legal counseling - first exam reviewer

8/12/2019 Legal Counseling - First Exam Reviewer

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LEGAL COUNSELLING 1ST EXAMINATION REVIEWERBased on the lectures of Atty. Cecilia Angeles

Lecture 1

(June 18, 2012)

Legal Counseling is basically, is meeting your client,knowing his woes, knowing the reason why he came to

you and giving advice. For a lot of people, you come to a

lawyer, and say attorney, ang sanga sa mangga sa

among silingan, nagbarog na sa akong fence. !wede ba

nako na putlon"# $hat is already a legal issue. Can he

cut such branch of that mango tree" Can somebody

remember the law on property" %& can hear people

whispering haha'( Can he cut down that branch" )us

nakalimot na lagi' *hen was the last time you had

property" Last year" +y goodness' ou know when you

go to private practice, ang -uestion hind what is thecorporate share of class A class B#. but Attorney, unsa

man tong iro sa among neighbor"# anyan ang mga

tanong ng mga kliyente ninyo. ou have to know this

things, not kadali lang ha" $empa lang.# )o you

research on that, Apollo. ive me the answer ne/t

week. $hose are the type of -uestions. & got involved

with my daughter0s !$A so & get to know the teachers,

and then knowing that & am a lawyer, they would ask

Attorney, meron lang akong -uestion bah, yung kasing

punoan ng aking neighbor, nahulog na# you have to be

careful ha. *hat are the grounds for him to chop down

that tree. )o you have to be careful. +eron pang

Attorney, kaning akong anak ba, wla nako na rehistro

pag anak nako niya bah unsa man ang akong buhaton"#

anun nay an, she got married, she had a child when

she was single, she got married to another man, and the

child is using the name of the second husband. &s there

a valid adoption there" $his are the things that come

into your radar when you open your new illanueva

Law office. )o let0s say illanueva2 3ntal2 arcia Law

3ffices. )o, you think that someone goes here and says

& want to file a case for violation of intellectual

property law# 4o you think you0ll have those clientshere in 4avao" )o wherever your office is, yun yung

mga problema na na haharapin ninyo. Attorney

nawad2an kog lisensya# *hat does he do" ou need to

draw an affidavit. 5ven if you draw a very simple

documents, you must be sure that these documents

comply with re-uirements of law. And once you give

advice, even if hasn0t paid yet, you are already engaged

as a lawyer.

RACTICE O! LAW

It is the act of performing any activity

pertaining to a bonafide member of the bar which is

carried out on a habitual or continuous process and

translated into action by means of giving advice,drafting of documents or appearance in court or other

administrative or quasi-judicial body involving the use of

faculty or intelligence of one skilled in law who is

entitled to a legal fee.

Let0s break it down6

Any activity pertaining to a bona fide member of the bar

2 ou have to be a member of the bar for you to

practice law. $hose who are under2bar, there i

a program wherein law students are allowed to

practice, but that is governed by a special law.

Which is carried out on a habitual or continuous process

2 7abitual and continuous process, so you go ou

there and present yourself as a lawyer, and you

perform an activity in a continuous process, you

don0t 8ust draw a document once in a blue

moon, you do it as a livelihood.

ranslated into action by means of giving advice,

drafting of documents

2 $hat0s where your legal forms become

important.

!r appearance in court or other administrative or quasi-

judicial body

2 5ven if you 8ust appear in court and say ou

7onor, & move to postpone# that is already a

practice of law. &f you0re a part of big law firms,

the 8unior lawyers are usually the ones sent to

do minor motions, kaba9/ ka pa nyan. But you

know class, the 8udge will always decide basedon the documents presented to him, all these

things you see in Boston legal, are mere tactics

of impressing the client, but at the end of the

day, the 8udge will decide on the basis of you

documents.

!ther administrative or quasi-judicial body


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2 *hat is an administrative body" *hat is a

-uasi28udicial body"

"se of faculty or intelligence of one skilled in law

2 ou know this is really complicated, the use of

faculty or intelligence of one skilled in law. 7ow

do you become skilled in law" 3w well, in your

1st, 9ndor :rdyear, you can0t say that you already

use your faculty, but you can already say that

you are using your intelligence, your training, of

your studies. And above all, this performance of

an act, is supposed to be compensated, you are

entitled to a legal fee.

