MASARATE, JOSE FERNANDO B.

JD-3A

A Reflection on “Problem Areas in Legal Ethics” by Retired

Court of Appeals Justice Hilarion Aquino

Before I go into the substantial content of this reflection,

let me first address the technical aspect of the source material.
Unfortunately, the paper contains a number of typographical
and grammatical errors. While this fact does not take away from
the message of this very important piece by Justice Aquino, the
errors, I do admit, make it a difficult read. Nobody is perfect,
that is true. But, the number of mistakes committed is not
something one would expect from an official publication of a
prestigious institution such as Ateneo Law.

With that said, let us go into the nitty gritty.

Justice Hilarion Aquino, a retired Justice of the Court of

Appeals, presents a very insightful and thought-provoking piece
into the harsh realities of the practice of law. He shares personal
stories and anecdotes of his time as a practicing lawyer, then as
a trial court judge, and finally as an appellate court magistrate.
He goes over the general pronouncements of the legal
profession, then surgically offers scrutiny over the problems in
the said field.

First, I agree not only with Justice Aquino, but also with
the Supreme Court, that law is a profession, not a business
venture. The primordial consideration for an aspiring lawyer
should be to serve his fellow men. I admit that, personally, I am
a very materialistic person. Charity is not one of my strong
advocacies. I, too, would like to live a life in comfort and, as a
future parent, would like to earn enough that my children would
not have to worry about their future. It may sound out of
character, but I do not desire to earn at the expense of another.
I desire a comfortable life, not a luxurious one. So should
others. In my opinion, Lawyers, as well as other professions,
should reap only what they sow. Anything a client pays on top
of that, they must have earned.

With regards to a lawyer advertising himself possibly in the

near future, I do not agree. Any lawyer can put on a pretty face
and market himself as an expert when in reality, he is not. This
would not only degrade the practice of law into a cheap industry
akin to popularity contests, but it would also serve to the
detriment of the administration of justice by allowing
incompetent but marketable lawyers to be at an advantage over
the real competent ones who can represent the clients better.

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 Second, I fail to see the connection between the law being
the noblest profession and the relationship of lawyers and
judges. The rise in the number of administrative charges being
filed by lawyers against judges today compared to his time, for
me, does not take away from the nobility of the law profession.
Such a trend makes the relationship dysfunctional but does not
taint the profession with dishonor.

Third, Justice Aquino pronounces that the legal profession

gives a person “the greatest opportunity to serve and also, the
greatest opportunity to take advantage of your fellowmen.” This
is a great take on the double-edged nature of the profession.
Which is why a great knowledge of the law should be used with
great caution.

At this point, Justice Aquino discusses his personal

observation of the cancerous culture among lawyers of
connections over competence. It is a sad reality that this ship
does not only set sail when a lawyer begins his practice, but its
voyage commences in law school. We have all encountered at
one point or another, students who have already began making
connections by ingratiating themselves with the faculty and
alumni. We have also encountered students who go through the
motions of being a law student without actually hitting the
books. It is almost like they have taken to heart the saying “fake
it till you make it.”

Now let me just opine that, while building connections is

a necessary quality to be successful in anything, Justice Aquino
said it best that competence has taken a backseat to it which is
an indignity to the legal profession.

Then, Justice Aquino goes on a tirade regarding the

exploitative use of the technical rules of procedure by lawyers.
I share the same sentiment that, while it takes a brilliant lawyer
to use these technicalities to his advantage, it does however,
time and again, been used more than enough to derail the case
from being decided based on its merits. While I may not agree
with such practice, I cannot deny the genius and will not sit
here in judgment of lawyers who will scour the Rules of Court
for a procedural advantage to win his case for I one day aspire
to be as brilliant as them.

At one point, Justice Aquino mentions a lesson that I will

take into heart from this point on. He states that there are only
two reasons for a lawyer to accept the engagement of his legal
services: to prosecute a valid claim, and to litigate a legal wrong.

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I have not encountered this in law school but it just goes to
show that we all learn something new every day.

Now, I will not go into detail with regards to Justice

Aquino’s discussion on the qualities of a good lawyer. We all
learn this in great detail in law school not just in Legal Ethics,
but also in every other subject since our professors constantly
remind us of these qualities and to aspire to be better. In this
part of the piece, it is a great delight to hear from Justice Aquino
his experiences in his long practice of the law as he shares his
anecdotes and personal account of the different lawyers he has
encountered across the courtroom and from the bench.

While the material ended abruptly, I think Justice Aquino

has comprehensively discussed in this 7-page PDF the
problems the legal profession has faced or is facing, and
hopefully, by sharing his sentiments in this journal, he makes
enough of a difference among current and aspiring lawyers to
be better themselves so that they will cease to part of the
problem and start being part of the solution.