Moreover, Rule 19.

02 of the Code of Professional Responsibility provides that "a lawyer who

has received information that his client has in the course of his representation, perpetuated fraud
upon a person or tribunal, shall promptly call upon the client to rectify the same, and failing which he
shall terminate the relationship with such client in accordance with the Rules of Court. But of course,
the Atty. Pele (should) not reveal what Jaybee revealed to him, because the same is covered by the
duty of confidentiality under canon 21 of the same code.

XIII

Atty. Dennis is the head of the Provincial DILG office in Sultan Kudarat. In view of the
lack of lawyers and notaries public in the province and because of numerous requests that the DILG
provide a notary public, Atty. Dennis was constrained to apply for a commission for the RTC, which
was granted. He was able to notarize thousands of documents and affidavits until Atty. Antonio, the
only notary public in the province, charged Atty. Dennis with misconduct and violation of the CPR. Is
the charge correct? Explain (5%)

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

The performance of the duties of a notary public constitutes practice of law. A lawyer
in the government service may either be prohibited from practicing law during his tenure, or allowed
to practice but subject to some restrictions. There is now law prohibiting a Provincial DILG officer from
practicing his profession. But as a Civil Service Officer, he can do so only with the consent of his
Department Head (Catu V. Rellosa, A.C. No. 5738. Feb 19, 2008)

XIV

Sonia, who is engaged in the lending business, extended to Atty. Roberto a loan of
P50,000.00 with interest of P25,000.00 to be paid not later than May 20 2016. To secure the loan, Atty
Roberto signed a promissory note and issued a postdated check. Before the Due date, Atty. Roberto
requested Sonia to defer the deposit check. When Atty. Roberto still failed to pay, Sonia deposited the
check which was dishonored. Atty. Roberto ignored the notice of dishonor and refused to pay.

[a] Did Atty. Roberto commit any violation of the CPR? Explain. (2.5%)

11
SUGGESTED ANSWER:

[a] Atty. Roberto committed a violation of Canon 1, Rule 1.01, Canon 7 and Rule 7.03 in
issuing a bouncing check. He should very well know that issuance of a bouncing check is an unlawful
act, a crime involving moral turpitude (Co v. Bernardino, A.C. No. 3919, January 29, 1998).

[b] Can he be held civilly liable to Sonia in an administrative case for suspension or
disbarment? Explain. (2.5%)

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

[b] No. The sole issue in an administrative case is the determination of whether or not a
lawyer is still fit to continue being a lawyer. The Supreme Court will not order the return of money
which is not intimately related to a lawyer-client relationship (Wong v. Moya, A.C. 6972, October 17,
2008; Sps. Concepion v. Atty. Dela Rosa, A.C. No. 10681, Feb. 3, 2015).

XV

Atty. Alex entered into an agreement for his legal services with Johnny where it is provided
that the latter will pay him P100,000.00 as acceptance fee and P100,000.00 upon submission of the
case for decision. The court granted Johnny moral damages, exemplary damages, and attorneys fees
of P100,000.00. After execution of the judgment, Atty. Alex kept the P100,000.00 as his attorneys
fees. Johnny sued Atty. Alex for violation of the CPR claiming that the attorneys fees award by the
court belong to him. Decide the case with reasons. (5%)

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

I will rule in favor of Johnny. The P100,000.00 awarded to him as moral damages, exemplary
damages and attorneys fees, are items of damages which are due to him as plaintiff in the case.
Attorneys fees awarded to a party pursuant to Article 2208 of the New Civil Code, constitute
extraordinary attorneys fees which belong to the client, not to the lawyer. It is not the ordinary
attorneys fees which is the compensation due from a client to his lawyer.

12
 XVI

Pedro was accused of the crime of murder before the RTC and was found guilty of homicide.
His counsel Atty. Nestor, told him that he will file an appeal before the Court of Appeals (CA) because
he believes that the claim of self-defense of Pedro will be given merit by the appellate court and that
he will be acquitted. Pedro explains that he is amenable to the penalty imposed upon him. Despite
the opposition of the accused, Atty. Nestor went on with the appeal. The CA decided that the
conviction should be murder in view of the qualifying circumstance. A petition with the High Court
proved futile. Pedro hires you to file a disbarment suit against Atty. Nestor. What canon or rule of the
CPR will you use as ground for the suit? Explain (5%)

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

I will base my action on Canon 19, particularly Rule 19.03 of the Code of Professional
Responsibility which provides that a lawyer shall not allow the client to dictate the procedure in
handling the case. The other side of the coin of this rule is that the substantive aspects of the case
are within the sole authority of the client to decide. The lawyers authority is limited only to the
procedural aspect of the case. Certainly, the matter of whether or not to appeal an adverse decision is
a substantive matter which is exclusively for the client to decide. Having filed an appeal against the
decision of his client, the lawyer should be held liable for its negative result.

XVII

Jojo, a resident of Cavite, agreed to purchase the lot owned by Tristan, a resident of Bulacan.
Atty. Agustin, Jojos lawyer who is also a notary public, prepared the Deed of Sale and Jojo signed the
document in Cavite. Atty. Agustin then went to Bulacan to get the signature of Tristan. Thereafter,
Atty. Agustin went back to his office in Cavite where he notarized the Deed of Sale.