*hen you do these things, you ask yourself, are you

already in the practice of law" es, you are. But even if

you are appearing in 8udicial, administrative or -uasi28udicial bodies, you draft documents, but you are not

signing the pleadings, are you in the practice of law"

Actually you are not in the practice of law. #$ota bene%

If you are not signing pleadings, you are not engaged in

the practice of law& ou are doing the things that is

actually done by a lawyer but you are not engaged in

the practice of law. $o be in the practice of law, you are

the one signing the documents. $here paralegals, they

seem to be lawyers, they have knowledge of law, but

they are not members of the bar but they are virtually

doing practice of law, but they are not law practitioners.

LEGAL COUNSELING

It is the art of giving advice and information

concerning the solution to a legal problem arising from

a given state of facts and the adoption of appropriate

reliefs or remedies under the law and enforcement of a

legal obligation before a judicial or quasi-judicial body.

*hy do we say it is an art" &t could be a science it could

be an art, it could be the science of law. *hy art" *hynot science" &t is an art, it is a science, and it could be

both.

What is 'cience(

2 &t is any skill or techni-ue that re-uires a precise

application of facts or principles.

What is Art(

2 &t is a skill involved in the conduct of any human

activity.

& submit, %because the author says that it is an art(

submit that legal counseling is both a science and an

art. &t is "c#ence because it involves the precise

application of legal principles and statutes to a given

state of facts. ou have a legal principle of e-uity, %wha

else" &n pari delicto( those are legal principles and you

have to apply these principles to given set of facts. )o in

a way, you can0t measure it, it is not appropriate if you

do not apply these principles to facts correctly. $hey

must be applied correctly.*hy $rt" Because it involves

analytical reasoning and language. ou know class, law

is a very, it language centered. ou never do away with

5nglish in the practice of law. &t is the number one

instrument when you engaged in the practice, especially

to the court and your peers. $he decisions are made in5nglish. $he world is getting too small, the language o

business is 5nglish, we travel we use 5nglish. )o 5nglish

will be there whether you like it or not.

Analytical reasoning

2 !roblem solving or analytical reasoning.

)iving of advice or information

2 &t may be preventive, curative, not necessarily

adversarial. +aybe the -uestion on hand i*hat is the ne/t step" & want to register my

land# ;egistering a deed of sale is no

adversarial at all. $his is part of legal advice

although it could be done by any person, when

you want to register your property you really

don0t need a lawyer, but sometimes you know

the client can pay the services of a lawyer.

'olution of a legal problem

2 $he problem to be solved is legal. And you

know when an issue is legal.

o a given state of facts

2 Avoid hypothetical situations. )o to be able to

give advice, it has to be a given state of facts

)ometimes your client is a bit hesitant

sometimes they will 8ust rephrase it. +insan

nahihiya eh. &f you know from you

conversation with your client that something is


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hidden here, so you schedule him for another

interview. For a cup of coffee, they loosen up.

$hen you know the real state of facts.

Adoption of appropriate remedies given by law

2 Adoption of appropriate remedies given by law.

&t has to be appropriate hindi yang &papatay

nalang nato na bah# it must be a legal advice.

)ometimes you don0t know, right" unsaon ko

mana attorney nang sanga"# it is a skill, if you

are trying to hide your ignorance, you must

have to do some postulate like Ah, that is a bit

complicated, &0ll get back to you on that, why

don0t we schedule another appointment"# %8oke

time(

*nforcement of a legal obligation

2 $here is a legal obligation involved and must be

satisfied. &f there is no legal obligation, there

will be no cause of action.

o judicial body or quasi-judicial body

2 Ju%#c#$& '%or the courts, from +$C all the

way to the )upreme Court.

2 *u$"#+u%#c#$& '% or administrative body

belonging to the e/ecutive branch of the

government vested with 8urisdiction to hear or

ad8udicate non2litigious cases %& don0t think

there is really such a thing as non2litigious

cases( with power to enforce its 8udgment or

order and to punish for contempt. $his is in

contrast to what and administrative body does.

