Access MCLE Introduces 4 New Online Courses

Everyone is adjusting to life and business in the “new normal”, and lawyers are no exception. Apart from client meetings, court hearings, and drafting pleadings, lawyers must also comply with the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) requirement to continue practicing their profession.

For lawyers seeking to update their knowledge on laws and jurisprudence, legal ethics, and legal writing and oral advocacy should look no further. ACCESS MCLE launches four new online courses that address current issues and concerns: police power in the context of the pandemic, ethics in high-profile cases, corporate criminal responsibility, and impactful instruments of government agencies.

Learn more about them here.

1. Dos and Don’ts in Police Power: Atty. Alberto Agra

This course covers what local government units (LGUs) are permitted and not permitted to do in the exercise of police power within their territorial jurisdictions as provided under the 1991 Local Government Code and the local charters of the LGUs. This class is all the more relevant in the context of the current ongoing global pandemic and based on pertinent provisions under the Bayanihan Act.

Atty. Agra is a known professor of law and bar reviewer with his vast experience teaching political, local government, administrative, election law at the Ateneo Law School.

2. Ethical Pitfalls and Considerations in Handling High-Profile Cases:  Atty. Howard Calleja

Against the backdrop of high profile cases, this course delves into the rules and canons under the Code of Professional Responsibility broken down into five sections: (1) the lawyer’s duty to the client; (2) the role played by media and publicity particularly with regard to impartial public statements and media coverage; (3) the lawyer’s primary and fundamental duty to the court as an officer of the court; (4) the requisite degree of confidentiality between lawyers and clients; and (5) the commensurate payment of legal fees in light of the law as a profession.

Thus, legal and judicial ethics comes to the fore in this class by Atty. Calleja, a noted lecturer and litigation lawyer who established his own firm, Calleja Law Offices, in 2008.

3. Corporate Guilt: Imposing Criminal Penalties on Corporations: Atty. Geronimo Sy

The current mode of corporate criminal liability in the Philippines is at the forefront of this lecture, compared to those of other nations. While civil remedies are available to punish illegal corporate conduct, rare criminal sanctions and even fewer administrative fines require a second look at the current landscape of corporate criminal responsibility under Philippine laws.

Atty. Sy was a former State Prosecutor before becoming the Assistant to the Secretary of the Department of Justice where he was the chairman for the Criminal Code Committee. He also established the Office of Cybercrime and the Office for Competition.

4. Impactful Instruments for Administrative Agencies: Atty. Alberto Agra

This course teaches legal writing and preparation in the context of administrative agencies (AAs). Many AAs render decisions, prescribe rules and regulations, render legal opinions, conduct fact-finding investigations, grant or recall franchises and licenses, issue show cause order as well as cease and desist order, among others. These are the delegated powers that may be granted to AAs, and for each exercise of power, there is a corresponding written legal document.

Atty. Agra is the former Acting Secretary of Justice, Acting Solicitor General, Government Corporate Counsel, and Acting Chief Regulator of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Regulatory Office. Today, he is the current Chairman of the Board of the Philippine Reclamation Authority.

These four new courses are available on the pioneering and first-ever accredited online MCLE program provided by ACCESS. Check out the different courses online and sign up today with ACCESS at https://accessonline.ph.