University of Santo Tomas

Faculty of Civil Law

LEGAL AND
JUDICIAL
ETHICS
Questions Asked More
Than Once

(QuAMTO 2017)
*QUAMTO is a compilation of past bar questions with answers as suggested by
UPLC and other distinct luminaries in the academe, and updated by the UST
Academics Committee to fit for the 2017 Bar Exams.

*Bar questions are arranged per topic in accordance with the bar syllabus
released by the Supreme Court and were selected based on their occurrence
on past bar examinations from 1987 to 2016.
 ACADEMICS COMMITTEE
CAMILLE ANGELICA B. GONZALES SECRETARY GENERAL

EMNIE VALERIE B. DURAN

IRVIN L. PALANCA
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
LARA NICOLE T. GONZALES
MARIELLA A. MARASIGAN

CAMILLE ANGELICA B. GONZALES LAYOUT AND DESIGN

QUAMTO COMMITTEE MEMBERS

JACKIELYN KRYSTYL NIHAMA BANA

KARL ANTHONY BULAONG
MERVIN MARCOS
KELLY ANN RUBIN
NESTOR FERNANDO SIAZON

ATTY. AL CONRAD B. ESPALDON

ADVISER
 QUAMTO (1987-2016)
LEGAL ETHICS QUAMTO
LEGAL ETHICS
Q: What do you understand by Legal Ethics? Discuss its
importance and state its sources.
A: Legal ethics is that branch of moral science which treats
of the duties that an attorney owes to the court, to his client,
to his colleagues, in the profession, and to society.
The sources of legal ethics are the Constitution, the Rules of
Court, some particular provisions of statutes, the Code of
Professional Responsibility and Judicial decisions.
Legal ethics is important in order to maintain a high moral
standard for the lawyer in performing his duties as an
officer of the court, his duties to his client, to the members
of the legal profession as well as to society. Lawyers wield
so much power and influence in society. Unless their acts
are regulated by high norms of ethical conduct they are
likely to abuse them.
PRACTICE OF LAW (RULE 138)
Definition of the practice of law (2005, 1995)
Q: Atty. Yabang was suspended as a member of the Bar
for period of one (1) year. During the period of
suspension, he was permitted by his law firm to
continue
pleadingsworking in their
and other office,
legal drafting and
documents, butpreparing
was not
allowed to come into direct contact with the firms’
clients. Atty. Yabang was subsequently sued for illegal
practice of law. Would the case prosper? Explain. (2005
Bar)
A: The Supreme Court has defined the practice of law as any
activity in or out of court, which requires the application of
law, legal principle, practice or procedure and calls for legal
knowledge, training and experience (Cayetano vs. Monsod,
201 SCRA 210 [1991]). Based on this definition, the acts of
Atty. Yabang of preparing pleadings and other legal
documents would constitute practice of law. More so, if his
activities are for the benefit of his law firm, because the
employment of a law firm is the employment of all the
members thereof. The case against him will prosper.
ALTERNATIVE ANSWER:
The traditional concept of practice of law requires the
existence of a lawyer-client relationship as a requisite.
Pursuant to this concept, inasmuch as Atty. Yabang was not
allowed by his law firm to come into direct contact with the
firm’s clients during the period of his suspension, he cannot
be considered as having engaged in illegal practice of law. .
The case against him will not prosper.
Q: Evelyn, Luisa. Myra, Josefina, Pamela and Rose are
bona fide members of the Philippine bar. They agree to
form a close corporation to be named LEGALCARE the
principal purpose of which is “to provide clients legal
services, research and advice as well as trial advocacy
for a fee." The services shall be rendered not only by
these enterprising pioneers of LEGALCARE but also by
lawyers to be employed by the projected corporation
on regular monthly salary basis.
1
May LEGALCARE be legally i ncorporated? Discuss fully.
(1995 Bar)
A: A corporation cannot engage in the practice of law even
by hiring lawyers to perform legal work. It has been held
that only a natural person can engage in the practice of law.
A lawyer is burdened with peculiar duties and
responsibilities. A corporation cannot take an oath of office,
be an officer of the court or subjected to court discipline: it
cannot engage in law practice directly, it cannot evade the
requirements by employing competent lawyers to practice
