PALE Reviewer for Final Exam

1. Solicitation and Advertising:

 The Code of Professional Responsibility, particularly the ethical rule against advertising or
solicitation of professional employment, rests on the fundamental postulate that the practice of
law is a profession
 A Lawyer shall not solicit legal business
o The law prohibits lawyers from soliciting cases for the purpose of gain, either personally,
or through paid agents or brokers, and makes the act malpractice. (Rule 138, Sec. 27, ROC)
 Rule 2.03. – A lawyer shall not do or permit to be done any act designed to primarily solicit legal
business.
 Among those that fall under the prohibition:
o A Lawyer who recommends employment of himself, his legal staff to a non-lawyer who
has not sought his advice regarding employment of a lawyer;
o A lawyer who compensates and gives anything of value to a person or organization to
recommend or secure his employment of a client;
o A lawyer who gives a reward for having made a recommendation resulting in his
employment by a client.
 A Lawyer cannot advertise his talent; reason therefor:
o General Rule: A lawyer cannot advertise his talent as a shopkeeper advertises his wares.
o A lawyer is a member of an honorable profession whose primary purpose is to render
public service and help secure justice and in which remuneration is a mere incident.
o To allow a lawyer to advertise his talent or skill is to commercialize the practice of law,
lower the profession in public confidence and lessen its ability efficiently that high
character of service to which every member of the bar is called.
o If competitive advertising were permitted, the conscientious and ethical lawyers will
unavoidably be at the mercy of the braggart.
 Canon 3: A lawyer in making known his legal services shall use only true, honest, fair, dignified
and objective information or statement of facts.
o Rule 3.01. A lawyer shall not use or permit the use of any false, fraudulent, misleading,
deceptive, undignified, self-laudatory, or unfair statement or claim, regarding his
qualifications or legal services.
o Rule 3.02. In the choice of a firm name, no false, misleading or assumed name shall be
used. The continued use of the name of a deceased partner is permissible provided that
the firm indicates in all its communications that said partner is deceased.
o Rule 3.03. Where a partner accepts public office, he shall withdraw from the firm and his
name shall be dropped from the firm name unless the law allows him to practice law
concurrently.
o Rule 3.04. A lawyer shall not pay or give anything of value to representatives of the mass
media in anticipation of, or in return for, publicity to attract legal business.

2. Nature and Creation of Attorney-Client Relationship

 GENERALLY
o Historically, the nature of lawyer-client relationship is premised on the Roman Law
concepts of location conduction operarum (contract of lease of service) and mandato
(contract of agency)
 o In Modern day, an attorney is more than a mere agent or servant because he possesses
special power of trust and confidence reposed on him by his client.
o The Lawyer is also an independent as a judge, with powers entirely different from and
superior to those of an ordinary agent. Moreover, he is an officer of the court.
 The relation of attorney and client is strictly personal and highly confidential.4
 Relation is STRICLY PERSONAL:
o The relationship involves mutual trust and confidence to the highest degree.
o The personal character of the relation prohibits its delegation in favor of another attorney
without the client’s consent.
o It also terminates upon the death of either the client or the attorney.
o A client can terminate the relationship at any time with or without cause.
o An attorney, however, being an officer of the court, enjoys no similar right. He may be
permitted to withdraw from the case only with the consent of the client or that of the
court.
 Relation as FIDUCIARY AND CONFIDENTAL
o The relation is highly fiduciary in nature and of a very delicate, exacting, and confidential
character.
o It demands undivided allegiance, a high degree of good faith, disinterestedness, candor,
fairner, loyalty, fidelity, and absolute integrity in all his dealings with his clients and utter
renunciation of every personal advantage conflicting with the interest of his client.
o His responsibilities to his client should, however, be reconciled with his duties to the court.
Each of them requires fidelity and loyalty in varying degrees within limits.
o Deviation from such limits may invite the exercise of disciplinary power by the court.
 In the creation of lawyer-client relationship, there are rules, ethical conduct and duties that
breathe life into it, among those, the fiduciary duty to his client which is of a very delicate, exacting
and confidential character, requiring a very high degree of fidelity and good faith, that is required
by reason of necessity and public interest based on the hypothesis that abstinence from seeking
legal advice in a good cause is an evil which is fatal to the administration of justice.
 Duration of Duty:
o The lawyer’s duty to maintain inviolate his client’s confidence is perpetual. It outlasts even
the lawyer’s employment. He may not do anything which will injuriously affect his former
client nor may he at any time disclose or use against him any knowledge or information
acquired by virtue of professional relationship. Neither does not cease with the
termination of the litigation nor is it affected by the party’s ceasing to employ the attorney
and retaining another, or by any other changes of relation between them. It even survives
the death of the client. (Genato vs Silapan, 2003)

