Canon 12

A lawyer shall exert every effort and

consider his duty to assist in the
speedy and efficient administration
of justice

Duty to Assist in the Speedy and

Efficient Administration of Justice
Lawyers are officers of the Court.
Bound to assist in the speedy and
efficient administration of justice.
A duty for Judges as well.
Deplorable state of congested court
dockets.

Illustrations
Appealing a case for the purpose of
delay in order to drain the resources
of the poorer party and to compel the
other party to submit out of sheer
exhaustion obstructs and defeats
the administration of justice.
Instructing a client to plead guilty to
a crime which the lawyer knows his
client did not commit.

Rule 12.01
A lawyer shall not appear for trial unless he has
adequately prepared himself on the law and the facts
of his case, the evidence he will adduce and the order
of its preference. He should also be ready with the
original documents for comparison with the copies.

Duty to be Prepared for Trial

Facts
Applicable Laws
Pleadings/Memorandum

Illustration
In display of utter lack of preparation,
a counsel entered his appearance in
a case that has already been
terminated and decided with finality
one year and eight months earlier. Te
court called this a bizarre behavior
on the part of the lawyer.

Rule 12.02
A lawyer shall not file multiple
actions arising from the same
cause

Duty not to Engage in Forum

Shopping
The act of malpractice condemned as trifling
with courts and abusing their processes.
The rule on forum-shopping applies only to
judicial cases or proceedings and not
administrative.
If the forum shopping is not considered to be
deliberate and willful, the cases shall be
dismissed without prejudice.
Executed by the petitioner, not by the
counsel.

Elements of ForumShopping
Identities of parties or at least such
parties as represent the same
interest in both actions
Identity of the rights asserted and
the reliefs prayed for, the relief being
founded in the same facts
Identity of the two preceding
particulars

Ways by which Forum Shopping may

be committed.
Filing multiple cases based on the
same cause of action and with the
same prayer, the previous case not
having been resolved.
Filing multiple cases based on the
same cause of action and with the
same prayer, the previous case being
resolved.
Filing multiple cases based on the
same cause of action but with

Illustrations
Filling an action for annulment of the sale and
recovery of property alleged inherited from
the deceased will not prosper where the same
property and the same claim are pending
adjudication in a separate proceeding for the
settlement of the testate estate of the
deceased.
A lawyer was suspended for filing three
petitions for review, emanating from the same
cause, before three different divisions of the
Supreme Court.

Rule 12.03
A lawyer shall not, after obtaining extensions
of time to file pleadings, memoranda or
briefs, let the period lapse without
submitting the same or offering an
explanation for his failure to do so.

Duty to File Pleadings

Seasonably
The grant of extension of time to file
pleadings is a liberality of the
granting authority.
Extension of time for filing of briefs
will not be allowed except for good
and sufficient cause and only if the
motion for extension is filed before
expiration of the time sought to be
extended.

Duty of a lawyer hired

midstream
When a new lawyer is engaged
midstream when the case of ongoing
litigation, the new lawyer us obliged
to work double time to bring himself
up-to-date with the case.

Illustration
Having been granted his three motions for
extension of time to file his comment in the
complaint in disbarment case, not only did he fail
to file a comment but also did not even bother to
explain such failure notwithstanding the SCs
resolution declaring him waving the filing of
comment. Respondent was directed to file his
comment on the disbarment but he never did . The
respondents strategy to file piecemeal motions for
extension of time to submit the comment smacks
of delaying tactic scheme that is unworthy if a
member of the bar

Rule 12.04
A lawyer shall not unduly delay a
case, impede the execution of a
judgement or misuse Court
processes

Duty Against Dilatory Moves and

Misuse of Court Processes
Duty to expedite litigation.
Delay breeds disrespect for the law
and brings the administration of
justice and brings the administration
of justice into disrepute.
Technicalities should not be
improperly used to thwart substantial
justice.
Treble costs against dilatory and
frivolous appeals and tactics.

Illustration
Where the decision in the civil case
had reached finality and where
execution of such decision was being
effected, respondent should not have
filed
a
petition
for
certiorari
considering that there is no apparent
purpose for it than to delay the
execution of a valid judgement.

Rule 12.05
A lawyer shall refrain from talking to
his witness during a break or recess
in the recess in the trial, while the
witness is still under examination

Duty Not to Coach a Witness Under

Examination
Witness Protection vs. Witness
Coaching
Witness Coaching is perceived as
obfuscating the truth or instructing
the witness to lie.
Witness Preparation should occur
before the testimony and the counsel
should not coach the witness during
a deposition or during a break in
sworn testimony.

Illustration
Necessarily, attempting to influence the
answers of a witness during the actual
examination is equally reprehensible. Thus, in
a
disbarment case, where the lawyer
attempted
to
interrupt
a
clarificatory
questioning by a hearing Commissioner to try
to coach his client or influence him to answer
questions in an apparent attempt not to
incriminate him, tends to obstruct, perverts
or impedes the administration of justice
constitutes misconduct.

Rule 12.06
A lawyer shall not knowingly
assist a witness to misinterpret
himself or impersonate another

Duty Not to Present a False Witness

Prohibits the use if fraudulent, false,
or prejured testimony or evidence.
When false evidence is provided by
the client, the lawyer should
persuade the client that the evidence
should not be offered or its false
character be disclosed.
Liability of a corrupt witnesses.

Rule 12.07
A lawyer shall not abuse,
browbeat or harass a witness nor
needlessly inconvenience him

Duty to Respect Witness

A witness is presumed to enlighten
the court with facts within the
witness personal knowledge.
Such witness should be respected
and treated with politeness and
courtesy

Rights of a Witness
To be protected from irrelevant, improper, or insulting
questions, and from harsh or insulting, demeanor.
Not to be detained longer than the interests of justice
require.
Not to be examined only as to matters pertinent to the
issue.
Not to give an answer which will tend to subject him to
a penalty for an offense unless otherwise provided.
Not to give answer which will tend to delegate his
reputation, unless it be to the very fact at issue or to a
fact from which the fact in issue would be presumed.

Rule 12.08
A lawyer shall avoid testifying in behalf of the
client, except:
a) On formal matters, such as mailing,
authentication or custody of an instrument
and the like
b) On substantial matters, in cases where his
testimony is essential to the ends of justice,
in which event he must , during his
testimony, entrust the trial to another

Duty Not to be a Witness and

Counsel at the Same Time
If a lawyer is both counsel and a witness, he
becomes more easily impeachable for interest
and thus may be a less effective witness.
It is designed to protect the integrity of the
advocates professional role by preserving the
distinction between advocacy and testimony.
It is corollary to the rule that an advocate may
not inject personal beliefs as to the cause into
argument to the judge.

Duty Not to be a Witness and

Counsel at the Same Time
Prohibition does not apply to a
former counsel
Lawyers may become a witness
when his testimony is vital, but to
avoid ethical issues, he must
withdraw from active management of
the case.