5/ample of a -uasi28udicial body is the


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must make sure you have core source. $he

practice of law is a profession not a business.

urbe vs. agulta #/une 01, 2112&

In this day and age, members of the bar often

forget that the practice of law is a profession and not a

business.3004 +awyering is not primarily meant to be a

money-making venture, and law advocacy is not a

capital that necessarily yields profits.3024 he gaining of

a livelihood is not a professional but a secondary

consideration.3054 6uty 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. he

practice of law is a noble calling in which emolument is

a byproduct, and the highest eminence may be attained

without making much money.

4uty to public service and administration of 8ustice,

emolument is a by2product.

he practice of law is not a legal right but a privilege.

2 &t can always be taken away from you when you

do something unethical. A bar candidate can0t

8ust practice law simply by passing the bar. &t

can be taken with the mandate of due process.

2

CANON 7 - A LAWYER SHALL AT ALL TIMES UPHOLD

THE INTEGRITY AND DIGNITY OF THE LEGAL

PROFESSION AND SUPPORT THE ACTIVITIES OF THE

INTEGRATED BAR.

Rule 7.01 - A lawyer shall be answerable for knowingly

making a false statement or suppressing a material fact

in connection with his application for admission to the

bar.

Rule 7.02 - A lawyer shall not support the application

for admission to the bar of any person known by him to

be unqualified in respect to character, education, or

other relevant attribute.

Rule 7.0 - A lawyer shall not engage in conduct that

adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law, nor shall

he, whether in public or private life, behave in a

scandalous manner to the discredit of the legal

profession.

7ow do you do that" ou have to make sure that the

conduct of your affairs, public or private, must conform

to, must be at par with the e/pectations of a lawyer$he demand to be upright is both in public or private

life. +asyadong mataas ang standards nito. )o these are

the things that slip the mind of practitioners which are

already in many years of practice that they tend to

forget that their private life is also in scrutiny.

As officers of the court, a lawyer must also be seen to be

of good moral character.

ou must also be of good moral character, and live your

life with highest standards. ;efrain from adulterous

relationships to avoid scandaliing the public. Lawyersare very human, they make mistakes. )o, sometime

these standards are very high, they fail to see the

human in the person. But of course, different standards

apply. &t is really up to the person. &t is really up to the

complainant if he feels that 8ustice must be served, then

go ahead and file a complaint. $his is a very high

standard. At the end of the day, the conscience has to

be clear. &f your client doesn0t have a chance in court

you have to tell him, you have to be honest.

/$%u&$ V" M$%#$n%$ (Ac 11)

he moment complainant approached the then

receptive respondent to seek legal advice, a veritable

lawyer-client relationship evolved between the two.

'uch relationship imposes upon the lawyer certain

restrictions circumscribed by the ethics of the

profession. Among the burdens of the relationship is

that which enjoins the lawyer, respondent in this

instance, to keep inviolate confidential information

acquired or revealed during legal consultations. he fac

that one is, at the end of the day, not inclined to handle

the client7s case is hardly of consequence. !f little

moment, too, is the fact that no formal professional

engagement follows the consultation. $or will it make

any difference that no contract whatsoever was

e8ecuted by the parties to memoriali9e the relationship.

As we said inurbe v. agulta,:-
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A lawyer-client relationship was established from the

very first moment complainant asked respondent for

legal advise regarding the former7s business. o

constitute professional employment, it is not essential

that the client employed the attorney professionally on

any previous occasion.

It is not necessary that any retainer be paid, promised,

or charged; neither is it material that the attorney

consulted did not afterward handle the case for which

his service had been sought.

It a person, in respect to business affairs or troubles of

any kind, consults a lawyer with a view to obtaining

professional advice or assistance, and the attorney

voluntarily permits or acquiesces with the consultation,

then the professional employments is established.

+ikewise, a lawyer-client relationship e8ists

notwithstanding the close personal relationship

between the lawyer and the complainant or the non-

payment of the former7s fees.

