ATENEO DE MANILA LAW SCHOOL

LEGAL ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

LEGAL ETHICS FINAL EXAMINATION

Instructions

As lawyers, you will be confronted with situations that will test your values and force you to make
tough choices. The purpose of the oral examination is to test your ability to apply the model for
ethical decision-making and to arrive at an ethical decision after considering all available
information and weighing all factors and possible options.

Each havrutah team will be tested on 1 out of the 2 given case studies, which will be assigned
randomly 1 hour before the schedule of the oral examination. The team will be given an hour to
deliberate on a specific question pertaining to the selected case study, and 30 minutes for the oral
examination proper. The remaining 30 minutes will be used for feedback and clarifications.

In preparing for the oral examination, as a team, brainstorm and identify the various ethical
dilemmas posed by the case study, the various lawyers involved in the scenario, and how the ethical
dilemmas affect them. Put yourselves in the shoes of the lawyers, and imagine the possible decisions
you may have to make in light of the client’s situation and wishes.

CASE STUDY # 1: The Blood Brothers

DG and Eppy were best friends since college. They were both only children, and treated each other
as the blood brothers that they never had. When they both went to law school, they decided to join
the same fraternity, OSM, in order to cement their friendship and bond.

Even though DG and Eppy entered law school in the same year, DG was more focused on his law
studies, and took great care to not let his frat activities get in the way of his academics. He graduated
on time with honors, and passed the Bar on his first take, bringing much pride to his family and his
frat and brods. Eppy, on the other hand, chose to focus on frat activities, which took away
considerable time from his studying. He had to drop a number of subjects, which pushed back his
graduation by a couple of years. Nevertheless he took pride in that he never failed a subject, and
that his brods were loyal to their frat and to him.

Even though their paths diverged after DG’s graduation, Eppy nevertheless made it a point to keep
DG in the loop on any of their frat activities and parties. On his part, DG did his best to be at the frat
gatherings as much as he could unless out-of-town hearings prevented him from coming back in
time.

Sometime December 2015, DG and Eppy were at the annual OSM Christmas ball. As could be
expected, food and alcohol flowed profusely, and people were in a festive mood. DG and Eppy took
the opportunity to drink to their heart’s content since Christmas was just a few days away. Eppy,
spotting a pretty girl from across the room, nudged DG saying, “Check her out. I’m going to score
with her tonight.” Eppy had always had a eye for pretty girls, and DG laughed, saying, “Good luck,
pare. You’ll need it!” With drink in tow, Eppy made his way towards the girl, leaving DG to fend for
himself.

Eppy disappeared for some time after that. At around 2 a.m., as DG prepared to leave, Eppy came
back in a hurry, looking somewhat disheveled. Just as DG was about to ask what happened, Eppy
told him, “Pare, let’s get out of here.” Thinking it was just a case of Eppy having had too much
alcohol and a good time, he left it at that, and left the party with Eppy.

A few days later, DG came across an article in the newspaper, talking about how a pretty co-ed had
been found naked and unconscious on the evening of their OSM Christmas Ball, not very far from
where they had had it. The co-ed had been found unconscious, her hair disheveled, bra pulled out
of her dress, dress pulled off over her shoulders and up above her waist. When she was found, she
was butt naked, legs spread apart, and had been penetrated by a foreign object.

The newspaper had published a picture of the unconscious woman, with her face pixelated so as to
make her unrecognizable. DG realized, with a shock, that it was the pretty girl that Eppy had pointed
out to him on the night of the party.

Sometime later, CCTV cameras in the area were able to identify Eppy as the one who had assaulted
the girl. Eppy was criminally charged.

Eppy tapped his fraternity brod, Jigo, a practicing lawyer specializing in criminal defense cases, to
be his lead defense counsel. They mobilized a team of brods to help out with the defense. Eppy,
wanted to personally be involved in the strategizing of his case, as his future as a lawyer depended
on it.

