The Supreme Court issued A.M. No. 22-11-01-SC or the Rules on Unified Legal Aid Service (ULAS), effective January 1, 2025. The ULAS requires covered lawyers to render sixty (60) hours of Pro Bono Legal Aid Services every compliance period. A compliance period consists of thirty-six (36) months.
Who are covered by the ULAS?
Covered Lawyers are those: (a) whose membership status with the IBP has not been terminated; (b) who are not retired in accordance with the IBP By-Laws; and (c ) who are not excluded.
In the case of Registered Organizations, like corporations, partnerships, and associations, including law firms, those covered are: (a) lawyers employed by them under an employer-employee relationship; or (b) lawyers who, even in the absence of an employer-employee relationship, serve as directors, trustees, partners, officers, or other persons reasonably and professionally connected to said organization.
Who are excluded from the ULAS?
Excluded from the ULAS are: (a) those in government service and incumbent elective officials absolutely prohibited from practicing law outside their public employment; (b) those employed in the Public Attorney’s Office; (c ) lawyers serving as Shari’ah counselors-at-law under the Shari’ah Public Assistance Office; (d) those whose request for authority to render Pro Bono Legal Aid Services from their government agency is denied by the duly authorized officer of the agency; (e) those who have been in the practice of law for at least 35 years or who are at least 60 years old, reckoned from the last year of the relevant Compliance Period; (f) those who suffer physical disabilities or attributes, mental, or other circumstances that render compliance with the Rules unreasonably difficult or impossible; and (g) new lawyers who are admitted to the Bar after the effectivity of this Rules, for the Compliance Period at the time of their admission. These persons are required to obtain a Certificate of Exclusion with the ULAS Board before the end of the Compliance Period.
What constitutes Pro Bono Legal Aid Service?
Pro Bono Legal Aid Service refers to the performance of acts or services that involve the application of law, legal procedure, or legal knowledge, training, and experience, provided free of charge and rendered to Qualified Beneficiaries, including, but not limited to: (a) representation in courts and quasi-judicial bodies, mediation, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution, including drafting and filing of all pleadings and written submissions in said cases; (b) legal counseling, rendering assistance in contract negotiations and drafting of legal documents, including memoranda of law, affidavits, contracts, and policy work involving legal research and advocacy; (c ) developmental legal assistance consisting of rights awareness, capacity-building, and training in basic human rights, documentation, and affidavit-making; (d) participation in Accredited Legal Outreach Programs and Legal Missions, including the supervision of students under Rule 138-A; and (e) other legal services as may be defined by the Supreme Court.
Who are Qualified Beneficiaries?
(a) a person to whom a counsel de officio was appointed by any court, tribunal, or other government agency, with respect to the counsel de officio and the case in which the appointment was made; or
(b) any person who is determined by the Covered Lawyer or Registered Organization to be an indigent party or litigant, or a person not considered an indigent party or litigant, but nevertheless has no sufficient means to afford adequate legal services.
What are the modes of compliance?
(a) Render Pro Bono Legal Aid Services for at least the minimum hours required; or
(b) In lieu thereof, opt to give a financial contribution to the ULAS Fund, in accordance with the rates to be fixed, which may cover only up to a maximum of 50% of the Minimum Hours for each Compliance Period. If 40% of the Minimum Hours are completed before the end of the first year of the Compliance Period, the Covered Lawyer or Registered Organization may opt to give a financial contribution corresponding to the remaining 60% of such Minimum Hours.
In the case of Registered Organizations, the creditable hours of its partners, associates, of counsels, special counsels, or full-time consultants, may be aggregated. A written declaration of intent to aggregate must be filed with the ULAS Board before the start of the relevant Compliance Period. However, all Covered Lawyers must individually and personally render Pro Bono Legal Aid Services covering at least 25% of his or her required Minimum Hours. Any excess over the Minimum Hours shall be carried over to the immediately succeeding Compliance Period upon approval of the ULAS Board.
What are the consequences of non-compliance?
Covered Lawyers who fail to comply fully with the required Minimum Hours and to rectify the deficiency within the sixty (60)-day grace period from notice, shall incur the following penalties:
(a) Noncompliance fine in an amount to be determined by the ULAS Board;
(b) Listing as a delinquent member of the IBP;
(c ) Marking as ineligible to obtain a Certificate of Good Standing from the Office of the Bar Confidant; and
(d) Graver penalties for repeated noncompliance, as may be determined by the ULAS Board.