Proper conduct, C2S1 CPRA

Section 1, Canon II SECTION 1. Proper conduct. - A lawyer shall not engage in unlawful, dishonest, immoral, or deceitful conduct. (2023 Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability or CPRA) 1. Proper conduct a. No to unlawful, dishonest, immoral, or deceitful conduct 1) Unlawful By definition, any act or omission contrary to law is unlawful. It does not necessarily imply the element of criminality although it is broad enough to include it. (Re: Report on the Financial Audit Conducted on the Books of Account of Atty. Raquel G. Kho, A.M. No. P-06-2177, 10 April 2007) Any act or omission that is contrary to, or prohibited or unauthorized by, or in defiance of, disobedient to, or disregards the law is “unlawful.” (Jimenez v. Francisco, A.C. No. 10548, 10 December 2014) Thus, the presence of evil intent on the part of the lawyer is not essential in order to bring his act or omission within the terms of Rule 1.01 [of the old CPR], which specifically prohibits lawyers from engaging in unlawful conduct. (See: Re: Report on the Financial Audit Conducted on the Books of Account of Atty. Raquel G. Kho [2007], supra.) 2) Dishonest To be “dishonest” means the disposition to lie, cheat, deceive, defraud or betray; be unworthy; lacking in integrity, honesty, probity, integrity in principle, fairness and straight forwardness while conduct that is “deceitful” means the proclivity for fraudulent and deceptive misrepresentation, artifice or device that is used upon another who is igno...