This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2005-02-18 |
YNARES-SANTIAGO, J. |
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| In Legarda v. Court of Appeals,[23] counsel's failure to exercise due diligence in protecting the interest of his client caused the latter material prejudice. The moment counsel takes a client's cause, he covenants that he will exert all effort for its prosecution until its final resolution. A lawyer who fails to exercise due diligence or abandon's his client's cause makes him unworthy of the trust reposed on him by the latter; he owes fealty, not only to his client, but also to the Court of which he is an officer.[24] | |||||
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2003-09-03 |
TINGA, J. |
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| Even assuming respondent did in fact ask to be relieved, this could not mean that less was expected from him. Once a lawyer takes the cudgels for a client's case, he owes it to his client to see the case to the end. This, we pointed out in Legarda v. Court of Appeals,[40] thus:It should be remembered that the moment a lawyer takes a client's cause, he covenants that he will exert all effort for its prosecution until its final conclusion. A lawyer who fails to exercise due diligence or abandons his client's cause make him unworthy of the trust reposed on him by the latter.[41] Also, we held in Santiago v. Fojas,[42] "every case a lawyer accepts deserves his full attention, diligence, skill, and competence, regardless of its importance and whether he accepts if for a fee or for free." In other words, whatever the lawyer's reason is for accepting a case, he is duty bound to do his utmost in prosecuting or defending it. | |||||