Talk About Law Firms

[LimpBwiZit]

^eto rin yong nararamdaman mong mabigat ang responsibility mo, not just as a lawyer, but as a human being.

kahit di ka na sinisipot ng client, or pasaway sila, pinagpapasensyahan mo pa rin kahit hindi ka kumikita sa ginagawa mo, dahil alam mong kaya sila ganun ay dahil kulang sila sa pinag-aralan at hindi nila naiintindihan ang kinasangkutan nila, and you feel the duty to educate them.

it also gives you hope na someday, kung umasenso sa buhay ang mga taong ito, gagawa din sila ng kabutihan sa ibang taong nangangailangan.

[pristonpiker]

Totoo bang napakarami ng lawyer sa bansa at sobra sobra na sila? O kakaunti lang ang totoong lawyer dahil napakarami sa kanila ang hindi naman nagpapractice? Which is which?

Someone enlighten us

[tigerman]

sexytanned,

every government office meron legal department. However, the following ang the best: SolGen, Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, RTCs, MTCs, GOCC, SEC, and BIR.

You forgot to mention PAO (Public Attorney's Office).

[tigerman]

Totoo bang napakarami ng lawyer sa bansa at sobra sobra na sila? O kakaunti lang ang totoong lawyer dahil napakarami sa kanila ang hindi naman nagpapractice? Which is which?

Someone enlighten us

Madami na ba ang 60 thousand something na lawyers? My roll no. starts at 60 plus 3 digits.

Sa 60 thousand something na lawyers, madami na diyan ang patay o kung hindi man ay engaged sa corporate practice.

The oldies in the profession can correct me on this topic.

[vicmesar]

tigerman,

other government offices: Department of Justice; Court of Tax Appeals; COMELEC; GSIS, Ombudsman.

As to the number of lawyers: I guess the real issue is quality over quantity

[LimpBwiZit]

ipagpalagay nating 15,000 na ang patay (and too old to practice) + mga 10,000 in the gov't (Judges, justices, clerks of court, court attorneys, prosecutors, PAOs, quasi-judicial bodies, Legal Depts of various gov't agencies & LGUs) + 5000 in politics or employed as staff by politicians (from councilor up to VP) + 5000 in non-legal jobs, non-practicing, business, housewives, tambays + 3000 who migrated abroad.

i think konti pa rin ang 22,000 in private practice.

medyo overworked pa rin ang nasa firms and mas overloaded ang solo practitioners. Lupons are also sleeping on their jobs, kaya dumadami ang kaso sa courts. Masipag sila mag-issue ng certification to file action.

sa local IBP chapter namin sa province, mga 30 lang kaming nasa active practice before, and the province's population was around 400k, all the branches of the RTC (9 branches) +MCTCs (9 too) had around 4000 pending cases in their dockets.

[LimpBwiZit]

^but also, courts are partly to blame for the "overloading" by other firms and practitioners, courts are very lax in granting continuance/extension of time so there's no pressure on the part of lawyers/law firms to hire additional associates or regulate their acceptance of cases.

i think 999 of 1000 Motions of Extension to File Pleadings or to postpone/reset/cancel hearings ay granted.

actually, wala pa akong na-witness na na-deny.

[vicmesar]

limp,

sa appellate practice, substantial ang denial ng motion for extension - maybe around 30% and denied.

Ma grant man laging may hirit ang appellate courts (CA, CTA, SC) na half lang, e.g., if you seek a 30-day extension, grant nila 15 days lang; if you asked for 15 days, minsan 5 days lang nga ang approve.

In effect, may mga petition nadi-dismiss because of this partial granting.

