REVIEWER FOR LEGAL PROFESSION

Legal Profession Notes and Reviewer

Ignorantia legis non excusat – Ignorance of the law excuses no one. = Premised on the fact that if the case is otherwise, every
man may justifiably escape from abiding the law by mere excuse of want of knowledge of the law and this may result to chaos
or an absence of the rule of law in the society.

There is no progress in a country without a rule of law.

LEGAL PROFESSION – one of the noblest profession in the world.

-in the Philippines, legal profession is impressed with public interest with the end view towards the administration of justice
with paramount concern is to obtain justice in the most efficient and effective manner. Wide range of opportunities in public
service, private practice and business.

- is a branch of the administration of justice whose main purpose is to aid in the doing of justice according to law between state
and the individual and between man and man

ATTORNEY – one who aids in the administration of Justice.

- Class of persons who are by licensed constituted officers of courts of justice and who are empowered to appear and
prosecute and/or defend someone and on whom peculiar duties, responsibilities and liabilities are devolved by law in
consequence.
- Someone who is employed by a party in a cause to manage the same for him. It has been held in a long line of cases that a
lawyer is above all an officer of the court.
- An advocate of justice, he should be the defender of the oppressed.
- He Is duty bound to be true to the court and to his client; to manage the business of his client with care, skill and integrity.
- A lawyer must do his best in the administration of justice.

Basic skills and qualities required in the study of law

a. Dreams/ambition
b. Perseverance
c. Patience-

“how to be a lawyer” by Dean Fortunato Gupit

1. Language – is the tool of the lwe. It is the instrument by which you understand, analyze and express the law.
In the Philippines, law profession is a mission. A mission to administer justice not only to those who have the capacity to
obtain the services of a lawyer but more importantly, to those deserving of justice. But have less in life.
2. Logic or Critical Analysis
3. Law

LAWYERS ARE MADE NOT BORN

Remember that law profession is a branch of the administration of justice and not a mere moneymaking trade.

3 ideas involved in a profession

 1. Organization; 2. Learning and; 3. Spirit of public service.
STANDARDS OF LEGAL PROFESSION

1. Independence – getting immersed in the case of one’s client and then withdrawing from the emotional experience as a necessity for
maintaining one’s independence, is not one’s balance.
2. Accessibility – the bar should be able to aid the public in the selection of a competent lawyer as part of its duty to make its services
available. And also the readiness to engage in public service.
3. Learning – the bar must be able to communicate to the public its aim and purposes. It must be able to explain to lay people the laws
and regulations in clear, simple and understandable language so that public respect for the law will be fostered.

THE PATH OF LAW

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. is one of the most celebrated legal figures in U.S. history. His writings on jurisprudence have shaped discussions
on the nature of law, and his court opinions have been studied as much for their style as their intellectual content.

Holmes rejected the idea that law could be studied as a science. He also emphatically dismissed Langdell's belief that legal systems obey
rules of logic. While his book, The Common Law (1881), is a scholarly tour de force, his 1897 essay, "The Path of the Law," has proved to
be one of the most influential works in legal theory. In the essay Holmes builds on the themes of The Common Law, which included his
disassociation of law from morality and his emphasis on policy over logic. He went on to define the law as a prediction of what the courts
would do in a particular situation. He proposed a "bad man" theory of justice: a bad man will want to know only what the material
consequences of his conduct will be; he will not be motivated by morality or conscience.

Holmes's jurisprudence led to the conclusion that judges make decisions first and then come up with reasons to explain them. His
approach, which has been characterized as cynical, touched a nerve with succeeding generations of legal scholars.

PASSION FOR Justice by Justice Pompeyo Diaz

 What is Justice – It is to render to each man what it his due

 What is truth – It is that which you seek and keep on seeking so that you may render to each man what is his due.
 What is law – It is the instrument by which you discover that which you have been seeking so that you may render to each man
what is his due.

 The reality however is different.

o The law may be twisted to hide the truth.
o Truth may be distorted to ridicule justice.
o There are men in any society who are so self-serving that they try to make the law serve their selfish ends – they’re the
most dangerous
 man of the law who has no conscience – he has the knowledge, the very tools with which he can poison and disrupt society
 The integrity of the court is the foundation upon which a just society to established – Without this integrity, the vicissitudes of
history will blow society towards the treacherous reefs of destruction and suck it into the whirlpool of oblivion
 Man of law with a conscience – is the means by which a nations fashions for itself a just, orderly and civilized society, where the
least of its citizens can stand in his human dignity and where justice is the yardstick by which the citizen measures himself in his
relationship with others and with his God

 Yet a man of law should have more than just a conscience.