3. Scope of Attorney-Client Relationship (Canon 14-22)

 For the Attorney-Client privilege to apply, the following requisites must be present:
1. Relationship of attorney and client;
2. Communication made by the client to the attorney, or advice given by the latter to the
former;
3. Communication or advice must have been made confidentially;
4. Such communication must have been made in the course of professional employment.
 Absent the existence of all these requisites, the privilege does not apply.
CANON 14 – A Lawyer shall not refuse his services to the needy
 Rule 14.01. A lawyer shall not decline to represent a person solely on account of the latter’s race,
sex, creed or status of life, or because of his own opinion regarding the guilt of said person.
 Rule 14.02. A lawyer shall not decline, except for serious and sufficient cause, an appointment as
counsel de oficio or as amici curiae, or a request from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines or any
of its chapters for rendition of free legal aid.
 Rule 14.03. A lawyer may refuse to accept representation of an indigent client if:
a) He is not in a position to carry out the work effectively or competently;
b) He labors under a conflict of interests between him and the prospective client or between
a present client and prospective client.
 Rule 14.04. A lawyer who accepts the cause of a person unable to pay his professional fees shall
observe the same standard of conduct governing his relations with paying clients.

4. Conflict of Interest (Rule 15.03)

 Rule 15.03 – A lawyer shall not represent conflicting interests except by written consent of all
concerned given after a full disclosure of the facts.
 Rule on Conflicting Interests:
o It is generally the rule based on sound policy that an attorney cannot represent adverse
interest. It is highly improper to represent both sides of an issue. The proscription against
representation of conflicting interest finds application where the conflicting interest
arises with respect to the same general matter and is applicable however slight such
adverse interest may be. It applies although the attorney’s intention and motives were
honest and he acted in good faith. However, representation of conflicting interest may be
allowed where the parties consent to the representation after disclosure of facts. (Nakpil
vs Valdez, 286 SCRA 758)
 General Rule:
o An attorney cannot represent adverse interest.
 Exception
o Where the parties consent to the representation after full disclosure of facts.
 The Test in determining Conflict of Interest:
o The test is whether or not the acceptance of a new relation will prevent an attorney from
the full discharge of his duty of individual fidelity and loyalty to his client or invite
suspicion of unfaithfulness in double-dealing in the performance there. (Tiana vs
Ocampo)

1. Northwestern University vs Atty. Arquillo - A.C. No. 6632, August 2, 2005

2. Elesio C. Pormento vs Atty. Ponteverda – A.C. No. 5218, March 31, 2005
3. Quiambao vs Atty. Bamba – CBD Case No. 01-874, August 25, 2005
4. Abella vs Atty. Cruzabra – A.C. No. 5688, June 4, 2009

5. Quatum Meruit:
 Canon 20 – A Lawyer shall charge only fair and reasonable fees.
 Rule 20.01. – A Lawyer shall be guided by the following in determining his fees:
1. The time spend and extent of the services rendered or required;
2. The novelty and difficulty of the questions involved;
3. The importance of the subject matter;
4. The skill demanded;
 5. The probability of losing other employment as a result of acceptance of the proffered
case;
6. The customary charges for similar services and the schedule of of fees of the IBP chapter
to which he belongs;
7. The amount involved in the controversy and the benefits resulting to the cloent from the
service;
8. The contingency or certainty of compensation;
9. The character of the employment, whether occasional or establish; and
10. The Professional standing of the lawyer.
 To avoid unjust enrichment to a party resulting out of a substantially perform contract, the
principle of quantum meruit may be used to determine his compensation in the absence of a
written agreement for that purpose. The principle of quantum meruit justifies the payment of the
reasonable value of the services rendered by him. (International Hotel Corp. vs Joaquin, G.R. No.
158361, April 10, 2013)
 Means “as much as he deserves”, and is used as the basis for determining the lawyer’s
professional fees in the absence of a contract, but recoverable by him from his client.
 Quantum Meruit is resorted where:
1. There is no express contract for payment of attorney’s fees agreed upon between the
lawyer and the client;
2. When although there is a formal contract for attorney’s fees, the stipulated fees are found
unconscionable or unreasonable by the court;
3. When the contract for attorney’s fees is vid due to purely formal matters or defects of
execution;
4. When the counsel, for justifiable cause, was not able to finish the case to its conclusion;
5. When lawyer and client disregard the contract for attorney’s fees.
 Skill or length of practice is not a safe criterion of professional ability.

6. Liabilities of Lawyers

7. Suspension and Disbarment.