The case was raffled to Judge Jose Santos, who was a prominent alumnus and brod of OSM
Fraternity. It turned out that the victim was a baptismal god-daughter of Judge Santos, and a student
leader and honor student at another law school.

In Eppy’s defense, Atty. Jigo stated, among others that the victim was: (a) practically an alcoholic,
(b) promiscuous, (c) crazy/out of her mind, and (d) really wanted to hook up.

During the trial, Atty. Jigo cross-examined the victim, asking the following questions in rapid
succession:

How old are you?

How much do you weigh?

What did you eat that day?

Well what did you have for dinner? Who made dinner? Did you drink with dinner? No, not even
water? When did you drink? How much did you drink? What container did you drink out of? Who
gave you the drink? How much do you usually drink?

Who dropped you off at this party? At what time? But where exactly?
 What were you wearing? Why were you going to this party? What’d you do when you got there?
Are you sure you did that? But what time did you do that?

What does this text mean? Who were you texting?

When did you urinate? Where did you urinate? With whom did you urinate outside?

Was your phone on silent when your sister called? Do you remember silencing it? Really because on
page 53 I’d like to point out that you said it was set to ring.

Did you drink in college? You said you were a party animal? How many times did you black out?

Did you party at frats?

Are you serious with your boyfriend? Are you sexually active with him?

When did you start dating? Would you ever cheat? Do you have a history of cheating? What do you
mean when you said you wanted to reward him?

Do you remember what time you woke up?

You didn’t notice any abrasions, right?

Do you remember any more from that night?

The ordeal of the cross-examination left the victim in a state of shock and depression for several
weeks.

Oral Examination Questions

You are DG. Will you testify in Eppy’s case? For whom? Under what circumstances? What
are the factors that you must consider in making your decision?

You are Jigo. You accepted Eppy’s request to be his defense lawyer. He has signified that he
wants to actively participate in formulating the theory of the case and strategizing possible
outcomes.

Eppy suggests that you talk to the victim directly and propose a settlement in exchange for
dropping the case. What do you do? What are the factors that you must consider in making your
decision?

You are Jigo. You accepted Eppy’s request to be his defense lawyer. He has signified that he
wants to actively participate in formulating the theory of the case and strategizing possible
outcomes. His theory is that she was an alcoholic and promiscuous, and therefore agreed to what
happened to her.

What do you do? What are the factors that you must consider in making your decision?

CASE STUDY # 2: A Moment of Weakness

Michael and Janice were married in 2010. They are both professionals, with stable jobs. In the five
years that they were married, they were trying to conceive, but have not been successful. Michael
wanted to have a baby for so long that on the day Janice received news that she was pregnant, he
was ecstatic.

As Janice’s pregnancy progressed however, she started having difficulty breathing and was easily
fatigued. One day, when she was 12 weeks pregnant, she was rushed to the hospital because she
couldn’t breathe. The doctors diagnosed her as having mitral valve stenosis, a congestion of the
heart due to a valve defect. The doctors said that her chances of carrying the baby to term were
very slim as her heart might not be able to take the stress of childbirth. There was a very high risk
that both her life and that of the baby’s would be lost. Janice contemplated on whether to have an
abortion if it would mean saving her own life.

After 3 days of being in the hospital and agonizing over this, Janice lost the baby. It was as if the
baby had let go on his own, sensing his mother’s dilemma and making the decision for her. Janice
had mixed feelings of relief and guilt.

Michael, on the other hand, was devastated. He blamed Janice for not taking good care of her
health, and they had a major fight with much screaming and breaking of plates. Michael stormed
out of their conjugal home and left for his hometown to clear his head.

Back in his hometown, Michael’s aunt Teresa welcomed him warmly, happy to see him after almost
a decade of being away. Michael told her about the situation between him and Janice, and Teresa
listened sympathetically. She knew Michael needed to take his mind off things, so she made sure
that he attended all the fiestas in their own town and nearby areas.

Michael was only too glad to do anything to take his mind off Janice and the baby they lost. He
threw himself with wild abandon into every town fiesta and party, often getting so drunk that he
had to be escorted home.

