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<p>Unfortunately, one of the common problems people have when looking for a lawyer in the Philippines is that they might not know if the person they are talking to is a lawyer in the first place. This is particularly true if you engaged the lawyer remotely or online.</p>
<p>I can&rsquo;t tell you how many times I&rsquo;ve received a client whose troubles had been made worse because she hired a lawyer referred to her by somebody, then this supposed lawyer was engaged for the legal services, then nothing ever happened</p>
<p>The poor soul thought she had a lawyer, trusted that the case was being tried in court, waited for months and years, only to find out that the whole engagement was a fraud.</p>
<p>It is worse when outright falsification is involved. I&rsquo;ve seen it happen that the supposed lawyer even claims to have gotten a court judgment in the client&rsquo;s favor</p>
<p>If it is, say, a case for annulment or for&nbsp;<a href="https://lawyerphilippines.org/recognition-of-foreign-divorce-in-the-philippines-process/">recognition of foreign divorce</a>, the client may even be given a document, supposedly from the Philippine Statistics Authority, claiming to have registered the client&rsquo;s new civil status as an ex-spouse.</p>
<p>She may actually think this is a real document, rely on it, only to find out later that the court case she engaged the supposed lawyer for never happened.</p>
<p>This can be tragic not only when she paid her hard-earned money, but even more so when she has made plans &mdash; to remarry or for a new life &mdash; based on her faith in the documents she received.</p>
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<p>So how do you know if someone is a real lawyer?</p>
<p>The simple answer is that a real lawyer is someone licensed to practice law by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. A real lawyer is a Member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.</p>
<p>You can check the Roll of Attorneys at the Supreme Court, or you can check the IBP to confirm whether the person you are talking to is licensed to practice law.</p>
<p>It used to be that the Supreme Court and the IBP each posted an online list of all persons who have ever been licensed to practice law in the Philippines. Unfortunately, these law lists have been taken down for some reason.</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;d like, you could call or email these institutions, or look for an older version of the law list that may still be circulating online.</p>
<p>Or look up the Supreme Court&rsquo;s taken down&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151117060314/http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/baradmission/lawlist/,%20on%20Archive.org])" data-wplink-url-error="true">page&nbsp;</a>on the WayBack Machine.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong>&nbsp;The Supreme Court of the Philippines has again put up an&nbsp;<a href="https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/lawlist/">online Law List</a>&nbsp;where you can enter a lawyer&rsquo;s name to check whether he or she is a real lawyer, but note that it does not appear to be a complete database.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Another way is to check the lawyer&rsquo;s physical office.</p>
<p>I don&rsquo;t take offense when prospective clients, particularly those who engaged me from abroad through the Internet, ask if they can send someone here to visit the law office just to confirm that it actually exists.</p>
<p>A legal problem is very personal and immediate to a client, and so it is understandable if they want to check someone out before they put themselves in their hands.</p>
<p>If neither is possible, at least check out the law office&rsquo;s website, the lawyer&rsquo;s LinkedIn page, or perhaps Facebook, or some other social media.</p>
<p>Once you&rsquo;ve at least confirmed that the lawyer really is a lawyer, you may also ask him about his experience with the sort of case or legal issue that you brought to him.</p>
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<p>Some people want to ask if they may speak with the lawyer&rsquo;s other previous clients, particularly those who have had similar cases.</p>
<p>This may not be possible because a proper lawyer is committed to confidentiality on past and present clients&rsquo; behalf.</p>
<p>On the plus side, you will enjoy the same strict confidentiality from a proper lawyer whom you engage.</p>
<p>The corollary is that you need to be honest with the lawyer. There is simply no way he can advise you if you don&rsquo;t give him the facts.</p>
<p>When you talk to a lawyer, you should disclose the whole picture to him, providing honest and complete details about yourself, the events, the issue, and the people it may affect.</p>
<p>Be honest when you talk to him. He will need to know the specific places and dates of events. He will also need clear, accurate copies of documents so that he can assess them himself.</p>
<p>(Do not edit the facts or be afraid to disclose everything to the lawyer you consult. He needs to know these facts to actually do his job. And a real lawyer is anyway bound to confidentiality by his Code of Ethics.)</p>
<p>Don&rsquo;t be embarrassed by whatever you need to tell your lawyer. And don&rsquo;t hesitate to ask him any questions you may have.</p>
<p>In the meantime, you can begin to put together some of the documents your lawyer will need to review and which you&rsquo;ll eventually have to submit to the Court.</p>
<p>There are other questions you can ask your lawyer about your case.</p>
<p>Like &ndash; what should you expect it to need in terms of time, resources, and commitment?</p>
<p>Don&rsquo;t hesitate to ask something as basic as what the expected outcome will be. This allows you to gain realistic expectations about what a case or legal resolution entails so that you understand the aim from when you first set out on a case.</p>
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How Do You Know if You’re Dealing with a Real Lawyer?