Solicitation is the act of asking a

person or group for money, help, etc.

To entice; to lure; to urge
To proposition someone

A lawyer shall not do or

permit to be done any
act designed primarily
to solicit legal business.

Duty to public service and to the administration of justice

should be the primary consideration of lawyers, who must
subordinate their personal interests or what they owe to
themselves. The practice of law is a noble calling in which
emolument is a byproduct, and the highest eminence may
be attained without making much money.

1. Duty of public service of which the

emolument is a by-product, and in
which one may attain the highest
eminence without making much money

2. Relation as an officer of the

court to the administration of
justice involving through sincerity,
integrity, and reliability

3. Relation to clients in the

highest degree of fiduciary

4. Relation to colleagues at the bar

characterized by candor, fairness, and
unwillingness to resort to current business
methods of advertising and encroachment on
their practice, or dealing directly with their
clients

It is highly unethical for an attorney to advertise his

talents or skill as a merchant advertises his wares. Law
is a profession and not a trade. The lawyer degrades
himself and his profession who stoops to and adopts
the practices of mercantilism by advertising his services
or offering them to the public.

It becomes our duty to condemn in no uncertain terms the

ugly practice of solicitation of cases by lawyers. It is
destructive of the honor of a great profession. It lowers the
standards of that profession. It works against the
confidence of the community in the integrity of the
members of the bar. It results in needless litigation and in
incenting to strife otherwise peacefully inclined citizens.

It has been repeatedly stressed that the practice of

law is not a business. It is a profession in which duty to
public service, not money, is the primary consideration.
Lawyering is not primarily meant to be a moneymaking venture, and law advocacy is not a capital that
necessarily yields profits. The gaining of a livelihood
should be a secondary consideration.

screenshots from www.accralaw.com

Prof. Keatings Law Office, How to Get Away with Murder

Modest announcements in
newspapers, periodicals,
or magazines about the
opening of a law office
or a law firm stating the
names of the lawyers and
the address of the office
or firm is not improper.

A lawyer shall not, for any

corrupt motive or interest,
encourage any suit or
proceeding or delay any mans
cause.

-Barratry is the offense of frequently enticing

and stirring up quarrels and suits, either at law
or otherwise
-Lawyers act of formenting suits among
individuals and offering his legal services to
one of them for monetary motives or purposes

-Ambulance chasing is the lawyers act of chasing an

ambulance carrying the victim of an accident for the
purpose of talking to the said victim or relatives and
offering his legal services for the filing of a case
against the person who caused the accident.

If the lawyer lends money to the client in connection with the clients
case, the lawyer in effect acquires an interest in the subject matter of
the case or an additional stake in its outcome. Either of these
circumstances may lead the lawyer to consider his own recovery
rather than that of his client, or to accept a settlement which may
take care of his interest in the verdict to the prejudice of the client in
violation of his duty of undivided fidelity to the clients cause.

 NOT volunteer legal advice to

bring lawsuit
temper his clients propensity to
litigate
NOT be an instigator of
controversy but a mediator for
concord and conciliator for
compromise

A lawyer shall not use or permit the

use of any force, fraudulent,
misleading, deceptive, undignified,
self-laudatory, or unfair statement or
claim regarding his qualifications or
legal services.

 Use true, honest, fair, dignified and

objective information or statement of facts

Do not
information,
the manner
undignified
profession

resort to false and misleading

and even if the information is true,
of making it known must not be
and demeaning to the legal

NICOMEDES TOLENTINO
Law Office
Consultancy & Maritime Services
w/ Financial Assistance
Fe Marie L. Labiano
Paralegal
1st MIJI Mansion, 2nd Flr. Rm. M-01
6th Ave., cor. M.H. Del Pilar,
Grace Park, Caloocan City

Tel: 362-7820
Fax: (632) 362-7821
Cel: 09262701719

SERVICES OFFERED:
CONSULTATION AND ASSISTANCE
TO OVERSEAS SEAMEN
REPARTIATED DUE TO ACCIDENT,
INJURY, ILLNESS, SICKNESS, DEATH
AND INSURANCE BENEFIT CLAIMS
ABROAD

