Dr. Atty. Noel Guivani Ramiscal was quite thrilled to receive his third invitation to lecture at the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) seminars for the lawyers of the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In his October 15, 2015 MCLE lecture, Dr. Ramiscal discussed the trends in ethics and legal practices of lawyers that utilize the internet and internet innovation tools to better and further their practice, both in real time and in virtual time.
Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal in his MCLE Lecture for the SEC, Oct. 15, 2015
In his portion on e-discovery of e-data, Dr. Ramiscal emphasized several valuable sites for the legal cyberpractitioner who is trying to find the so-called “cyber dirt” or incriminating e-data against his/her opponent. Dr. Ramiscal lauded the SEC as one of the truly effective government agencies that address and combat fraud and its website contains a veritable trove of useful information that Dr. Ramiscal had used in the past to expose corporate fraudsters to his clients and friends.
One of the most interesting portions of his lecture that elicited a lot of reaction is his discussion of virtual worlds being used by lawyers to promote themselves online, or to serve as training and even meeting platforms. The development of three dimensional virtual worlds was gladly embraced by online gamers and enthusiasts, who are for the most part, young people, who grew up with X-boxes and the World of Warcraft. The NSA has recently released some findings that these 3D virtual worlds are quite popular with cybercriminals as well, as a gateway point for meeting other criminals and for making deals.
Enterprising lawyers have also jumped on the bandwagon. The most popular virtual world for lawyers is “Second Life” which is created by Linden Labs. Signing-up is free and one must download the software. Everything in Second Life is created “in-world” and because it is three dimensional, the feelings and sensation in participating in Second Life activities can seem so real that other people have literally forsaken their “real” lives for their “Second” lives, leading to real time divorces.
Attorney Benjamin Duranske founded the Second Life Bar Association as a way for lawyers from all over the world who are Second Life inhabitants to meet socially and professionally and to advertise their services to Second Life inhabitants. Many of the biggest corporate firms in the world have Second life presences. This virtual world has its own currency, the Linden, which could actually be exchanged for U.S. dollars. Savvy legal practitioners are able to translate their virtual presences into real cash by securing big time clients in Second Life.
Some SEC Lawyers who attended Dr. Ramiscal’s MCLE lecture, Oct. 15, 2015
Of course, ethical issues abound concerning the practice of law in Second Life. Matters concerning the appearance of a lawyer’s avatar (the online persona of the lawyer), advertising, solicitation and virtual contact with clients, and taxation of the Linden are interesting issues that Second Life lawyers discuss in their Second Life Continuing legal Education seminars held “in-world”. And for the committed virtual law firms and lawyers that are after cutting their overhead costs, Second Life offers the virtual functionality of conferring with their clients from any part of the world, “in-world” which could truly save so much money for their clients.
Other SEC Lawyers who attended Dr. Ramiscal’s MCLE lecture, Oct. 15, 2015
The Philippine Supreme Court and bar associations have yet to weigh in on the challenges that cyber law practice presents to the Philippine legal profession and give some guidelines.
Dr. Ramiscal is probably the first, and currently the only Philippine lawyer that offers a whole lecture devoted solely to legal/ethical issues for cyberlaw practitioners in the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education seminars. He started doing this way back in 2011, for the University of the Philippine Institute of Administration of Justice (UP IAJ), and every year, new technological developments or new applications of existing technologies to the legal profession abound. He has taken it as his bounden duty to incorporate these matters into his lecture so as to give the attendees some new insights and information into practising “cyberlaw”. He is grateful to the UP IAJ for giving him the great opportunity to share his knowledge and insights to his fellow lawyers, and on this occasion, he is filled with gratitude to the Securities and Exchange Commission MCLE Committee for inviting him back. In Dr. Ramiscal’s experience, the SEC lawyers are truly one of the best and helpful bunch of Philippine lawyers one could possibly interact with.
Philippine Law Bytes: TheCyberLawyer Issues by Dr. Attorney Noel Guivani Ramiscal 