I.

Objective
1. Duties of a Lawyer (RULE 138 Sec 20)
4 fold duties of the lawyer
Duties to Society (community), Legal Profession(to other lawyers), Court
(to justice), and Client
2. Student Practice Rule (Rule 138-A)
3. Lawyer's Oath
I, do solemnly swear that I will maintain allegiance to the Republic of the Phil
ippines, I will support the Constitution and obey the laws as well as the legal
orders of the duly constituted authorities therein; I will do no falsehood, nor
consent to the doing of any in court; I will not wittingly or willingly promote
or sue any groundless, false or unlawful suit, or give aid nor consent to the sa
me; I will delay no man for money or malice, and will conduct myself as a lawyer
according to the best of my knowledge and discretion, with all good fidelity as
well to the courts as to my clients; and I impose upon myself these voluntary o
bligations without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. So help me God
4. Practice of Law
(Cayetano v. Monsod)
Dissent of J. Padilla
5. Counsel de oficio and Counsel de parte
COUNSEL DE OFICIO a counsel, appointed by the court from among such members of t
he bar in good standing who, by reason of their experience and ability, may adeq
uately defend the accused.
COUNSEL DE PARTE a lawyer or attorney engaged by a party to represent the latter
in a case.
6. DIFFERENTIATE THE FF
Lawyer-a person practicing law
Barrister- Barristers specialize in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings
, and giving expert legal opinions.
Solicitor- is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with any legal matter
in court in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualificatio
ns, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor
and enabled to practice there as such.
Notary Public-is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-
contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, a
nd foreign and international business. A notary's main functions are to administ
er oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and statutory declarations, witness a
nd authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents, take acknowledgme
nts of deeds and other conveyances, protest notes and bills of exchange, provide
notice of foreign drafts, prepare marine or ship's protests in cases of damage,
provide exemplifications and notarial copies, and perform certain other officia
l acts depending on the jurisdiction.
7. Admission to practice
Citizenship
Residency
Age
Good Moral Character
Education
Oath
8.
Barratry- is most commonly applied to an attorney who attempts to bring about a
lawsuit that will be profitable to her or him. Barratry is an offense both at C
ommon Law and under some state statutes. The broader common-law crime has been l
imited by certain statutes. An attorney who is overly officious in instigating o
r encouraging prosecution of groundless litigation might be guilty of common bar
ratry under a particular statute. The requirement for the crime of barratry is t
hat repeated or persistent acts of litigation are performed by the accused. Barr
atry is generally a misdemeanor punishable by fine or imprisonment. In the case
of an attorney, disbarment is the usual punishment. Since few cases have been pr
osecuted, barratry is considered by the legal community at large to be an archai
c crime. This is particularly true today due to a highly litigious atmosphere.
Ambulance-Chasing-which is a form of barratry, refers to a lawyer using an event
as a way to find legal clients. The term "ambulance chasing" comes from the ste
reotype of lawyers that follow ambulances to the emergency room to find clients
9. When may a non-lawyer practice law?
Law Students (138-A)
Agent(1 lawman should confine work to non-adversarial contentions, 2 not habitua
lly rendered,3 not charge for payment)
Litigation by Party (138 sec 34)
ESSAY:
1. No
The integration of the Philippine Bar means the official unification of the enti
re lawyer population. This requires membership and financial support of every a
ttorney as condition sine qua non to the practice of law and the retention of hi
s name in the Roll of Attorneys of the Supreme Court (In Re IBP)
2.
3. (Ulep vs. Legal Clinic)
4. (Figueroa vs Barranco)
Facts: Figueroa and Barranco were sweethearts since their teens. Their intimacy
eventually resulted to a son born out of wedlock. At this point (1964) Barranco
promised Figueroa that he would marry her when he passes the bar examinations. A
fter four takes, he finally passed but did not hold true to his promise of marri
age. In 1971, their relationship ended. Years later, he married another woman. W
hen Barranco was about to take his oath to enter the legal profession, Figueroa
filed a complaint relaying to the court what happened between her and Barranco.
Until 1988, Barranco has filed three motions to dismiss because Figueroa still w
ould not persecute and because for the past years, he has become elected in the
Sangguniang Bayan, has actively participated in various civic organizations and
has acquired a good standing within his community while the case was pending. Th
e court sought the opinion of the IBP which recommended that Barranco be allowed
to take his oath. Figueroa reappeared and intercepted the scheduled oath-taking
of Barranco which led to its delay.
Issue: Whether or not Barranco should be allowed to take his oath despite the ac
cusations of Figueroa.
