Kaban ni Lino Labra: HILOMONG PAGPANGLABAN, MAKALIKAY SA GASTONG MAKALILISANG

UNNECESSARY PUBLICITY IS COSTLY TO LAWYERS

I accidentally bumped in my dentist at the barber shop where I had my regular haircut done. I usually do this ritual every two months during Saturdays but I could no longer bear sporting hair three inches taller until the weekend. With most of the courts on their regular inventory, my calendar gave me sufficient time to drop by at my favorite barbershop yesterday afternoon where my dentist had also his haircut done.

He asked me about a celebrated case where I was reported as the lawyer in the media but the same media were looking for me because I was absent on the day the accused was called to be heard. I told him that it was another misinformation that you often hear in the media. He butted in to ask, “why you did not appear just for publicity sake so that you will be known in media as celebrated lawyer.” I heard this not only from him but also from my fellow lawyers but no one in my office had similar views with them.

Our training in the firm to old and young lawyers alike is to avoid the media in our work as lawyers. Media can make and unmake you as trial practitioners. During our Trial Academy sessions, I have been telling young lawyers to work like the doctors. They save lives without live coverage by the media unlike lawyers who are pruned to publicity to shine with the limelight of the cameras.

Media may succeed in making you as the unsung hero in celebrated cases because they have the tendency to magnify your strengths into mountains and your weaknesses into molehills when the wind is in your side but when the going gets rough, you will be the first casualty of bad publicity. We should not forget that celebrity lawyer is like a celebrity singer. You are good as your last hits. There is no assurance that we will win in all cases we handle. What if you lose? Then your losses will also be celebrated news too in the media.

Can media help you win your case? The answer is no because their reports and opinions are not sanctioned by the rules on evidence. Media are like vultures. They feast on the miserable stories of the parties in your case. They are interested only with newsworthy story of your clients. If there is none, they are not interested to report even if the truth on your case because your story is not newsworthy to them. Who branded that "accused" as the PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE? He is not my enemy. Did media count on me and the hundreds of people who still love these people whom the media branded as public enemies? Granting without admitting that these accused are enemies of the public, what has the media done to prevent them from being public enemies? Do media know the distinction between a child with a problem and the problem child when they reported sensational cases on trial in courts?

I commend IBP leadership in the past for convincing the tri-media in Cebu to avoid naming names of lawyers who handle celebrated cases for security reason and for unnecessary publicity. But I don’t know if this agreement is still subsisting because recent developments prove otherwise. Names of lawyers are mentioned. And their reputations are sometimes tainted because of media's wrong perception. Media have the cellphones of these lawyers probably from IBP directories and when they call us for interviews; our statements are likely misquoted to conform to their storylines at the expense of our true versions.

Media's actuations are understandble because like us, they are here to make a living. This is the reason why their storylines are for commercial value. But ours arose from our oath as lawyers. Ours are stories of truth and justice via sworn testimonies of our witnesses. We should be reminded that trial lawyering is not showbiz. That is why I don’t feel comfortable with lawyers discussing their cases before the cameras. A true-blue trial lawyers are students of the Art of War of Sun Tzu. Those who are not are disciples of Boy Abunda. Whenever another client would be confronting me again why I chose to shun the limelight in that celebrated case, I would tell him that I dont need to be a celebrity to celebrate my success.

(Bug-os ang  pasalamat sa KAHAYAG ngadto sa nagsulat niining  artikulo  nga si ATTY. PAULINO  B. LABRADO, Senior Partner sa P.B. LABRADO  and PARTNERS. Magsusulat  ug magpaambitan siya sa iyang mga  hunahuna mahitungod sa  nagkalain-laing hisgotanan nga makita sa  maukiton niyang mata ug mga kasikas nga madungog sa  iyang maabtikong dunggan.)