for it. (Matter of Cooperative Law Co., N.Y. 579). Hence,
LEGALCARE cannot be legally incorporated because the
principal purpose involves the practice of law.
Practice of law is a privilege, not a right
Q: Is the practice of law a right or a privilege? Discuss
fully. (1995 Bar)
A: The practice of law is basically a privilege because it is
limited to persons of good moral character with special
qualifications duly ascertained and certified. (5 Am. Jur.
270) Thus, only those persons are allowed to practice law,
who by reason of attainments previously acquired through
education and study, have been recognized by the courts as
possessing profound knowledge of legal science. Attorneys
are the court’s constituency - to aid it in the administration
of justice. (Dodge v. State, 38 NE 745)
Law as a profession, not a business or trade (2015,
2013, 2006, 1997)
Q: Why is law a profession and not a trade? (2006 Bar)
A: Law is a profession and not a trade because its basic ideal
is to render public service and secure justice for those who
seek its aid. The gaining of a livelihood is only a secondary
consideration.
Q: You are the managing partner of a law firm. A new
foreign airline company, recently granted rights by the
Civil Aeronautics Board at the NAIA, is scouting for a
law firm which could handle its cases in the Philippines
and provide legal services to the company and its
personnel. After discussing with you the extent of the
legal services your law firm is prepared to render, the
general manager gives you a letter-proposal from
another law firm in which its time-billing rates and
professional fees for various legal services are
indicated. You are asked to submit a similar letter-
proposal stating your firm's proposed fees. The airline
company's general manager also tells you that, if your
proposed fees would at least be 25 per cent lower than
those proposed by the other firm, you will get the
company's legal business. How would you react to the
suggestion? (1997 Bar)
A: I will emphasize to the General Manager that the practice
of law is a profession and not a trade. Consequently, I will
not propose a lower fee just for the sake of competing with
another firm. Because such practice smacks of
commercialism. Moreover, Rule 2. 04 of the Code of
Professional Responsibility provides that a lawyer shall not
charge rates lower than those customarily prescribed
unless the circumstances so warrant. I will charge fees that
will be reasonable under the circumstances.
Q: As a new lawyer, Attorney Novato started with a
practice limited to small claims cases, legal counseling,
 Legal and Judicial Ethics
and notarization of documents. He put up a solo
practice law office and was assisted by his wife who
served as his secretary/helper. He used a makeshift hut
in a vacant lot near the local courts and a local transport
regulatory agency. With this strategic location, he
enjoyed heavy patronage assisting walk-in clients in
the preparation and filing of pleadings and in the
preparation and notarization of contracts and
documents, and charges a reasonable fee for the
service. He draws electric power from an extension
wire connected to an adjoining small restaurant. He put
up a shingle that reads: “Atty. Novato, Specialist in Small
Claims, Fastest in Notarization; the Be stand Cheapest
in Copier Services.”
Is Atty. Novato’s manner of carrying out his
professional practice –i.e., mixing business with the
practice of law, announcing his activities via a shingle
and locating his office as above-described – in keeping
with appropriate ethical and professional practice?
(2013 Bar)
A: No. Atty. Novato’s manner of carrying out his
professional practice is not in keeping with appropriate
ethical and professional practice. He has degraded the law
profession, which may result to loss of respect to lawyers as
a whole.
The use of a makeshift hut standing alone would create the
impression that the lawyer does not have a permanent
address which is required to be stated in all pleadings he
signs as well as required to be shown in documents he
notarizes.
His shingle shows that he has considered the law profession
as a business. He should have a separate shingle for his
copier services business.
When he included in his shingle the phrases “Specialist in
Small Claims” and “Fastest in Notarization,” he has