6ean Wigmore lists the essential factors to establish the

e8istence of the attorney-client privilege

communication, vi9%

#0& Where legal advice of any kind is sought #2& from a

professional legal adviser in his capacity as such, #5& the

communications relating to that purpose, #& from disclosure by himself or

by the legal advisor, #?& e8cept the protection be

waived.>

3nce a person asks for an advice, you 8ust assume right

away that there is lawyer2client relationship that is

established. 5ven in the absence of a contract, you still

have a lawyer client relationship. 3nce it is established,

you have to be confidential. ou can0t even tell it to

your spouse. 3therwise you will be in violation of

confidentially. 5verything is confidential. )o standard isvery high and strict. $he starting point is when your

client tells you all the facts and asks you for legal advice,

that0s the point where attorney2client relationship

commences.

@lients Bunds

CANON 1! - A LAWYER SHALL HOLD IN TRUST ALL

MONEYS AND PROPERTIES OF HIS CLIENT THAT MAY

COME INTO HIS POSSESSION.

Rule 1!.01 - A lawyer shall account for all money or

property collected or received for or from the client.

Rule 1!.02- A lawyer shall keep the funds of each client

separate and apart from his own and those of others

kept by him.

Rule 1!.0 - A lawyer shall deliver the funds and

property of his client when due or upon demand.

Cowever, he shall have a lien over the funds and may

apply so much thereof as may be necessary to satisfy his

lawful fees and disbursements, giving notice promptly

thereafter to his client. Ce shall also have a lien to the

same e8tent on all judgments and e8ecutions he hassecured for his client as provided for in the Dules of

@ourt.

Rule 1!.0"- A lawyer shall not borrow money from his

client unless the clients interests are fully protected by

the nature of the case or by independent advice. $either

shall a lawyer lend money to a client e8cept, when in

the interest of justice; he has to advance necessary

e8penses in a legal matter he is handling for the client.

ou have to take care of your client0s funds. All the

monies must be accounted for. ou hold separateaccounts, as a good procedure, it is always good an

established separate account. )o there would be no

issues later on.

CON!LICT O! INTEREST

A lawyer shall not represent conflicting interests

e8cept with the written consent of all his clients.

2 %A situation that has the potential to underminethe impartiality of a person because of the

possibility of a clash between the personEs self

interest and professional interest or publi

interest. &t is a situation in which a person has a

duty to more than one person or organiation

but cannot do 8ustice to the actual or potentially

adverse interests of both parties. $his includes

when an individualEs personal interests o

concerns are inconsistent with the best for a
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customer, or when a public officialEs personal

interests are contrary to hisher loyalty to

public business. An attorney, an accountant, a

business adviser or realtor cannot represent

two parties in a dispute and must avoid even

the appearance of conflict. 7eshe may not 8oinwith a client in business without making full

disclosure of hisher potential conflicts, heshe

must avoid commingling funds with the client,

and never, never take a position adverse to the

customer(

2Gristine Huibod2

Le$& Cun"en

(June 23, 2012)

Let0s go back to our previous discussion,

wherein we have said that practice of law is not a

business. &t is not a money2making venture. But, at the

end of the day, you must consider the fact that your

practice must survive the competition. And we have to

remember the fact that we have a family to support. )o,

these things, these are the important considerations to

weigh vis2I2vis the idea that practice of law is not a

business.

>nless of course, you go as a government

employee, or corporate lawyering. ou know, when you

are a corporate lawyer, you can receive a regular salary,

you don0t have to worry about other costs, about your

employees0 salaries. $he salary comes in every month,

every two weeks of pay period. &f you are happy with

that, that would not be a tiresome work. But, for those

who would like to start on their own, they have a lot of

things to think about.

!ractice is not a right, rather a privilege. $hat is

why we have a lot of ethics, rules, ethical rules, and youalso talk about professional responsibility. And if you fall

short of these professional responsibilities, or you

violate these ethical standards set to your profession,

you can be held liable criminally, and that your practice

of law can be suspended or you will be denied in the

practice of law. &t is a privilege sub8ect to the mandate

of the due process. 3f course, you will be given a

chance to e/plain and defend yourself.

And & think that this would be a perfect topic in

your sub8ect of legal ethics where you will discuss more

in depth the conse-uences of violating the ethica

standards of legal profession.

