Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Reviewer For Legal Profession
Reviewer For Legal Profession
Ignorantia legis non excusat – Ignorance of the law excuses no one. = Premised on the fact that if the case is otherwise, every
man may justifiably escape from abiding the law by mere excuse of want of knowledge of the law and this may result to chaos
or an absence of the rule of law in the society.
-in the Philippines, legal profession is impressed with public interest with the end view towards the administration of justice
with paramount concern is to obtain justice in the most efficient and effective manner. Wide range of opportunities in public
service, private practice and business.
- is a branch of the administration of justice whose main purpose is to aid in the doing of justice according to law between state
and the individual and between man and man
- Class of persons who are by licensed constituted officers of courts of justice and who are empowered to appear and
prosecute and/or defend someone and on whom peculiar duties, responsibilities and liabilities are devolved by law in
consequence.
- Someone who is employed by a party in a cause to manage the same for him. It has been held in a long line of cases that a
lawyer is above all an officer of the court.
- An advocate of justice, he should be the defender of the oppressed.
- He Is duty bound to be true to the court and to his client; to manage the business of his client with care, skill and integrity.
- A lawyer must do his best in the administration of justice.
a. Dreams/ambition
b. Perseverance
c. Patience-
1. Language – is the tool of the lwe. It is the instrument by which you understand, analyze and express the law.
In the Philippines, law profession is a mission. A mission to administer justice not only to those who have the capacity to
obtain the services of a lawyer but more importantly, to those deserving of justice. But have less in life.
2. Logic or Critical Analysis
3. Law
Remember that law profession is a branch of the administration of justice and not a mere moneymaking trade.
1. Independence – getting immersed in the case of one’s client and then withdrawing from the emotional experience as a necessity for
maintaining one’s independence, is not one’s balance.
2. Accessibility – the bar should be able to aid the public in the selection of a competent lawyer as part of its duty to make its services
available. And also the readiness to engage in public service.
3. Learning – the bar must be able to communicate to the public its aim and purposes. It must be able to explain to lay people the laws
and regulations in clear, simple and understandable language so that public respect for the law will be fostered.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. is one of the most celebrated legal figures in U.S. history. His writings on jurisprudence have shaped discussions
on the nature of law, and his court opinions have been studied as much for their style as their intellectual content.
Holmes rejected the idea that law could be studied as a science. He also emphatically dismissed Langdell's belief that legal systems obey
rules of logic. While his book, The Common Law (1881), is a scholarly tour de force, his 1897 essay, "The Path of the Law," has proved to
be one of the most influential works in legal theory. In the essay Holmes builds on the themes of The Common Law, which included his
disassociation of law from morality and his emphasis on policy over logic. He went on to define the law as a prediction of what the courts
would do in a particular situation. He proposed a "bad man" theory of justice: a bad man will want to know only what the material
consequences of his conduct will be; he will not be motivated by morality or conscience.
Holmes's jurisprudence led to the conclusion that judges make decisions first and then come up with reasons to explain them. His
approach, which has been characterized as cynical, touched a nerve with succeeding generations of legal scholars.
Law offers a good, if not the best, way of serving the poor, obscure, oppressed, and unwashed, to attain a measure of justice. Too
often, however it takes only a few years of practice, plus a taste of the good life for this consuming passion to sink without a
trace in the deep rugs of a well-appointed law office, amid the staccato clatter of top-of-the-line thingamajigs and the hum of
multi-horse-powered air conditioners.
Mediocrities can go far in our society, but it is the loss of the bright ones-who know the law, not the judge-that really hurts.
Holmes once said, that happiness does not come from material rewards. “HAPPINESS,” he wrote “I am sure from having known
many successful men, cannot be won simply by being a counsel for great corporations and having an income of $50,000.
NEVER FORGET THE LEAST OF OUR BRETHREN: PSYCHIC INCOME IS SOMETHING NOT ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD CAN BUY.
It is a profession that has behind it a history of nobility and greatness, responsible for providing rhyme, order, and reason to this
restless world. Obsession for truth and justice and its quest for a better life for all, are its core philosophies that deal with the
essentiality of man himself.
