Guidlines in Availing Legal Services

Gud day again!

May i inquire on the guidelines or steps in availing legal services or as a retainer. is it subject for other mode of procurement?

fortunately, not the legal indemnification. our HOPE is asking if possible to acquire legal services as a retainer. as you suggested sir that it is only through public bidding, prior to this bidding, is there any guidelines (that is asking permission from higher office(e.g. our head office))?

Atty shobe is correct.

In the website of COA, there is this particular news item:

"Government agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations may not hire private lawyers or law practitioners to render legal services for them or handle their legal cases in consideration of fees or compensation paid from public funds — without the prior written conformity and acquiescence of the Office of the Solicitor General or the Government Corporate Counsel, as the case may be, as well as the written concurrence of the Commission on Audit.

Payments of fees or other compensation made to private lawyers hired in violation of the said rule shall be disallowed in audit and shall be the personal liabilities of the government officials and employees concerned.

With this ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the October 29, 1999 decision of the COA Commission Proper (composed of Chairman Celso D. Gañgan and Commissioners Raul C. Flores and Emmanuel M. Dalman) disallowing the payment of the total amount of P283,763.39 made by the National Power Corporation to Atty. Benemerito A. Satorre for his legal and other services to NPC."

The link to that Supreme Court decision is as follows:
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2000/july2000/140563.htm

engrjhez wrote:

shobe wrote:
Please don’t procure legal services through public bidding.

If you were to bid it out, no law firm/lawyer will participate because we simply cannot: the Code of Professional Responsibility forbids us. The Supreme Court has time and again reminded lawyers that practice of law is a profession and not a business. Lawyering is not primarily meant to be a money-making venture, and law advocacy is not a capital that necessarily yields profits.

I am in no objection if the Code of Professional Responsibility damands so.

I would just like to ask for your insights on a past procurement case i knew years ago which hired a law firm after a Public Bidding (Consulting Services) proceedings. It did not involve a retainer nor any case, but technical services for the "codification" of various, uh, codes. To my knowledge, aside from Legal Assistance in drafting local codes, it also included printing services (by volumes) of the final versions as the end product. Only one bidder (law firm) responded that ended in an award of Single Rated Responsive Bidder. Had this procurement case violated any?

.

If it involves technical services and not legal services, although, as a lawyer, his legal expertise is also put in good use by the procuring entity, it could be considered as procurement of Consulting Services, which could not be in violation of the procurement law or of the COA guidelines. There is even no need to seek prior permission from the OSG, as no legal cases are being handled.

Technical Services are included in Annex B of IRR-A on the details of Consulting Services.

engrjhez wrote:

shobe wrote:
Please don’t procure legal services through public bidding.

If you were to bid it out, no law firm/lawyer will participate because we simply cannot: the Code of Professional Responsibility forbids us. The Supreme Court has time and again reminded lawyers that practice of law is a profession and not a business. Lawyering is not primarily meant to be a money-making venture, and law advocacy is not a capital that necessarily yields profits.

I am in no objection if the Code of Professional Responsibility damands so.

I would just like to ask for your insights on a past procurement case i knew years ago which hired a law firm after a Public Bidding (Consulting Services) proceedings. It did not involve a retainer nor any case, but technical services for the "codification" of various, uh, codes. To my knowledge, aside from Legal Assistance in drafting local codes, it also included printing services (by volumes) of the final versions as the end product. Only one bidder (law firm) responded that ended in an award of Single Rated Responsive Bidder. Had this procurement case violated any?

.

If it involves technical services and not legal services, although, as a lawyer, his legal expertise is also put in good use by the procuring entity, it could be considered as procurement of Consulting Services, which could not be in violation of the procurement law or of the COA guidelines. There is even no need to seek prior permission from the OSG, as no legal cases are being handled.

Technical Services are included in Annex B of IRR-A on the details of Consulting Services.

RDV wrote:

engrjhez wrote:

shobe wrote:
Please don’t procure legal services through public bidding.

If you were to bid it out, no law firm/lawyer will participate because we simply cannot: the Code of Professional Responsibility forbids us. The Supreme Court has time and again reminded lawyers that practice of law is a profession and not a business. Lawyering is not primarily meant to be a money-making venture, and law advocacy is not a capital that necessarily yields profits.

I am in no objection if the Code of Professional Responsibility damands so.

I would just like to ask for your insights on a past procurement case i knew years ago which hired a law firm after a Public Bidding (Consulting Services) proceedings. It did not involve a retainer nor any case, but technical services for the "codification" of various, uh, codes. To my knowledge, aside from Legal Assistance in drafting local codes, it also included printing services (by volumes) of the final versions as the end product. Only one bidder (law firm) responded that ended in an award of Single Rated Responsive Bidder. Had this procurement case violated any?

.

If it involves technical services and not legal services, although, as a lawyer, his legal expertise is also put in good use by the procuring entity, it could be considered as procurement of Consulting Services, which could not be in violation of the procurement law or of the COA guidelines. There is even no need to seek prior permission from the OSG, as no legal cases are being handled.

Technical Services are included in Annex B of IRR-A on the details of Consulting Services.

General Provision GAA 2009
Sec. 80. Service Contracts. Departments, bureaus, offices or agencies, as well as GOCCs, are hereby authorized to enter into service contracts, with other government agencies, private firms or individuals and non-governmental organizations for services related or incidental to their respective functions and operations, whether on part-time or full-time basis. Service contracts may be entered into by the agency for professional consultancy services, which may include contracts with individual consultants. For this purpose, an individual professional consultant is an expert in a field of special knowledge or training who is contracted to render particular outputs or services primarily advisory in nature requiring highly specialized or technical expertise which cannot be provided by the regular staff of the agency. Such hiring creates no employer-employee relationship between the individual professional consultant and the agency. The DBM, in coordination with other agencies concerned, shall issue the necessary guidelines governing professional consultancy services.
Service contracts may also be entered into by the agency for janitorial, security and other related services, whenever practicable and cost-effective for the government. Service contracts shall be entered into by the agency through public bidding or other alternative methods of procurement in accordance with R.A. No. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, subject to pertinent accounting and auditing rules and regulations.

Sir RDV, since DBM, is task to issue the guidelines governing professional consultancy services. My question is this guidelines referred to " ANNEX "B" of the old IRR of RA. 9184 (Types of Consulting Services)?

to sir RDV & sir sunriser, thank you very much