[tupangusa]

^yong magandang experience ko ay sa pagre-render ng pro bono services. pinaglalaban mo ang talagang pinaniniwalaan mo, at ramdam mong malaki ang naitutulong mo sa mga helpless na mga tao.

ibang tuwa rin ang nararamdaman mo na may nagagawa ka para sa iba nang walang nakukuhang kapalit.

cheesy, pero dito ko nahanap ang "essence" ng lawyering

Ganyan din ang pananaw ko.......in my case puro labor dispute pag minsan criminal case. Iba yung high pag nakapanalo ka ng pro bono case dahil ideals mo na nakita mo sa cliente mo ang naipaglaban at naipanalo mo!Ako pa ang nag papakain sa cliento ko!

[sexyntanned]

but is it "safe" to practice law with "profiting" as your "main motivation"? I mean, some of my "older" friends told me that if you focus more on the quality of services, you tend to have less financial problems in the end.

In my case, I want to lawyer so I can become financially-stable by the age of 40 so that I could finally invest in something I truly, truly want.

[neinsager]

but is it "safe" to practice law with "profiting" as your "main motivation"? I mean, some of my "older" friends told me that if you focus more on the quality of services, you tend to have less financial problems in the end.

In my case, I want to lawyer so I can become financially-stable by the age of 40 so that I could finally invest in something I truly, truly want.

really? why didn't you just go with the one you truly truly wanted in the first place?

[neinsager]

Ganyan din ang pananaw ko.......in my case puro labor dispute pag minsan criminal case. Iba yung high pag nakapanalo ka ng pro bono case dahil ideals mo na nakita mo sa cliente mo ang naipaglaban at naipanalo mo!Ako pa ang nag papakain sa cliento ko!

may mga OLA clients ako na kinamusta ako after ng bar exams. di raw nila nahanap name ko sa list (di ako nag-take). may mga nag-console sakin. kaya ko raw yan, ipagpe-pray nila ako. touch lang ako that they still remember my name and have faith in me, even though i "flunked."

[sexyntanned]

really? why didn't you just go with the one you truly truly wanted in the first place?

because what I truly want involves lots of money () but basically, it's a very altruistic endeavor, which the profits I will derive from lawyering will be invested into. after about ten to fifteen years of practice, I will devote the rest of my life for this.

[vicmesar]

I appreciate sexytanned's frankness and clear foresight.

Truth is: after 15 years of practice kung tumagal ka man ng ganun, pagod ka na rin. You will mellow down. However, most practitioners end up without enough savings for whatever reasons.

It is good that sexytanned has that idea at this point na student pa lang sya.

[sexyntanned]

I appreciate sexytanned's frankness and clear foresight.

Truth is: after 15 years of practice kung tumagal ka man ng ganun, pagod ka na rin. You will mellow down. However, most practitioners end up without enough savings for whatever reasons.

really? naku! that's a little surprising... my father, a lawyer, has been financially successful all these years and he's been practicing since 1984 (that good old year we know from books and pop culture. lol). yes, he's "pagod" according to our mom but he's never had as many clients as before. i did get my mom's intelligence but i surely never had, and might never have, my father's industry. lol. it's my dreams, however, that carries me all the way through (hopefully).

with regard to being "pagod," hmmm... most of the people i know who end up entering in the endeavor I'm referring to start at around their early forties. that's why i'm guessing that i might need about 15 years to practice. but i may lessen that to about ten, or even less, if i'm already wealthy, with some businesses to support my means. because by that time, I might not be lawyering anymore since I would devote all my waking hours for this endeavor.

i'm not too worried, there's still a lot of time to decide. I just want to know just a little to have some idea about my plans this early on.

It is good that sexytanned has that idea at this point na student pa lang sya.

thanks.

but how true is it that one who focuses more on the quality of services he provides ends up earning more? Hmmm...

[vicmesar]

"but how true is it that one who focuses more on the quality of services he provides ends up earning more? Hmmm..."

This is very true: customer's satisfaction ika nga!


Example drafting of petition and other pleadings:

First Scenario: Legal Way of Solving the Case ( By Merit) - you need to present the correct THEORY OF THE CASE (this is the most critical); cite RELEVANT JURISPRUDENCE; and write these ideas COHERENTLY and CLEARLY.

