SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN LEGAL AND JUDICIAL ETHICS

Lyceum of the Philippines University

College of Law
2nd Semester, SY 2014-2015
Atty. Marilyn P. Cacho-Domingo

1. Definition of Legal Ethics

Legal Ethics is that branch of moral science which treats of the duties which an
attorney owes to the court, to this client, to his colleagues in the profession and to the
community (public) as embodied in the Constitution, Rules of Court, Code of
Professional Responsibility, canons of Professional Ethics, jurisprudence, moral law and
special laws. [Malcolm, legal and judicial Ethics, 8 (1949)]
2. Significance of Legal Ethics
Legal ethics will guard the abuses and ills of the profession such as dishonesty,
deceit, immorality, negligence, slothness, lack of diligence and the many forms of
malpractice of the members of the bar.
On the positive side, it will raise the standard of the legal profession, encourage
and enhance the respect for the law, assure an effective and efficient administration of
justice, assist in the keeping and maintenance of law and order in coordination with the
other Departments of the Government.
It also provides the basis for the weeding out of the unfit and the misfit in the
legal profession for the protection of the public. (Pineda, Legal and Judicial Ethics,
1999 Edition)
3. Basis of Legal Ethics
Legal Ethics in the Philippines is originally based and rooted in the following:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Canons of Professional Ethics;

Court Decisions;
Rules of Court;
Statute;
Constitution; and
Treatises and Publications.

Today, the main basis of our legal ethics is the Code of Professional
Responsibility. It is the embodiment into one Code of the various pertinent and
subsisting rules, guidelines and standards on the conduct of lawyers sourced from the
Constitution, Rules of Court, Canons of Professional Ethics, statutes, special laws,
treatises and decision which must be observed by all members of the Bar in the
exercise of their profession whether in or out of the court as well as in their public and
private lives. (Pineda, legal and Judicial Ethics, 1999 Edition)

a.
Practice of Law. Any activity, in or out of court, which
requires the application of law, legal procedure, knowledge, training and
experience. (Cayetano vs. Monsod, 201 SCRA 210)
b.
Counsel de Oficio. A lawyer or attorney appointed by the
court to represent a party, usually an indigent defendant, in a criminal
case. (People vs. Daban, 43 SCRA 187) (1998 BAR)
c.
Attorney ad hoc. A person named and appointed by the court
to defend an absentee defendant in the suit in which the appointment is
made. (Bienvenn vs. factors & Traders Insurance Co.,33 La. Ann. 209)
d.
Attorney of Record. Attorney whose names must appear
somewhere in permanent records or files of case, or on appearance
docket. Person whom the client has named as his agent upon whim
service of papers may be made. (Reynolds vs. Reynolds, 21 Cal. 2d 580,
134 P.2d 251, 254).
e.
House counsel. A lawyer who acts as attorney for a business
though carried as an employee of that business and not as an
independent lawyer. Generally, such lawyer advises business on day-today matters (Blacks Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 740)
f.
Amicus Curiae. Literally, it means, a friend of the court. An
Experienced and impartial attorney invited by the Court to appear and help
in the disposition of issues submitted to it. (Sec. 36, Rule 138, RRC as
amended by Resolution of the Supreme Court, dated May 20, 1968) (1998
BAR)
g.
Titulo de Abogado. It means not mere possession of the
academic degree of Bachelor of Laws, but membership in the Bar after
due admission thereto, qualifying one for the practice of law. (Cui vs. Cui,
11 SCRA 759)
h.
Attorney-in-fact. An agent whose authority is strictly limited
by the instrument appointing him, though he may do things not mentioned
in his appointment necessary to the performance of the duties specifically
required of him by the power of attorney appointing him, such authority
being necessarily implied. (Philippine Legal Encyclopedia, p. 66) His
authority is provided in a special power of attorney or general power of
attorney or letter of attorney. An Attorney-in-fact is not necessarily a
lawyer.
i.
Attorney-at-law. A person admitted to practice law in his
respective state and authorized to perform both civil and criminal legal
functions for clients, including drafting of legal documents, giving of legal
advice and representing such before courts, administrative agencies,
boards, etc. (Blacks Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 128)

k.
Advocate. One who pleads the cause of another before a
tribunal or judicial court; a counselor. (Villegas vs. Legaspi, 113 SCRA 45)
l.
Appearance Pro Hac Vice. Appearance by a lawyer who is
not licensed to practice in a certain jurisdiction, but only in connection with
a particular case.
m.
Practicing Lawyer. One engaged in the practice of law which
requires the application of law, legal procedure, knowledge, training and
experience.
n.
Trial Lawyer. A lawyer who personally handle cases in
court, administrative agencies or boards engaging in actual trial work
wither for the prosecution or for the defense of cases of clients.
5. Practice of Law as a Profession
The practice of law is a profession, a form of public trust, the performance of
which is entrusted only to those who are qualified and who possess good moral
character.
If the respect of the people in the honor and integrity of the legal profession is to
be retained, both lawyers and laymen must recognize and realize that the legal
profession is a profession is to render public service and secure justice for those who
seek its aid.
The law as a profession proceeds from the basic premise that membership in the
bar is a privilege burdened with conditions and carries with it the responsibility to live up
to its exacting standards and honored traditions. A person enrolled in its ranks is called
upon to aid in the performance of one of the basic purposes of the state the
administration of justice.
6. Basic Characteristics of The Practice of Law
Practice of law is not a matter of right but merely a privilege bestowed upon
individuals who are not only learned in the law but who are also known to possess good
moral character.
Practice of law is not a moneymaking venture. Law advocacy is not capital that
yields profits. The returns in births are simple rewards for a job done or service
rendered. It is a calling that, unlike mercantile pursuits which enjoy a greater deal of
freedom from government interference, is impressed with public interests, for which it is
subject to State regulation (Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. vs. CA, 181 SCRA 337).
Practice of law is a privilege burdened with conditions (Adez Realty vs. CA, 251
SCRA 14).
It is reserved only to those who are academically trained in law and possessed of
good moral character not only at the time of his admission to the Bar but even more so,
thereafter, to remain in the practice of law (In Re: Argosino, 246 SCRA 14).

