r/LawyersPH

I went hiking in a remote mountain last month in the Cordilleras. When my parents found out, they told me that I shouldn't be wandering around because I'm a lawyer now. They said I should take care of my status as a lawyer. I haven't even handled a case yet. So what should I be careful about? I've been hiking before.

Just last week, I went hiking again but in Mindanao. They said the same thing again. They were very worried because I'm a lawyer now and they didn't want me to go far. I was a little turned off by what they said.

I know they are my parents and it is normal for them to worry when I go far. But why do they use the excuse that "I'm a lawyer now" to make it seem like they don't want me to travel. Why is that? When I ask them, they can't explain.

New lawyer here btw.

Is this allowed? One can record while trial is ongoing. Any experience being asked by the judge or bcc to remove smart watches during trial?

If the goal is to earn as much as possible by professional practice, should I find my niche as tax compliance specialist as a CPA or focus on public practice as a lawyer?

Advises are very much welcome.

Hello! Sa mga nag LLM po dito, where did you enroll po and how was that experience? Is it law school all over again?

Mga broskie and sisters sa batas, ano po ang flow (or script) sa presentation of witness. Second appearance ko pa lang as collaborating counsel and sobrang kabado padin ako. Sa sobrang kaba ko sa first appearance ay natawag ko na “Mama” si judge 💀

Maraming salamat.

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of lawyers wanting to leave litigation for corporate or work that's generally more chill (or non-adversarial). So now I’m curious about the opposite side.

For lawyers who genuinely enjoy litigation—what do you love about it? What makes it fulfilling or exciting enough to stay long-term?

And if you had to convince a younger lawyer to try litigation, what would you say? (as a curious newbie lawyer in corporate who doesn't find work fulfilling/exciting hehe)

Choose your fighter po. Thank you.

Been thinking about this a lot lately and figured this crowd would have the most honest answers.

On the client side most of us still rely on referrals and word of mouth and it works until it doesn't. But the landscape is quietly shifting. Some colleagues have Facebook pages pulling in real inquiries. Others landed their first retainer client from a notarial walk in that turned into something much bigger. A few are on LinkedIn targeting corporate clients and actually getting traction.

Then there is the documentation side which honestly feels like we are all running different systems and none of us fully trust any of them. Some are still on physical folders and binders which works until you need to find something fast. Others have moved to Google Drive or SharePoint. A handful of bigger firms have actual document management systems. Most of us are somewhere in between and pretending that is fine.

And then automation. Are any of you actually using it in a meaningful way? Drafting templates, automated deadline reminders, digital engagement letters, e-signatures? Or does it still feel like something we will get around to eventually?

With eCourt and JusticeZone slowly becoming part of the reality the gap between practices that have figured out their systems and those that have not is only going to get wider.

A few things I genuinely want to hear from fellow practitioners:

Is the referral model still carrying your practice in 2026 or have you found something that consistently works better?

What does your actual documentation setup look like right now and are you happy with it?

Is anyone here seriously using automation in their day to day workflow or are we still largely manual?

And for those who have figured something out that actually works, what made you finally commit to changing how you do things?

Hi everyone! I’m currently handling my first small claims case, so I’d appreciate insights from those with actual filing experience.

Under the Rules on Small Claims kasi, the jurisdictional amount is stated as “exclusive of interest and costs.” Because of this, I’m wondering whether accrued/stipulated contractual interest is usually excluded from the computation of the small claims limit in practice. Thank you

I am now handling a civil case. I got engaged only after the presentation of the plaintiff’s long line of witnesses. I’m only one year into practice (6 months in litigation) and I typically try my best to be friendly with the opposing counsels. I often become chatty with them while waiting for our case to be called. Whatever happens during the trial stays in trial. If I’m embarrassed, I don’t take it against the opposing counsel. I even approach them after the hearing ends and bid them a courteous goodbye.

There was this one time when I sat beside the defense counsel while we both waited for our case to be called. We chatted a lot. He told me about his years in practice and I asked for advice to ease the anxiety every trial. He also ranted about the profession after many years in practice. The accused, who was sitting beside his counsel, chimed in. He was eavesdropping and learned about a mutual experience that we had.

To cut a long story short, I plan to use that mutual experience in my cross-examination of him, for the purpose of proving his personal knowledge of the acts he’s accused of doing.

Now I feel guilty. At that time when we were talking to each other about our experiences, I didn’t think I could use that information. He freely shared this information with me. He was quite friendly, and so was his counsel.

Now I feel guilty about using this information against him. Huhu.

Hello. First time to appear in a hearing for probation. Ano po ba usual flow and need imanifest during such? Probation for a client is already granted per probation office, need na lang daw ng approval ni judge.

Thank you for any help

Hello! Just wondering for those working in the gov agency if you have any job vacancies for Attorney III position? I realized its so hard to apply for gov positions, especially if you don’t have any backer.

Thanks in advance!!

First time to encounter a walk-in client for consultation admitting na he's asking for my second opinion (galing na siya sa isang lawyer). Idk what to feel haha. Kapag engaged na siya sa isa, dapat ko bang tanggihan outright bilang respeto sa lawyer niya?

Title. Ako lang nagtatrabaho sa amin, hirap na ako sa cash. Hindi malakas ang kita ko sa practice. Lalo na ngayon, may nag-end retainer di na nagrenew kasi magclose na sila. Need ko talaga ng loan to consolidate debts hirap kasi pag iba iba pa iniintindi. Saka if may matira, pangbayad ng bills. Baka may marerecommend kayo na inaallow ang lawyers. Nagamit ko na yung nasa Maya loan, Gloan, SLoan, CIMB.

Since judicial personnel claim they are conflicted in any aspect of ULAS, then they should render a mandatory community service in lieu of ULAS. They also need to render 60 hrs on top of their salaried work schedule.

"But community service should be voluntaaaaarryyyy."

Well, exactly my point.

A first year lawyer being offered a JA role. A position entails an average of 10 hearings a month (non adversarial, jurisdictional hearing, labor cases) it this doable? May appearance fee na ibibigay naman. Medyo worried lang ako na i might not have the skills/knowledge to sustain the number of hearings. My current role revolves around research/ 1 lead hearing per month. Anyone experienced this during their first year?

I’ve been a lawyer for four years now (I know, considered as newbie lawyer parin in the greater scheme of things) and have had no exposure sa litigation.

I’ve been wanting to do litigation but a lot of friends tell me that litigation work is too glorified. Mas madaming cons kesa sa pros.

However I can’t help but feel small compared to colleagues who have been exposed to litigation. It feels like I am missing a lot of techniques, know-hows and other lawyer stuff by not doing litigation and court work.

In my line of job, I do corporate, admin, compliance and tax. I feel lost sa unang administrative case na hawak ko. Like, literal di ko alam gagawin ko. I feel stuck. I’ve studied and watched youtube videos and read the pertinent rules but there are unwritten rules you can only learn when you do court practice. Hindi ako makaupo to do a deep dive because mayat-maya may ipapagawa.

At the end of the day, I feel overwhelmed, unproductive and incapable of handling cases to the point na ayoko na siyang i-handle altogether.

I feel slow and I also really feel that I am underdelivering as a lawyer. Nakakahiya.

This is not the same brain doing 12 hours of studying and grinding nung law school. Is this normal?
Hay, sana lahat may 300k per month kahit absent.

Good evening po. Would like to know ung biz strategy nyo re appearance fees.

Naisip ko kasi ipropose sa managing partner namin na partially, singilin na before actual hearing date, then the remaining billed na lang by cutoff date. Para naman protected yung firm/handling lawyer.

Kayo po, ano diskarte?