Problem Areas in Legal Ethics

Group 2
Mark Anthony Alvario
Vincent Causing

Gross Immorality as a
Ground for Disbarment

right to practice law is a

privilege
burdened
with
responsibilities and conditions

Concept of Disbarment

an act of withdrawing from an

attorney his license to practice law as
exercised by the Philippine Supreme
Court

Purpose of Disbarment

not meant as a punishment to

deprive an attorney of a means of
livelihood

Purpose of Disbarment

intended to protect the courts

and the public from the misconduct of
the officers of the court and to ensure
the proper administration of justice

Grounds for Disbarment

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Deceit
Malpractice or other Gross Misconduct in Office
Gross Immoral Conduct
Conviction of a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
Any Violation of the Lawyers Oath
Willful Disobedience of Any Lawful Order of a
Superior Court
7. Corruptly or Willfully Appearing as an Attorney
Without Authority

Instances of Gross
Immoral Conduct
Engaging in premarital sexual relations
with complainant and promises to
marry suggests a doubtful moral
character on his part but the same
does not constitute grossly immoral
conduct.

Instances of Gross
Immoral Conduct
The court has held that to justify
suspension or disbarment the act
complained of must not only be
immoral, but grossly immoral (Section
27 of Rule 138)

an immoral conduct is not punishable

per se
the commission of grossly immoral
conduct
gross or serious to warrant disciplinary
action against an erring lawyer

mere intimacy is not sufficient ground

for disbarment of a lawyer

Eduardo Conjuangco Jr. vs.

Atty. Leo Palma (2004)
contracting a second marriage to one
Maria Luisa Cojuangco, daughter of
business magnate Eduardo Cojuangco
Jr., notwithstanding the subsistence of
his prior marriage to Elizabeth
Hermosisima with whom he begot
three (3) children

common definition of what

constitutes immoral conduct
that conduct which is willful, flagrant
or shameless and which shows a moral
indifference to the opinion of the good
and respectable members of the
community

Canon 1
Rule 1.01
A lawyer shall not engage in unlawful,
dishonest, immoral or deceitful
conduct.

Canon 7
Rule 7.03
A lawyer shall not engage in conduct
that adversely reflects on his fitness to
practice law, nor shall he, whether he
in public or private life behave in
scandalous manner to the discredit of
the legal profession.

Toledo vs. Toledo

(Adm. Case No. 266, 1963)
Paz Arellano Toledo, a dentist by
profession, supported his husband
Jesus Toledo thru law school and after
the latter had passed the bar and
became a lawyer, he abandoned her
and cohabited with another woman
who had borne him three children

Toledo vs. Toledo

(Adm. Case No. 266, 1963)
by abandoning his wife and cohabiting
with another woman who had borne
him a child, respondent failed to
maintain the highest degree of
morality expected and required of a
member of the Bar

Terre vs. Terre

(Adm. Case No. 266, 1992)
that the conduct of the respondent
Attorney Jordan Terre in inveigling
complainant Dorothy Terre to contract a
second marriage with him; in abandoning
complainant Dorothy after she had cared
for him and supported him through law
school, leaving her without means for the
safe delivery of his own child;

Terre vs. Terre

(Adm. Case No. 266, 1992)
in contracting a second marriage with
another woman while his first marriage
with
complainant
was
subsisting
constituted grossly immoral conduct
under Section 27 of Rule 138 of the Rules
of Court, affording more than sufficient
basis for disbarment of the respondent.
He was unworthy of admission to the Bar
in the first place

Terre vs. Terre

(Adm. Case No. 266, 1992)
disbarment is intended to protect the
legal profession, and in a higher sense,
to protect the court and the public
from the misconduct of officers of the
court

Terre vs. Terre

(Adm. Case No. 266, 1992)
a grossly immoral act is one that is so
corrupt and false as to constitute a
criminal act or so unprincipled and
ungraceful as to be reprehensible to a
high degree

Terre vs. Terre

(Adm. Case No. 266, 1992)
a grossly immoral act is one that is so
corrupt and false as to constitute a
criminal act or so unprincipled and
ungraceful as to be reprehensible to a
high degree

Sebastian vs. Calis

(A.C. No. 5118, 1999)
complainant Sebastian went to the
respondent who promised to process all
necessary documents required for
complainants trip to the USA for a fee of
P150,000.00. When complainant inquired
about her passport, Atty. Calis informed
her that she will be assuming another
name married to a person not her
husband, employed in a company

Sebastian vs. Calis

(A.C. No. 5118, 1999)
Realizing that she will be travelling
with spurious documents, the
complainant demanded the return of
her money. Despite several demands
by the complainant, the respondent
failed to return the money.

Sebastian vs. Calis

(A.C. No. 5118, 1999)
Deception and other fraudulent acts
by a lawyer are disgraceful and
dishonorable. They reveal moral flaws
in a lawyer. They are unacceptable
practices.

Sebastian vs. Calis

(A.C. No. 5118, 1999)
A lawyers relationship with others
should be characterized by the highest
degree of good faith, fairness and
candor

Radjaie vs. Alovera

(A.C. No. 4748, 2000)
Presiding Judge of the Regional Trial
Court of Roxas City Jose Alovera faced
disbarment for having penned a decision
dated January 30, 1995 long after his
retirement from the Judiciary on January
31, 1995 which ultimately divested
complainant Victoria V. Radjaie of her
property in Panay, Capiz.

Radjaie vs. Alovera

(A.C. No. 4748, 2000)
Respondent gravely abused his
relationship with his former staff,
pompously flaunting his erstwhile
standing as a judge

Radjaie vs. Alovera

(A.C. No. 4748, 2000)
Respondent disregarded his primary duty
as an officer of the court, who is sworn to
assist the courts and not to impede or
pervert the administration of justice to all
and sundry. In so doing, he made a
mockery of the judiciary and eroded
public confidence in courts and lawyers.

CONCLUSION
not to engage in any conduct or do
any act that adversely reflects on his
fitness to practice law, nor to behave,
in his public or private life, in a
scandalous manner to the discredit of
the legal profession

THANK YOU