Professional Documents
Culture Documents
spouses Rivera's appeal for lack of merit. With the finality of judgment
in Civil Case No. 1111 on October 20, 2014, Atty. Enriquez filed a
motion for the issuance of a writ of execution.
Meanwhile, the spouses Rivera filed on November 10, 2014 before
the RTC a case for quieting of title against the spouses Manuel,
docketed as Civil Case No. 2222. The spouses Manuel, again through
Atty. Enriquez, filed a motion to dismiss Civil Case No. 2222 on the
ground of res judicata given the final judgment in Civil Case No. 1111.
Pending the resolution of the motion to dismiss in Civil Case No.
2222, the RTC granted on February 9, 2015 the motion for issuance
of a writ of execution in Civil Case No. 1111 and placed the spouses
Manuel in possession of the land. Atty. Enriquez, based on a
purported oral agreement with the spouses Manuel, laid claim to Y2 of
the land, measuring 100,000.00 square meters with market value of
Pl,750,000.00, as his attorney's fees. Atty. Enriquez caused the
subdivision of the land in two equal portions and entered into the half
he appropriated for himself.
Based on the professional and ethical standards for lawyers, may Atty.
Enriquez claim Yi of the land as his contingency fee? Why? (4%)
b. If none of the parties move for his disqualification, may Judge Lucio
proceed with the case? (2%)
XIV. Identify and briefly explain three of the canons under the New
Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary. (6%)
XV. Jon served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PBB Cars, Inc.
(PBB), a family-owned corporation engaged in the buying and selling
of second-hand cars. Atty. Teresa renders legal services to PBB on a
retainer basis.
In 2010, Jon engaged Atty. Teresa's services for a personal case. Atty.
Teresa represented Jon in a BP Big. 22 case filed against him by the
spouses Yuki. Jon paid a separate legal fee for Atty. Teresa's services.
Jon subsequently resigned as CEO of PBB in 2011. In 2012, Atty.
Teresa filed on behalf of PBB a complaint for replevin and damages
against Jon to recover the car PBB had assigned to him as a service
vehicle. Atty. Teresa, however, had not yet withdrawn as Jon's counsel
of record in the BP Big. 22 case, which was still then pending.
Jon filed an administrative case for disbarment against Atty. Teresa for
representing conflicting interests and violating the Code of
Professional Responsibility. Atty. Teresa countered that since the BP
Blg. 22 case and the replevin case are unrelated and involved
different issues, parties, and subject matters, there was no conflict of
interest and she acted within the bounds of legal ethics.
Is Atty. Teresa's contention tenable? Explain. (3%)
XVI. Atty. Luna Tek maintains an account in the social media network
called Twitter and has 1,000 followers there, including fellow lawyers
and some clients. Her Twitter account is public so even her nonfollowers could see and read her posts, which are called tweets. She
oftentimes takes to Twitter to vent about her daily sources of stress
like traffic or to comment about current events. She also tweets her
disagreement and disgust with the decisions of the Supreme Court by
insulting and blatantly cursing the individual Justices and the Court as
an institution.
a. Does Atty. Luna Tek act in a manner consistent with the Code of
Professional Responsibility? Explain the reasons for your answer.
(3%)
b. Describe the relationship between a lawyer and the courts. (3%)
XIX. a. What are the grounds for disbarment or suspension from office
of an attorney? ( 4%)
b. If Atty. Babala is also admitted as an attorney in a foreign
jurisdiction, what is the effect of his disbarment or suspension by a
competent court or other disciplinary authority in said foreign
jurisdiction to his membership in the Philippine Bar? (2%)
XX. Cecilio is one of the 12 heirs of his father Vicente, who owned an
agricultural land located in Bohol. Cecilio filed a complaint charging
Judge Love Koto with abuse of discretion and authority for preparing
and notarizing a document entitled "Extra-Judicial Partition with
Simultaneous Deed of Sale" executed by Cecilio's mother Divina and
brother Jose. Jose signed the Deed on his own behalf and purportedly
also on behalf of his brothers and sisters, including Cecilio. Cecilio
though alleged that in his Special Power of Attorney, he merely
granted Jose the authority to mortgage said agricultural land but not to
partition, much less to sell the same. Judge Koto contended that in a
municipality where a notary public is unavailable, a municipal judge is
allowed to notarize documents or deeds as ex officio notary public. He
claimed that he acted in good faith and only wanted to help. Did
Judge Koto violate any rules? Discuss. (3%)
XXI. Judge Junior attended the 50th birthday party of his fraternity
brother, Atty. Vera. Also present at the party was Atty. Rico who was
Atty. Vera's classmate way back in high school and who was handling
Civil Case No. 5555 currently pending before Judge Junior's court.
Well-aware that Atty. Rico had a case before his sala, Judge Junior
still sat next to Atty. Rico at a table, and the two conversed with each
other, and ate and drank together throughout the night. Since Atty.
Vera was a well-known personality, his birthday party was featured in
a magazine. The opposing party to Atty. Rico's client in Civil Case No.
5555, while flipping through the pages of the magazine, came upon
the pictures of Judge Junior and Atty. Rico together at the party and
used said pictures as bases for instituting an administrative case
against Judge Junior. Judge Junior, in his answer, reasoned that he
attended Atty. Vera's party in his private capacity, that he had no
control over who Atty. Vera invited to the party, and that he and Atty.
Rico never discussed Civil Case No. 5555 during the party. Did Judge
Junior commit an administrative infraction? Explain. (3%)