Introduction to Legal Profession

a. Definitions
i. Legal Profession
 branch of the administration of justice whose main purpose is to aid in the doing of justice according to
law between state and the individual and between man and man; this is the reason why legal profession is
affected with public interest
 Article 152 of the RPC provides that lawyers, in performance of professional duties or in the occasion of
such performance, shall be deemed persons in authority

ii. Attorney
 Sometimes called an advocate or counsel, is one who aids in the administration of justice
 Generally understood as having reference to a class of persons who are by license, constituted officers of
courts of justice, and who are empowered to appear and prosecute/defend someone
 Person acting professionally in legal formalities, negotiations, or proceedings, by warrant or authority
 A person set apart by the laws of the land relating to the high interest of property, life and liberty
 Considered a quasi-officer of the court subject to regulation; inherent element in our judicial system

iii. Practice of Law
 Black’s law dictionary – rendition of services requiring the knowledge and the application of legal principles
and technique to serve the interest of another with his consent
 Not limited to appearing in the conduct of litigation, but embraces the preparation of pleadings, and other
papers incident to actions and special proceedings, preparation of legal instruments of all kinds, giving of
advice to clients and all actions taken for them in matters connected with the law
 Engaging in the practice of law presupposes the existence of an attorney-client relationship
 More than an isolated transaction or appearance, for it consists of frequent or customary actions, a
succession of acts of the same kind; it is a habitual exercise
 One is said to be in the practice of law if he is customarily or habitually holding himself out to the public as a
lawyer, and demanding payment for such services
 Justice Padilla, in his dissenting opinion in Cayetano vs Monsod, gives the criteria for the practice of law
o Habituality
o Compensation
o Application of law, legal principle, practice, or procedure which calls for legal knowledge, training
and experience
o Attorney-client relationship

b. Nature of the Legal Profession

 Practice of Law is a Profession
o “profession” – group of men pursuing a learned art as a common calling in the spirit of public
service
o it is a form of public trust entrusted only to those who are qualified and possess good moral
character. Its basic ideal of public service and secure justice to those who seek its aid.
o Legal profession is a profession not a trade, and that the basic ideal of the profession is to render
public service and secure justice to those who seek its aid

 Three Ideas involved in a Profession

o Organization
o Lawyers organize as a profession thru the bar associations, defined as an association of
persons practicing the profession of law formed and maintained to promote and uphold
the purposes and spirit of that profession
 o Learning
o To carry on their tasks most effectively, they must be more than resourceful craftsmen.
They must be learned men.

o Spirit of Public Service

o Every profession aims at the exercise of powers beneficial to the mankind
o The spirit of public service in which the profession of law is a prerequisite of a sound
administration of justice

 It is a Privilege and Right

o It is a privilege to those who have exacting standards of mental and moral fitness
o It is a right for a lawyer cannot be prevented from practicing law except upon valid cause and
only after affording him due process.

 Standards of the legal profession

o Independence - get out of the experience; loyalty to his client within the bounds of honor; get
immersed in their clients’ cases but not to drown themselves into their clients’ causes

o Accessibility – to aid the public in the selection of a competent lawyer as part of its duty to make
its services available; not only must legal services be available to all legal services must be made
available at the earliest possible time, and not when a case was already in court

o Learning – Code of Professional Responsibility states that “a lawyer must serve his client with
competence and diligence”; but a bar to be able to discharge its public duties and responsibilities
must be a learned organization

c. History of the Legal Profession

 The sources of Philippine legal education are:
o Spain - which gave the Roman Civil Law and Canon Law
o United States - which is the forerunner of English common law
o Indo-Malayan influence - shared Islamic Law
o Code of Kalantiao - pre-hispanic codified law in the Philippines.
 In 1911, the only educational requirements for a law profession was a high school degree as a pre-law and a
three-year law course
 Later, the pre-requisite was increased to 2 years of college studies in addition to a high school degree
 In 1960, Sec 6 of Rule 138 of the Rules of Court increased the pre-req to a four-year bachelor’s degree in arts
and science and the law course to four years of legal studies

d. Nature of an “Attorney”
 An advocate of justice; one who stands by the truth; defender of the oppressed
 A class of person who are by license constituted officers of courts of justice empowered to appear, prosecute,
and/or defend someone
 An officer of the court; he should dissociate himself from the facts of the case and keep himself
 beyond the influences of the litigants simply because his primary purpose is to stand by the truth
 His business is to carry on the practical and formal parts of the suit, to the best of his ability, to help clarify
matters, and proclaim what is right
 Duty bound to be true to the court and to his client

e. Distinction between the Legal Profession and Business

  Legal profession’s paramount concern is to obtain justice in the most efficient and effective manner. In
business, the primary purpose is economic gain or profit
 In legal profession, gaining profits is merely incidental; it’s primary consideration is to render public service.
 
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III. Duties and Privileges of a Lawyer

 Under Sec. 20 of Rule 138, the following are the duties of a lawyer:

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.

 Privileges of an Attorney
a. Has both the right and privilege to practice law during good behavior before any judicial, quasi-judicial or
administrative tribunal;
b. He enjoys the presumption of regularity in the discharge of his functions
c. He enjoys immunity from liability to third person, in the performance of his obligation to his client,
insofar as he does not materially depart from his character as a quasi-judicial officer
d. His statements, if relevant, pertinent or material to the subject of judicial inquiry are absolutely
privileged

 Four-Fold Duties of a Lawyer

a. His duties towards the courts;
b. His duties towards the society;
c. His duties towards his colleagues in the profession;
d. His duties to his client
 Duties of Attorneys
Duty of Counsel de Oficio

Sec. 7. Appointment of counsel de officio. – The court, considering the gravity of the offense and the difficulty
of the questions that may arise, shall appoint as counsel de officio such members of the bar in good standing
who, by reason of their experience and ability, can competently defend the accused. But in localities where
such members of the bar are not available, the court may appoint any person, resident of the province and
of good repute for probity and ability, to defend the accused.

Sec. 8. Time for counsel de officio to prepare for arraignment. – Whenever a counsel de office is appointed
by the court to defend he accused at the arraignment, he shall be given a reasonable time to consult with the
accused as to his plea before proceeding with the arraignment.

WHAT IS A COUNSEL DE OFFICIO?

> A counsel de officio is the counsel appointed by the court to represent and defend the accused in
case he cannot afford to employ one himself

WHO CAN BE APPOINTED COUNSEL DE OFFICIO?

> The court, considering the gravity of the offense and the difficulty of the questions that may arise shall appoint
as counsel de officio
1. A member of the bar in good standing
2. And such member, by reason of his/her experience and ability, can competently defend the accused
> ONLY DURING TRIAL: But, in localities where such members of the bar are not available, the court may
appoint any person who
is—
1. A resident of the province
2. And of good repute for probity and with ability to defend the accused

Duty of a Private Prosecutor

Latest Amendments to Section 5, Rule 110 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure which
provides: "Section 5. Who must prosecute criminal action. - All criminal actions either
commenced by complaint or by information shall be prosecuted under the direction and
control of a public prosecutor. In case of heavy work schedule of the public prosecutor or in
the event of lack of public prosecutors, the private prosecutor may be authorized in writing
by the Chief of the Prosecution Office or the Regional State Prosecutor to prosecute the case
subject to the approval of the court. Once so authorized to prosecute the criminal action, the
private prosecutor shall continue to prosecute the case up to end of the trial even in the
absence of a public prosecutor, unless the authority is revoked or otherwise withdrawn. x x
x .").