How to pass the bar

"Ma'am, how did you pass the bar?" a stranger once asked me. He had earlier asked to see my ID (it was his job to check) and I had handed him my Integrated Bar of the Philippines card.

"Study hard and pray even harder," I answered. While I would have wanted to give him all the advice I was given, the line behind me was getting longer. I also could not immediately recall whatever it was I was told or actually did. It has been years since I took the bar exams and memories can be treacherous.

Last Monday, we all heaved a sigh of relief when the results of the 2006 bar exams came out. My brother and his friends made it. This means that I will be spared the stress of waiting for the results for years. Hopefully, when my son takes the exams (he says he wants to be a lawyer), results will be available the day after. Not after six agonizing months.

I thought about the stranger's question again and these were the other "tips" I recalled:

Study in law school. A law school professor said that if one studied in law school, passing the bar should not be a problem. I think this makes sense. The few months between graduation from law school and the bar exams is called the bar review period for a reason. Still, there are others who claim that they never studied in law school and yet passed the bar. I'd say they're lying. I'd also make sure I never get legal advice from them.

Read old bar exam questions and the suggested answers. Another law professor said he had a friend who studied in the United States and just studied the Philippine bar exam questions from previous years. He passed.

Exercise. Taking exams the whole day for four consecutive Sundays in September makes the bar a physical challenge too. I'd add stay away from people with cough and colds and wash your hands with soap and water frequently. Microwave or heat your food (better to be radioactive than dehydrated).

Have your own study schedule. Among the things we got in our "kit" from our school's bar operations committee (just a bunch of students, really) were the study schedules of valedictorians and topnotchers. Reading them freaked me out and made me feel insecure. I would suggest studying at one's own pace. If your review schedule can accommodate book fairs, concerts, computer games, and whatever makes you happy, that would even be better.

Believe in yourself. A law professor said that we should look in the mirror and say, "If there is anyone who should pass the bar, it's me." We all laughed when he said this but it became my mantra (I skipped the mirror part though).

Later this month, the new lawyers will take their oath and swear to God that they will do all these: Maintain allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines; support its Constitution and obey the laws as well as the legal orders of the duly constituted authorities; do no falsehood, nor consent to its commission; not wittingly or willingly promote or sue any groundless, false or unlawful suit nor give aid nor consent to the same; delay no man for money or malice; and conduct themselves as lawyers according to the best of their knowledge and discretion with all good fidelity as well to the courts as to their clients.

Anyone who wants to pass the bar should memorize the Lawyer's Oath and be committed to living it (without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion). There are enough lawyer jokes about "legal ethics" being a contradiction in terms. An examinee who thinks that it is okay to be a punchline to these jokes would probably be better off not passing the exams at all.

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