UP LEGAL ETHICS

REVIEWER
June 25, 2013

UP LEGAL ETHICS REVIEWER

I. THE LEGAL PROFESSION

A. Supervision and Control

• Regulated by the Supreme Court and
NOT the
PRC.
• Const art. VIII, sec. 5(5).
The SC shall have the following powers:
(5) Promulgate rules concerning…
practice and
procedure in all courts, the admission into
the
practice of law, the Integrated Bar….
• Const art. XII, sec. 14.
…The practice of all professions in the
Phils.
shall be limited to Filipino citizens, save in
cases prescribed by law.
• The power to integrate the Philippine
bar is
given to the SC by the Constitution. (In
the
Matter of the IBP (1973))
• RA 972, or the Bar Flunkers Act of 1953,
was
declared partially unconstitutional as it
encroached upon the powers granted by
the
Constitution to the SC in determining the
admission of bar examinees to the bar by
usurping such power through a legislative
act.
(In Re: Cunanan (1954))
B. The Practice of Law
• Practice of law means any activity, in or
out of
court, which requires the application of
law,
legal procedure, knowledge, training and
experience. It is to give notice or render
any
kind of service, which device or service
requires
the use in any degree of legal knowledge
or
skill. (Cayetano v. Monsod, 201 SCRA 210
(1991))1
o Padilla, Dissenting
Practice of law – means to exercise or
pursue an employment or profession,
actively, habitually, repeatedly or
customarily. There must be continuity or a
succession of acts.
Several factors enumerated by the
Commission on Appointments to
determine
“practice of law”:
(1) Habituality - customarily or frequently
holding oneʼs self out to the public as a
lawyer
1 FACTS: Monsod after passing the bar,
worked in his fatherʼs
firm for one year, then worked as an
operations officer in the
World Bank Group. He also worked with
the Meralco Group upon
his return to the Philippines, and then
became chief executive
officer of an investment bank, legal and
economic consultant of
various companies, National Chairman of
NAMFREL, member of
the 1986 Constitutional Commission, and
then became a
member of the Davide Commission.
Interpreted in the light of the various
definitions of
the term “practice of law”, particularly the
modern concept of
law practice, and taking into
consideration the liberal
construction intended by the framers of
the Constitution, Atty.
Monsodʼs past work experiences as a
lawyer-economist, a
lawyer-manager, lawyer-entrepreneur of
industry, a lawyernegotiator
of contracts, and a lawyer-legislator verily
more than
satisfy the constitutional requirement –
that he has been
engaged in the practice of law for at least
10 years.
(2) Compensation - his professional
services are available to the public for
compensation, as a service of his
livelihood
or in consideration of his said services.
(3) Application of law, legal principles,
practice, or procedure - calls for legal
knowledge, training and experience.
(4) Attorney-client relationship- hence,
teaching law or writing law books are not
considered as “practice of law”.
II. REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO
THE
PRACTICE OF LAW
KNOW MORE:
I. Citizenship
• The practice of all professions in the
Philippines
shall be limited to Filipino citizens, save in
cases prescribed by law. (Const. art. XII,
sec.
14.)
• Every applicant for admission as a
member of
the bar must be a citizen of the
Philippines
…(Rule 138, sec. 2)
• A Filipino citizen admitted to the Phil Bar
must
maintain such citizenship to remain
qualified
for the practice of law in this country (In
Re
Arthur Castillo Reyes, (1993))2
II. Residence
• Requirements for all applicants for
admission to
the bar -- …be a resident of the
Philippines…
(Rule 138, sec. 2)
III. Age: At least 21yrs old
• Requirements for all applicants for
admission to
the bar -- …be at least twenty-one years
of
age…(Rule 138, sec. 2)
IV. Good Moral Character
• Requirements for all applicants for
admission to
the bar -- …must be of good moral
character…
and must produce before the Supreme
Court
satisfactory evidence of good moral
character,
and that no charges against him,
involving
2 FACTS: Petitioner graduated from UP
College of Law in 1939;
passed the bar in 1939; inducted to and
served in the US Armed
Forces in the Far East during WWII and
thus became eligible for
citizenship under the 1990 US
Immigration Act; became a
naturalized citizen of the US in 1993. His
name was struck from
the Roll of Attorneys. Only Filipino citizens
may practice law in
the Philippines. This requirement is
prescribed by the
Constitution, XII 14, and the ROC, 2 Rule
138.

a quick view of UP Legal Ethics Bar

Reviewer..

Click here to download

Disclaimer: I do not own any right or claim

to this file.