The lawyer and the [Law]

Firm
Problem Areas in Legal Ethics
2015-2016

Choice of a Firm name

Rule 3.02 of the Code of Professional Responsibility which
states that in the choice of a firm name, no false,
misleading or assumed name shall be used.

No name not belonging to any of the partners or

associates may be used in the firm name for any
purpose. - PP v. Gonzalez, Jr., G.R. No. 139542 June 10,

2003

Negligence of clerks in
a law firm
Time and again the Court has admonished law firms to
adopt a system of distributing pleadings and notices,
whereby lawyers working therein receive promptly notices
and pleadings intended for them, so that they will always
be informed of the status of their cases.
Their Court has also often repeated that the negligence
of clerks which adversely affect the cases handled by
lawyers, is binding upon the latter. - B.R. Sebastian

Enterprises, Inc. v. CA, G.R. No. L-41862 [1992]

Law firm represents the client

Respondent judge should not have accommodated so
many Motions for Postponement filed by the then ailing
Atty. Rosendo Castillo Sr. because a law firm (Castillo &
Castillo), to which the latter belonged, was really
representing the defendants, there certainly were other
competent lawyers who could have handled the matter.

Sps. Reaport v. Judge Mariano, A.M. No. MTJ-00-1253.

July 11, 2001

Main and branch office constitute

one personality
Petitioner's counsel was and is the firm of Ledesma, Saludo and
Associates (and not any particular member or associate of that
firm) which firm happens to have a main office in Makati and a
branch office in Cebu City. The Court notes that both the main
and branch offices operate under one and the same name,
Saludo Ledesma and Associates. Having represented itself to
the public as comprising a single firm, LSA should not be
allowed at this point to pretend that its main office and its
branch office in effect constitute separate law firms with
separate and distinct personalities and responsibilities. Ouano

Arrastre Service Inc. v. Judge Aleonor, G.R. No. 97664 October

10, 1991

Death of a handling lawyer of the

firm
Hence, the death of the latter did not extinguish the
lawyer-client relationship between said firm and petitioner.
- B.R. Sebastian Enterprises, Inc. v. CA, G.R. No. L-41862

[1992]

Duties of Firms and Lawyers When

Someone Leaves
A. Ethical Obligation to Communicate to Certain
clients
B. Trust Account Monies
C. Fee Divisions In General
D. Files
E. Phones
Partners and Associates Leaving Must Abide By
Fiduciary Duties to Firm

Ethical Obligation to Communicate to

Certain Clients
1) lawyers have a duty to tell their clients that they are
leaving.
2) clients are not chattels the firm and departing lawyer
cannot decide which clients can stay and which can go
the clients decide.

Rule of confidentiality in a law firm

Rule 21.04 - A lawyer may disclose the affairs of a
client of the firm to partners or associates thereof
unless prohibited by the client.

Duty to notify a client

The departing lawyer and responsible members of the
law firm who remain have an ethical obligation to assure
that prompt notice is given to clients on whose active
matters she currently is working.
Rule 18.04 - A lawyer shall keep the client informed of
the status of his case and shall respond within a
reasonable time to the client's request for information.

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Lawyer who has had significant

personal contacts
A departing lawyer who has had significant personal
contacts with the client, should inform the client that
the lawyer is leaving the firm.
Note: this does not mean that an associate who met a
client once or twice and has prepared discovery requests
has had significant personal contacts the standard is
that if the client were asked which lawyer(s) at the firm
represents you? the lawyers mentioned would be those
that have hadsignificant personal contacts.

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Ethical obligations of
departing lawyers
In addition to the ethical obligations departing lawyers
have, they also must avoid interfering with the
contracts the firm has with existing clients.
However, the caution to avoid stealing clients must be
balanced against the departing lawyers ethical
obligation to notify clients that an attorney is departing.

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How to tell clients

The preferred method of advising firm clients about
the impending departure of an attorney is a joint
letter from the firm and departing lawyer to all
clients with whom the lawyer had significant personal
contacts.

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A letter should advise

the clients
When the lawyer is leaving
The client has the option of going with the lawyer, staying
with the firm, or getting a new firm
How any advance fee deposit will be treated
A place for the client to sign and return the letter, with
instructions on where their file should go.

