Bet on yourselves, law students told

Supreme Court Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez challenged law students to bet on themselves in their chosen profession.

“Bet that you can do good, choose good, and be the good that our society needs — despite everything,” he said.

Lopez, chairperson of the 2024 Bar Examinations, made the remarks on the first day of the 34th National Convention of the Association of Law Students of the Philippines (ALSP) on 13 April at the Dynasty Hotel in Cagayan de Oro City.

In his keynote speech and presentation titled “LAMBIGIT: Fostering Community Ties Towards Creating Socially Conscious and Well-Equipped Contemporary Law Students,” Justice Lopez assured law students that “(i)f you are passionate about the study of law, you will surely find lawyering in these interesting times a rewarding vocation,” as he spoke on the Court’s new policies to help law students bridge the gap between the study and practice of law.

These included the eradication of barcentricity; the prioritization of skills training and ethical responsibility; and the enhancement of legal education through Bar reforms.

He shared that the Legal Education Summit organized by the Court in 2019 pointed to the critical finding that it is always legal education that adjusts to the Bar Examinations, with most students concentrating on memorizing legal doctrines and spotting issues on essay questions at the expense of an in-depth understanding of the law, its intricacies and nuances.

Lopez said that this resulted in recommendations to the Court regarding the structural, methodological, and policy reforms as regards legal education, which were incorporated in the Courts’ Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027, or the SPJI.

These included the eradication of bar-centricity; the prioritization of skills training and ethical responsibility; and the enhancement of legal education through Bar reforms.

Because of these policy reforms, the Court introduced and implemented the Revised Model Law Curriculum to improve law school course and pedagogy; the Clinical Education Program, which required all law schools to establish legal clinics to provide law students with practical knowledge, skills and values in the delivery of legal services; and the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability and the New Lawyer’s Oath in promoting high ethical standards in the legal community.