LEGAL COUNSELLING

FIRM VISIT, QUASI-JUDICIAL COURT VISIT AND

COURT VISIT

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS IN
LEGAL COUNSELLING

SUBMITTED BY:
MADRID, JEFFERSON B.
L-160319
3B

SUBMITTED TO:
ATTY. EDNA HERRERA-BATCAN
A. FIRM VISIT

Part I. Report

ESPINO AND VALENCIA LAW OFFICE

On the day of our visit, I was ecstatic to see a professional law firm for I had never been
to one. The law firm we were going to visit was Espino and Valencia Law Office (EVLO)
Before deliberating and finally agreeing that this was the firm we were going to visit, our group
had difficulty to select one because under circumstances such as busy schedules and the sheers
size of our group, for it was hard for small law firms to accommodate 18 students. Luckily,
EVLO accommodated us since one of my groupmates, Ms. Gayona, was the sister of a friend of
Mr. Espino, one of EVC’s managing partners. The law firm is just newly founded and
established by San Beda law graduates.

Our group met around 9:30 AM on October 25, 2018, at the first floor of Prestige Tower,
F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. While waiting for our cue to enter the law office,
the group finalized some interview questions we are going to ask.

Upon arrival of all our members at around 10:30 AM, we entered the law office and
waited for a while at the lobby. The facade of the office shows the name of the partners “Espino
Valencia” written in silver against wooden brown in rectangular stonework. The interior design
of the law office itself was simple. There was a small sofa next to the clerk and it had a
conference room on the right side of the lobby. On my perspective, the law office had a modern
and elegant look with a soothing ambience similar to what one would feel like on spas.
Furthermore the stonework, the choice and arrangement of furniture will tell one that it is a law
firm of young lawyers.

Due to its look, I had an experience on how I would feel as a client if I was to enter the
office. Before going to a law office, I had the impression that aggrieved people opting for or
facing litigation are anxious, afraid or too intimidated by lawyers to disclose the totality of their
problems. They are afraid to be judged and to be told what to do. But upon gazing on the interior
design of the law office and by the warm approach of our host in welcoming us, I concluded that
if I were an aggrieved client, my anxiety would diminish if not vanish. Such comfortable feeling
in allowing a client to disclose all what he knows which is important in establishing a good
lawyer-client relationship, allowing the lawyer to offer to his client the array of possible
solutions he can offer with the client’s problem and the client to choose the best and most
advantageous solution to his grievance. This is crucial in giving the client the best service which
could lead to retention of the lawyer’s services and spreading of linkages to other future clients
by the word of recommendation of the satisfied client.

After some time, Atty. Espinosa, one of the partners, greeted and invited us to the
conference room. He introduced himself and asked us individually of our names. Just like us, he
narrated that he also started some 15 years ago at San Beda College. He was a diligent student
and related to us his struggles as a law student. After graduating from law school, he decided to
work at a law firm, wherein he gained most of the experience he is currently utilizing right now.

The law firm he currently works at specializes in real property law though it also handles
civil and criminal cases. On one of his cases, he told us an experience he had years ago where he
will be called back and forth from their law office to NBI to defend a client’s son who was
arrested due to a drug case.

Upon passing the bar, he decided to establish a law firm with his law school friends but it
did not work out as some of them begun their family while others entered politics. After some
time, he trained as an appraiser and established the law firm in which we were in.

In our interview, Mr. Espino showed to us that, as law students, our knowledge is limited
with what our book authors told us, but there is so much out there and that the practice of law is
not fixed with what the law says. Most of the time, the most simple and human act of talking and
negotiating would resolve conflicts by settling and ending litigations before it has even started.
As lawyers, our goal is not only to give what is the best for our client but being an officer of the
court, it is also our duty to help the judiciary to resolve legal problems by legal means in the
most expeditious way available.

If I were given the choice of whether I should choose the path our host had taken, I would
give it a second thought only if I had already given back to my country. It has always been my
goal give part of myself to the service of my country and upon passing the bar, I would
immediately enter a government office once opportunity strikes. I also dream someday of
establishing my own law firm but only after giving my legal expertise to my country and gaining
experience enough to specialize on a particular branch of law.
Part II. Pictures
B. QUASI-JUDICIAL COURT VISIT

Part I. Report

National Labor Relation Commission

On October 11, 2018, we went to National Labor Relations Commission located along
Quezon Avenue, Quezon City. We made the choice of going there since the judge we are to
interview was the uncle of one of our groupmates, Mr. De Jesus.

Around 8:30 AM, we arrived at the NLRC. Upon entering the floor where it was located,
the hallway was busy and loud. Looking around, we noticed that a large number of people from
different backgrounds waiting to be called seeking the services of the government. Some
employees are running to and from the offices inside. Just like every government office, this is
how I expected it to be.

At 9:00 AM, we were allowed to enter the office of Judge Eduardo Carpio. He welcomed
us with a big smile and cracked a few jokes before he started with his introductions. He told us
that he has been an NLRC judge for quite a while adding that in a few more years, he was
looking forward to retire.