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Separate letters may be sent by the lawyer (or

the firm) to clients with whom the departing
lawyer had substantial personal contact as
long as:
1) the letters do not disparage the firm or the lawyer;
and
2) the letters do not involve improper solicitation

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Trust Account Monies

Clients that have given the firm an advance fee or
advance cost deposit take the money with them (less
earned fees and costs), if they go with the departing
lawyer. While simple in theory, application sometimes can
be problematic.
Theold firm should write a check, consistent with the
written instructions of the client, to either the client or to
the trust account for the departed lawyers new firm.

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Fee Divisions In General

In contingent fee cases where some or much of the work
was performed at the existing firm, but the case is going
with the departing lawyer, the firm and lawyer must
agree how the contingent fee will be apportioned
among them, based upon their respective contributions to
the case (i.e., quantum meruit) or based upon terms in
the partnership agreement.

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But can a departing lawyer keep all of a

contingent fee case that came into
the old firm but ultimately settled when the
lawyer was at a new firm?
Probably not, according to several cases.
A lawyer may be entitled to only his partnership portion
of the fees earned on a case, even if he performed most
of the work after the dissolution of the firm.
Nevertheless, some courts will find that when a lawyer
leaves a firm and takes a case with him, he may be
entitled to the quantum meruit value of the work he
performed.

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Clients interests not be prejudiced when

the attorney/client relationship is
terminated
Do not hold client files hostage, even if the client that is
leaving with the lawyer owes the current firm money.
Model Rule 1.16(d) requires that the clients interests not be
prejudiced when the attorney/client relationship is terminated.
Have the client or a runner from the departed lawyers new
firm sign for the file, if it is going to the new firm.
Also, it is appropriate to request in a litigation matter that the
departed lawyer file a substitution of counsel or at least
notification of address change with the court, to assure that
the old firm is still not listed as counsel of record.

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Clients file = paper and electronic

documents
When a client asks for their file, you must give them both
the paper and the electronic documents including
emails.
And remember that the client file is client property, so
you cannot charge the client for the cost of
downloading everything to disks.

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Phones
It is ethically inappropriate to have the receptionist tell
callers who are looking for a lawyer who recently left the
firm we dont know where he is. That game is not
professional and not acceptable.
Assure that all staff are instructed to provide the
departed lawyers phone number and mailing address.
Also, assign a partner to answer any client inquiries.
Moreover, mail should be forwarded to the departed
lawyer.

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Partners and Associates Leaving Must

Abide By Fiduciary Duties to
Firm
It is worth noting again that lawyers who are leaving a
firm have certain fiduciary duties to the firm to not
interfere with the contracts that the firm has with
existing clients, to not use firm resources to set up their
new firm, and to not attempt to steal away associates
and staff while the lawyers are still working for the firm.
- Lynda C. Shely

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A lawyer whose spouse is associated

with a firm representing an opposing
party
[T]he lawyer should advise the client of all circumstances
that might cause one to question the undivided loyalty
of the law firm and let the client make the decision as to
its employment. If the client prefers not to employ a law
firm containing a lawyer whose spouse is associated with
a firm representing an opposing party, that decision
should be respected.

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WON the firm of Velasquez, Rodriguez,

Respicio, Ramos, Nidea, and Pradomay call
itself A law Firm Of St. Thomas More and
Associate Members.
It implies that St. Thomas More is a Law Firm when in fact it is
not it would also convey to the public the impression that the
lawyers are members of the law firm which does not exist. To
the public, it would seem that the purpose or intention of
adding The Law Firm of St. Thomas More and Associates
Members is to bask in the name of a Saint, although that may
not really, be the purpose or intention of the lawyers. The
appellation only tends to confuse the public and in a way
demean both the saints and the legal profession whose
members must depend on their own name and record and
merit and not on the name/glory of other persons living or
dead. - PP v. Gonzalez, Jr., G.R. No. 139542 June 10, 2003

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Duties When Switching Firms

Duties of Lawyers Interviewing With Other Firms
Screening an Infected Lateral Hire
Death of a Lawyer

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Thanks for your listening!

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