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Query of Atty. Silverio-Buffe

Atty. Karen Silverio-Buffe resigned from her position as a clerk of court and began practicing law privately in cases before the same court. Section 7(b)(2) of RA No. 6713 prohibits former government employees from practicing privately in matters before their former office for one year after leaving. The Supreme Court found Atty. Silverio-Buffe guilty of professional misconduct for violating this provision. They fined her 10,000 pesos and warned that further violations would be dealt with more severely.

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Effy Santos
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527 views1 page

Query of Atty. Silverio-Buffe

Atty. Karen Silverio-Buffe resigned from her position as a clerk of court and began practicing law privately in cases before the same court. Section 7(b)(2) of RA No. 6713 prohibits former government employees from practicing privately in matters before their former office for one year after leaving. The Supreme Court found Atty. Silverio-Buffe guilty of professional misconduct for violating this provision. They fined her 10,000 pesos and warned that further violations would be dealt with more severely.

Uploaded by

Effy Santos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Query of Atty.

Karen Silverio-Buffe

FACTS:

Atty. Karen Silverio-Buffe was a clerk of court VI of the Regional trial court Branch 81 of Romblon. She
filed her resignation which shall be effective Feb. 1, 2008. After her resignation, she engaged in the
private practice of law by appearing as private counsel in several cases before the RTC branch she
worked for. Atty. Karen Silverio-Buffe wrote a letter-query and said that Section 7 (b)(2) of RA No. 6713
was unfair due to the fact that it gives preferential treatment to an incumbent public employee who
may engage in private practice of his profession, as long as it does not tend to conflict his official
functions. In contrast, a public employee who resigned or has been separated from government service
like her, is prohibited from engaging in private practice on any matter before the office where she used
to work, for a period of one year from the date of her resignation or separation.

ISSUE:

Whether or not Atty. Karen Silverio-Buffe is guilty of professional misconduct?

HELD:

Yes, Atty. Karen Silverio-Buffe is guilty of professional misconduct. According to the Supreme Court, Atty.
Silverio-Buffe was aware of the provision in RA 6713 Section 7(b)(2) and she took the risk to violate the
said provision. The SC found it disturbing that she violated the law before making an inquiry and justified
her position by referring to the practice of other government lawyers who did the same violation. Her
attitude emphasized her willful and intentional disregard of the Section 7(b)(2). Atty. Silverio-Buffe also
contravened Rule 1.01 of Canon 1 of the Code of Professional Responsibility which provides that a
lawyer shall not engage in unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful conduct. She also failed to live up to
her lawyer’s oath and violated Canon 7 of the Code of Professional Responsibility which states that a
lawyer shall at all times uphold the integrity and the dignity of the legal profession and support the
activities of the integrated bar, when she blatantly and unlawfully practiced law within the prohibited
period by appearing before the RTC branch she just left. She disgraced the dignity of the legal profession
by openly disobeying and disrespecting the law. By her irresponsible conduct, she also eroded public
confidence in the law and in lawyers. She is fined in the amount of 10,000 pesos and sternly warned that
a repetition of this violation and the commission of other acts of professional misconduct shall be dealt
with more severely.

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