*hen a lawyer violates his oath, then what is the lega

conse-uence"

I#$%'e$ %(&% )$ '*#$)+e,e+ ,&'%)'e * l&/

)o, last week, we have mentioned of the case of 4ur'e

." M$u&t$ ( A%-5 C$"e N5 66+7, June 10, 2002). &t

has mentioned a discussion of what is a practice of law

what constitutes the practice of law. *hen does a

lawyer and client relationship commence" )o, from the

decision of the )upreme Court, it would seem that if a

person will come to a lawyer, asks for his advice, gives

you all the facts of his case that was filed, with theintention of getting a legal advice from you, then if you

did not arrived in an agreement, or you did not sign an

agreement, or even if you will say that now, you have to

hire me first before & will give you an advice. Clearly, t9e

run" : t9e curt "$ t9$t e.en t9e --ent u #.e

9#- $n $%.#ce, $n% t9#" $&& 9$;;ene%


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advice as to the legal effects of what may be found,

does not constitute practice of law.

)o, you said to a client or a friend, a friend who

knows that you are a lawyer. our friend will say, can

you send somebody who can check the status of the

title in the ;egister of 4eeds. *hether the property has

been mortgaged or not" *hether the title is clean or

not. )o, you send your staff, or you yourself will go

directly to the ;34. $hat alone is not a practice of law.

As long as you are not giving legal advice as to the legal

effects of the document.

Like when you say that this title has an

encumbrance. )o, what are we going to do attorney"

)o, you0ll give an advice, like you have to institute a caseto clean the title, or how to get rid of an encumbrance.

$hat is already giving a legal advice, and a lawyer2client

relationship already arises. ou are already practicing

law.

5. Work involves a clerical labor of filling in the blanks

on stereotyped form or a mere mechanical act of

copying from a file copy or finished documents which

involves no legal thing, is not considered legal practice.

)o, this mere involves mechanical act.


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Ru&e 1501 + A &$


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ou can choose the case you want to handle. ou

design your own system, since you are your own boss.

ou are the own boss, but, at the end of the day, you

hold responsible to the success of your solo practice.

d. ou can choose your own clients

What are the disadvantages(

a. it is a maiden practice and it does not yield a lot

of clients because no client will go to lawyer

without reputation

b. must build network of referrals from families

and friends

c. feast or famine income#

d. All e/penses are shouldered by solo practitioner

e.


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got this much points, and then, you can demand a

higher pay. $he points will be the basis of your share.

$hat is if you are a partner. &f you are an associate, you

have a fi/ed salary as an associate.

&n other law firms they have an agreement as to where

will the money from the notarial funds go, usually, it is

placed in the common funds of the partnership. )o if

you are a ten2lawyer firm, you have to make sure that

you have an organied structure. )omebody has to be

assigned as to the day2to2day operation, so someone

has to be $ -$n$#n ;$rtner. $he managing partner

oversees the money of the firm, the overall person.

$hen you have to have a 9u-$n re"urce ;$rtner, not

somebody who has a !h 4 in human resource, 8ust

someone who will address the concern as to human

resources. 7e will oversee the appointment of staff,

how to dress in the office. $his may not be a legal

concern, but this boils down to the core of the office.

7appy office, happy staff.

$hen we have a ener$& cun"e&, or somebody who will

oversee if there are conflicts of interests in handling the

cases. &f there are conflicts of interest, he shall be the

one to decide on who will handle the case or represent

the client.

$hen we have a c9#e: :#n$nc#$& ::#cer. +ake sure that

your books are updated, and have an accounting of

your income. )o, your financial department will also be

the one to oversee whether or not your firm is earning.

Because if you are not earning you cannot e/pand. &f

you are earning, maybe you have plans of transferringto a bigger office. &t would be a lot better when the

chief financial officer is not a lawyer at all, because he

will 8ust tell you straight that you 8ust need to bill more.

*hat he is after is that you must bring more clients.

And it can also be an accountant that you 8ust hire per

period to do the accounting.

$hen, you may need $ -$r=et#n ;r:e""#n$&, i

necessary,who will be assigned in communications and

in bringing more clients. Advertising is not supposed to

be ethical, but there are ways in going around that. ou

can be creative. )ometimes, we lawyers we tend to be

modest of our achievements, but if you have fouchildren to send to Ateneo de 4avao, you need a lot o

money. *hile young, you must be more aggressive, you

must be out there presenting yourself, you must bring

in more clients, because this will translate to income

people engaging your services.

ou won0t like to turn down any client. ou deal with

one case, and then you develop such e/pertise. &t is

manner of presenting yourself. *rapping yourself, no

with myth, but you can study each case. ou learn asyou go along.

