8. Duties and Responsibilities of Lawyers (CPRA)

Duties and Responsibilities of Lawyers (CPRA)

Concept

The Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) governs a lawyer’s professional duties and accountability. It treats legal practice as a responsibility to the client, the courts, and the public—not simply as the pursuit of a client’s preferred result. Its standards connect the quality of legal service with independence, integrity, and the efficient and effective delivery of justice. (Art. 1, CPRA)¹

Governing provisions

The CPRA, promulgated under A.M. No. 22-09-01-SC, sets out general standards of conduct and organizes lawyers’ duties under the canons on Independence, Propriety, Fidelity, Competence and Diligence, and Equality. These are related obligations: a lawyer must be able to act independently, behave properly, remain faithful to the client’s lawful interests, perform work competently, and provide legal service without improper discrimination. (A.M. No. 22-09-01-SC)

Requisites / Rules

• Independence means exercising professional judgment free from dishonest or immoral considerations, outside pressure, and improper influence. Advocacy must rest on the merits of the cause, not on an actual or apparent ability to influence a tribunal or government agency. (Art. 3, CPRA)² (Art. 2, CPRA)³
• Propriety concerns conduct befitting a lawyer. The duty extends beyond courtroom behavior: a lawyer must not engage in unlawful, dishonest, immoral, or deceitful conduct. Private conduct may therefore matter when it reflects on fitness to practice. (Art. 1, CPRA)⁴ (Robiñol v. Bassig., A.C. No. 11836, 21 November 2017)⁵
• Fidelity requires loyalty to the client’s lawful interests, while preserving the lawyer’s professional judgment. The client may decide to settle or compromise after the consequences are explained, but may not dictate the procedure for handling the case. Fidelity also includes proper accounting for client property. (Art. 5, CPRA)⁶ (Lizada v. ., A.C. No. 14203, 18 February 2025)⁷
• Competence and diligence concern how legal work is performed. Loyalty alone is insufficient if a lawyer fails to attend competently and diligently to the client’s matter. (Basiyo v. Alisuag., A.C. No. 11543, 26 September 2017)⁸
• Equality places the delivery of legal services within the profession’s broader responsibility to make those services accessible. It complements the duty to provide efficient and effective service rather than treating access to counsel as separate from professional responsibility. (A.M. No. 22-09-01-SC, Canon V) (Art. 1, CPRA)¹

Key doctrines

These duties operate together. A client’s instructions do not excuse improper conduct; neither does loyalty authorize interference with proceedings. Unless authorized by law or a court, a lawyer must not cause a government office or officer to interfere in a matter before a court, tribunal, or government agency. (Art. 5, CPRA)⁶ (Art. 4, CPRA)⁹

Bar tip

Identify whose interest is affected, then test the lawyer’s act against all applicable duties. A single act may implicate more than one canon; client loyalty is never a defense to dishonesty or improper influence. (Art. 1, CPRA)⁴ (Art. 2, CPRA)³