Battle of Law Schools

When I find myself with nothing to do, I surf the net aimlessly. It was through this that I came across several fora, including this one that appears to be a UP thread, which discuss the apparently burning issue - which is the best law school.

Now the word 'best' is an inherently subjective term. I can scream at the top of my lungs that Conti's has the best cake - Mango Bravo (I really love it), but someone else can just as easily scream - Sugarhouse is the best!!!! I cannot begrudge this someone for loving Sugarhouse, as in fact my mouth is already watering just thinking of a Sugarhouse cake, and, if that someone is fair, he/she should also not take it against me that I'm willing to fight for my right to love Mango Bravo. I guess this is where I want to start -- when someone from UP says that UP Law is the best law school, whether with cogent basis or not, no sane and reasonable person should take issue with the UP person's right to think that way. So too, when someone from Ateneo, San Beda, UST etc. says that their law school is the best, there should be no ad hominem attacks against the person, who was merely expressing an intensely personal opinion.

Having graduated from UP Law, I take great pride in my alma mater. I will never tire of saying, UP Law is the best, because for me, it is. It is best for me because the system suits my study habits perfectly. I love the law and everything it represents, and I love and fiercely defend my independence equally. I do not like strict rules very much -- be it on attire, schedules, exams. When exam week is nearing and the exam schedules are so close to each other, I automatically want to have one exam moved to a later day. I also have an aversion to being required to memorize. I love talking, so I enjoy the Socratic method. I love no-class days because a professor has to do something more important. I like being called to recite and being able to have the freedom to say: 'I did not read that case, ma'am.' This is why UP Law is best for me. I have a lot of friends in Ateneo Law, and I'm the first one to say, I will not be able to survive the rigors of class life there. I like my own internal rhythm and I instinctively rebel against impositions. I would not have been able to recite verbatim codal provisions, which my friends tell me is all but mandatory in Ateneo classes. I would not have been able to adjust to strict exam schedules, which again, my friends tell me, is the way it is in Ateneo. I would have probably spent the better part of my day stressing, then whining, then stressing, until I fall asleep. Because of this, I am almost sure, if I went to Ateneo, I would probably be on probation just on my first sem, first year. I guess, if I went to San Beda, the same would be true, because both schools are really really strict on academics. This is also the most plausible reason why both schools consistently produce a bigger number of bar passers in the recent years.

Having said that, I am also the first one to lament the declining rate of bar passers from UP Law. I said earlier that the UP Law system works for me. What can I say, I really wanted to become a lawyer so much that I studied hard without being asked to do so. Now, if my professor told me to memorize all codal provisions of the 1987 Constitution, my brain would have automatically shut down and the rebel in me would have said 'shove it.' But since I was not ordered to do so, I happily read the Constitution, twice, maybe ten times, and after the nth time, I could paraphrase most of the provisions. I finally got what they meant, not just what they said. That way, when I was reading jurisprudence already, I was able to understand, not only the literal meaning of the provisions as applied to the case, but also their nuances.

I have had countless discussions with my batchmates over the declining bar passing rate of UP several times over the years, especially during the time when we were about to take the Bar. We were the first ones to admit that we were not as mentally prepared for the Bar as our Ateneo/San Beda counterparts. There were gaping holes in our knowledge of the Bar subjects. I, for one, had to understand most special commercial laws on my own, because I did not take the bar review course for them. We were scared witless because, as one of my friends told me: kulang kasi tayong mga taga-UP sa pukpok, sa disiplina. If the professor is absent for the day, we do not read the assigned work, instead, we go to SM. That was the reality that we had to face: because in UP there was more freedom, more leeway to pass, some whose study habits require constant strict supervision understandably suffered. In UP, kung hindi ka talaga likas na palaaral, mahirap talagang suungin ang Bar. It is hard not to graduate from UP Law, once you're in. In stark contrast, you have to be constantly studying for your subjects in Ateneo or San Beda, because if you don't make the cut, you're out. As all law students know, you cannot rely on just natural intelligence to pass the Bar. It's not something you can 'wing' and say: bahala na si Batman. You really have to put in the hours, crack those books and highlighters open, and read read read. If you don't, you bet passing the Bar is out of your reach.

Now that I am a lawyer, and have the privilege of working with lawyers who graduated from Ateneo, San Beda and UST, I can honestly say, the law school does not define the person. Everyday, I am amazed at the intelligence and streetsmarts of my colleagues from other law schools. Mahuhusay talaga. I guess this goes to show, there can really be no objective barometer for measuring the best law school. And so we are back to our own opinions, based on our own experiences, and our personal biases. Whatever they may be, cheers to your right to have an opinion. And kudos to those who just passed the Bar. :-)