If you have these skills, the Court/Judge will notice it and even by your colleagues will be impressed, sila mismo will ask kung sino gumagawa ng papel.

Second Scenario: Meta Legal: you need more expert pleaders because it is the usual requirement ng chamber lawyering that the pleading to be filed must be very extraordinary - yung tipong EUREKA, mali nga pala ako (drama effect ng Judge kuno!). Thus, maghahanap talaga ng magaling na pleader ang client.

If you have that reputation, pupuntahan ka nila; and, you can name your price.

[sexyntanned]

"but how true is it that one who focuses more on the quality of services he provides ends up earning more? Hmmm..."

This is very true: customer's satisfaction ika nga!


Example drafting of petition and other pleadings:

First Scenario: Legal Way of Solving the Case ( By Merit) - you need to present the correct THEORY OF THE CASE (this is the most critical); cite RELEVANT JURISPRUDENCE; and write these ideas COHERENTLY and CLEARLY.

If you have these skills, the Court/Judge will notice it and even by your colleagues will be impressed, sila mismo will ask kung sino gumagawa ng papel.

Second Scenario: Meta Legal: you need more expert pleaders because it is the usual requirement ng chamber lawyering that the pleading to be filed must be very extraordinary - yung tipong EUREKA, mali nga pala ako (drama effect ng Judge kuno!). Thus, maghahanap talaga ng magaling na pleader ang client.

If you have that reputation, pupuntahan ka nila; and, you can name your price.

thank you very much. at dahil dyan, mag-aaral na ako't parang na-eexcite na akong maging abogado.

[Karasu]

First Scenario: Legal Way of Solving the Case ( By Merit) - you need to present the correct THEORY OF THE CASE (this is the most critical); cite RELEVANT JURISPRUDENCE; and write these ideas COHERENTLY and CLEARLY.

If you have these skills, the Court/Judge will notice it and even by your colleagues will be impressed, sila mismo will ask kung sino gumagawa ng papel.

Second Scenario: Meta Legal: you need more expert pleaders because it is the usual requirement ng chamber lawyering that the pleading to be filed must be very extraordinary - yung tipong EUREKA, mali nga pala ako (drama effect ng Judge kuno!). Thus, maghahanap talaga ng magaling na pleader ang client.

If you have that reputation, pupuntahan ka nila; and, you can name your price.

Haha i must admit, the way you paint it with your examples is fascinating! I agree, totally. True skill will draw the attention of people to you. Do not worry so much about connections. Be a skilled and just lawyer, have a reputation for integrity and seriousness, and before you know it, you will have attained a life that is more than you can ever dream of.

I know what I have just said sounds too "rosy" and optimistic, and i admit I am quite the cynical person, but the reality is, when we reach that point in life, whether in practice, or whatever else, when all the world around us is falling apart due to corruption, selfishness and greed, all we need to do is remember that bright-eyed idealism we had when we first entered law to jolt us out of our jaded reveries.. Especially here in the philippines, where people and circumstances which easily question the strength of our principles fester like plagues left and right, our only armor and weapon is an unflinching moral standard, because once we cross that line, even just a little bit, that gradual fall is inevitable. By then, it is not merely a question of if, but when.

[vicmesar]

karasu,

the drafting of pleadings according to your client's needs is AMORAL (the gray area of morality).

It is a mere pleading, meaning you merely plead/pray; and, it's up for the Court to buy what you are trying to sell.

The pleading may sound highly philosophical, guilty of Jesuitic fine slicing of words, I don't care - it is the Court that has the final say anyway!

[vicmesar]

mahirap mag maintain ng idealism lalo na pag nasa practice ka.

Daming "players" na sa Judges;

Dedication, quality of work, and amoral approach are the time-tested formula to create impression in legal world.

Yun lang, clients and colleagues will test the borderline of your amoral approach, hehehe.

Karasu, goodluck.