On one such occasion, Hannah, Teresa’s niece by marriage, took Michael home after an evening of
drunken revelry. Overcome by drunkenness and physical need, Michael took Hannah into his arms
and into his bed.

The following morning, after the drunkenness had worn off, Michael awoke, puzzled, to find Hannah
sleeping by his side. He suddenly remembered Janice, who he hadn’t seen in months since their big
fight, and realized that he missed her terribly. He recalled the events of the previous night and was
suddenly filled with shame and guilt. He realized that he could not live without Janice, and that he
was a fool to have left her and to have succumbed to temptation in a moment of weakness. He
woke Hannah up and told her that he had to return to his wife in Manila, and that he was truly sorry
for what had happened between them. He begged her to keep this incident a secret from their
relatives and friends, saying that he would never confess this to his wife under any circumstance.
He packed his things that same day and said goodbye to his Tita Teresa, thanking her for her
kindness to him. She was puzzled by his sudden return to Manila but did not press him for details.

Michael rushed back to Manila, praying that it wasn’t too late for him and Janice to reconcile. Janice
had been doing a lot of soul-searching during their time apart, and she realized how much she
missed Michael and their life together. When the doorbell rang, she was overjoyed to see Michael
again, as he was to see her. They melted into each other’s arms.

Michael and Janice reconciled with each other and decided to put the past behind them. Janice had
realized how much Michael wanted to be a father, and during their time apart, she had overcome
her misgivings about adopting. When she mentioned this to Michael, he hugged her, knowing how
difficult it must have been for her to reach that point of acceptance. They agreed that if and when
that time came, the baby and their neighbors should not know about the adoption. They agreed
that it would be in everyone’s best interest to simulate the birth of the child instead of going through
formal adoption proceedings.

Three months later, Michael received word from Hannah that she was pregnant with his baby and
that she wanted support for herself and the child. Michael talked to Hannah, saying that he would
take full responsibility for all her financial needs until a year after her delivery, as well as all the
child’s financial needs until he/she finished college, on the condition that Michael would adopt the
child and Hannah would give up all her parental rights “in the best interest of the child.” Hannah
said she would defer to a lawyer’s advice on the matter.

Michael invited his childhood friend Danny, who was the best man at Michael and Janice’s wedding
and a lawyer, to drinks one night. They hadn’t seen each other in some time, and Danny was keen
to catch up with Michael, who was the ninong of Danny’s first-born son.

Michael told Danny that he and Janice were ready to adopt a child, and that his distant cousin
Hannah was willing to give her child to them. Michael also told Danny that Janice agreed that it
would best to simulate the child’s birth instead of going through the trouble of formal adoption
proceedings.

When Danny asked Michael about this course of action, Michael explained:

“I know you question why we plan to do it this way. But I actually have a deeper reason for it,
one that Janice does not know. Hannah’s baby is mine. I made a mistake in a moment of
weakness, and I don’t want Janice to know about it. At the same time, I want that baby to grow
up with me, because after all, I’m the father. The only way this can happen is if we simulate the
birth of the baby. Otherwise, the social worker handling the adoption case will be asking too
many intrusive questions, and Janice might find out I’m the father.

I really need your support and advice on this, Danny. You’re one of my oldest and closest
friends.”

You are Danny, a lawyer and Michael’s childhood friend. You were best man at Michael
and Janice’s wedding, while Michael is the ninong of your first-born son.
 Michael invites you to meet him for drinks. He and Janice want to adopt a child but don't
want to go through formal adoption proceedings. Michael ultimately reveals the real reason for
wanting to keep the adoption as low-key as possible.

What do you do?

You are Danny, a lawyer and Michael’s childhood friend. You were best man at Michael
and Janice’s wedding, while Michael is the ninong of your first-born son.

Michael asks you to draft a contract whereby Hannah promises to drop all claims against
Michael if he takes full responsibility for her financial needs until a year after delivery and the
baby's until he/she finishes college.

What do you do?