Speeches, perception and credibility.

Speeches are a politician's tool. Unassailable conduct - this is the tool of a magistrate. When a justice is reduced to giving speeches, nay reduce to defending one's own decisions and conduct in public, maybe it is high  time to leave the hallowed halls of his chamber. His being compelled to take the rostrum signifies that the bench which he should keep untarnished had been desecrated by his alleged questionable conduct truth or perceived. 

The barrage of criticism deafening and  verbalized by the person holding the highest elective office of the land  is not an empty tirade or  just a whine of a person who lost Haceinda Luisita, it is a statement that he and the public he represents no longer believes that the magistrate possesses one of the necessary qualifications of a judge. Impartiality.

The president's attack on the Chief Justice anchored on the CJ's midnight appointment and his consistent concurrence with all the decisions favoring GMA is part of the democratic process. It was neither an unbecoming conduct for a president nor divisive one. It was a calculated political move to  start the ball rolling for the CJ's impeachment which indeed happened.

The 'cloak of immunity from criticism' of the judiciary in order to maintain the rule of law is not one that could not be pierced. The respect for the judiciary does not emanate from the fact that they could not be criticized but from the fact that they are perceive as the ones who dispenses justice with cold impartiality.

The impeachment of the CJ is not an attack on the Supreme Court. It is an attack on the CJ himself as a person. It questions his qualifications. It questions his impartiality.

The President may have been calloused in his choice of venue and how he made his thoughts public but at least he had the guts to do so. He is a politician and he can get away with bad manners. Heck what he did was to remove the concept of separation of powers and check and balance from the books and callously displayed it on television. 

Justices, ideally however should be stoic.  They should be the epitome of  a well bred person. They should be  gentlemen and perceived as gentlemen. They should not be delivering speeches defending themselves that is and should be the role of the PR man. 

My  two day forced Sabbatical due to the nagging pain in my gums gave me ample time to re-asses my practice and had me thinking what else do I need to do to make myself a good lawyer.

I decided to write an early New Year's resolution and it includes some things on my personal life since I read somewhere that you need to be a good person first before you can be a good lawyer.

1. Wake up at 5:00 and read a law book.

2. Resurrect my law school syllabus and use them as a study guide.

3. Start my day in the office with reading the newspaper.

4. Exercise during lunch time.

5. Take my vitamins. C, E, Folic Acid and B plus.

6. Take my medications.

7. Do my yoga once a week.

8. Run.

9. Do soccer practice every Sunday.

10. Meet appointments.

11. Meet deadlines.

12. Read three new cases a day.

13. Go to office at 7:30 in the morning.

14. Leave at 5:45.

15. Monitor all cases every Monday.

16. Read 1 law related book every week.

17. Read 1 law journal article every Tuesday.

18. Be a reliable person.

19. Be a good wife.


20. Attend MCLE's.


21. Be at the court by 8:00 am regardless of who the judge is and observe the conduct of hearings by judges who start on time.


22. Teach.


23. Study LlM at the San Beda College of Law.

What number 32!? OR What to do while waiting for your turn during hearings.

Scheduling more than 20 cases in a half a day hearing is normal for most courts.

The usual practice is to call all the cases and to know how many of the lawyers are ready.

On a second call the actual conduct of the hearing happens. Accused are arraigned, pre-trials are conducted and trials continued.

Arraignment usually last 5-10 minutes depending on the manifestations of the lawyer.

Pre - trial conferences could last longer depending on the stipulations and pieces of evidence marked.

Trials could last from thirty minutes to an hour depending on the lawyer. Some lawyers conduct their questioning fast, crisp and direct. Others draw answers like they are drawing water from a stone and that takes time.

So what do you do when the judge is still hearing number 3 and  and you are number 32?

1. Text your secretary all your instructions for the day. (At least you are doing something while you are waiting.)

2. Study the case folder of the case scheduled for that hearing. (I kid you not how many nuances you will notice if you have read the case folder for the nth time.In three hours you can read a three inch thick case file three times.)