75 J#n#n $ cr;r$te &$< %e;$rt-ent

3ption of being a legal officer in corporation law

department, we are talking about corporations. Like in

Coca2Cola, they have e/ternal counsel. *hen they think

that they will need a lot of lobbying, they tap partners

who are prominent in the society, or have lobbying

powers. But such corporations have their interna

counsel or general counsel.

$he nice thing of being a lawyer, unlike othe

professions, after you finished banking and finance, you

get hired by a bank, you have to go up through the

ladder. A lawyer, in the organiational structure, i

immediately under the office of the president. Because

the president usually needs the services of lawyers.

enerally, position offers higher compensation and

other pecuniary and fringe benefits not usually en8oyed

in private practice %large law firms through creating

their own fringe benefit package like health cards.(


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6isadvantages

1. 4ifficult to a lawyer to switch to private practice

because of financial considerations.

!eople working for business corporations

hesitate to go to private practice because they

are giving up high compensation.

9. *ork is limited by the legal concerns or

business of the employer= some employers

allow their lawyers engage in private practice

on the side but a rarity than a regular practice.

:. &n formal law departments, the head lawyer is

referred as general counsel who carries the

responsibility as director or officer of

corporation.

$he head lawyer reports directly to the

president. $he usual basis of sectioning is the

legal sub8ect matter for instance ta/,

corporate affairs, real estate, litigation, patents,

labor, immigration, and insurance. &n some

corporate department, there is some kind of

formal sectioning is done by administrative,

individual corporate subsidiaries, civil, law,

criminal law special proceedings under litigation

section.

5very corporate law department adopts a

system by which lawyer0s work is assigned. $he

corporate policy must be to comply with the

law as the law department construes it and all

officers and other management employees and

all the lawyers in the law department must

know this is to be the case %30meana, 19 the

Business Lawyer(

H*/ +* *u 3*)# & '*,*,&%e l&/4 I% ' e)%(e,

5e

&6 ,ee,,&l$

56 ,e',u)%8e#%$ *,

'6 lu'9 *u% * ,):&%e ,&'%)'e.

Fu%u,e * & l&/e, )# & '*,*,&%e e8l*e,

Law department careers are usually put in

favorable lights with stress on how varied

import and e/citing are the legal problems deal

y a corporate counsel, the e>ce&&ent

;;rtun#t#e" :r $%.$nce-ent,


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our drive to know more is not as much as

those in private practice. &magine that when

you pass the bar, you think you no longer

need to study.


13/20


4oes it present a neat appearance" Are the files

properly set asideorganied"

&s there an ample room" 5very inch of your real

property must be utilied. 7ave a space to walk

around.

&s the ventilation ade-uate" $he aircon is

functioning or at least with an electric fan

Are walls attractively decorated" $his will show

your personality. $ry to avoid cutie cutie stuff.

$hey would be nice if they are 8ust accent in a

table. $hey are okay for a pediatrician. Must put

paintings %even a reproduction( with nice

frames. $o show that you a professional lawyer.

Are offices cleaned regularly" &f you enter alease agreement you should ask if they provide

someone to clean the office or it is you who

have to be responsible for that

4o you provide for drinking water facilities for

the client and staff" &f a beauty parlor can

provide for iced tea, no reason that a law office

cannot do so. $ell your assistant to offer the

client something to drink especially if they have

to wait.

!arking facilities.

*ashroom faculties.

;eading materials % legitimate newspaper or

others(

7ave a conference room to discuss confidential

matter. ;emember the rule on confidentiality of

agreement between you and client. our staff

must sign a confidentiality agreement. *arned

them that if confidential matters leak, they maybe held liable too. +ake your staff aware that

information that comes to the office especial

from clients must be treated with utmost

confidentiality.

Library for your )C;A, law books. 5ven 8ust a

small table with book case.

