IBP Holds National Convention of Lawyers Today in Pasay City

Theme: Global and Regional Integration of Legal Services: Challenging the Philippine Status Quo

GLOBALIZATION OF LEGAL SERVICES AND THE ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

Since 1998, the legal services sector has experienced continuous growth as a consequence of the rise in international trade and the emergence of new fields of practice, particularly in business law. Keeping pace with this development, the WTO included the legal services sector as among the new services to be negotiated under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (“GATS”), beginning January 2000. The GATS mandates WTO member governments to progressively liberalize trade in services through successive rounds of negotiations. Since then, a total of 76 members have taken commitments in legal services. The Philippines has yet to make specific commitments for the legal services sector under the GATS. At a regional level, the ASEAN has established an ASEAN Community, composed of three pillars, namely: (a) the ASEAN Political-Security Community; (b) the ASEAN Economic Community (“AEC”); and (c) the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. Recognizing that the establishment of the AEC is a dynamic process, the AEC Blueprint 2025, which serves as a comprehensive plan towards the full establishment of the AEC, which envisions free flow of services among member nations (including legal services), has been adopted to guide the ASEAN economic integration.

INTEGRATION OF LEGAL SERVICES

Integration of legal services presupposes the liberalization of the legal services sector. The AEC envisions free flow of services and mandates the removal of “substantially all restrictions on trade services”, including the liberalization of the legal services market. Thus, neighboring jurisdictions like Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan and Hong Kong have been liberalizing their bar rules to facilitate integration of legal services, including allowing foreign lawyers to provide legal services in their territories under certain conditions and, at the same time, allowing their lawyers to provide legal services in other jurisdictions. The benefits of liberalization of legal services include (a) attracting foreign investments; (b) building capability and expertise of local lawyers; (c) enhancing competitiveness of local lawyers; and promotion and retention of local talent. Singapore has been the front runner in terms of financial growth and demand for legal services, recently catching up with Asia’s other historically dominant business hub, Hong Kong. Both Singapore and Hong Kong have lured foreign investors in due to their tax regimes, excellent infrastructure and ease of business incorporation. The demand for legal services with international expertise is very much on the up in Singapore and Hong Kong due to these advantageous conditions and central location.

THE PHILIPPINE STATUS QUO AND THE IBP’S RESPONSE

Whether or not the liberalization of legal services is within the power of Congress or of the Supreme Court remains to be determined. Under Section 14(2), Article XII of the 1987 Constitution, the practice of all professions in the Philippines shall be limited to Filipino citizens, save in cases prescribed by law. On the other hand, Section 5(5), Article VIII gives the Supreme Court the power to promulgate rules concerning “pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts, the admission to the practice of law, the Integrated Bar…” as long as it does “not diminish, increase, or modify substantive rights”. For its part, the IBP has commenced the implementation of measures to allow Filipino lawyers to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the ongoing global and regional integration of legal services. In January 2016, the IBP House of Delegates (“HOD”) approved several resolutions on how to meet the challenges affecting the Philippine legal profession’s ability to thrive in an integrated AEC. The IBP Board of Governors trusts that the 16th National Convention will provide a meaningful opportunity for the members of the Philippine Bar to understand how integration of legal services, regionally and globally, is bound to impact the practice of law in the Philippines, how they can prepare for it and how they can take full advantage of the benefits that come with it.