorality because a lawyer should not engage in immoral, deceitful, and unlawful acts.

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The client may at any time dismiss his attorney or substitute another in his place with or without just cause. If the contract between the client and attorney has been reduced to writing and the dismissal of the attorney was without justifiable cause, the client shall pay the attorney with full compensation stated in the contract. If there was no contract stipulated, the client shall pay him 1

“quantum meruit” or “as much as he deserved.” Moreover, an attorney shall have a lien upon the funds, documents, and papers of his client which have lawfully come into his possession and may retain the same until his lawful fees and disbursements have been paid, and may apply such funds to the satisfaction thereof. On the other hand, if the attorney was dismissed with just cause, he is entitled to the extent of the services he has rendered. Conversely, the attorney has the duty to protect the interest of his client by keeping the valuable information and secrets learned by him in his official capacity; otherwise, he will be liable for betrayal of trust.

6. As a rule, administrative cases based on violation of Lawyer’s Oath, Code of Professional Responsibility, and the Canons of Professional Ethics, against members of the judiciary also give rise to institution of disciplinary action or proceeding. Thus, the rule of automatic conversion of administrative cases against members of the judiciary to disciplinary proceedings against them as lawyers allows an administrative case proceed independently even when the complainant withdrew the complaint because administrative cases against members of the bar are sui generis or one of a kind.

7. Definition of terms: A. An ambulance chaser is a lawyer who haunts hospitals and visits the homes of the afflicted, officiously intruding their presence and persistently offering his service on the basis of a contingent fee. The lawyer is guilty of ambulance chasing whether the act is done by him personally or by person under his employ. The effect is the same as when he personally does it.

B. Amicus Curiae literally means “a friend of the court.” A person with strong interest in or views on the subject matter of an action, but not a party to the action, may petition the court for permission to file a brief, ostensibly on behalf of a party but actually to suggest a rationable consistent with its own views. C. Barratry is the offense of frequently exciting and stirring up quarrels and suits, either at law or otherwise. It is the lawyer’s act of formenting suits among individuals and offering his legal services to one of them for monetary motives or purposes.

D. Moral Turpitude as defined in Blacks Law Dictionary, is an act of baseness, vileness, or the depravity in private and social duties which man owes to his fellow man, or to society in general, contrary to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty between man and woman. Act or behavior that gravely violates moral sentiment or accepted moral standards of community and is a morally culpable quality held to be present in some criminal offenses as distinguished from others. The quality of a crime involving grave infringement of the moral sentiment of the community as distinguished from statutory mala prohibita. [Moral turpitude are acts against public morals and interest and the State. Persons who committed moral turpitude cannot be a member of the bar and lawyers or judges who committed moral turpitude can be disbarred or suspended as the case may be] E. Attorney De Oficio is a counsel, appointed or assigned by the court, from among such members of the bar in good standing, who, by reason of their experiences and ability, may adequately defend the accused. A counsel de oficio need not be a lawyer. In localities where members of the 2

bar are not available, the court may appoint any person, resident of the province and of good repute for probity and ability, to defend the accused. A counsel de oficio is a lawyer or attorney appointed by the court to represent a party, usually an indigent defendant, in a criminal case.

8. The concept of quantum meruit protects a lawyer from unjust clients who will underpay for the services rendered to the client by the lawyer. It also practices the client from a lawyer for asking an unreasonable fee for the services rendered by the lawyer. The concept of quantum meruit protects the relationship of the attorney and the client with regard to the justifiable fees. The rule on quantum meruit is not applicable when there is a contract between the client and his attorney as to the compensation to be paid by the client unless there should be an unjust payment or unjust collection of fees.

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