CASE DIGEST
VILLAMOR V. JUMAO-AS
A.C. No. 8111. February
15, 2022
SC EN BANC, HERNANDO J.
CPR, Conflict of Interest
DOCTRINE: Lawyers shall uphold candor, fairness,
and loyalty in their dealings with clients and avoiding any appearance of
conflicting interests.
Court suspended Atty. Jumao-as from the practice of law for two years for violating Canon 15, CPR, which states that lawyers shall not represent conflicting interests except with the written consent of all concerned after full disclosure of the facts. Atty. Jumao-as facilitate the incorporation of a lending company owned by his client and later joining another lending company owned by someone else. Atty. Jumao-as persuaded his client to borrow money from the owner of the new lending company and even sent a demand letter on behalf of the new employer to collect the debt from his original client.
In his motion to reduce penalty, Atty.
Jumao-as acknowledged his faults and expressed remorse for his actions. He
sought a reconsideration of the original two-year suspension.
Whether or not the lawyer violated the prohibition against representing conflicting interests.
YES.
The court considered Atty. Jumao-as' acts of contrition and willingness to take
responsibility for his actions; his speedy initiative to make amends and take
responsibility of the entire debt is remarkable. He also expended extraordinary
efforts to straighten out the corporate scuffles involving him and complainant
Villamor and they have resumed their business dealings in good terms. Grave
though his transgressions may have been, the sincerity of Atty. Jumao-as'
remorse is reflected in his words and actions, which impresses this Court.
No comments:
Post a Comment