LEGAL PROFESSION

Law
-

Rules of conduct promulgated

by a competent authority which
is just and obligatory and of
general application.

Legal Profession
- is a vocation based on law and
its application
Legal Studies
- Academic endeavor that aims
with the study of law and its
application.
Legal Ethics
- Is the embodiment of all
principles
of
morality
and
refinement that should govern
the conduct of every member of
the bar
Practice of law
Blacks Law:
- The
rendition
of
services
requiring the knowledge and
the
application
of
legal
principles and technique to
serve the interest of another
with his consent.

Private Practice
- An individual or organization
engaged in the business of
delivering legal services.
Sole Practitioners
- Lawyers who practices alone
Firm
- A group of lawyers practicing
law.
- Usually a partnership and
members of the firm are the
partners.
Corporate Lawyer
- Is a lawyer who handles the
legal affairs of corporation
Cases
Joselano Guevara, complainant vs.
Atty.
Jose
Emmanuel
Eala,
respondent
PER CURIAM

Legal and Judicial Ethics:

- Is a privilege impressed with
public interest
- 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

Complaint Filed:
Complaint for Disbarment against Atty.
Jose Emmanuel Eala for grossly
immoral conduct and unmitigated
violation of the lawyers oath.

Members of the legal profession:

1) Lawyer
2) Attorney or Attorney-at-law
3) Advocate
4) Barrister
5) Counsel or Counselor
6) Proctor
7) Solicitor

Emmanuel Eala
- Husband of Marriane Tantoco
- Had (3) three children

Joselano Guevarra
- Fiance of Irene Moje

February or March 2001

- Complainant saw Irene and
respondent together on two
occasions.
On
the
second

occasion, he confronted them

following
which
Irene
abandoned the conjugal house.
October 7, 2000
- A handwritten letter was found
on the day of Guevarra and
Mojes wedding.
- The handwritten letter is from
the respondent
January 2002
- A friend of the complainant saw
Irene
together
with
the
respondent, pregnant.

Respondent admitted having

sent the handwritten letter and
card.

Complaint (par 14):

- That respondent and Irene were
even
FLAUNTING
THEIR
ADULTEROUS RELATIONSHIP as
they attended social functions
together.
Answer:
- Denies having ever flaunted an
adulterous
relationship
with
Irene
as
alleged
in
the
complaint, the truth of the
matter
being
that
their
relationship has low profile and
known only to the immediate
members of their respective
families, and that respondent as
far as the general public was
concerned was still known to be
legally married to Mary Anne
Tantoco.
Complaint (par 15):
- Adulterous conduct with the
complainants wife
- Abandoning or neglecting of his
own family
- Flaunted his aversion to the
institution of marriage, calling it
a piece of paper

Answer:
- The relationship with Irene was
not
under
scandalous
circumstances and that as far
as his relationship with his own
family.
- Violation of Constitution: calling
marriage as a piece of paper
that was merely with respect
only to the formality of the
marriage contract.

Complaint (par 18):

- Article XV, Section 2 of the
Philippine
Constitution

marriage as an inviolable social

institution and is the foundation
of the family
Complaint
(par
19)
Gross
immoral conduct:
- runs afoul of the Constitution
and the laws he, as a lawyer,
has been sworn to uphold
- mocked
the
institution
of
marriage
- degrades the legal profession
Reply
- Alleging that Irene gave birth to
a girl and named respondent in
the Certificate of Live Birth as
the girls father.
Rejoinder
without
motion
to
dismiss
- Merited complainants reply, for
the respondent in which he
denied
having
personal
knowledge of the Certificate of
Live Birth
October 26, 2004
- IBP-CBD
Investigating
Commissioner Milagros V. San
Juan, found charge against
respondent sufficiently proven.

The Disbarment:
- Violation of Rule 1.01 of Canon
1 of the Code of Professional
Responsibility
A lawyer shall not engage in
unlawful, dishonest, immoral or
deceitful conduct.
-

Violation of Rule 7.03 of Canon

7 of the same Code
A lawyer shall not engage in
conduct that adversely reflects
on his fitness to practice law,
nor shall he, whether in public
or private life, behave in a
scandalous manner to the
discredit of the legal profession.

January 28, 2006

- IBP Board of Governors annulled
and
set
aside
the
recommendation
of
the
Investigating Commissioner and
accordingly dismissed the case
for lack of merit.

Respondent
lawyers oath

violated

the

January 16, 2004

- Secretary of Justice granted
complainants
Motion
to
Withdraw Petition for Review

Their illicit affair that was

carried out there bore fruit a
few months later when Moje
gave birth to a girl
Indubitable fact that in the
certificate of birth of the girl,
Moje furnished the information
that Eala was the father

Ruling:
- Petition is GRANTED, Resolution
by the Board of Governors of
the IBP is annulled and set
aside.

Respondent is disbarred for

grossly
immoral
conduct,
violation of his oath of office,
and violation of Canon 1, Rule
1.01 and Canon 7, Rule 7.03 of
the
Code
of
Professional
Responsibility

Reynato Cayetano, petitioner vs.

Christian Monsod, Hon. Jovito R.
Salonga,
Commission
on
Appointment, and Hon. Guillermo
Carague, in his capacity as
Secretary
of
Budget
and
Management, respondents.
PARAS, J.