Is the Notarization legal and valid? Explain. (5%)

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

The notarization is not legal and valid. Rule IV, Section 2(b) of the 2004 Rules on Notarial
Practice provide that a person shall not perform a notarial act if the person involved is a signatory to
the instrument or document is not personally in the notarys presence at the time of notarization.
Tristan was not in Atty. Agustins presence when the latter notarized the deed of sale in his office in
Cavite; moreover, Tristan signed in Bulacan which is outside Atty. Agustins territorial jurisdiction.

13
 XVIII

City Prosecutor Phillip prosecuted the criminal case for murder of the city mayor against
accused Reynaldo, the losing mayoralty candidate. There was no private prosecutor and Phillip
personally handled the prosecution of the case from arraignment up to the presentation of evidence
for the accused. Before the Trial, Alfonso approached Phillip and confessed that he is the killer of the
city mayor and not Reynaldo. When the case was called for trial, Phillip manifested before the court
that Alfonso approached him and admitted that he kill the mayor and asked the court for whatever
proper action it may take. The counsel for the accused took advantage of the presence of Alfonso,
who was placed on the witness stand and elicited testimonial evidence. The court eventually
acquitted Reynaldo. The heirs of the city mayor filed a disbarment case against Phillip on the ground
that it is his duty to see to it that the criminal is convicted and punished. They believed Reynaldo is
the real killer and Alfonso was only a fall guy and that Reynaldo could not have been acquitted were it
not for the disclosure of Phillip. Phillip argues that the City Prosecutor is not for the offended party or
the heirs of the victim but it is his main duty that Justice be done. Did Phillip commit any violation of
the CPR? Explain (5%)

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

Phillip did not commit any violation of the Code of Professional Responsibility. Rule 6.01
categorically state that the primary duty of a lawyer engaged in public prosecution is not to convict
but to see that justice is done. The suppression of facts or the concealment of witnesses capable of
establishing the innocence of the accused is highly reprehensible and is cause for disciplinary action.
A public prosecutor is a representative not of an ordinary party in a controversy, but a sovereignty
whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all (Suarez v.
Platon, 69 Phil. 556, G.R. No. 46371, 7 February, 1990).

XIX

St. Ivans Hospital, Inc. (St. Ivans) and Allied Construction Co. (Allied) separately retained the
legal services of Tomas and Benedicto Law Offices. St. Ivans engaged the services of Allied for the
construction of a new building but failed to pay the contract price after the completion of the works.
A complaint for sum of money was filed by Atty. Budoy, a former associate of Tomas and Benedicto
Law Offices, on behalf of Allied against St. Ivans. St Ivans lost the case and was held liable to Allied.

Thereafter, St. Ivans filed a disbarment complaint against Atty. Budoy. It claimed that while
Atty. Budoy has established his own law office, an arrangement was made whereby Tomas and
Benedicto Law Offices assign cases for hjim to handle, and that it can be assumed that Tomas and
Benedicto Law Offices collaborate with Atty. Budoy in cases referred to him, creating a conflict of
interest. Rule on the complaint with reasons (5%).

14
SUGGESTED ANSWER:

I will rule in favor of St. Ivanss and against Atty. Budoy. St Ivans was a client of Tomas and
Benedicto Law Offices, of which Atty. Budoy was an associate attorney. As such, St. Ivans was also his
client, because of the principle that when a party hires a law firm, he hires all the lawyers therein.
Moreover, Atty. Budoy was in a position to know that information transmitted by St. Ivans to the
firm. There is conflict of interest if the acceptance of a new retainer will require the lawyer to
perform an act which will injuriously affect his new client in any matter in which he represents him,
also whether he will be called upon in his new relation to use against his first client any knowledge
acquired during their relation (Hornilla v. Salunat, Phil. 108, A.C. No. 5804, July 1, 2003).

As such, a lawyer is prohibited from representing new clients whose Interests oppose those
of a former client in any manner, whether or not they are parties in the same action or on totally
unrelated cases. The prohibition is founded on the principles of public policy and good taste (Anglo v.
Atty. Valencia, A.C. No. 10567, February 25, 2015)

XX

Atty. Gail was separated from her husband, Dino for more than ten (10) years due to
incompatibility. She fell in love with Mica who was also separated from her husband. She filed a
petition for declaration of nullity of her marriage with Dino, and also a petition for declaration of
nullity of the marriage of Mica with her husband. While the cases were pending, Atty. Gail and Mica
lived in their respective residences but were often seen together in parties, events and public places.
Dino filed a disbarment complaint against Atty. Gail for immorality, alleging that Atty. Gail and Mica
are lovers. Decide whether Atty. Gail should be sanctioned for immorality. (5%)

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

I will rule in favor of Atty. Gail. In the first place, being seen together with Mica in parties,
events and public places is not sufficient proof of immorality, which has been defined as that conduct
which is willful, flagrant, or shameless, and which shows a moral indifference to the opinion of good
and respectable members of the community (Arciga v. Maniwang, A.M. No. 1608, August 14, 1981;
106 SCRA 591).

Besides, I will be mindful of the injunction in Section 1, Canon 5 of the New Code of Conduct
for the Philippine Judiciary, which provides that a judge shall be aware of, and understand, diversity
in society and differences arising from various sources, including but not limited to race, religion,
national origin, caste, disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, social and economic statues
and other like cause.

- oOo -

16