About

This law blog, attyatwork.com, is the personal blawg of Atty. Fred Pamaos that contains discussions  on various legal subjects including the internet and technology, family law, labor and HR, contracts and business, money and banking, intellectual property, political and constitutional law. This blog also contains general topics that may or may not be related to the law, including entrepreneurship and work life.

To read more about Atty. Fred, click here. To send an email to Atty.Fred, click here. Got an interesting topic to discuss? Send through email (click here).

Disclaimer

Nothing in this blog shall be attributed to Atty.Fred’s current professional connections, including the JLP-Law, where he is a Managing Partner, and the University of the Philippines (U.P.) College of Law – Office of Legal Aid, where he is serving as a Supervising Lawyer. No legal advice is dispensed here (see Terms and Conditions). This is a discussion platform and everybody is encouraged to share ideas on the covered topics, especially considering that Atty.Fred may not be able to follow threads  due to time constraints.

Why blog?

Learning is a continuous process. Tinkering with internet tools comes with the bonus of better understanding how existing laws apply to the third wave — that of technology, particularly relating to the internet. This is my field work, so to speak, to reinforce actual legal work involving the internet and technology.

This law blog enables discussion and interaction in various topics. It also enables Atty.Fred to learn coding, explore various computer/internet tools, and observe the world wide web. It’s one thing to dissect internet-related laws in court or in a formal paper; it’s another matter to experience, first hand, how technology fits into — or, more often than not, spills over — the legal structure.

Why a law blog?

The law is perceived as something alien; a set of esoteric words that confuses the people who are supposed to be governed by it. This is unfortunate, primarily because ignorance of the law excuses no one. Moreover, the law permeates into ALL aspects of our lives – BEFORE until AFTER we die. Hence, it’s better to get to know that legal alien a little more.

A lawyer’s function is not limited to the representation of his clients, but also includes the task of disseminating the law to the public. Each lawyer is an officer of the Court who is tasked to aid in the achievement of justice in its broadest sense. This includes the dissemination of even just the most basic of Philippine laws and rules to the very people from whom the law emanates. A blog is a great medium to disseminate and discuss ideas across borders, time, color or creed.

It is my sincere hope that this law blog, also known as “blawg”, would be of help to bring the law closer to the persons/entities it governs. For those who take time to discuss various points of discussion, thank you. For those who already expressed their appreciation, thank you.Your kind words add fuel to this blog’s search for its place under the internet sun.

Brief history

In 2005,  Atty.Fred discovered blogging during an extended paternity leave. Out of the experiment in various free internet platforms came the first independent blog, attyatwork.com. This site, as well as other sites, are in a constant flux consistent with the concept of “creative destruction”. Tinkering with internet tools means changes.

In September 2010, a concerned reader alerted me that this blog is inaccessible. It remained inaccessible for a few palm-itching days, so a new site was created to house the backup. The other site, fredpamaos.com, was created, although the another problem soon emerged — this site lost its initial purpose when attyatwork.com came back online.

There would be too much duplication if general legal issues are discussed here. This is already done here and at Philippine e-Legal Forum. So the other site would be focused on electronic commerce and the internet. While we could simply continue the law-internet discussions here, going into the finer details and trying to provide answers to endless questions may be boring and too geeky to the readers. These issues and topics could be vigorously explored at fredpamaos.com, with the convenience of jumping from one issue to another by the mere click of a link. Add the available resources of the world wide web and we have a wonderful learning tool.