CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPOSIBILITY

Promulgated 21 June 1998

CHAPTER I. THE LAWYER AND THE SOCIETY

CANON 1. A lawyer shall uphold the Constitution, obey the laws of the land, and promote respect for law and legal processes.
CANON 2. A lawyer shall make his legal services available in an efficient and convenient manner compatible with the independence, integrity, and effectiveness of the profession.

CANON 3. A lawyer, in making known his legal services shall use only true, honest, fair, dignified, and objective information or statement of facts.

CANON 4. A lawyer shall participate in the development of the legal system by initiating or supporting efforts in law reform and in the improvement of the administration of justice.

CANON 5. A lawyer shall keep abreast of legal developments, participate in continuing legal education programs, support efforts to achieve high standards in law schools as well as in the practical training of law students and assist in disseminating the law and jurisprudence.

CANON 6. These canons shall apply to lawyers in government services in the discharge of their tasks.

CHAPTER II. THE LAWYER AND THE LEGAL PROFESSION

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.
CANON 8. A lawyer shall conduct himself with courtesy, fairness, and candor towards his professional colleagues, and shall avoid harassing tactics against opposing counsel.
CANON 9. A lawyer shall not, directly or indirectly, assist in the unauthorized practice of law.

CHAPTER III. THE LAWYER AND THE COURTS

CANON 10. A lawyer owes candor, fairness, and good faith to the court.
CANON 11. A lawyer shall observe and maintain the respect due to the courts and to judicial officers and should insist on similar conduct by others.
CANON 12. A lawyer shall exert every effort and consider it his duty to assist in the speedy and efficient administration of justice.
CANON 13. A lawyer shall rely upon the merits of his cause and refrain from any impropriety which tends to influence or gives the appearance of influencing the court.

CHAPTER IV. THE LAWYER AND THE CLIENT

CANON 14. A lawyer shall not refuse his services to the needy.
CANON 15. a lawyer shall observe candor, fairness, and loyalty in all his dealing and transactions with his clients.
CANON 16. A lawyer shall hold in trust all moneys and properties of his client that may come into his possession.
CANON 17. A lawyer owes fidelity to the cause of his client and he shall be mindful of the trust and confidence reposed in him.
CANON 18. A lawyer shall serve his client with competence and diligence.
CANON 19. A lawyer shall represent his client with zeal within the bounds of the law.
CANON 20. A lawyer shall charge only fair and reasonable fees.
CANON 21. A lawyer shall preserve the confidence and secrets of his client even after the attorney-client relation is terminated.
CANON 22. A lawyer shall withdraw his services only for good cause and upon notice appropriate in the circumstance.

TOLEDO V. TOLEDO (DISBARMENT, JUDICIAL CONDUCT, VIOLATION OF CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY )

This Court has previously defined IMMORAL CONDUCT as that conduct which is willful, flagrant, or shameless, and which shows a moral indifference to the opinion of the good and respectable members of the community.

This Court has held that to justify SUSPENSION or DISBARMENT, the act complained of must not only be immoral, but grossly immoral, and the same must be established by clean and convincing proof, disclosing a case that is free from doubt as to compel the exercise by the Court of its disciplinary power. Likewise, the dubious character of the act done as well as the motivation thereof must be clearly demonstrated.

Thus, to warrant disciplinary action, we must examine if respondent's relationship with his common-law wife as "grossly immoral conduct."

In disbarment cases, this Court has ruled that the mere fact of sexual relations between two unmarried adults is not sufficient to warrant administrative sanction for such illicit behaviour. whether a lawyer's sexual congress with a woman not his wife or without the benefit of marriage should be characterized as "grossly immoral conduct" will depend on the surrounding circumstances."

Based on the allegations in the Complaint and in respondent's Comment, we cannot conclude that his act of cohabiting with a woman and begetting children by her without the benefit of marriage falls within the category of "grossly immoral conduct."

While the Court has the power to regulate official conduct and to a certain extent, private conduct, it is not within our authority to make, for our employees, decisions about their personal lives, especially those that will so affect their and their family's future, such as whether they should or should not be married.

KARA-AN V. PINEDA (DISBARMENT)

Records show that the evidence adduced by the complainant is insufficient to warrant the imposition of the supreme sanction of disbarment.

DISBARMENT is the most severe form of disciplinary sanction, and as such, the power to disbar must always be exercised with great caution, only for the most imperative reasons and in clear cases of misconduct affecting the standing and the moral character of the lawyer as an officer of the court and member of the bar.

Accordingly, disbarment should not be decreed where any punishment less severe such as a reprimand, suspension, or fine would accomplish the end desired.