WHAT A MAN OF THE LAW SHOULD POSSESS IS:

o PASSION FOR THE TRUTH, A PASSION FOR JUSTICE.
– should be of such a magnitude as to give him the power to stand firm when those around him seen to be going mad. Of
such solidity as to grant him the strength to stand alone when all else is turning into dust. It should be of such perseverance
 as to infuse him with a loneliness that only those who have a vision can endure. It is a passion to keep alive that eternal
challenge that justice must be done whatever be the cost.
 You are not only men of the law. You are men of vision. – Never ending theme of passion for the truth, of passion for justice. Never
sacrifice your vision on the altar of expediency. For without this vision, you shall become hollow inside, you shall become men
without souls preying on the innocence and helplessness of your fellowmen.
 FOR WHAT IS JUSTICE BUT AN ATTRIBUTE OF GOD HIMSELF. Walk firm, therefore, and walk with courage, upon this path you
have chosen. Let your vision guide you. The law is a noble profession and it is professed by noble men. You need have no fear
that they will prove too much for you if, in taking them up, you bear always in mind that doubt is the beginning of wisdom, that
humility is the grace of the wise, that compassion is the virtue of the strong and above all that reason is the life of the law, and
that the service of justice, which is nothing more than the search for the truth, is one of man’s noblest achievement.

INDOMITABLE RENE TO NEW LAWYERS

 Law offers a good, if not the best, way of serving the poor, obscure, oppressed, and unwashed, to attain a measure of justice. Too
often, however it takes only a few years of practice, plus a taste of the good life for this consuming passion to sink without a
trace in the deep rugs of a well-appointed law office, amid the staccato clatter of top-of-the-line thingamajigs and the hum of
multi-horse-powered air conditioners.
 Mediocrities can go far in our society, but it is the loss of the bright ones-who know the law, not the judge-that really hurts.
 Holmes once said, that happiness does not come from material rewards. “HAPPINESS,” he wrote “I am sure from having known
many successful men, cannot be won simply by being a counsel for great corporations and having an income of $50,000.
 NEVER FORGET THE LEAST OF OUR BRETHREN: PSYCHIC INCOME IS SOMETHING NOT ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD CAN BUY.

FOCUS ON THE LEGAL PROFESSION by Justice Vicente Mendoza

 By what standards should its performance be judges?

1. Independence – A lawyer must represent his client with zeal within the bounds of the law. What they should do is to
get immersed in their client’s cases but not to drown themselves into their client’s causes.
2. Accessibility – Legal services are needed not only by indigent persons, but even by those who are able to pay their way
but for not know whom to engage as counsel. Not only must legal services be available to all. Legal services must be
made available at the earliest possible time, and not when a case is already in court. For just there is need for
preventive medicine, there is also a need for preventive legal counseling so that parties will be saved the trouble, the
expense, and the anxiety of litigation. Such services can range from drafting of contracts to the making of wills. The
readiness of its members to engage in public service. Lawyers must be able to shuttle between private practice and
government service, also the civic rewards brought about by the latter. Public service, though admittedly short
monetary gains, poses a unique challenge to a lawyer’s integrity as well as his competence and ability and offers
psychic benefits that go beyond pesos and centavos.
3. Learning – lawyer must serve his client with competence and diligence.
a. MCLE – Mandatory Continuing Legal Education IBP members are required to undergo every three years at
least 36 hours of legal education. Those who fail to comply with MCLE without satisfactory explanation will be
required to pay a “non compliance fee” and considered delinquent members of the bar, who will be subject
to disciplinary action by the board.

YOUNG LAWYERS MOVE ON . . . SHARE IN THE UNFOLDING OF THE DIVINE PLAN

By Hon. Josue N. Bellosillo

 It is a profession that has behind it a history of nobility and greatness, responsible for providing rhyme, order, and reason to this
restless world. Obsession for truth and justice and its quest for a better life for all, are its core philosophies that deal with the
essentiality of man himself.
 They helped shaped and formulate norms of behavior which by constant application gradually developed into an effective
mechanism for social regulation, interaction and discipline. Lawyers were then held with much respect and reverence so that into
their hands was committed humanity’s final deliverance from inequity nd oppression.
  It is in your power to do, into a kinetic, living law and help reinvent the law profession into a potent defender of truth and authentic
purveyor of justice.
 You must first reconstruct yourselves by deconstructing your lives. Reject and discard what is wrong wicked and false. Center
instead on what is central and essential to man. For the overall effect of a life well lived, essential to man. For the overall effect of a
life well lived, according to Thomas Moore, is a transformation in culture a deep reorientation away from the imperial heroics of
progress and futurism towards an appreciation of a rich past and the renaissance of an old wisdom.
 It is imperative for the profession to distance itself from the seducing influence of passing wealth, fame and glory and return the
immortal virtues of truth, Justice, Integrity and love. For these are matters of mind and spirit with which the practice of law is
essentially intertwined.
 You must refuse to die; you must refuse to give in; you must refuse to give up. You must rage and rebel against narrow and self-
seeking concerns. Widen your vision instead and expand your goals outward – from self to family to community to country and
ultimately to all men – like concentric circles from the ripples of a stone cast into a lake.
 For it is only in sharing with others your spirit, your heart, your mind, your soul – by giving strength to the weak, voice to those
who have none and hope to the hopeless that you will find genuine meaning and substance in the law profession. Then you will
know – truly know what takes to be an authentic lawyer.