3. Observe. ( Observing the conduct of hearings especially if the lawyers involved are old timers is often equivalent to half a semester of law school.)

4. Chat with fellow lawyers. ( Just for fun! I have rekindled old friendships just to kill time and my life is enriched, seriously.)

5. Read a book. ( I have seen a professor of mine read a novel while waiting. It will enrich your vocabulary! hehehe) 

6. Pray. (Pray that twenty years from now you are still patient enough to not fidget, fret and curse while waiting and you have not experience all sorts of stress related illnesses due to all the frustrations brought about by waiting.)

Patience Is A Lawyer's Virtue

I am not a patient woman.

Let me rephrase that, I am not a patient woman before I became a lawyer. I am used to getting things done efficiently and immediately. I used to be the  "NOW NA" woman personified.

Practice change all that. I have learned to become patient after barely two years of practice. I realized that if I will insist in my past paced style of living I will end up dead. Dead from all the frustrations.

Thus, I have cultivated patience from waiting for my turn during hearings.

I have learned patience from waiting for resolutions, orders and decisions.

I have learned to bite my lips while facing unreasonable people and circumstances.

I have learned to take deep breaths before acting.

I have changed.

Patience however should be differentiated from tolerance of injustice brought about by the slow pace of the judicial processes.

And I have to remind myself of that.

I need a manual.

I love reading self-help and how to books.

And right now I need a self-help or how to book on becoming a good lawyer.

I am currently plagued with self-doubt if I will live up to the diligence and persistence as a lawyer set by my father. I have started questioning if I could really become an exemplary lawyer. Thus the scamper to find how to books.

I found two books that might become my Bible and Quoran on how to conduct my practice. The first one is Diokno on Trial (Techniques and Ideals of the Filipino Lawyer) and the other one is Legal Profession (An Introduction for Law students and Young lawyers of the 21st Century.)

Diokno's book is useful because it gives sample forms for monitoring and preparing for your cases. The articles of the former senator are also informative and inspiring. It makes you believe that you are indeed part of a noble profession.

Prof. Coquia's book on the other hand is relatively thick and filled with articles of esteemed legal practitioners and academics.

I will do book reviews on the two books with in the next two weeks. In the mean time I will contemplate on what I need to be or do to become a good lawyer. Any suggestions? :0

If I can not have crispy lechon I can write crisp blogs :)

Kuya Avel a.k.a the guru of blogging in SOCSKSARGEN area advised that I should write shorter blog entries.

Here goes my attempt at  a less than 300 word blog.




First lesson that I learned when I was a new lawyer barely a year and a half ago was how to introduce one's self in the court room. 

Seriously when you are a new lawyer you fret the small stuff.


Thankfully, coming from a family of lawyers and still friends with most of my classmates and block mates who became lawyers ahead of me, I received a few basic tips. I'm sharing some.




1. Be polite. Do basic pleasantries. Say good morning or good afternoon which ever is appropriate.


2. Do not be shy that you are a new lawyer. Inform the court that you are a new lawyer. Some judges, not all, are lenient to new lawyers especially if you come from a school with no OLA or its equivalent (practicum or supervised law student practice.) Even your opponent will cut you some slack. They had been new lawyers once.


3. Clearly pronounce your name. Speak slowly. The court stenographers will love you if you speak slowly and clearly. Remember that they jot down a number of words per day. Slow and clear speakers are their favorites.



4. Recite your Roll Number. There are actually some people who had the audacity to appear in court and comport themselves as lawyers when they did not even take a law school entrance exam. This shows good faith on your part and would help fellow lawyers  who do due diligence verify the  veracity of your claim. 


5. Bring your calling card. This will assist court employees in sending orders/ summons/ etc. It would also be useful if you have a very difficult name to spell or pronounce.


My spiel for my entry of appearance  when I was new was: " Good  morning your Honor. I am Atty. Psyche Rizsavi B. Fontanilla. Respectfully entering my appearance as counsel for the petitioner. I am a new lawyer and this  is my first time to appear in this sala. My roll number is 57-700."


Hope this helps. :)