This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2015-03-16 |
LEONEN, J. |
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| Membership in the bar requires a high degree of fidelity to the laws whether in a private or professional capacity. "Any transgression of this duty on his part would not only diminish his reputation as a lawyer but would also erode the public's faith in the Legal Profession as a whole."[56] A lawyer "may be removed or otherwise disciplined 'not only for malpractice and dishonesty in his profession, but also for gross misconduct not connected with his professional duties, which showed him to be unfit for the office and unworthy of the privileges which his license and the law confer to him.'"[57] | |||||
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2013-10-22 |
BERSAMIN, J. |
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| No lawyer should ever lose sight of the verity that the practice of the legal profession is always a privilege that the Court extends only to the deserving, and that the Court may withdraw or deny the privilege to him who fails to observe and respect the Lawyer's Oath and the canons of ethical conduct in his professional and private capacities. He may be disbarred or suspended from the practice of law not only for acts and omissions of malpractice and for dishonesty in his professional dealings, but also for gross misconduct not directly connected with his professional duties that reveal his unfitness for the office and his unworthiness of the principles that the privilege to practice law confers upon him.[27] Verily, no lawyer is immune from the disciplinary authority of the Court whose duty and obligation are to investigate and punish lawyer misconduct committed either in a professional or private capacity.[28] The test is whether the conduct shows the lawyer to be wanting in moral character, honesty, probity, and good demeanor, and whether the conduct renders the lawyer unworthy to continue as an officer of the Court.[29] | |||||