RULE 138
, having been permitted
Attorneys and Admission to Bar
Section 1. Who may practice law. — Any person heretofore
duly admitted as a member of the bar, or hereafter admitted
as such in accordance with the provisions of this rule, and
who is in good and regular standing, is entitled to practice
law.
Section 2. Requirements for all applicants for admission to
the bar. — Every applicant for admission as a member of the
bar must be a citizen of the Philippines, at least twenty-one
years of age, of good moral character, and resident of the
Philippines; and must produce before the Supreme Court
satisfactory evidence of good moral character, and that no
charges against him, involving moral turpitude, have been
filed or are pending in any court in the Philippines.
Section 3. Requirements for lawyers who are citizens of the
United States of America. — Citizens of the United States of
America who, before July 4, 1946, were duly licensed
members of the Philippine Bar, in active practice in the
courts of the Philippines and in good and regular standing as
such may, upon satisfactory proof of those facts before the
Supreme Court, be allowed to continue such practice after
taking the following oath of office:
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
to continue in the practice of law in the Philippines,
do solemnly swear that I recognize the supreme
authority of the Republic of the Philippines; I will
support its Constitution and obey the laws as well as
the legal orders of the duly constituted authorities
therein; I will do no falsehood, nor consent to the
doing of any in court; I will not wittingly or willingly
promote or sue any groundless, false or unlawful suit,
nor give aid nor consent to the same; I will delay no
man for money or malice, and will conduct myself as
a lawyer according to the best of may knowledge and
discretion with all good fidelity as well as to the
courts as to my clients; and I impose upon myself this
voluntary obligation without any mental reservation
or purpose of evasion. So help me God.
Section 4. Requirements for applicants from other
jurisdictions. — Applicants for admission who, being Filipino
citizens, are enrolled attorneys in good standing in the
Supreme Court of the United States or in any circuit court of
appeals or district court therein, or in the highest court of
any State or Territory of the United States, and who can show
by satisfactory certificates that they have practiced at least
five years in any of said courts, that such practice began
before July 4, 1946, and that they have never been
suspended or disbarred, may, in the discretion of the Court,
be admitted without examination.
Section 5. Additional requirements for other applicants. —
All applicants for admission other than those referred to in
the two preceding section shall, before being admitted to the
examination, satisfactorily show that they have regularly
studied law for four years, and successfully completed all
prescribed courses, in a law school or university, officially
approved and recognized by the Secretary of Education. The
affidavit of the candidate, accompanied by a certificate from
the university or school of law, shall be filed as evidence of
such facts, and further evidence may be required by the
court.
No applicant shall be admitted to the bar examinations
unless he has satisfactorily completed the following courses
in a law school or university duly recognized by the
government: civil law, commercial law, remedial law,
criminal law, public and private international law, political
law, labor and social legislation, medical jurisprudence,
taxation and legal ethics.
Section 6. Pre-Law. — No applicant for admission to the bar
examination shall be admitted unless he presents a
certificate that he has satisfied the Secretary of Education
that, before he began the study of law, he had pursued and
satisfactorily completed in an authorized and recognized
university or college, requiring for admission thereto the
completion of a four-year high school course, the course of
study prescribed therein for a bachelor's degree in arts or
sciences with any of the following subjects as major or field
of concentration: political science, logic, english, spanish,
history and economics.
Section 7. Time for filing proof of qualifications. — All
applicants for admission shall file with the clerk of the
Supreme Court the evidence required by section 2 of this
rule at least fifteen (15) days before the beginning of the
examination. If not embraced within section 3 and 4 of this
rule they shall also file within the same period the affidavit
and certificate required by section 5, and if embraced within
sections 3 and 4 they shall exhibit a license evidencing the
fact of their admission to practice, satisfactory evidence that
the same has not been revoked, and certificates as to their
professional standing. Applicants shall also file at the same
time their own affidavits as to their age, residence, and
citizenship.
Section 8. Notice of Applications. — Notice of applications
for admission shall be published by the clerk of the Supreme
Court in newspapers published in Pilipino, English and
Spanish, for at least ten (10) days before the beginning of the
examination.
