Are you ready? Part I

You are now a law graduate. Congratulations!

You are taking the bar? Good luck. 

The previous statement means a lot. In my case, I almost got inundated by that. Of course, I have my reasons. Well, those do not matter here because all of us have our own battles. Let us focus on one of the greatest battles of our lives, conquering the bar exams. 

Just like in any war, blood shed is expected. There is no exaggeration in that allusion. Being a casualty is not an option whether it is your first take, second, third or nth. 

Readiness is important. I am talking not only of mental readiness but also emotional, physical and financial readiness. 

Let me talk about financial readiness first. Both self-review and enrolling in a review center are costly. To be ready, you must anticipate your expenses. Start with your review materials. Your essentials are the following:

1. your codals; 

If you wrote notes in your codals, do not buy a new one. However, make sure to include the updates. 

2. A reviewer per subject;

Hoarding will do no good. Just choose one - Ateneo, Bedan, Golden Notes, UP, etc. This must be yours because you have to write notes or draw. 

3. Outline per subject; and

The course outlines are downloadable. Print them. 

4. A commentary on the subject. 

Again, do not hoard. One will do. Just choose the best. Books are expensive so browse them before buying. Be realistic. Do not buy books which you cannot read. I may write a separate post for this

Also, include compilation of jurisprudence for each subject. This comes out late. Just make some adjustments when they are already available.

Others:

> highlighter

> pens, pencils, eraser and sharpener

> post-its

> table calendar or planner

> book stand if you do not have one

> vitamins

> snacks

> food for the soul - rosary, prayer book, Bible, trips to church

> allowance for reward to yourself

If you wish to enroll in a review center, you should prepare more or less Php 20,000 for the fee. There is a so-called online review course these days. This is cheaper but you need to have a stable internet connection. 

You also have to consider the expenses for filing the petition to take the bar. You must have more or less Php 5,000 for that.

If you are coming from the province, it is more costly because you have to consider the traveling, accommodation and meal expenses

If you do not have sponsors, prepare for self-sacrifices that you have to make. Oftentimes, it is not just you, but your family too. 

You are taking the bar? Good luck. 

An Advice to Freshmen

Time flies. I am now a full-fledged lawyer.

My road to bar is not the typical success story. It is not worth emulating. I still have to contemplate on whether or not I will share it here.

A piece of advice I want to leave to those who want to be lawyers is study while you are in law school. That is the best time to prepare for the bar.

To Freshmen:

Short-cuts are highly discouraged. Read your books. Read cases. Do not read reviewers unless you are done with your books. I am sure that you will argue that time is of the essence, especially when you are a working student.

This is my reason. To pass the bar, we have to write our answers in a lawyerly manner. Writing is an essential weapon. Even if you can write well, it is not enough. It is an advantage but not a ticket to pass your exams. Let me be technical here. We have four sets of vocabulary - listening, speaking, reading and writing. Some of the concepts you have in your listening vocabulary go to your speaking vocabulary. Some of the concepts you have in your reading vocabulary go to your writing vocabulary. If you do not feed your reading vocabulary, your writing vocabulary will be malnourished.

If you just rely on memory aid/reviewers, you may know the answers but you will have a hard time formulating your answers. This is tragic. In our first year in law school, we are building our law schema. Just like any foundation, it must be built to weather the storm. If you let your first year of law education suffer, do not be surprised when everything crumbles during your bar preparation. You may still have time to rebuilt, but of course, you need humongous courage and all the help in the world.

Do yourself a favor. Read.

Let me emphasize. If you are full time student and you do not read, you deserve death by hanging or worse. Yes, morbid, bloody morbid. Your butcher is your professor. IF EVER you go scot-free in law school, a ghost will haunt you during your bar review.

Let me end this by saying, hold on to your dreams because they do come true....