12.

PUBLIC OFFICIALS WHO ARE ABSOLUTELY PROHIBITED FROM THE PRACTICE OF

LAW:
1 Judges and other officials as employees of the Supreme Court (Rule 148, Sec. 35, RRC).
1 Officials and employees of the OSG (Ibid.)
2 Government prosecutors (People v. Villanueva, 14 SCRA 109).
3 President, Vice-President, members of the cabinet, their deputies and assistants (Art. VIII Sec. 15,
1987 Constitution).
4 Members of the Constitutional Commission (Art IX-A, Sec. 2, 1987 Constitution)
5 Ombudsman and his deputies (Art. IX, Sec. 8 (2nd par), 1987 Constitution)
6 All governors, city and municipal mayors (R.A. No. 7160, Sec. 90).
7 Those prohibited by special law

13. DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF A LAWYER:

1. Duties to SOCIETY should not violate his responsibility to society, exemplar for righteousness,
ready to render legal aid, foster social reforms, guardian of due process, aware of special role in the
solution of special problems and be always ready to lend assistance in the study and solution of social
problems.
2. Duties to the LEGAL PROFESSION candor, fairness, courtesy and
truthfulness, avoid encroachment in the business of other lawyers, uphold the honor of the
profession.
3. Duties to the COURT respect or defend against criticisms, uphold authority and dignity, obey
order and processes, assist in the administration of justice.
4. Duties to the CLIENT entire devotion to clients interest.
THE DUTY OF THE LAWYER TO THE COURT SHOULD COME FIRST TO THE DUTY TO
HIS CLIENT. A lawyer is an agent of the court and naturally must serve the ends of justice beyond
the boundaries of the court. ruuu. hehe
14. CHAMPERTOUS CONTRACT
A champertous contract is defined as a contract between a stranger and a party to a lawsuit,
whereby the stranger pursues the partys claim in consideration of receiving part or any of the
proceeds recovered under the judgment; a bargain by a stranger with a party to a suit, by which such
third person undertakes to carry on the litigation at his own cost and risk, in consideration of
receiving, if successful, a part of the proceeds or subject sought to be recovered. The intention of the
law in prohibiting this kind of contract is to prevent a lawyer from acquiring an interest in the subject
of the litigation and to avoid a conflict of interest between him and his client.
CANON 16 - A LAWYER SHALL HOLD IN TRUST ALL MONEYS AND PROPERTIES OF
HIS CLIENT THAT MAY COME INTO HIS POSSESSION.
It has also been held in the case of Mariano Nocom vs. Oscar Camerino, et al. that "[a]n Agreement
whereby the attorney agrees to pay expenses of proceedings to enforce the clients rights is
champertous. [JBP Holding Corporation v. U.S. 166 F. Supp. 324 (1958)]. Such agreements are
against public policy especially where as in this case, the attorney has agreed to carry on the action at
its own expense in consideration of some bargain to have part of the thing in dispute. [See Sampliner
v. Motion Pictures Patents Co., et al., 225 F. 242 (1918)]. The execution of these contracts violates
the fiduciary relationship between the lawyer and his client, for which the former must incur
administrative sanction."
15. CONTINGENT FEE CONTRACT
A contingency fee agreement is a payment arrangement that allows a plaintiff who has been injured
and is seeking legal remedy to obtain legal representation even if they do not have money to pay a
lawyer at the beginning of the case. A client does not have to pay a contingency fee up front,
agreeing instead to pay an attorney a percentage of the client's award should they win the case. The
contingency fee agreement will dictate the circumstances of payment, and how much an attorney is
owed
The basic concept of the contingency fee agreement is that the client is out little or no upfront
expenses; you as a client do not pay legal fees unless and until you win, and then the lawyer receives
a percentage of your recovery as his or her fee. If you lose your case, there is no legal fee at all for
the lawyer.
16. The usual legal fee arrangements in the Philippines are: initial consultation fee, fixed retainer,
time-based charging, acceptance fee, and contingent fee arrangements.
The initial consultation fee is what you can expect the attorney to bill you for your initial
consultation with him or her. While some lawyers offer free consultation, some charge initial
consultation fees. There are other attorneys who bill on their usual or reduced hourly rate. There is no
standard practice in the Philippines. Hence, the best thing to do before going for an initial
consultation is to call before making the appointment.
The fixed retainer fee is a predetermined fee paid on a lump sum, in advance of any legal work to be
performed. In corporations, for example, a general corporate retainer would include general corporate
services such as drafting minutes and board resolutions, secretarys certifications, ant the like. There
are also specialized retainer fee arrangements depending on the requirements of the client. It can be
expected of course, that in specialized retainer arrangements, the fixed retainer fees are much higher.
Time-based charging is a fee arrangement where the lawyer bills based on his given hourly rate.
The client is billed based on the actual time spent by the lawyer. At the end of every billing cycle,
which in most cases is on a monthly basis, the lawyer sums up the actual time he or she spent for
your case, doing research, answering your calls, consultations, meetings, etc. The bill is computed by
adding up the total time spent by the attorney multiplied by the latters given hourly rate. Before
entering into such arrangements, you may want to ask the lawyer for an estimate of how much time it
would take to complete the activity.
The acceptance fee is the fee charged by the lawyer for merely accepting the case. The rationale
behind this is, once the lawyer agrees to act on behalf of a client, he generally loses the opportunity
to handle cases for the opposing party. Thus, a lawyers acceptance of a case would mean that he is
forgoing prospective work for the other party. The acceptance fee is normally
applied in litigation, and coupled with a per stage or per activity type of billing, where the lawyer
divides his professional fees depending on the stage of the proceedings.
In contingent fee arrangements, the lawyer gets paid only if the legal activity is successful. In most
cases, contingent fee arrangements are utilized by clients who cannot afford the services of a lawyer.
In such case, the lawyer gets to collect a certain portion of the property or money involved, if he
succeeds in the case or activity. Because of the risk of not getting paid at all, lawyers tend to collect
between 30%-50% of whatever the client gets.

17. IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY FEE ARRANGEMENT, WHAT FEE WOULD GOVERN?
Quantum Meruit it means as much as he deserves, and is used as the basis for determining the
lawyers professional fees in the absence of a contract, but recoverable by him from his client.

Quantum Meruit is resorted to where:

1. there is no express contract for payment of attorneys fees agreed upon between the lawyer and the
client;
2. when although there is a formal contract for attorneys fees, the stipulated fees are found
unconscionable or unreasonable by the court.
3. When the contract for attorneys fees is void due to purely formal matters or defects of execution
4. When the counsel, for justifiable cause, was not able to finish the case to its conclusion
5. When lawyer and client disregard the contract for attorneys fees.

18. MAY A LAWYER SHARE HIS FEES WITH A NON-LAWYER? EXCEPTIONS? EXPLAIN.
A lawyer shall not divide fees with non-lawyers
Rule 9.02. A lawyer shall not divide or stipulate to divide a fee for legal services with persons not
licensed to practice law.
Exceptions:
1. Where there is a pre-existing
agreement with a partner or associate that, upon the latters death, money shall be paid over a
reasonable period of time to his estate or to persons specified in the agreement.
2. Where a lawyer undertakes to complete unfinished or legal business of a deceased lawyer.
3. Where a lawyer or law firm includes non-lawyer employees in a retirement plan, even if the plan is
based in whole or in part, on profitsharing arrangement.
-The first two exceptions to the rule represent compensation for legal service rendered by the
deceased lawyer during his lifetime, which is paid to his estate or heirs.
-The third exception to the rule does not involve, strictly speaking, a division of legal fees with non-
lawyer employees. The retirement benefits in the form of pension represent additional deferred
wages or compensation for past services of the employees
- Impropriety arises where the effect of the arrangement is to make the estate or heir a member of the
partnership along with the surviving partners, or where the estate or heir is to receive a percentage of
fees that may be paid from future business of the deceased lawyers clients. Such fees no longer
represent compensation for past services of the deceased lawyer.
- An agreement between a union lawyer and a layman president of the union to divide equally the
attorneys fees that may be awarded in a labor case violates the rule

19. EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT OF RETAINING LIEN AND CHARGING LIEN

Rule 22.02 A lawyer who withdraws or is discharged shall subject to a retaining lien,
immediately turn over all papers and property to which the client is entitled, and shall
cooperate with his successor in the orderly transfer of the matter, including all information
necessary for the proper handling of the matter.
RETAINING LIEN
-Passive Lien: It cannot be actively enforced. It is a general lien
-Lawful possession of papers, documents, property belonging to client.
-Covers only papers, documents and property in the lawful possession of the attorney by reason of
his professional employment
-As soon as the attorney gets possession of the papers documents or property 2. -Client need not be
notified to make it effective
-May be exercised before judgment or execution or regardless thereof.
CHARGING LIEN
-Active Lien: It can be enforced by execution. It is a special lien.
-Securing of a favorable money judgment for the client.
-Covers all judgments for the payment of money and executions issued in pursuance of such
judgments.
-As soon as the claim for attorneys fees had been entered into the records of the case
-Client and adverse party must be notified to make it effective
- Generally, it is exercisable only when the attorney had already secured a favorable judgment for his
client
20. What is Barratry? Is it allowed on our jurisdiction?
Barratry offense of frequently exciting and stirring up quarrels and suits, either at law or
otherwise; Lawyers act of fomenting suits among individuals and offering his legal services to one
of them.
Barratry is not allowed on our jurisdiction because a lawyer has the obligation not to encourage
suits.

21. What is meant by Sub Judice?

Latin for "under judgment", means that a particular case or matter is under trial or being considered
by a judge or court. The term may be used synonymously with "the present case" or "the case at bar"
by some lawyers.

22. WHAT ARE DIRECT AND INDIRECT CONTEMPT? HOW AND ON WHAT GROUNDS
ARE THEY INSTITUTED?

DIRECT consists of misbehavior in the presence of or so near a court or judge as to interrupt or

obstruct the proceedings before the court or the administration of justice; punished summarily.
INDIRECT one committed away from the court involving disobedience of or resistance to a lawful
writ, process, order, judgment or command of the court, or tending to belittle, degrade, obstruct,
interrupt or embarrass the court.
Misbehavior
Disobedience
Publication concerning pending litigation
Publication tending to degrade the court; disrespectful language in pleadings
Misleading the court or obstructing justice
Unauthorized practice of law
Belligerent attitude

Unlawful retention of clients funds

Sec. 3. Indirect contempt to be punished after charge and hearing. After a charge in writing has
been filed, and an opportunity given to the respondent to comment thereon within such period as may
be fixed by the court and to be heard by himself or counsel, a person guilty of any of the following
acts may be punished for indirect contempt:
xxxx
(b) Disobedience of or resistance to a lawful writ, process, order or judgment of a court, x x x.
It may be noted that a person may be charged with indirect contempt by either of two alternative
ways, namely: (1) by a verified petition, if initiated by a party; or (2) by an order or any other formal
charge requiring the respondent to show cause why he should not be punished for contempt, if
made by a court against which the contempt is committed. In short, a charge of indirect contempt
must be initiated through a verified petition, unless the charge is directly made by the court against
which the contemptuous act is committed.