Instant petition for certiorari

and Prohibition praying that said
confirmation
and
the
consequent
appointment
of
Monsod as Chairman of the
Commission on Elections be
declared null and void.

Section 1 (1), Article IX-C, 1987

Philippine Constitution
- There shall be a Commission on
Elections
composed
of
a
Chairman
and
six
Commissioners who shall be
natural-born citizens of the
Philippines and, at the time of
their appointment, at least
thirty-five years of age, holders
of a college degree, and must
not have been candidates for
any elective position in the
immediately
preceding
elections. However, a majority
thereof including the Chairman,
shall be members of the
Philippine Bar who have been
engaged in the practice of law
for at least ten years.

April 25, 1991

- Respondent was nominated by
President Corazon C. Aquino to
the position of Chairman of the
COMELEC in a letter received by
the
Secretariat
of
the
Commission on Appointments
-

Petitioner
opposed
the
nomination
because
the
respondent does not possess
the required qualification of
having been engaged in the
practice of law for at least ten
years.

June 15, 1991

- Commission on Appointments
confirmed the nomination of
Monsod.
June 18, 1991
- He took his oath of office and
assumed office as Chairman of
the COMELEC.
Atty. Christian Monsod
- Member of the Philippine bar
- Bar passer of 1960 with grade
of 86-55%
- Dues paying member of the IBP
since its inception in 1972-73
- Been
paying
professional
license fees as lawyer for more
than ten years

Monsod possess qualifictions for

nomination

Ruling:
- Petition is Dismissed
1733
- University of Santo Tomas
opened a Faculty of Civil Law
and Faculty of Canon Law.

1734 1800
- 3, 360 Students
- Graduated 40 students in its
various programs
- 29 Bachelor of Civil Law
- 8 Licentiate in Civil Law
- 3 Doctor of Law
1898
- Universidad Literia Filipinas was
established in Malolos, Bulacan
- Later moved to Tarlac
1899
- Don Felipe Calderon founded
the Escuela de Derecho de
Manila
- 1924 it was renamed Manila
Law School
1910
- College of Law of the University
of the Philippines opened
Justice Sherman Moreland
- First dean of COL of UP
George A. Malcom
- Replaced Justice Moreland, and
later became Judge of the
Philippine Supreme Court
Legal Education: History
1911
- Requirements to be a lawyer:
high school degree (as pre-law
degree) and 3-year law course.
- Later was raised to: two years
of college work (associate in
arts degree) in addition to high
school degree.
1960
- Sec. 6 of Rule 138 of the Rules
of Court, amended by the SC,
increasing
the
pre-law
requirement: 4 year bachelors
degree
(AB
or
BS)
and

increasing the law course to 4

years (Bachelor of Laws)
122 Units (Ll.B.)
- Civil law
- Criminal law
Remedial Law
- Legal Ethics and Legal Forms
- Commercial Law
- Political Law
- Tax Law
- Labor Law
- Public Corporation and public
officers
- International Law
Non-Bar Subjects
- Legal History
- Legal Bibliography
- Statutory Construction
- Jurisprudence
- Trial techniques
- Thesis and legal research
- Legal Medicine
- Practice Court
Sources
of
Philippine
Legal
Education
(a) Spain, which gave it the Roman
Civil Law and the Canon Law
(b) United States, which gave it the
English common law
(c) Indonesia, which gave it the
Islamic Law
Bar Exams
Philippine Annual Bar Exams
- Administered every September
by a committee by the SC:
(1)Justice as Chair
(8) Lawyers, with a term of
office of one year
Bar Examinee
-

At least 21 years of age

Filipino Citizen
Resident of the Philippines
Of good moral character

Has completed the required 4year law course (Ll.B.) in a law

school
recognized
by
the
Department
of
Education,
Culture and Sports (now by the
Commission
on
Higher
Education and the Board of
Legal Education)

Private Law Practice

1976
- Survey among lawyers were
conducted by the UP Law
Center
Law practice is complicated and it
requires specialization.
Popularizing Law
- 1980s UP Law Center launched
a series of programs in legal
literacy, street law, or practical
law in cooperation with the
womens NGOs, student org,
and the local barangays
Former Supreme Court Justice
Irene Cortez
- Once served as the dean of UP
College of Law
- xxx Where law is written and
taught in a foreign language, it
becomes more esoteric, it
concepts
more
difficult
to
assimilate and retain. If it is
difficult for those who undergo
the professional training for
lawyers, it would be even more
difficult for the ordinary citizen.
There are those of us in the
Philippines who have begun to
give serious thought to using
our own language in legal
education. Xxx

Legal Education Act of 1993

- R.A. No. 7662
Focuses:
- Advocacy
- Counseling
- Problem Solving
- Decision Making
- Ethics and Nobility of the legal
profession
- Bench-bar partnership
- Social commitment
- Selection of law students
- Quality of law schools
- The law faculty
- The law curriculum
- Mandatory legal apprenticeship
- Continuing legal education

The Law Teacher

xxx. The law teachers to be effective
must
endeavor
for
deeper
understanding of the law, thru
research and reflection. Through
critical study, they also identify
emerging trends and areas for reform
and contribute towards making law an
instrument of social development. Law
teachers must principally assume the
critical and predictive functions in the
legal profession xxx Manuel J.
Laserna Jr.
c. 1998