4o you discard obsolete books" ou may keep

old books for reference but have an updated

copies

Are books maintained in good repair. But with

the advent of e2books or other software youcan have them. But iba ang dating ng physica

books than an e2book especially in dealing with

clients.

5-uipment %typewriters, adding machine

computers, photocopiers(. For photocopiers, i

you buy it, you will be stack with that machine

forever and pay a repairman if there is a need. &

you 8ust rent, its kind a e/pensive but at leas

you are assured that they will maintain it daily

and update for a new version when you renew

your contracts. &n my e/perience, big law firms

tent to rent photocopy machines. $hey treat i

like 8ust water and light. $hey want the latest

technology and not stack with the machine. ou

can replace it whenever you want.

For your computers or wifi, you need it since internet i

part of an office already. A big chunk of your work is

lessened by internet and you work efficiently. ou also

need adding machines, and typewriters. *hether you

like it or not, you need typewriters. 5specially

government forms which can only be filled bytypewriters but at least an electric typewriters.

&nter office communication fa/ machine

scanner because some clients do scan

documents and send thru email. ou have to be

fast, technologically updated.

$echnologically compatible software for huge

document like advance adobe program fo

scanning and storing data. ou can do a lot of

things with that software for easy retrieval of

voluminous data.

)oftware on accounting, book keeping.

$rain your staff to be accommodating %like ay

dili man na mahimo mamsir#( staff should be

trained to become problem solver. $ry to do

something out of the bo/.


14/20


O;en#n $ &$< ::#ce

&n opening a law office this also means organiation.

ou have to be organied because that is the key to

efficiency. ou have to design your system on how you

do it. 5ach and everyone have their own style. Buteverybody should have an efficient filing system.

!ILING SSTEM

o Lawyer will design the filing system for his easy

access.

o +a8or categories of files6

Client files

Accounting files

Admin files

&f you have a good and efficient secretary it would take

half a load off your back. ou will 8ust think on your

legal issues. A good assistant will always keep track of

the deadlines, billings and others. ou don0t have to

think of those things.

Cent :#&e"

+ust contain folders %e/pandable files( up to 9

inches. &n


15/20


A%-#n#"tr$t#.e :#&e

!ersonnel folder must sign confidentiality of

agreement= depending on how efficient the

organiation should be.

+embership in professional organiation &B!,

or other local chapters.

!ublications %articles written and published(

part of their professional development. $his is

also a way of advertising your e/pertise. $here

is this publication in America where your law

firms are published but you have to pay for it.

$his is regarding the e/pertise, so the

publication rates the law firms according to

e/pertise so as the lawyer. $his is for

recognition.

+arketing this is about sponsorships.

3ffice lease agreement.

&nformation technology.

C$&en%$r S"te-

+ust set up calendar system in the office. $his

is for deadlines, schedule for the day or week or

appearances in court. )o that you assistant can

monitor you.

$his could be done electronically.

4eadline for pleadings must also be monitored.

Arranged according to the most pressing.

$he following week0s schedule should be

finalied on the Friday of the previous week andthis shall be given to lawyer. >sually the