Section 9. Examination; subjects. — Applicants, not
otherwise provided for in sections 3 and 4 of this rule, shall
be subjected to examinations in the following subjects: Civil
Law; Labor and Social Legislation; Mercantile Law; Criminal
Law; Political Law (Constitutional Law, Public Corporations,
and Public Officers); International Law (Private and Public);
Taxation; Remedial Law (Civil Procedure, Criminal
Procedure, and Evidence); Legal Ethics and Practical
Exercises (in Pleadings and Conveyancing).
Section 10. Bar examination, by questions and answers, and
in writing. — Persons taking the examination shall not bring
papers, books or notes into the examination rooms. The
questions shall be the same for all examinees and a copy
thereof, in English or Spanish, shall be given to each
examinee. Examinees shall answer the questions personally
without help from anyone.
Upon verified application made by an examinee stating that
his penmanship is so poor that it will be difficult to read his
answers without much loss of time., the Supreme Court may
allow such examinee to use a typewriter in answering the
questions. Only noiseless typewriters shall be allowed to be
used.
The committee of bar examiner shall take such precautions
as are necessary to prevent the substitution of papers or
commission of other frauds. Examinees shall not place their
names on the examination papers. No oral examination shall
be given.
Section 11. Annual examination. — Examinations for
admission to the bar of the Philippines shall take place
annually in the City of Manila. They shall be held in four days
to be disignated by the chairman of the committee on bar
examiners. The subjects shall be distributed as follows: First
day: Political and International Law (morning) and Labor
and Social Legislation (afternoon); Second day: Civil Law
(morning) and Taxation (afternoon); Third day: Mercantile
Law (morning) and Criminal Law (afternoon); Fourth day:
Remedial Law (morning) and legal Ethics and Practical
Exercises (afternoon).
Section 12. Committee of examiners. — Examinations shall
be conducted by a committee of bar examiners to be
appointed by the Supreme Court. This committee shall be
composed of a Justice of the Supreme Court, who shall act as
chairman, and who shall be designated by the court to serve
for one year, and eight members of the bar of the Philippines,
who shall hold office for a period of one year. The names of
the members of this committee shall be published in each
volume of the official reports.
Section 13. Disciplinary measures. — No candidate shall
endeavor to influence any member of the committee, and
during examination the candidates shall not communicate
with each other nor shall they give or receive any assistance.
The candidate who violates this provisions, or any other
provision of this rule, shall be barred from the examination,
and the same to count as a failure against him, and further
disciplinary action, including permanent disqualification,
may be taken in the discretion of the court.
Section 14. Passing average. — In order that a candidate
may be deemed to have passed his examinations
successfully, he must have obtained a general average of 75
per cent in all subjects, without falling below 50 per cent in
any subjects. In determining the average, the subjects in the
examination shall be given the following relative weights:
Civil Law, 15 per cent; Labor and Social Legislation, 10 per
cent; Mercantile Law, 15 per cent; Criminal Law; 10 per cent:
Political and International Law, 15 per cent; Taxation, 10 per
cent; Remedial Law, 20 per cent; Legal Ethics and Practical
Exercises, 5 per cent.
Section 15. Report of the committee; filing of examination
papers. — Not later than February 15th after the
examination, or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, the
committee shall file its report on the result of such
examination. The examination papers and notes of the
committee shall be filed with the clerk and may there be
examined by the parties in interest, after the court has
approved the report.
Section 16. Failing candidates to take review course. —
Candidates who have failed the bar examinations for three
times shall be disqualified from taking another examination
unless they show the satisfaction of the court that they have
enrolled in and passed regular fourth year review classes as
well as attended a pre-bar review course in a recognized law
school.
The professors of the individual review subjects attended by
the candidates under this rule shall certify under oath that
the candidates have regularly attended classes and passed
the subjects under the same conditions as ordinary students
and the ratings obtained by them in the particular subject.
Section 17. Admission and oath of successful applicants. —
An applicant who has passed the required examination, or
has been otherwise found to be entitled to admission to the
bar, shall take and subscribe before the Supreme Court the
corresponding oath of office.
Section 18. Certificate. — The supreme Court shall
thereupon admit the applicant as a member of the bar for all
the courts of the Philippines, and shall direct an order to be
entered to that effect upon its records, and that a certificate
of such record be given to him by the clerk of court, which
certificate shall be his authority to practice.
Section 19. Attorney's roll. — The clerk of the Supreme
Court shall kept a roll of all attorneys admitted to practice,
which roll shall be signed by the person admitted when he
receives his certificate.
