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Rule 15.07.- A lawyer shall impress upon his client compliance with the laws and principles of

fairness.

Lawyer Must Promote Respect for the Law- the rule carries more or less the same intendment as Rule

1.02 which provides that A lawyer shall not counselor abet activities aimed at defiance of the law or at

lessening confidence in the legal system.

The lawyer must impress upon his client, that everybody, including them, must respect the laws

and observe the principles of fairness in their dealings as aptly enunciated in Art. 19 of the Civil Code-

every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice,

give everyone his due and observe honesty and goodfaith.

Gonzales vs. Sabacajan-respondent has disregarded Canon 15.07 of the CPR which provides

that a lawyer shall impress upon his client the need for compliance with the laws and principles of

fairness. Instead, he unjustly refused to give to the complainants their certificates of title supposedly

to enforce payment of their alleged financial obligations to his client and presumably to impress the

latter of his power to do so.

Lawyer should give proper advice to his clients- the lawyer shall not abet or encourage any person,

specially public officials to disregard the supremacy of the law and respect for the rights of the citizens.

A lawyer who advised his client not to obey the order of the court is guilty of contempt and

misconduct (Conge vs Deret GR no. 08848-CR, March 25, 1974)

A lawyer should advise clients on the matters of decorum and proper attitude toward courts of

justice.(Nestle Phil, Inc vs Sanchez)

Rule 15.08.- A lawyer who is engaged in another profession or occupation concurrently with

the practice of law shall make clear to his client whether he is acting as a lawyer or in

another capacity.

When a lawyer is concurrently engaged in business he must clarify to his client in what capacity

he is acting. It is not uncommon for lawyers to combine law practice with some other occupation. The

fact of being a lawyer does not preclude him from engaging in business and such practice is not

necessarily improper. Impropriety arises when the business is such of a nature or is conducted in such a

manner as to be inconsistent with the lawyers duties as member of the Bar.

To avoid breach of legal ethics, the lawyer should keep any business, in which he is engaged in

concurrently with the practice of law, entirely separate and apart from the latter. He must keep

paramount the protection of the legal profession even when he is engaged in any other legitimate

profession.

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CANON 16. A LAWYER SHALL HOLD IN TRUST ALL MONEYS AND PROPERTIES OF HIS CLIENT

THAT MAY COME INTO HIS POSSESSION.

Lawyer is a trustee of his clients money s and properties- The moneys collected by an attorneyfor his client belong to the client. Consequently, the lawyer is under obligation to hold in trust all

moneys and properties of his client that may come into his possession.

The moneys collected by a lawyer in pursuance of a judgment in favor of his client are held in

trust for the client (Aya vs Bigornia, 57 Phil 20)

Rule 16.01.- A lawyer shall account for all money or property collected or received for or from the

client.

Rule 16.02.- A lawyer shall keep the funds of each client separate and apart from his own and those of

others kept by him.

Lawyer shall be accountable for all moneys and properties. Considering that a lawyer is merely

holding in trust the moneys and properties he received for his client, he is accountable therefor to his

client.

The highly fiduciary and confidential relation of attorney amd client requires that the lawyer

should promptly account for all the funds received or held by him for the clients benefit. (in re

Bamberger, 49 Phil 962)

In order that he may promptly account for or deliver the same to the client or representative, he

should keep and maintain adequate records of the clients moneys and properties in his custody. (

McKraken vs Harned)

Unlawful retention of clients funds: contemptuous.- when an attorney unjustly retains in his

hands money of his client after it has been demanded, he may be punished for contempt as an officer of

the Court who has misbehaved in his official transactions; but proceedings under this section shall not

be a bar to a criminal prosecution( Sec 25, Rule 138, 1997 Rules of Court)

A lawyer was disbarred for having used the money of his clients without the consent of the latter

in violation of Canon 16 and the first 3 rule thereof.( Businos vs Ricafort, 283 SCRA 413)

Money not used for specific purpose is held also in trust and must be accounted immediately.-

Money delivered to the lawyer for specific purpose such as for filing fee( Malabed vs Nanca, 60 SCRA

253), for appeal expenses, for arrangement of an amicable settlement (Medina vs. Bautista, 12 SCRA 1, if

not utilized for failure of counsel to takes such steps must be immediately returned.

Emman Cocal

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