CHAPTER V – ADMISSION TO PRACTICE

1. Power to admit applicants to the Practice of Law – judicial in nature and involves the exercise of judicial discretion. The authority to
decide who may be admitted to the bar naturally and logically belongs to the judiciary represented by the Supreme Court in view of
the nature of its judicial function and in the role played the attorneys in the administration of justice.

The Supreme Court has the power, among others, to promulgate rules concerning the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights,
pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts.

Said constitutional provision shall however be subject to the following limitations.

a. Simplified and inexpensive procedures for speedy disposition of cases

b. Uniform for all courts of the same grade
c. Shall not diminish, increase or modify substantive rights

 The legislature may not pass a law that will control the Supreme Court in the performance of its function to decide who may enjoy
the privilege of practicing law, and any law of that kind is unconstitutional as an invalid exercise of legislative power.

2. Integration of the Bar

 The Supreme Court has the inherent power to integrate the Philippine Bar in the exercise of its power to prolmulgate rules
concerning pleading, practice and procedure in all courts nd the admission to the practice of law.

Purpose of the integration Bar

1. Assist in the administration of justice

2. Foster and maintain on the part of its members high deals of integrity, learning professional competence, public service and
conduct;
3. Safeguard the professional interests of its members
4. Cultivate among its members and a spirit of cordiality and brotherhood
5. Provide a forum for the discussion of law, jurisprudence, law reform, pleading, practice and procedure and the relations of the Bar
to the Bench and to the public, and publish information relating thereto
6. Encourage and foster legal education
7. Promote a continuing program of legal research in substantive and adjective law, and make reports and recommendations thereon
8. Enable the Bar to discharge its public responsibility effectively

Integration of the Bar will, among other things, make it possible for the legal profession to:
 1. Render more effective assistance in maintaining the rule of law;
2. Protect lawyers and litigants against the abuses of tyrannical judges and prosecuting officers
3. Discharge fully and properly its responsibility in the disciplining and/or removal of incompetent and unworthy judges and
prosecuting officers
4. Shield the judiciary, which traditionally cannot defend itself except within its own forum, from the assaults that politics and self-
interest maylevel at it, and assist it to maintain its integrity, impartiality and independence
5. Have an effective voice in the selection of judges and prosecuting officers
6. Prevent the unauthorized practice of law, and break up any monopoly of local practice maintained through influence or position
7. Establish welfare funds for families of disabled and deceased lawyers
8. Provide placement services, and establish legal aid offices and set up lawyer reference services throughout the country so that the
poor not lack competent legal service
9. Distribute educational and informational materials that are difficult to obtain in many of our provinces
10. Devise and maintain a program of continuing legal education for practicing attorneys in order to elevate the standards of the
profession throughout the country
11. Enforce rigid ethical standards, and promulgate minimum fees schedules
12. Create law centers and establish law libraries for legal research
13. Conduct campaigns to educate the people on their legal rights and obligations, on the importance of preventive legal advice, and on
the functions and duties of the Filipino lawyer
14. Generate and maintain pervasive and meaningful country-wide involvement of the lawyer population in the solution of the
multifarious problems that afflict the nation.

XX XX XX

CASE: IN THE MATTER OF THE INTEGRATION OF THE INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES

FACTS: RA 6397 “An act providing for the integration of the Philippine Bar and Appropriating Funds Therefore” passed September 1971.

ISSUES:

1. Does the court have the power to integrate the Philippine Bar?

2. Would the integration of the bar be constitutional

3. Should the Court ordain the integration of the bar at this time?

BAR- refers to the collectivity of all persons whose names appear in the Roll of Attorneys

*Complete unification of the Attorneys is not possible unless it is decreed by an entity with power to do so: The State

BAR INTEGRATION – signifies the setting up by government authority of a national organization of the lawyer as an officer of the court.
Designed to improve the positions of the Bar as an instrumentality of justice and rule of law, integration fosters cohesion among lawyers and
ensures, through their own organized action and participation the promotion of the objectives of the legal profession, pursuant to the
principle of maximum Bar autonomy with minimum supervision and regulation by the Supreme Court.

PERSONS ENTITLED TO PRACTICE LAW

- Section 1, Rule 138 of the Rules of Court, any person who has been duly licensed as a member of the bar and who is in good and regular
standing is entitled to practice law.

