IN RE: PETITION TO SIGN IN THE ROLL OF ATTORNEYS MICHAEL A. MEDADO, PETITIONER. (DIGEST)

IN RE: PETITION TO SIGN IN THE ROLL OF ATTORNEYS MICHAEL A. MEDADO, PETITIONER. (DIGEST)

B.M. No. 2540

September 24, 2013

TOPIC:

Admission to the Bar, Unauthorized Practice of Law, Canon 9, Signing of the Roll of Attorneys

FACTS:

Michael A. Medado passed the Philippine bar exams in 1979. On 7 May 1980, he took the Attorney’s Oath. He was scheduled to sign in the Roll of Attorneys on 13 May 1980, but failed to do so allegedly because he had misplaced the Notice to Sign the Roll of Attorneys. Several years later, while rummaging through his things, he found said Notice. He then realized that he had not signed in the roll, and that what he had signed at the entrance of the PICC was probably just an attendance record.

He thought that since he already took the oath, the signing of the Roll of Attorneys was not as important. The matter of signing in the Roll of Attorneys was subsequently forgotten.

In 2005, when Medado attended MCLE seminars, he was required to provide his roll number for his MCLE compliances to be credited. Not having signed in the Roll of Attorneys, he was unable to provide his roll number.

About seven years later, in 2012, Medado filed the instant Petition, praying that he be allowed to sign in the Roll of Attorneys. Medado justifies this lapse by characterizing his acts as “neither willful nor intentional but based on a mistaken belief and an honest error of judgment.

The Office of the Bar Confidant recommended that the instant petition be denied for petitioner’s gross negligence, gross misconduct and utter lack of merit, saying that petitioner could offer no valid justification for his negligence in signing in the Roll of Attorneys.

ISSUE:

Whether or not petitioner may be allowed to sign the Roll of Attorneys.

RULING:

Yes, the Supreme Court granted the petition subject to the payment of a fine and the imposition of a penalty equivalent to suspension from the practice of law.

Not allowing Medado to sign in the Roll of Attorneys would be akin to imposing upon him the ultimate penalty of disbarment, a penalty reserved for the most serious ethical transgressions. In this case, said action is not warranted.

The Court considered Medado’s demonstration of good faith in filing the petition himself, albeit after the passage of more than 30 years; that he has shown that he possesses the character required to be a member of the Philippine Bar; and that he appears to have been a competent and able legal practitioner, having held various positions at different firms and companies.

However, Medado is not free from all liability for his years of inaction.

A mistake of law cannot be utilized as a lawful justification, because everyone is presumed to know the law and its consequences.

Medado may have at first operated under an honest mistake of fact when he thought that what he had signed at the PICC entrance before the oath-taking was already the Roll of Attorneys. However, the moment he realized that what he had signed was just an attendance record, he could no longer claim an honest mistake of fact as a valid justification. At that point, he should have known that he was not a full-fledged member of the Philippine Bar, as it was the act of signing therein that would have made him so. When, in spite of this knowledge, he chose to continue practicing law, he willfully engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.

Knowingly engaging in unauthorized practice of law likewise transgresses Canon 9 of the Code of Professional Responsibility. At the heart of Canon 9 is the lawyer’s duty to prevent the unauthorized practice of law. This duty likewise applies to law students and Bar candidates. As aspiring members of the Bar, they are bound to conduct themselves in accordance with the ethical standards of the legal profession.

Medado cannot be suspended as he is not yet a full-fledged lawyer. However, the Court imposed upon him a penalty akin to suspension by allowing him to sign in the Roll of Attorneys one (1) year after receipt of the Resolution. He was also made to pay a fine of P32,000. Also, during the one-year period, petitioner was not allowed to engage in the practice of law.