transgressed the rule that a lawyer in making known his
legal services shall use only dignified information or
statement of facts (Code of Professional Responsibility,
Canon 3). So also the norm that a lawyer shall not use or
permit the use of any misleading, undignified, self-
laudatory or unfair statement or claim regarding his
qualifications or legal services (Ibid., Canon 3, Rule 3.01).
The use of the phrases “Specialist in Small Claims” and
“Fastest in Notarization” is misleading advertisement
because they are likely to create an unjustified expectation
about the results the lawyer can achieve or implies that the
lawyer can achieve results by improper means ( ABA Model
Rule 7.1.b).
Q: Cite some of the characteristics of the legal
profession which distinguish it from business. (2015
Bar)
A: The primary characteristics which distinguish the legal
profession from a business are:
1. a duty of public service of which emolument is a by-
product and in which one may attain the highest
eminence without making much money;
2. a relation as officer of the court to the administration of
justice involving thorough sincerity, integrity and
reliability;
3. a relation to client in the highest degree fiduciary;
4. a relation to colleagues characterized by candor,
fairness and unwillingness to resort to current
2
UST BAR OPERATIONS
business methods of advertising and encroachment on
their, or dealing directly with their clients (In Re Sycip,
92 SCRA 1).
Qualifications for admission to the Bar (2004, 2013,
1997, 2005)
Q: Upon learning from newspaper reports that bar
candidate Vic Pugote passed the bar examinations. Miss
Adorable immediately lodged a complaint with the
Supreme Court, praying that Vic Pugote be disallowed
from taking the oath as a member of the Philippine Bar
because he was maintaining illicit sexual relations with
several women other than his lawfully wedded spouse.
However, from unexplained reasons, he succeeded to
take his oath as a lawyer. Later, when confronted with
Miss Adorable’s complaint formally, Pugote moved for
its dismissal on the ground that it is already moot and
academic.
Should Miss Adorable’s complaint be dismissed or not?
Explain briefly. (2004 Bar)
A: It should not be dismissed. Her charge involves a matter
of good moral character which is not only a requisite for
admission to the Bar, but also a continuing condition for
remaining a member of the Bar. As such, the admission of
Vic Pugote to the Bar does not render the question moot and
academic.
Q: Miguel Jactar, a fourth year law student, drove his
vehicle recklessly and hit the rear bumper of Simplicio
Medroso’s vehicle. Instead of stopping, Jactar
accelerated and sped away. Medroso pursued Jactar
and caught up with him at an intersection.
In their confrontation, Jactar dared Medroso to sue,
bragged about his connections with the courts, and
even uttered veiled threats against Medroso. During
the police investigation that followed, Medroso learned
that Jactar was reviewing for the Bar examinations.
Under these facts, list and justify the potential
objections that can be made against Jactar’s admission
to the practice of law. (2013 Bar)
A: The potential objection that can be made against Jactar’s
admission to the practice of law is the absence of good
moral character (Rules of Court, Rule 138, Sec. 2).
Jactar’s bragging about his connection with the courts and
uttering veiled threats against Medroso are indications of
his lack of good moral character. His acts are contrary to
justice, honesty, modesty or good morals (In re Basa, 41 Phil.
276). He has acted in a manner that has violated the private
and social duties which a man owes to his fellowmen, or to
society in general, contrary to the accepted and customary
rule of right and duty between man and man (Tak Ng v.
Republic, G.R. No. L-13017, 106 Phil. 730, December 23,
1959).
NOTE: Any answer which explains the nature of absence of
good moral character should be given full credit.
The following additional objection should not result to a
deduction nor should an absence of the additional objection
also result to a deduction.
a. If light threats would be filed against him, then another
potential objection would be the pendency of charges
against him, involving moral turpitude (Rules of Court,
Rule 138, Sec. 2).