His lecture began with a question. “What does a quasi-judicial court do and how is it
different from a judicial court?” he said. He then explained that it is similar with a judicial court;
in that it follows court procedures but it does not follow such rules strictly and that its decision is
just as binding as that of a regular court.

The main difference is the approach of solving the grievances of the workers. The
premise of conflicts before the NLRC is that there is an employer-employee relationship between
the parties and before appearing to the judge, the tension between these persons is high. The
employees feel they are being oppressed by their employers whereas the employers feel that the
workers are ungrateful for filing a case them despite giving them employment. So Judge Carpio
told us the unique approach he utilizes in his sala. Before he handles the case, he allowed his
employees first to handle the case and to resolve the issue to best of their ability. This procedure
allows him to strain simple from complicated cases. Should his employee fail to resolve the
issue, they then refer it to Judge Carpio.
 A quasi-judicial court is similar in a lot of ways with a regular court but also different in
numerous ways. He told us that his approach started by talking individually to one party first
without the presence of the other party. He does this vice versa and once he is aware of the main
points of both the party, he then allowed them to discuss their grievances in front of each other
and rebut one another. In this way, he is able to apprise himself of the issues without the
interference of ill feelings between the two parties.

Before adjudging the case, he tries as much as possible to convince the party to arrive an
amicable settlement. Should this resort fail, that is the time he hits the gavel.

He then lectured us with the benefits of working in the NLRC. He told us the work could
be exhausting, but there were also a lot of benefits, particularly the retirement benefits as he
gleefully told us. After explaining to us the basic procedures from bottom to top, he entertained
some queries from us.

After his lecture, he allowed us to observe the actual procedure. The most important piece
of knowledge I acquired from the experience were the insights made by Judge Carpio. Despite
the tons of problems he faced and resolved every day, he could still make a joke and live a
satisfying life. One of my fears of working in the government is the amount of workload but after
having interviewed Judge Carpio, some of those fears were alleviated.
Part II. Pictures
C. JUDICIAL COURT VISIT

Part I. Report

Regional Trial Court

On October 15,2018, I woke up early excited. This was the day where we were going to
visit a trial court conducting a criminal case. Out of all the visits we were going to make, this
was one I am really looking forward to. I arrived on 8:00 AM at Quezon City hall. A few
minutes later, my other groupmates arrived by taxi and we all met behind the left wing building
of the City Hall where the Hall of Justice is located.

Before our court visit began, we stayed in the main hallway. The court we were going to
visit had criminal cases scheduled to adjudicate during Monday mornings. It was the day on
which hearings and arraignments are to be conducted. The hall was filled with an assortment of
people, complainants, and prisoners out for the day for their trials, police officers, and officers of
the court were some among them. Several prisoners wearing yellow shirts lined up in front of the
branches of court in which their respective cases are to be heard while men in their coats and
barong tagalog are discussing with one another. Several employees were walking hurriedly
carrying huge piles of paperwork. Prior to our arrival, I kind of expected it but the feeling inside
the busy halls of justice never ceases to excite my nerve.

Since there were 18 of us, the employee of the City Hall who was guiding us divided us
into 2 group so we would observing 2 courts.

We waited for about 30 minutes before the judge arrived. The first case was an
arraignment of an accused who being tried for murder. As the clerk read the information, I was
feeling a bit anxious since the person was just sitting behind me and a group mate. When I heard
the words, “Pagpaslang” and “Pananakal”, I felt as if I had been drenched with a bucket of cold
water. The mother of the victim was there crying when the information was read. It was like a
skit out of a TV show only that this was real and happening in front of me.

After the information was read, the accused was asked whether he pleaded guilty or not
guilty. The defense attorney translated the question but the accused seemed to be unsure and not
prepared to make his answer. The judge told them to defer the case before lunch and decided to
hear other cases first.

After the first case, what follows was a wave of drug-related cases. The ambiance was
that of flea market wherein customer struggled with a seller to get the lowest price. The several
accused, in my opinion, already accepted their mistakes and were just there to ask for the
lowering of their penalty.

All throughout the case, the Public Attorney who was handling all of the cases remained
cheery and calmed and even lectured some of my group mates while he is simultaneously
handling the case.

The experience reminded me of our lessons in criminal law and criminal procedure.
Reading a criminal case in black letter will stir some anger against the wrongdoer and some
empathy and pity towards the victim and victim’s relative. But to see the actual case ongoing
before my eyes was totally different. As law students, we have been taught to treat the accused as
innocent before proven guilty but as much as I try, there is an inkling of change in my emotional
state, especially when the mother of the victim shouted in front of and cursed the accused.

Now I understand why it was repeatedly said in the book of Barte that one can gain the
most experience in the government. The amount of workload and number of case being heard
there was astounding. The cases were being tried as fast as possible. A new graduate can gain a
lot of experience working in government especially in Public Attorney’s Office. The variety and
the number of cases can forge the new graduate into a full pledge lawyer within a year in that
environment. Now I am even more inclined to join the ranks of the government upon passing the
bar. The pay is not bad and experience I will gain therein in valuable.
Part II. Pictures