Held: Yes. The maintenance of an intimate relationship between a man and a woman
, both of whom had no impediment to marry and voluntarily carried on with the af
fair, does not amount to a grossly immoral conduct even if a child was born out
of the relationship. His previous acts may be said to be a question to his moral
character but none of these are so corrupt and false as to constitute a criminal
act or so unprincipled or disgraceful as to be reprehensible to a high degree. H
er allegations that she was forced to have sexual relations with him cannot lie
as evidenced by her continued cohabitation with him even after their child was b
orn in 1964. The ignobleness of his treatment of Figueroa is sufficiently punish
ed by the 26 years that he has been prevented from entering the profession he ha
s worked so hard for.
5.
(in re application of adriano hernandez)
The Law Degree as a prerequisite to practicing law
Wikipedia describes a law degree as an academic degree conferred for studies in law
. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curr
icula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a licens
e. In the Philippines, a law degree may be a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), or a Juris D
octor (JD).
Graduation from a Philippine law school constitutes the primary eligibility requ
irement for the Philippine Bar Examination. But this is the general rule which,
throughout the years, has been the subject of various exceptions.
Non-law graduates have been allowed to take the Bar Examinations. In fact the 19
44 Bar Examinations was topped by two persons Jovito Salonga and Jose Diokno nei
ther of whom had a law degree at the time they took the Bar. Salonga earned his
from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1946 or after he topped
the Bar; Diokno never returned to his studies at the University of Santo Tomas
Faculty of Civil Law.
Non-graduates of Philippine law schools have also been allowed to take the Bar E
xaminations. In a Resolution of the Supreme Court En Banc dated July 27, 1993 (R
e: Application of Adriano M. Hernandez to take the 1993 Bar Examinations), the C
ourt allowed the applicant, a Filipino citizen who obtained a Juris Doctor from
Columbia University, New York and who has taken fourth year review courses and o
ther bar subjects at the Ateneo Law School, to take the 1993 Bar Examinations, c
onsidering the fact that in the past, it had allowed Filipinos who have studied l
aw in foreign law schools from the strict requirements of Sections 5 and 6 of Ru
le 138 and allowed them to take the bar examinations, but with the caveat that:
beginning next year, the Court WILL NOT ALLOW GRADUATES OF FOREIGN LAW SCHOOLS TO
TAKE THE BAR EXAMINATIONS. An applicant who desires to take the bar examination
s must not only have studied law in a local law school but has to present the ce
rtifications required under Sections 5 and 6 of Rule 138 in order to take the ba
r examination. Since graduates of foreign law schools cannot submit said certifi
cations, they shall henceforth not be allowed to take the bar examinations (empha
sis supplied).
Was Adriano M. Hernandez the last Filipino to graduate from a foreign law school
who was allowed to take the Bar Examinations?
No.
In Bar Matter No. 1153 (Re: Letter of Atty. Estelito P. Mendoza Proposing Reform
s in the Bar Examinations through Amendments to Rule 138 of the Rules of Court,
March 9, 2010) the Supreme Court once again allowed Filipino graduates of foreig
n law schools to take the Philippine Bar, subject to certain conditions, and ame
nded Sections 5 and 6 of Rule 138 of the Rules of Court.
Section 5 of the Rule now provides that before being admitted to the examination
, all applicants for admission to the bar shall satisfactorily show that they ha
ve successfully completed all the prescribed courses for the degree of Bachelor
of Laws or its equivalent degree in a law school or university officially recogn
ized by the Philippine Government or by the proper authority in the foreign juri
sdiction where the degree has been granted.
Section 5 now also provides that a Filipino citizen who graduated from a foreign
law school shall be admitted to the bar examination only upon submission to the
Supreme Court of certifications showing: (a) completion of all courses leading t
o the degree of Bachelor of Laws or its equivalent degree; (b) recognition or ac
creditation of the law school by the proper authority; and (c) completion of all
fourth year subjects in the Bachelor of Laws academic program in a law school d
uly recognized by the Philippine Government.
A Filipino citizen who completed and obtained his or her degree in Bachelor of L
aws or its equivalent in a foreign law school must also present proof of complet
ion of a separate bachelors degree.
Since the law course is designed to acquaint the law student with (hopefully) th
e whole spectrum of Philippine law, those who obtain their law degrees from non-
Philippine law schools have to work doubly hard in preparing for the Bar Examina
tions, since they studied a different set of laws in law school. But if they are
up to the challenge, the Supreme Court, pursuant to Bar Matter No. 1153, is ver
y much willing to accommodate them.
And so what happened to Adriano M. Hernandez?
He passed the 1993 Bar Examinations and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 19
94, but passed away in 2011 at the young age of 44.
(in re max shoop)