They helped shaped and formulate norms of behavior which by constant application gradually developed into an effective
mechanism for social regulation, interaction and discipline. Lawyers were then held with much respect and reverence so that into
their hands was committed humanity’s final deliverance from inequity nd oppression.
It is in your power to do, into a kinetic, living law and help reinvent the law profession into a potent defender of truth and authentic
purveyor of justice.
You must first reconstruct yourselves by deconstructing your lives. Reject and discard what is wrong wicked and false. Center
instead on what is central and essential to man. For the overall effect of a life well lived, essential to man. For the overall effect of a
life well lived, according to Thomas Moore, is a transformation in culture a deep reorientation away from the imperial heroics of
progress and futurism towards an appreciation of a rich past and the renaissance of an old wisdom.
It is imperative for the profession to distance itself from the seducing influence of passing wealth, fame and glory and return the
immortal virtues of truth, Justice, Integrity and love. For these are matters of mind and spirit with which the practice of law is
essentially intertwined.
You must refuse to die; you must refuse to give in; you must refuse to give up. You must rage and rebel against narrow and self-
seeking concerns. Widen your vision instead and expand your goals outward – from self to family to community to country and
ultimately to all men – like concentric circles from the ripples of a stone cast into a lake.
For it is only in sharing with others your spirit, your heart, your mind, your soul – by giving strength to the weak, voice to those
who have none and hope to the hopeless that you will find genuine meaning and substance in the law profession. Then you will
know – truly know what takes to be an authentic lawyer.
1. Power to admit applicants to the Practice of Law – judicial in nature and involves the exercise of judicial discretion. The authority to
decide who may be admitted to the bar naturally and logically belongs to the judiciary represented by the Supreme Court in view of
the nature of its judicial function and in the role played the attorneys in the administration of justice.
The Supreme Court has the power, among others, to promulgate rules concerning the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights,
pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts.
The legislature may not pass a law that will control the Supreme Court in the performance of its function to decide who may enjoy
the privilege of practicing law, and any law of that kind is unconstitutional as an invalid exercise of legislative power.
Integration of the Bar will, among other things, make it possible for the legal profession to:
1. Render more effective assistance in maintaining the rule of law;
2. Protect lawyers and litigants against the abuses of tyrannical judges and prosecuting officers
3. Discharge fully and properly its responsibility in the disciplining and/or removal of incompetent and unworthy judges and
prosecuting officers
4. Shield the judiciary, which traditionally cannot defend itself except within its own forum, from the assaults that politics and self-
interest maylevel at it, and assist it to maintain its integrity, impartiality and independence
5. Have an effective voice in the selection of judges and prosecuting officers
6. Prevent the unauthorized practice of law, and break up any monopoly of local practice maintained through influence or position
7. Establish welfare funds for families of disabled and deceased lawyers
8. Provide placement services, and establish legal aid offices and set up lawyer reference services throughout the country so that the
poor not lack competent legal service
9. Distribute educational and informational materials that are difficult to obtain in many of our provinces
10. Devise and maintain a program of continuing legal education for practicing attorneys in order to elevate the standards of the
profession throughout the country
11. Enforce rigid ethical standards, and promulgate minimum fees schedules
12. Create law centers and establish law libraries for legal research
13. Conduct campaigns to educate the people on their legal rights and obligations, on the importance of preventive legal advice, and on
the functions and duties of the Filipino lawyer
14. Generate and maintain pervasive and meaningful country-wide involvement of the lawyer population in the solution of the
multifarious problems that afflict the nation.
XX XX XX
CASE: IN THE MATTER OF THE INTEGRATION OF THE INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES
FACTS: RA 6397 “An act providing for the integration of the Philippine Bar and Appropriating Funds Therefore” passed September 1971.
ISSUES:
1. Does the court have the power to integrate the Philippine Bar?
BAR- refers to the collectivity of all persons whose names appear in the Roll of Attorneys
*Complete unification of the Attorneys is not possible unless it is decreed by an entity with power to do so: The State
BAR INTEGRATION – signifies the setting up by government authority of a national organization of the lawyer as an officer of the court.