Section 20. Duties of attorneys. — It is the duty of an
attorney:
(a) To maintain allegiance to the Republic of the
Philippines and to support the Constitution and obey
the laws of the Philippines.
(b) To observe and maintain the respect due to the
courts of justice and judicial officers;
(c) To counsel or maintain such actions or
proceedings only as appear to him to be just, and such
defenses only as he believes to be honestly debatable
under the law.
(d) To employ, for the purpose of maintaining the
causes confided to him, such means only as are
consistent with truth and honor, and never seek to
mislead the judge or any judicial officer by an artifice
or false statement of fact or law;
(e) To maintain inviolate the confidence, and at every
peril to himself, to preserve the secrets of his client,
and to accept no compensation in connection with his
client's business except from him or with his
knowledge and approval;
(f) To abstain from all offensive personality and to
advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation
of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of
the cause with which he is charged;
(g) Not to encourage either the commencement or
the continuance of an action or proceeding, or delay
any man's cause, from any corrupt motive or interest;
(h) Never to reject, for any consideration personal to
himself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed;
(i) In the defense of a person accused of crime, by all
fair and honorable means, regardless of his personal
opinion as to the guilt of the accused, to present every
defense that the law permits, to the end that no
person may be deprived of life or liberty, but by due
process of law.
Section 21. Authority of attorney to appear. — an attorney is
presumed to be properly authorized to represent any cause
in which he appears, and no written power of attorney is
required to authorize him to appear in court for his client,
but the presiding judge may, on motion of either party and
on reasonable grounds therefor being shown, require any
attorney who assumes the right to appear in a case to
produce or prove the authority under which he appears, and
to disclose, whenever pertinent to any issue, the name of the
person who employed him, and may thereupon make such
order as justice requires. An attorneys wilfully appear in
court for a person without being employed, unless by leave
of the court, may be punished for contempt as an officer of
the court who has misbehaved in his official transactions.
Section 22. Attorney who appears in lower court presumed to
represent client on appeal. — An attorney who appears de
parte in a case before a lower court shall be presumed to
continue representing his client on appeal, unless he files a
formal petition withdrawing his appearance in the appellate
court.
Section 23. Authority of attorneys to bind clients. —
Attorneys have authority to bind their clients in any case by
any agreement in relation thereto made in writing, and in
taking appeals, and in all matters of ordinary judicial
procedure. But they cannot, without special authority,
compromise their client's litigation, or receive anything in
discharge of a client's claim but the full amount in cash.
Section 24. Compensation of attorneys; agreement as to fees.
— An attorney shall be entitled to have and recover from his
client no more than a reasonable compensation for his
services, with a view to the importance of the subject matter
of the controversy, the extent of the services rendered, and
the professional standing of the attorney. No court shall be
bound by the opinion of attorneys as expert witnesses as to
the proper compensation, but may disregard such testimony
and base its conclusion on its own professional knowledge.
A written contract for services shall control the amount to be
paid therefor unless found by the court to be unconscionable
or unreasonable.
Section 25. Unlawful retention of client's funds; contempt. —
When an attorney unjustly retains in his hands money of his
client after it has been demanded, he may be punished for
contempt as an officer of the Court who has misbehaved in
his official transactions; but proceedings under this section
shall not be a bar to a criminal prosecution.
Section 26. Change of attorneys. — An attorney may retire
at any time from any action or special proceeding, by the
written consent of his client filed in court. He may also retire
at any time from an action or special proceeding, without the
consent of his client, should the court, on notice to the client
and attorney, and on hearing, determine that he ought to be
allowed to retire. In case of substitution, the name of the
attorney newly employed shall be entered on the docket of
the court in place of the former one, and written notice of the
change shall be given to the advance party.
A client may at any time dismiss his attorney or substitute
another in his place, but if the contract between client and
attorney has been reduced to writing and the dismissal of
the attorney was without justifiable cause, he shall be
entitled to recover from the client the full compensation
stipulated in the contract. However, the attorney may, in the
discretion of the court, intervene in the case to protect his
rights. For the payment of his compensation the attorney
shall have a lien upon all judgments for the payment of
money, and executions issued in pursuance of such
judgment, rendered in the case wherein his services had
been retained by the client.
