Legal practice has always been vested with public interest, and governed by legal and judicial ethics. Regardless, however, legal practice has and always been equated with high salary and money as almost everything that commensurate with best service is high price. I disagree to the latter, however.
As an international lawyer working in another jurisdiction as a legal advisor or consultant, and a barrister or attorney in another jurisdiction, I need to abide by the rules and regulations as well as legal ethics of both jurisdictions or countries, Philippines and the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands, the Netherlands Bar (Nederlandse orde van advocaten, NOvA) or courts allow lawyers to advertise the name of the law firm (advocaten) which is not required to be in their surnames. On the other hand, the Supreme Court of the Philippines prohibits attorneys to advertise or solicit their legal services to the public as the law firms are required to be in their names. As a Filipino lawyer, there are also rules that I need to follow in the Netherlands. The perks of being a lawyer though, is that, I carry with me my legal expertise wherever I go. Hence, consulting job pertinent to my profession is also possible.
Now, other people are asking me, and most probably, doubting the legitimacy of my profession for not advertising my legal services, but everyone should know that wherever I go, I must abide by legal ethics and standards imposed by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. This means, I cannot advertise for FiPa Legal Consulting, nor solicit for and on its behalf.
We are expected to walk the talk, and not to talk the walk no matter how long the journey is.- Gay Ramos
FiPa Legal Consulting 