Addressing and Preventing the Quagmires of Virtual Law Practice by Law Firms: Dr. Ramiscal at the Villaraza & Angangco Law Office (Copyright by Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal)

One of the firms in the Philippines that certainly practice “Big Law” in a grand manner is the Villaraza and Angangco law firm with their own building at Global Fort City in Taguig. When Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal was invited to give a Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) lecture for the lawyers of this firm through the UP Institute of Administration of Justice last June 27, 2015, he lost no time in revamping his cyberethics presentation to cover the concerns of virtual practice by law firms. This is the second time he gave a lecture for this firm, the first being in 2013, and as always, it was a pleasant experience. The Rainmaker’s Lounge

DR. ATTY. NOEL G. RAMISCAL MCLEJUNE272015 Lecture for the Villaraza & Angangco Law Firm

where the lecture series were held was certainly tasteful and elegant. He felt at home with all the native jewelry pieces that were on display and the grand piano with the plush leather seat that he occasionally sat on during his lecture. A bronzed sculpted figure of Justice witnessed the proceedings.

Dr. Ramiscal focused his lecture on the legal and possible ethical quagmires law firms may face in the possibility of expanding their practice online. He gave examples of models of multi-jurisdictional virtual law firms (MJVLFs), some of which do not maintain any physical site or office and how they have managed to compete with the so-called “Big Law” firms. These MJVLFs are transforming the scape of legal practice with their innovative solutions to lowering the costs of access to law, without sacrificing the quality of service. Some of these firms do not hire associates, or as one put it “inexperienced lawyers” to handle client matters. These firms turn to technology solutions to answer the general needs of their clients, particularly in the creation, revision and storage of legal documents for different types of cases (See Vlotech, Directlaw, Rapidoc). Some of these firms have devoted client extranets with distinct features custom made for the needs of their clients, and some outsource messaging services (Ruby Secretary). Several firms use the portals of virtual worlds to render service or to attract clients. One such virtual world is “Second Life” where some lawyers and law firms from all over the physical world have converged to create and explore ways of practising law beyond what was thought possible several years ago.

DR. ATTY. NOEL G. RAMISCAL MCLEJUNE172015 Lecture with other Villaraza & Angangco lawyers

Another major development that has arisen to answer the need for accountability in the legal industry for professional fees billed by law firms is the development of several software solutions (e.g. Rocket Matter and ViewaBill) that make the process of billing transparent to clients. Some of these are also used by in-house counsel to determine the reasonability of fees charged by outside counsel or consultant (e.g. SkyAnalytics).

All MJVLFs rely on some form of service offered by cloud computing providers, be it in the form of Infrastructure as a Service, or Platform as a Service, or Software as a Service. While cloud computing brings a lot of benefits, the possible breach of confidentiality in the privileged communications between lawyers and their clients in the documents stored in the cloud is a primary issue that no Philippine lawyer can afford to ignore. Dr. Ramiscal delineated the issues that lawyers should investigate before they sign any service license agreement with any cloud computing provider, for their benefit and the benefit of their clients.

DR. ATTY. NOEL G. RAMISCAL MCLEJUNE272015 Lecture with the Villaraza & Angangco lawyers

The ease by which services can be accessed by clients from all over world via legal websites have made it also easier to facilitate and commit unauthorized practice of law (UPL). With the current move of standardizing credentials of professionals across different parts of the world, thereby making it possible to practice in different countries, the impact of this to the legal profession has not truly been studied in any comprehensive manner by any Philippine entity. While the still ineffective Cybercrime Prevention Act makes it seemingly simple to file cases against foreign lawyers whose acts of UPL amount to crimes in (the yet to be established) Philippine cybercrime courts, it is by no means settled if any judgment or order could be enforced against these lawyers in different jurisdictions. The difficulty becomes exacerbated with the rise of MJVLFs and the various ethical rules in countries that are affected by the acts of these errant lawyers.

These, and many other issues of significance to MJVLFs were discussed by Dr. Ramiscal to an appreciative and classy bunch of lawyers. Many thanks to the gracious V & A partners with whom Dr. Ramiscal had lunch with: Attys. Augusto San Pedro, Franchette Acosta, Juanito Sañosa, Thea Daep and Sylvette Tankiang, and the vivacious associates.