Under Section 2, Rule 138 of the Revised Rules of Court, every applicant for
admission as a member of the bar must be a citizen of the Philippines at least twentyone years of age, 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.
A lawyer is required to be of good moral character (Rule 138, Sec. 2). This is a
continuing requirement from the time he applies for admission to the practice of law up
to his retirement.
A lawyer should not engage in unlawful, dishonest, immoral, or deceitful conduct
(Rule 1.01, CPR).
Thus, a lawyer is held accountable for his actuations not only in connection with
the practice of his profession but also in his dealings with the authorities and the
members of the community. He is expected to obey the laws and legal orders of the
duly constituted authorities and should he violate any law or lawful order, he is held
accountable, whether the same is connected with the exercise of his profession or not.
The practice of law is not a property right but a mere privilege and as such must
bow to the inherent regulatory power of the Court to exact compliance with the lawyers
public responsibilities. (In re: Edillon, 84 SCRA 568)
The right to practice law is not also a natural or constitutional right but is in the
nature of a privilege or franchise.
Under the Law Student Practice Rule, a senior law student who is enrolled in a
recognized law schools clinical education program approved by the Supreme Court
may appear before any court without compensation, to represent indigent clients
accepted by the Legal Aid Clinic of the law school, but he should be under the
supervision of a member of the Bar.
In a limited sense, a lawyer is a public officer, although he is not an officer in the
constitutional or statutory meaning of the term. He occupies what may be called a quasijudicial office because he is in fact an officer of the court, whose close and intimate
relationship with the bench is best described by that phrase. He is, figuratively speaking,
a priest of justice. (People s. Sesbreno, 130 SCRA 465)
An attorney is more than a mere agent because he possesses special powers of
trust and confidence reposed in him by his client. He is independent as the judge, and
his powers are entirely different from and superior to those of an ordinary agent.
According to the CPR, in the practice of the legal profession, lawyers have duties
and responsibilities to four sectors, namely: (a) to the society as a whole, where he
belongs; (b) to the Bar of which he is a member; (c) to the Courts where he appears as
counsel; and, (d) to the clients he represents. These are the four Cs of lawyers the
community, the colleagues, the courts and the clients.
The primary duty of a lawyer to the society or State is to maintain allegiance to
the Republic of the Philippines, uphold the Constitution, and obey the laws of the land.

and belongs to a profession to which society is entrusted the administration of the law
and the dispensing of justice.
Duties of attorneys under the Revised Rules of Court:
a.

To maintain allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines and to

support the Constitution and obey the laws of the Philippines;

b.

To observe and maintain the respect due to the courts of justice

and judicial officers;

c.

To counsel and maintain such actions or proceedings only as

appear to him to be just, and such defenses only as he believes to
be honestly debatable under the law;

d.

To employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to

him, such means only as are consistent with truth and honor, and
never seek to mislead the judge or any judicial officer by an artifice
or false statement of fact or law;

e.

To maintain inviolate the confidence, and at every peril to himself,

to preserve the secrets of his client, and to accept no compensation
in connection with his clients business except from him or with his
knowledge and approval;

f.

To abstain from all offensive personality and to advance no fact

prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless
required by the justice of the cause with which he is charged;

g.

Not to encourage either the commencement or the continuance of

an action or proceeding, or delay any mans cause, from any
corrupt motive or interest;

h.

Never to reject, for any consideration personal to himself, the cause

of the defenseless or oppressed;

i.

In the defense of a person accused of crime, by all fair and

honorable means, regardless of his personal opinion as to the guilt
of the accused, to present every defense that the law permits, to
the end that no person may be deprived of life or liberty, but by due
process of law. [Rule 138, Sec. 20 (a), Rules of Court]

7. Nature of the office of an attorney

However, in a limited sense, he is considered a public officer occupying a quasijudicial office.

Having been admitted to the practice of law by no less than the Supreme Court,
which alone has the authority to admit persons to practice law before all courts in the
entire country, the lawyer is considered an Officer of the Courts which incidentally are
all created by law. As such an officer, he directly participates in the administration of
justice, either as private practitioner or public prosecutor. Through him, the judicial
machinery is set in motion by his filing of cases in court on which the judge is called
upon to act. His participation in the dispensation of justice is indispensable. If there are
no lawyers, courts cannot operate to dispense justice. His intimate and indispensable
relationship to the court makes him a part of the court. Hence, the reference to him as
Officer of the Court. (Pineda, Legal and Judicial Ethics, 1999 Edition)
8. Admission to the Bar
The power of admission to the practice of law is vested by the Constitution in the
Supreme Court.
The constitutional power to admit candidates to the legal profession is a judicial
function and involves the exercise of discretion. (Section 5 (5), Article VIII, 1987
Constitution)
To constitute practice of law, the individual must customarily or habitually hold
himself out to the public as a lawyer and demands compensation for the following
services:
a.

Giving of advice or rendering any kind of service that involves legal

knowledge. This may include rendering an opinion as proper in the
interpretation of statutes;

b.

Appearance in court and conduct of cases in court;

c.

Preparation of pleadings and other papers incident to actions and

special proceedings as well as the drawing of deeds and other
instruments of conveyance.