secretary print the calendar on the $hursday so

that on the Friday the lawyer knows his

schedule and he can make use of the weekend

if there is a need rush something. $he assistant

must know your schedule

E&ectrn#c @$t$ 4$n=

)upreme court decision you can buy software

for some providers

*ord processer 2 for templates etc

Billing

Accounting

3ffice networking

Avail software applications for efficiency

bookkeeping

2 !hilip alagar

Le$& Cun"e&n

Auu"t 2, 2012

C3


16/20


the contract but only if the suit or litigtion is favorble to

the client

&f case is lost, no payment of fee

&f fee agreed upon is unconscionable, court may step in

to make it reasonable

3ther factors6

3ther une/pected incidents like filing and arguing a

motion, estimated time and effort to be spent for

arguments

5/penses to be incured in erfecting an appeal,

preparation of appeal briefs,

Business2like approach in fi/ing and payment of attys

fees

4elays must be e/plained to the client

Bottomline6 transparency

Business developing marketing for law practitioners

etting your name out there

Big law offices have rainmakers, the rest pf lawyers do

not develo their books of business

Aim for sustainability of practice

2 to achieve success in their legal careers

2 to promote growth of their law offices

)trategies6 marketing is a contact sport

2 pursue profile and confidence2builidng activities

5.g speaking engagements, publishing articles, etc

5stablish targets6 identify types of works and clients

and identify specific audiences and communities tha

will allow the interface with the lawyer

&dentify :2 Business devt activities in a year

2 something lawyer likes and does nturally

2 get active in

$rade orgs

)upport e/ecution2 report back and follow2through

$rack results2 vis2 a2vis your financial plan so success

can be measured

Canadian lawyer magaine feb 9@, 9@19

+arketing of services6 draw a marketing plan

&mpt considerations6

2 know what your clients value

2 know your goals2 short, long2term

2 know resources2 how much money can you spend in

marketing

2 focus your resources to your target segment

!s of +arketing

1. !roduct6 identify a need, then provide a service tha

adresses that need uni-uely. 4onEt be a Pme, tooP law

firm, create a -uality product or service


17/20


9. !lace6 a -uestion of access, physical access, also

consider the internet %this has re

4efined physical acess(

:. !rice6 this is the entry point= allows your cients to see

if they can continue their relationship with your office

. !romotion6 within thebounds allowed by ethical rules

%advertising your name in magaines, referrals, etc


18/20


appear like the client trust you" 4o you have clean

finger nails" All this class will matter so you need to be

professional in your appearance, bakanaman you went

to the office perohindinakaplantsaanginyong polo Q

barong so it is not enough to do a good 8ob.

5/ample meronka motion din you are with your client in

the court pro sasabihinng client mabaho man siAttyoi,

panalongaang motion mo pro

nahirapannamnhumingaang client so doing a good 8ob

is not enough.

7uman nature always calls for sympathy, so when you

go to doctors din you are e/plaining already lahatngfeelings mo pro parangwlalng so mainiskatalaga so dpat

you must be sympathetic to your client.

5/ample your client was confronted with credit card

debt and has been sued for collection also needs a

sympathetic hear ear, so

huwagmonamansabihinnacgeka man gudgastos so

knggibayarannanimowlanauntaproblema, you should

not say that. ou should say may be by the time you

have a money we can settle half of this we do not have

to go to the ne/t hearing, meron pa man yang

mediation wag

namansabihinbamalakinaitomasyadomalakina interest

nito bah' )o pag2ganun goodbye law practice.

o !r#en%ne"" ;r-;tne"" (n

;rcr$"t#n$t#n) curte", re";ect :rcent" 'u"#ne""+=e $tt#tu%e

cn"#%er$t#n #n =ee;#n t9e cent" #n:r-e% r

u;%$te%

Friendliness is very important. Gung ang client mo finds

it so hard to e/press himself in 5nglish wag karinnaman

mgenglish9/, pgbinasaya sad what is important is that

he understands you.

!romptness is also important, do not procrastinatebecause we lawyers we live by deadlines. )o lawyer

their professional life run by deadlines so do no

procrastinate. )ome lawyers pag2early pa dli pa

mgworkang mind then pagpm nadhanamgcge dictate

sa secretary so who suffers from the pressure of the

deadline" ou poor secretary suffers because eventually

she would be the one typing or filing so that is unfair'

Courtesy. *e Filipinos it is not innate in us namagthank

you paranganghirapngmgthank you bah. But if it is withthe client you have to be courteous.

o A.$#&$'#t $t $&& t#-e", te&e;9ne

c$&&", e-$#&", te>t -e""$e"

Always remember that if you communicate with theclient make sure you have a hard copy, because there i

no substitute for documentary evidence yungmga te/

nabuburayan. &n


19/20


- Dee;#n t9e cent" #n:r-e% n


20/20


4o not think that keeping the client only your

relationship with him that matters, it is not, it should be

the whole office. )o kungang assistant

momasyadongmabagal that will reflect on you right" )o

make you0re your assistantstaff are properly train they

must know and appreciate the kind of pressure thatthey have and they must be courteous, respectful and

must know the confidential nature of the nature of the

work.

)o you must also train your staff that they should be

professional in dealing with your clients. $hey should

also know that when there would be deadlines they

may end up working late, they should be able to have a

proper conversation.

- Mu"t $&

legal counseling - first exam reviewer

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