G.R. No. 180917 – 633 Phil. 325 – 619 SCRA 313 – Legal Ethics – Practice of Law – Legal Counselling – A lawyer must not give illegal advice Political Law – Administrative Law – Administrative Cases – Condonation Doctrine Atty. Vicente Salumbides, Jr. was the legal officer of Tagkawayan, […]
Legal Ethics
A.C. No. 6792 – 515 Phil. 635 – 480 SCRA 1 – Legal Ethics – Practice of Law – Disbarment; Commission of a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude – Homicide may or may not be a crime involving moral turpitude Robert Soriano, a taxi driver, and Atty. Manuel Dizon had a […]
A.C. No. 5081 – 447 Phil. 549 – 399 SCRA 422 – Legal Ethics – Lawyers committing fraud – A lawyer should not engage in deceitful conduct In 1991, Atty. Rex Rimorin had a Special Power of Attorney notarized. The SPA made it appear that Emiliana Eustaquio et al. authorized […]
A.C. No. 5315 – 393 Phil. 188 – Legal Ethics – Duties of a lawyer – The Lawyer and his client – Misappropriation of Client’s Funds In 1997, Modesto Cunanan’s son, Andrew Philip Cunanan, died in the United States. Modesto, an American, needed to settle his immigration case with the […]
A.M. No. 08-6-352-RTC – 613 Phil. 1 – 596 SCRA 378 – Legal Ethics – Judicial Ethics – Government Lawyers, Generally, Cannot Engage in Private Practice of Law; Prohibition has limited application even after separation from service In February 2008, Atty. Karen Silverio-Buffe resigned as the Clerk of Court of […]
A.C. No. 561 – 19 SCRA 815 – Legal Ethics – Disbarment – Moral Turpitude; Estafa Atty. Isidro Vinzon and his wife were convicted of estafa. The Solicitor General received information of Vinzon’s conviction and he initiated a disbarment case against Vinzon. Vinzon averred that the estafa case does not […]
43 Phil. 293 – Legal Ethics – Disbarment – Moral Turpitude – Effect of Absolute Pardon In 1918, Atty. Marcelino Lontok was convicted of bigamy. Bigamy is a crime involving moral turpitude. In 1921, Lontok was pardoned by the Governor-General. The Attorney-General, however, sought for the disbarment of Atty. Lontok […]
A.M. No. 02-1-27-MCTC – 381 SCRA 655 – Legal Ethics – Judicial Ethics – Grave Misconduct – MTCs cannot issue hold-departure orders Political Law – Constitutional Law – Bill of Rights – Right to Travel; Freedom of Movement In 1998, two criminal cases were filed before the Municipal Circuit Trial […]
A.C. No. 12820 – Legal Ethics – Administrative Cases Against Lawyers – Violation of the Notarial Rules – Affiants Must personally Appear before Notary Public In November 2013, several individuals went to the law office of Atty. Jonathan Tambol bringing with them affidavits for notarization. In the affidavits for notarization, […]
A.C. No. 13453 – Legal Ethics – Legal Profession – Code of Professional Responsibility – Rule 8.01 – Improper Social Media Posts May Result in a Lawyer’s Suspension or Disbarment In January 2019, Atty. Berteni Causing posted on his Facebook account a draft of a plunder complaint which he intended […]
A.M. No. 09-2-19-SC – 580 SCRA 106 – Legal Ethics – Judicial Ethics – Grave Misconduct – Leaking Unpromulgated Decisions Justice Ruben Reyes was the original ponente of G.R. Nos. 178831-32, G.R. No. 179120, G.R. Nos. 179132-33, and G.R. Nos. 179240-41. These cases were consolidated. These cases sought the disqualification […]
B. M. No. 1036 – 451 SCRA 428 – Legal Ethics – Practice of Law – Who May Practice Law – Unauthorized Practice Of Law Edwin Rana passed the 2000 Bar Examinations. He was scheduled to take his oath on 22 May 2001. But on 21 May 2001, Donna Marie […]
G.R. No. 175999 – 761 SCRA 156 – Legal Ethics – Judicial Ethics – Rule 137 – Inhibitions of a Judge – Prior participation as a prosecutor by a judge Nelson Lai was convicted of murder. He filed a motion for reconsideration where he raised the issue of denial of […]
A.M. No. RTJ-21-018 – Legal Ethics – Judicial Ethics – New Code of Judicial Conduct – Integrity – Propriety – Improper Facebook Posts by a Judge Judge Romeo Atillo, Jr. maintains a Facebook profile page. He posted pictures of him where he was half-naked revealing tattoos on his torso. Apparently, […]
A.C. No. 5355 – 662 SCRA 103 – Legal Ethics – Judicial Ethics – Code of Professional Responsibility – Disbarment Proceedings as Sui Generis Daniel Liangco was a judge in San Fernando, Pampanga. He was dismissed from the bench in 2000 for various infractions. The Supreme Court further directed the […]
B.M. No. 2540 – 718 Phil. 286 – 706 SCRA 264 – Legal Ethics – The Legal Profession – Admission to the Bar – Signing in the Roll of Attorneys Michael Medado passed the 1979 bar exams. He took his oath but was not able to attend his scheduled roll […]