REQUIREMENTS:

1. He/she must be a citizen of the Philippines

2. At least 21 years of age
3. OF GOOD MORAL CHARACTER
4. A resident of the Philippines
 5. Must produce before the SC satisfactory evidence of his good moral character and no charges against him. Involving moral
turpitude, have been filed or are pending in any court of the Philippines
- Has the required educational moral and personal qualification, he must also pass the bar examinations, take the lawyers oath before
the Supreme Court en banc, sign in the roll of attorneys and receive a certification from the Clerk of the Supreme Court of his license to
practice
- After his admission to the bar, a lawyer is required to be in a good and regular standing. He must remain a member of the Integrated
Bar of the Philippines, conscientiously observe the ethical standards of the profession and to religiously pay his membership dues or
other assessments or duties like his privilege tax.
- Good moral character is a requirement not only upon one’s application for admission but it is rather a continuing requirement even
after admission for the enjoyment of the privilege to practice.
- A lawyer is expected at all times to uphold the integrity and dignity of the legal profession by faithfully performing his duties to society,
to the bar, to the courts of justice and to his clients.
- Lawyer is entrusted the delicate task to protect the life, liberty, property or honor of another.

CASES – Re: Application for Admission to the PH Bar, Vicente D Ching

Facts:

-Vicente D Ching legitimate son of a Chinese Father and a Filipino mother was born in La Union on April 11, 1964 and has resided in the
Philippines since birth.

He took and passed the CPA Board Exam, shown that he has been a registered voter of La Union and has served in the sad municipality as a
member of the Sanguniang Bayan from 1992-1995 and was allowed to take the Bar exam subject to proof of his citizenship and he was able
to pass the Bar

-the OSG argued that Vicente has not formally elected PH Citizenship and if ever he does, it would already be beyond reasonable time
allowed by present jurisprudence.

ISSUE:

Whether or not Vicente may be allowed to take his oath as a member of the bar.

Whether he has elected Philippine citizenship within a "reasonable time”

whether his citizenship by election retroacted to the time he took the bar examination.

Held:

 Under Article IV, Section 1(3) of the 1935 Constitution, the citizenship of a legitimate child born of a Filipino mother and an alien
father followed the citizenship of the father, unless, upon reaching the age of majority, the child elected Philippine citizenship.
 It should be noted, however, that the 1973 and 1987 Constitutional provisions on the election of Philippine citizenship should not be
understood as having a curative effect on any irregularity in the acquisition of citizenship for those covered by the 1935
Constitution.
 1935 Constitution and C.A. No. 625 did not prescribe a time period within which the election of Philippine citizenship should be
made. The 1935 Charter only provides that the election should be made "upon reaching the age of majority." The age of majority
then commenced upon reaching twenty-one (21) years.
 Ching's election was clearly beyond, by any reasonable yardstick, the allowable period within which to exercise the privilege. It
should be stated, in this connection, that the special circumstances invoked by Ching, i.e., his continuous and uninterrupted
stay in the Philippines and his being a certified public accountant, a registered voter and a former elected public official, cannot vest
in him Philippine citizenship as the law specifically lays down the requirements for acquisition of Philippine citizenship by election.
 "election" as both a formal and an informal process. In the case of In re: Florencio Mallare (59 SCRA 45 [1974]), the Court held that
the exercise of the right of suffrage and the participation in election exercises constitute a positive act of election of Philippine
citizenship.
 The span of fourteen (14) years that lapsed from the time he reached the age of majority until he finally expressed his intention
to elect Philippine citizenship is clearly way beyond the contemplation of the requirement of electing "upon reaching the age of
majority."
 Philippine citizenship can never be treated like a commodity that can be claimed when needed and suppressed when convenient.
 Integration of the Bar
The Supreme Court has the inherent power to integrate the Philippine Bar in the exercise of its power to prolmulgate rules
concerning pleading, practice and procedure in all courts nd the admission to the practice of law.
Purpose of the integration Bar
Assist in the administration of justice
Foster and maintain on the part of its members high deals of integrity, learning professional competence, public service and
conduct;

Privileges of an attorney
1. He has both right and privilege to practice law during good behavior before any judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative tribunal
2. He enjoys the presumption of regularity in the discharge of functions
3. He enjoys immunity from liability to third person, in the performance of his obligation to his client insofar as he does not
materiallydepart from his character as a quasi-judicial officer
4. His statements if relevant, pertinent or material to the subject of judicial inquiry are absolutely privileged
5. He has the right to protest, in a respectful manner, any unwarranted treatment of a witness or any unjustified delay in the
administration of justice
6. Passing the bar is equivalent to a first grade civil service eligibility for any position in the classified service in the government the
duties of which require knowledge of law or a second grade civil service eligibility for any other government position.

 IBP – means the official unification of all the lawyers in the Philippines