FINAL EXAM IN PROBLEM AREAS IN LEGAL ETHICS (Set 1)

May 11, 2020 (3:30pm to 5:00pm)

State the duties of a lawyer imposed by the Lawyer's Oath. (5%)

II

Explain two doctrinal pronouncements in the practice of law mentioned by Justice

Hilarion Aquino in his article “Problem Areas in Legal Ethics.” (5 pts)

III

[a] A sign was posted at the building where the law office of Atty. Redentor Walang-
Talo is located. The sign reads:

Atty. Redentor A. Walang-Talo

Chairman, IBP Legal Aid Committee
Makati City IBP Chapter
Free conciliation, mediation and court representation
Suite 210, Galaxy Building, J. P. Rizal Street, Makati City

Does the posting constitute solicitation? (2.5%)

[b] Suppose the sign reads:

Atty. Redentor A. Walang-Talo

Attorney and Counselor-at-Law
General Practitioner
(Accepts pro bono cases pursuant to the IBP Legal Aid Program)

Does the posting constitute solicitation? (2.5%) (Bar 2016)

IV

Mrs. Galit filed a case for immorality and acts unbecoming of a member of the bar
against her husband, Atty. Chicks Boy. In her complaint affidavit, she alleged that her
husband failed to support her and her children, left the conjugal home and lived with his
paramour. Atty. Chicks Boy denied all the allegations. During the pendency of the case,
Mrs. Galit and Atty. Chicks Boy reconciled and decided to work on their marriage. Mrs.
Galit then filed an Affidavit of Desistance retracting all her statements in her complaint
affidavit. She claimed that she was only motivated by jealousy because Mr. Chicks Boy
looked like Piolo Pascual.

Would the case for disbarment proceed despite the filing of an Affidavit of
Desistance by the complaining wife? (5 pts)

Apollo hired Atty. Dennis to file an action for damages. Since Apollo has no money, he
entered into a contingent fee agreement where Atty. Dennis will shoulder all expenses
of litigation and will not charge for legal services. In case of a favorable decision, Apollo
agreed to transfer to his lawyer a lot in Cebu. Eventually, Apollo won the case. Atty.
Dennis asked Apollo to execute the deed of sale, but the latter refused upon advice of a
friend that the agreement is illegal. Due to threats of legal action by his lawyer, Apollo
filed a complaint before the Supreme Court alleging that the agreement is a
champertous contract.

Rule on the legality of the agreement on contingent fee and the propriety of
getting the property of Apollo. Explain. (5%)

VI

Dr. Cielo is a well-known medical doctor specializing in cosmetic surgery. Dr. Cielo,
together with a team of doctors, performed a surgical buttocks enhancement procedure
in her clinic on Ms. Cossette Cancio (Cancio). Unfortunately, after a couple of years, the
implant introduced during the enhancement procedure caused infection and Cancio
became seriously ill.

Concio filed a criminal action for medical malpractice against Dr. Cielo which was
eventually dismissed for failure to prove that Dr. Cielo was negligent. Cancio was
represented in this action by Atty. Cogie Ciguerra (Ciguerra). After they lost the medical
malpractice case, Ciguerra started writing a series of posts on his Facebook (FB)
account containing insulting and verbally abusive language against Dr. Cielo. Among
others, Ciguerra called Dr. Cielo a quack doctor, "reyna ng kaplastikan at kapalpakan",
and accused her of maintaining a payola or extralegal budget to pay off prosecutors and
judges in order to win her cases. He also called on patients to boycott the clinic of Dr.
Cielo.

Dr. Cielo filed a disbarment case against Ciguerra for posting on his FB account sexist,
vulgar, and obscene comments and language disrespectful of women. Ciguerra's
defense is that his FB posts were private remarks on his private FB account and meant
only to be shared among his FB friends, and Dr. Cielo was not part of them. He also
claimed that the disbarment case was filed in violation of his constitutionally-guaranteed
right to privacy. The Court, however, found that Ciguerra did not have privacy settings.

Can Ciguerra be disbarred for the series of posts against Dr. Cielo in his FB
account? (5%) (Bar 2018)

VII

Atty. Jessa was the counsel for Mr. Nolan, a cantankerous millionaire, in the latter's
personal case. Soon after the case was submitted for decision, Mr. Nolan withdrew the
files from Atty. Jessa and informed her that he was engaging another lawyer. On that
same day, a copy of the decision in the case was received by Atty. Jessa but she did
not do anything anymore with the decision. She did not also file a withdrawal of her
appearance. Mr. Nolan's new counsel did not file any notice of his appearance. By the
time Mr. Nolan found out about the adverse decision, his period to appeal had lapsed.

Was the service of the decision on Atty. Jessa still effective? Explain your
answer. (5%) (Bar 2017)

VIII

Atty. Hima Liton never goes out of style from cars, to bags, to shoes. Because of this,
she incurred huge debts which are beyond her capacity to pay. She was forced to issue
worthless checks to sustain her vice. Her creditors took a unified action in filing a
disbarment case against her. In her answer, Atty. Liton moved for the dismissal of the
case on the ground that her unpaid debts are done in her private capacity and had
nothing to do with her being a lawyer.
Is Atty. Liton correct? (5 pts)

IX

Y, who is a businessman, and Atty. X are good friends. Due to their closeness, Atty. X
was able to borrow ₱300,000.00 from Y, which amount was intended to refurbish Atty.
X's law office.

Months after, Y got into a contractual dispute with Z, one of his business partners.
Hence, Y sought the legal services of Atty. X for the filing of the proper action against Z.
In consideration for his legal services, Y paid Atty. X an acceptance fee of ₱50,000.00.

Unfortunately, Atty. X and Y's relationship turned sour. Thus, all communications
between them were cut, and worse, Atty. X failed to file the required initiatory pleading
against Z on the date agreed upon. Aggrieved, Y filed an administrative complaint,
seeking that Atty. X be sanctioned and that the ₱50,000.00 acceptance fee and the
₱300,000.00 personal loan be returned to him.

(a) What administrative violation/s did Atty. X commit, if any? Explain. (2.5
pts)

(b) May Y's prayer for the return of the ₱50,000.00 acceptance fee and the
₱300,000.00 personal loan prosper? Explain. (2.5 pts) (Bar 2019)

Atty. B is a newly admitted member of the Philippine Bar. As a means to manage his
heavy case load, Atty. B delegated the preparation and signing of all motions for
extension of time to his secretary, Ms. D. On the signature page of every motion, the
following would appear:

"Ms. D for B Law Office"

X, one of Atty. B's clients, expressed concern over such practice. Atty. B reassured him
that the same is completely permissible as lawyers are allowed to devise means to
efficiently manage their workload. Besides, Ms. D is acting under his full knowledge and
authority.

Does the practice of Atty. B of having his motions for extension of time
signed by Ms. D constitute any violation of the Code of Professional
Responsibility? Explain. (5%) (Bar 2019)

Nothing follows