The perspective of a non-lawyer to the legal profession

By:NigelR.Garcia
1stYearStudent,JD4102

Introduction

Wherever, whenever, and however a legal professional practices, He/she is

always expected to comply with strict rules and laws of ethics even when he/she is
zealouslyengaged inchallengingthesamelawsandrules.1Whendealingwiththelaws
of ethics, lawyers have
will find themselves in an ethical dilemma at various times in
their careerwhichitis a partof their practice2 .Ethicalquandariescanarisewhenyour
dutiesto the law,court,colleaguesandyourclientsdiverge,anditissometimesdifficult
toupholdthesecompetingobligations3.

Lawyers occupy a critical and sensitive place in the functioning of a society

governed by the rule of law4. This is why the practice of law is so much more than a
business or an industry andwhylawyersarerequiredfirstandforemosttobeofficersof
theCourtandtoprovethattheyare'fitandproper'toholdsuchanoffice5 .

Lawyers are expected to maintain strict ethical standardsfor theprotectionof

colleagues,clients,thecourt,andanyoneeventangentiallyaffectedbyacase6 .

Here rules of professional responsibility serve as a roadmap to follow in many

common scenarios, such as when alawyermustwithdrawfromacaseintheeventofa
conflict7. Conflicts of interest tend to compromise representation, and a legal
1

NationalJurisUniversity(2015),IntroductiontoLegalEthics.Availableat
http://nationalparalegal.edu/public_documents/courseware_asp_files/Ethics/IntroductionToRegulation/Introd
uctionToLegal%20Ethics.asp
2
LawInstituteVictoria(2015),IntroductiontoLawyerEthics.Availableat:
http://www.liv.asn.au/ForLawyers/Ethics/IntroductiontoLegalEthics

3
Id
4
QueenslandLawSociety(2015),IntroductiontoLegalAppliedEthics,Availableat
http://www.qls.com.au/Knowledge_centre/Ethics/Introduction
5
Id
6
NationalJurisUniversity(2015),IntroductiontoLegalEthics.Availableat:
http://nationalparalegal.edu/public_documents/courseware_asp_files/Ethics/IntroductionToRegulation/Introd
uctionToLegal%20Ethics.asp

7
Id

professional needsto knowwhenthese conflictswill trigger a disqualificationorforcea

withdrawal8.

In this paper, the objective is to see the perspective of Mr. Vince Lazatin, a
nonlawyer, on the kinds of lawyers he meet in the Transparency and Accountability
Networkonhowtheymakethecountrybetterorhowtheyaddruin.

The perspective of a non-lawyer to the legal profession

The Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN) is a growing coalition of
multisectoral organisations, which seeks to contribute significantly to the reduction of
corruptioninthePhilippines9.
In the interview Mr. Lazatin, He and the network
envisions a Philippines
characterized by transparent, accountable, efficient andeffective public institutionsand
aninformed,empoweredandinvolvedcitizenryintolerantofcorruption.
Mr. Vince Lazatin is the the Executive Director of the Transparency and
AccountabilityNetwork.Whileheis not a lawyer, heis a strongadvocatefor accessto
information, better efficiency in prosecuting cases insandiganbayan andhaving better
mechanismstochooseappointeesinthejudiciary.
In thecoursein his work,heworked withtheAlternative LawGroups,andthese
arethebunchoflawyerswhorepresentfarmersandotherunderrepresentedsectors.
But unfortunately, good money buys good lawyers just like in politics, money
influences the judicial or political outcome. He said that money should not dictate
outcomeitshouldbewhatisjustandright.
He also said that if there are more people, not just lawyers, who thinks of the
notion of justice and representing the underrepresented and not the value of money
thenourcountrywillbeabetterplace.

Id

TransparencyandAccountabilityNetworkWebsite.Availableat:
http://www.tan.org.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=5&Itemid=82

He saidthat there are questionsofintegritywithinthelegalprofessionespecially

thejudiciary,likeinthecaseofChiefJusticeCorona,alawyerofsuchdegreetothinkto
doallthoseunethicalactsalltheseyears.
On theperception ofLawyersareliars,Mr.Lazatinbelievesthatitisacommon
perceptionthat lawyersdo have suchreputationbecausetheytendtobendthetruthon
the case they handled but on the same time, he also believes that there very good
lawyersespeciallyintheAlternativelawpractice.
Since lawyers tend tobebound onthelegalsystemandrules,somelawyerswill
abuse system to make what sound unethical or illegal to be ethical or legal and get
away awaywithit.Thiswhatmakeprosecutingcasesinefficientandunfairtothosewho
cantaffordgoodlawyers.
Conclusion
The privileges given tolawyers canbea boon or a menace to thesociety. With
enough skill and knowledge, a lawyer can prosecute a criminal efficiently within rules
andregulation of thelegal systembutsuchskillcomeswithahighpricewhichmostthe
underrepresented cannot afford. The skills and knowledge of a lawyercan alsoabuse
thelegalsystemmakingwhatoncecalledunethicaltoethicalorviceversa.
Iflawyers canonlythinkofthenotionofJusticeandwhatissupposedtoberight,
thensocietywillbecomeabetterplace.