Designed to improve the positions of the Bar as an instrumentality of justice and rule of law, integration fosters cohesion among lawyers and
ensures, through their own organized action and participation the promotion of the objectives of the legal profession, pursuant to the
principle of maximum Bar autonomy with minimum supervision and regulation by the Supreme Court.
- Section 1, Rule 138 of the Rules of Court, any person who has been duly licensed as a member of the bar and who is in good and regular
standing is entitled to practice law.
REQUIREMENTS:
Facts:
-Vicente D Ching legitimate son of a Chinese Father and a Filipino mother was born in La Union on April 11, 1964 and has resided in the
Philippines since birth.
He took and passed the CPA Board Exam, shown that he has been a registered voter of La Union and has served in the sad municipality as a
member of the Sanguniang Bayan from 1992-1995 and was allowed to take the Bar exam subject to proof of his citizenship and he was able
to pass the Bar
-the OSG argued that Vicente has not formally elected PH Citizenship and if ever he does, it would already be beyond reasonable time
allowed by present jurisprudence.
ISSUE:
Whether or not Vicente may be allowed to take his oath as a member of the bar.
whether his citizenship by election retroacted to the time he took the bar examination.
Held:
Under Article IV, Section 1(3) of the 1935 Constitution, the citizenship of a legitimate child born of a Filipino mother and an alien
father followed the citizenship of the father, unless, upon reaching the age of majority, the child elected Philippine citizenship.
It should be noted, however, that the 1973 and 1987 Constitutional provisions on the election of Philippine citizenship should not be
understood as having a curative effect on any irregularity in the acquisition of citizenship for those covered by the 1935
Constitution.
1935 Constitution and C.A. No. 625 did not prescribe a time period within which the election of Philippine citizenship should be
made. The 1935 Charter only provides that the election should be made "upon reaching the age of majority." The age of majority
then commenced upon reaching twenty-one (21) years.
Ching's election was clearly beyond, by any reasonable yardstick, the allowable period within which to exercise the privilege. It
should be stated, in this connection, that the special circumstances invoked by Ching, i.e., his continuous and uninterrupted
stay in the Philippines and his being a certified public accountant, a registered voter and a former elected public official, cannot vest
in him Philippine citizenship as the law specifically lays down the requirements for acquisition of Philippine citizenship by election.
"election" as both a formal and an informal process. In the case of In re: Florencio Mallare (59 SCRA 45 [1974]), the Court held that
the exercise of the right of suffrage and the participation in election exercises constitute a positive act of election of Philippine
citizenship.
The span of fourteen (14) years that lapsed from the time he reached the age of majority until he finally expressed his intention
to elect Philippine citizenship is clearly way beyond the contemplation of the requirement of electing "upon reaching the age of
majority."
Philippine citizenship can never be treated like a commodity that can be claimed when needed and suppressed when convenient.
Integration of the Bar
The Supreme Court has the inherent power to integrate the Philippine Bar in the exercise of its power to prolmulgate rules
concerning pleading, practice and procedure in all courts nd the admission to the practice of law.
Purpose of the integration Bar
Assist in the administration of justice
Foster and maintain on the part of its members high deals of integrity, learning professional competence, public service and
conduct;
Privileges of an attorney
1. He has both right and privilege to practice law during good behavior before any judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative tribunal
2. He enjoys the presumption of regularity in the discharge of functions
3. He enjoys immunity from liability to third person, in the performance of his obligation to his client insofar as he does not
materiallydepart from his character as a quasi-judicial officer
4. His statements if relevant, pertinent or material to the subject of judicial inquiry are absolutely privileged
5. He has the right to protest, in a respectful manner, any unwarranted treatment of a witness or any unjustified delay in the
administration of justice
6. Passing the bar is equivalent to a first grade civil service eligibility for any position in the classified service in the government the
duties of which require knowledge of law or a second grade civil service eligibility for any other government position.
IBP – means the official unification of all the lawyers in the Philippines