Labianos calling card contained the phrase "with financial

assistance." The phrase was clearly used to entice clients (who
already had representation) to change counsels with a promise of
loans to finance their legal actions. Money was dangled to lure
clients away from their original lawyers, thereby taking advantage
of their financial distress and emotional vulnerability. This crass
commercialism degraded the integrity of the bar and deserved no
place in the legal profession.

in advertising himself as a self-styled Annulment of Marriage

Specialist, he wittingly or unwittingly erodes and undermines not
only the stability but also the sanctity of an institution still considered
sacrosanct despite the contemporary climate of permissiveness in our
society. Indeed, in assuring prospective clients that an annulment
may be obtained in four to six months from the time of the filing of
the case, he in fact encourages people, who might have otherwise
been disinclined and would have refrained from dissolving their
marriage bonds, to do so.

 seasoned trial lawyer?

expert in a particular law or laws?
has not lost a case in his practice?

Atty. Paas was guilty of using a fraudulent,

misleading, and deceptive address that had no
purpose other than to try to impress either the court
in which his cases are lodged, or his client, that he
has close ties to a member of the judiciary.

Any false pretense by a lawyer intended to defraud,

mislead and deceive or to tout on his qualifications or
quality of his legal services is unethical whether done
by him personally or through another with his permission.

In the choice of a firm name, no

false, misleading or assumed name
shall be used. The continued use of
the name of a deceased partner is
permissible provided that the firm
indicates in all its communications
that said partner is deceased.

The name appearing in the "Roll of Attorneys" is

"Dionisio D. Ramos". The attorney's roll or register is the
official record containing the names and signatures of
those who are authorized to practice law. A lawyer is
not authorized to use a name other than the one
inscribed in the Roll of Attorneys in his practice of law.

ART. 1815. Every partnership shall operate under a

firm name, which may or may not include the name of
one or more of the partners.
Those who, not being members of the partnership,
include their names in the firm name, shall be subject to
the liability of a partner.

 In all the communications of the law

firm, there is an INDICATION that said
partner is already dead

Use of a CROSS after the name

of the deceased partner is a
sufficient indication

The purpose of retaining the name of a deceased

partner is to maintain clients who have been provided
legal services by the law firm. While the firm benefits
from the goodwill attached to the personality of the
deceased partner, that motivation is legitimate.

 Death of a partner does NOT extinguish clientlawyer relationship

Negligence of the lawyer assigned to the case is
negligence of the law firm

When a partner accepts public

office, he shall withdraw from
the firm and his name shall be
dropped from the firm name
unless the law allows him to
practice law concurrently.

To prevent the law firm or partners from making

use of the name of the public official to attract
legal business and to avoid suspicion of undue
influence (Report of IBP Committee, p. 16).

 If the partner is appointed judge

If the partner is appointed or elected to a
government position which prohibits the practice of law

The rule disqualifying a municipal judge from engaging in the

practice of law seeks to avoid the evil of possible use of the
power and influence of his office to affect the outcome of a
litigation where he is retained as counsel. Compelling reasons
of public policy lie behind this prohibition, and judges are
expected to conduct themselves in such a manner as to
preclude any suspicion that they are representing the interests
of a party litigant.

A lawyer shall not pay or give anything of value to

representatives of the mass media in anticipation of,
or in return for, publicity to attract legal business.

Indirect advertisements for professional employment

such as furnishing or inspiring newspaper comments,
or procuring his photograph in connection with causes
in which the lawyer has been or is engaged or
concerning the manner of their conduct, the magnitude
of the interest involved, the importance of the
lawyers position and all other self-laudation, offend
the traditions and lower the tone of the profession.

Advertising may then lead to assertion of

fraudulent claims, corruption of public
officials; more, it will encourage lawyers to
engage in overreaching, overcharging,
underrepresentation, and misrepresentation.

The most worthy and effective advertisement

possible, even for a young lawyer, is the
establishment of a well-merited reputation for
professional capacity and fidelity to trust. This
cannot be forced but must be the outcome of
character and conduct.

The best advertisement for a lawyer is a welldeserved reputation for competence, honesty, and
fidelity to private trust and public duty.