Dear PAO,
I don’t know where else to seek guidance, so I hope I could use this platform for advice. I am a college student from the province who is planning to enter law school. However, I am not sure if I can qualify and enter the top law schools in Manila. Will I be a good and successful lawyer even if I obtain my law degree from a school without a name, located in the countryside?
Marco
Dear Marco,
Yes, you can definitely become the best lawyer you can be, notwithstanding the school from which you obtain your law degree.
Republic Act (RA) 7662, otherwise known as the Legal Education Reform Act of 1993, created the Legal Education Board (LEB) which is tasked to “uplift the standards of legal education in order to prepare law students for advocacy, counselling, problem-solving and decision-making, to infuse in them the ethics of the legal profession; to impress on them the importance, nobility and dignity of the legal profession as an equal and indispensable partner of the Bench in the administration of justice and to develop social competence.” (Section 2, RA 7662)
Thus, as long as your chosen law school is accredited by the LEB, you can be equipped with the necessary legal knowledge which should adequately prepare you for the Bar examinations.
Furthermore, in Atty. Melvin D.C. Mane vs. Judge Medel Arnaldo B. Belen, a.m. RTJ-08-2119, 30 June 2008, Ponente: Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, the Supreme Court emphasized that no particular law school holds monopoly over legal knowledge, to wit:
“An alumnus of a particular law school has no monopoly of knowledge of the law. By hurdling the Bar Examinations which this Court administers, taking of the Lawyer’s oath and signing of the Roll of Attorneys, a lawyer is presumed to be competent to discharge his functions and duties as, inter alia, an officer of the court, irrespective of where he obtained his law degree. For a judge to determine the fitness or competence of a lawyer primarily on the basis of his alma mater is clearly an engagement in an argumentum ad hominem.”
Hence, the Supreme Court reminds us that passing the Bar examinations is a great equalizer among law students. By hurdling the Bar examinations, a lawyer is presumed to be competent and knowledgeable of the law, regardless of his/her alma mater. Possibly, there is a certain degree of advantage if you graduated from one of these so-called famous law schools, but this should not stop you from realizing your full potential. Ultimately, it will always be about the student, not the school; your hard work and resilience should pay off regardless of your legal academy. In the end, success in the practice of law depends on an unshakable belief in justice and an unwavering commitment to its pursuit.
We hope that we were able to answer your queries. Please be reminded that this advice was based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.
We appreciate your trust and support.
Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net.
