A.M. No. 258 – 119 Phil. 6 – 9 SCRA 695 – Legal Ethics – Representing Conflicting Interests
Rufina Bautista approached Atty. Benjamin Barrios to help her and two other parties to draft a Deed of Partition involving the intestate property of one other sibling who died in 1952. Barrios assisted Bautista. However, one of the parties to the Deed, Federico Rovero refused to comply and so Bautista was forced to sue Rovero. She asked Barrios to represent her. Barrios drafted the petition for Bautista but he refused to file the same because he said he is reluctant to take up a “lost cause.” So Bautista engaged the services of another lawyer but to her surprise she found out that Barrios is representing Rovero in court.
ISSUE: Whether or not Atty. Barrios should be disciplined.
HELD: Yes. Barrios represented conflicting interests in contravention to his Lawyer’s Oath. He cannot in fact represent any of the parties as against each other. Particularly, he cannot represent Rovero in questioning the terms of the very Deed he helped prepared and then assail the validity of the terms of said Deed. His inconsistent position in the case militates against Barrios’ good faith. Barrios was suspended from practice for two years.
