" WHAT KIND OF LAWYER WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE Edgardo J.

Angara The lawyer that we would like to have should be possessed of the following traits: moral strength, technical competence, and social involvement. Let me briefly discuss the significance of these ualifications: !"# Moral Strength $t is not enough for the lawyer to be honest and morally upright. %is profession is fraught with temptations at every turn. %e will have numerous opportunities for material advancement by cutting corners. The lawyer for instance would have to steer himself clear from various conflict&of&interest situations. $t is therefore imperative and fundamental that the lawyer be morally strong. %e must understand and sincerely believe in the ethical norms of his profession. %e must be able to abide by these norms not only for fear of the sanctions but because he is convinced that these norms are right. %is moral courage must therefore come from deep inside him. %e must always be able to subordinate the economic aspects of his profession and of his very being to his scruples. 'n moral issues, the lawyer should be able to control his client. $t should not be the other way around. (ot only must the lawyer be scrupulous out of sincere conviction, he must also be so with full awareness that for every professional act of his, he leads by e)ample. %e must therefore not only be scrupulous but he must always appear to be so.

LEGAL EDUCATION FOR THE 1980s: Report of the Committee on Legal Education of the Supreme Court of the Philippines February 21, 1980, Diliman, Quezon City

* !*# Technical o!"etence The lawyer deals with sensitive

problems. +eople who seek the application of his skills do so for practical purposes. %is decisions are usually crucial to someone else,s life, liberty or property. 'bviously, therefore, a lawyer with inade uate technical skills would be a nuisance and a positive threat to the security of commercial transactions and the stability of our institutions. Technical competence should not however be limited to the knowledge of legal rules. This concept should encompass breadth and depth of learning in such related disciplines as deal with human psychology, social behavior, political institutions and economic systems. -or the lawyer must not only grapple with human and social problems. %e cannot be a slave to a narrow discipline. %e must be able to perceive beyond the immediate legal conse uences of acts and events. 'n many issues, which on their face may call for the application strictly and purely of his legal skills, the lawyer may find himself falling back more on his understanding of man and his society. !c# Social In#ol#e!ent The lawyer occupies a uni ue position in his community. %e is cast in the role of a natural leader. +eople look up to him as a know&all. $t is therefore only becoming that the .ules of /ourt should e)pressly invest on lawyers a public responsibility. $mportantly, no similar responsibility has been imposed on any other profession. $t is not my idea of a lawyer that, to be socially involved, he has to 0oin organi1ations. $t would, to my mind, more than suffice to meet his social commitment for a lawyer to be able to make his own clients honest. A lawyer should never tolerate a violation or infraction of the law by his client.
LEGAL EDUCATION FOR THE 1980s: Report of the Committee on Legal Education of the Supreme Court of the Philippines February 21, 1980, Diliman, Quezon City

/lients are disposed to ask their lawyers for advice on how to violate the law with impunity. This, a lawyer should never allow. 2y insisting on keeping his clients honest, a lawyer renders a distinct public service. $n this way, the lawyer is able to fulfill his public responsibility. &oo'oo&

LEGAL EDUCATION FOR THE 1980s: Report of the Committee on Legal Education of the Supreme Court of the Philippines February 21, 1980, Diliman, Quezon City