III.

THE FIRM

D. Managing the Firm

Keeping the client’s trust and confidence – this is one which Atty. Untayao emphasized
on how they manage the firm. In maintaining the attorney-client relationship, keeping the
confidentiality of the client is very important. He added that one reason why the client hires a
lawyer is for them to have, or they need, a peace of mind. That when he seeks the lawyer’s
assistance, the lawyer will be able to help him. However, it is also important to note, according
to Atty. Untayao, that lawyers are not guarantors. They should not be told that they will win the
case, but at least the lawyer will able to give the client a picture of the possible scenarios and
laying down to them all the possible remedies in respective cases. At the end of the day, the
client can sleep in peace at night knowing that his or her lawyer will that charge. “And that’s our
job, tayo ang namromroblema ng problema ng iba”, he wittingly said.
In the practice of law, and even in life, it is not always that the outcome favors us. Losing
a case is part of the game. In explaining such scenario to the client, Atty. Untayao stressed that
managing the client’s expectation is the key. They explain to their clients beforehand what the
situation is. They avoid ensuring to their clients the triumph of the case and later on would
eventually result the opposite, as that will affect the firm’s credibility. What they do is they
directly tell their clients that they are in a not-so-good situation [but] they will do this and that in
order to somehow provide the client possible solutions in their problem. Manage the client’s
expectation, be realistic, and do not give them false hopes. Atty. Untayao compared a boxing
match and the practice of law. He said that unlike a boxing match, in law practice, it is not how
many times a lawyer wins a case, what matters most is protecting the rights of the client in the
course of the proceedings, win or lose, the important thing is the lawyer was able to safeguard
the rights of the client.
The firm charges their clients based on one’s capacity to pay. They can already gage
such capacity during their conversation and meetings since the client gives details about him or
her or the company. They still have a fixed rate for certain cases, but those are not fixed,
meaning, it is still negotiable especially if the client has a tight budget -- and that, he said, is one
of the beauties of having a law office of your own. They have the discretion to adjust the rates,
unlike when working for someone else wherein the lawyer is not the one who dictates the price.
Atty. Untayao further shared that there are times that he wanted to help a client but the thing is
he do not own the office. Of course, it is not a pro bono, but at least he can now help by giving
the client a discount and that is also one way of helping clients with meritorious cases. After the
firm’s early experiences where they have charged a client far less than their actual expenses in
the case, the firm was able to established a system, through trial and error method, in such a
way that the company will still gain profit, of course to pay for the firm’s usual expenses. These
expenses include operating costs, office rental, utilities, human resources, labor, office supplies,
and transportation costs although some of these like anything that has to do with the case is
chargeable to the client or what is called the out-of-pocket expenses.
In some firms, each partner has a certain percentage in the profit. In Untayao-Garcia-
Van Haute- Uy Law Office, they divide it equally and Atty. Untayao cited their long-established
friendship for such arrangement. Stating further that they are comfortable with each other so
they have equal sharing.

E. Remarkable Case
Of the voluminous cases the firm have handled, Atty. Untayao highlighted this one case.
The Firm used to accept [a] drug case. Their policy is actually not to take or handle drug cases,
but that one instance was because they were only requested to accept such. Atty. Untayao
considered this as a very challenging case they have handled because of the current
administration’s War on Drugs, underscoring that it is not only the accused or those involved in
drugs, even the lawyers of the accused are likewise arrested. Thus, expressing his concern on
their lawyer’s safety, security, and welfare and its family which are likewise affected if handling
these certain cases.
There is another drug case that they are supposed to handle – the case of the DJ who
was arrested in The Fort BGC. Atty. Untayao recalls his experience in the said case where he
shared that he went to the place after the arrest and stayed there from the wee hours in the
morning until afternoon of the same day. When he went back to their office, he and his partners
conversed and it is where they decided not to handle any drug case anymore.

IV. OBSERVATIONS AND TAKEAWAYS

All of the partners are Bedan lawyers, and they only accept associates in their firm who
are also graduates of San Beda. Atty. Untayao shares the reason for such firm’s policy and
what he thinks as the leverage of a Bedan Lawyer. Aside from being good-looking, he
humorously started, graduates of San Beda are very hardworking and not mediocre in terms of
performance. He gave credit to the training that a Bedan Lawyer got from the school. Having
very challenging rules – such as the need to maintain the QPI, and the two-flunk rule - it really
makes a difference since one earned his or her degree in the very hard way, unlike to some
schools, he further stated, that it is easier to pass the subjects. In San Beda, he believes that
there is a certain degree of difficulty to pass, that is why there is a rewarding feeling. So even
after graduation, the student was able to carry over such attitude – you have to work hard, then
the reward will follow – when he is already working. A Bedan Lawyer is very well rounded. Also,
Atty. Untayao highlighted a Bedista’s attitude of being sympathetic and concern to other people.
There is compassion to the clients, that the Bedan Lawyers go extra mile to ensure that the
client’s rights are protected.