Section 27. Attorneys removed or suspended by Supreme
Court on what grounds. — A member of the bar may be
removed or suspended from his office as attorney by the
Supreme Court for any deceit, malpractice, or other gross
misconduct in such office, grossly immoral conduct, or by
reason of his conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude,
or for any violation of the oath which he is required to take
before the admission to practice, or for a wilfull
disobedience of any lawful order of a superior court, or for
corruptly or willful appearing as an attorney for a party to a
case without authority so to do. The practice of soliciting
cases at law for the purpose of gain, either personally or
through paid agents or brokers, constitutes malpractice.
Section 28. Suspension of attorney by the Court of Appeals or
a Court of First Instance. — The Court of Appeals or a Court
of First Instance may suspend an attorney from practice for
any of the causes named in the last preceding section, and
after such suspension such attorney shall not practice his
profession until further action of the Supreme Court in the
premises.
Section 29. Upon suspension by the Court of Appeals or Court
of First Instance, further proceedings in Supreme Court. —
Upon such suspension, the Court of Appeals or the Court of
First Instance shall forthwith transmit to the Supreme Court
a certified copy of the order of suspension and a full
statement of the facts upon which the same was based. Upon
the receipt of such certified copy and statement, the
Supreme Court shall make a full investigation of the facts
involved and make such order revoking or extending the
suspension, or removing the attorney from his office as such,
as the facts warrant.
Section 30. Attorney to be heard before removal or
suspension. — No attorney shall be removed or suspended
from the practice of his profession, until he has had full
opportunity upon reasonable notice to answer the charges
against him, to produce witnesses in his own behalf, and to
be heard by himself or counsel. But if upon reasonable notice
he fails to appear and answer the accusation, the court may
proceed to determine the matter ex parte.
Section 31. Attorneys for destitute litigants. — A court may
assign an attorney to render professional aid free of charge
to any party in a case, if upon investigation it appears that
the party is destitute and unable to employ an attorney, and
that the services of counsel are necessary to secure the ends
of justice and to protect the rights of the party. It shall be the
duty of the attorney so assigned to render the required
service, unless he is excused therefrom by the court for
sufficient cause shown.
Section 32. Compensation for attorneys de oficio. — Subject
to availability of funds as may be provided by the law the
court may, in its discretion, order an attorney employed as
counsel de oficio to be compensates in such sum as the court
may fix in accordance with section 24 of this rule. Whenever
such compensation is allowed, it shall be not less than thirty
pesos (P30) in any case, nor more than the following
amounts: (1) Fifty pesos (P50) in light felonies; (2) One
hundred pesos (P100) in less grave felonies; (3) Two
hundred pesos (P200) in grave felonies other than capital
offenses; (4) Five Hundred pesos (P500) in capital offenses.
Section 33. Standing in court of person authorized to appear
for Government. — Any official or other person appointed or
designated in accordance with law to appear for the
Government of the Philippines shall have all the rights of a
duly authorized member of the bar to appear in any case in
which said government has an interest direct or indirect.
Section 34. By whom litigation conducted. — In the court of
a justice of the peace a party may conduct his litigation in
person, with the aid of an agent or friend appointed by him
for the purpose, or with the aid an attorney. In any other
court, a party may conduct his litigation personally or by aid
of an attorney, and his appearance must be either personal
or by a duly authorized member of the bar.
Section 35. Certain attorneys not to practice. — No judge or
other official or employee of the superior courts or of the
Office of the Solicitor General, shall engage in private
practice as a member of the bar or give professional advice
to clients.
Section 36. Amicus Curiae. — Experienced and impartial
attorneys may be invited by the Court to appear as amici
curiae to help in the disposition of issues submitted to it.
Section 37. Attorneys' liens. — An attorney shall have a lien
upon the funds, documents and papers of his client which
have lawfully come into his possession and may retain the
same until his lawful fees and disbursements have been paid,
and may apply such funds to the satisfaction thereof. He shall
also have a lien to the same extent upon all judgments for the
payment of money, and executions issued in pursuance of
such judgments, which he has secured in a litigation of his
client, from and after the time when he shall have the caused
a statement of his claim of such lien to be entered upon the
records of the court rendering such judgment, or issuing
such execution, and shall have the caused written notice
thereof to be delivered to his client and to the adverse paty;
and he shall have the same right and power over such
judgments and executions as his client would have to
enforce his lien and secure the payment of his just fees and
disbursements.