@YourLawyerSays blogger, No. 6 in Bar: ‘Being a lawyer is not being superior to other people’

MANILA, Philippines — The No.6 in the 2019 bar examinations and a working student for his entire law school journey has reminded upcoming lawyers to remain humble while attaining a new distinction and remember that being a lawyer is not a gate pass to be superior to other people.

“There is this mentality among some of the members of the legal profession that they see themselves as someone above the legal profession… To be a great lawyer is a great feat but it should not be equated to being superior to other people… There should be a recognition that all professions are equal,” said Kenneth Manuel, a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Civil Law.

Manuel, now a legal assistant at Divina Law, placed 6^th with a grade of 88.173 percent, and was one among the 2,103 passers of 2019 bar examinations. UST had an overall passing rate of 80.82 percent. 

Manuel is also the owner of the @YourLawyerSays blog and Twitter account which has since given inspiration, legal information and humor to thousands of lawyer hopefuls since he started writing in 2016.

“The legal profession is a very important profession in the Philippines. Most statesmen are lawyers; most government officials are lawyers. We are bound by law; we have the legal profession to guide us through all the legality,” he said, when asked about how he thinks the legal profession could improve.

But excessive pride, he said, “borders on unnecessary boastfulness of some members of the legal profession.”

On Wednesday, Manuel learned that he placed 6th in the Bar exams through an email from a  trusted friend while alone in his unit and under community quarantine in Manila.

The nervousness and anxiety of hearing the results,  he said, prompted him to put his phone on airplane mode and woke up late instead of waiting for the results to be announced in real-time. After confirming that he was a topnotcher, he called his mother.

“Mama, abogado na ako,” he said without mentioning that he was a placer.

Working student

Manuel said being a topnotcher was not expected, especially that he failed to finish his Bar review.

“Most Bar reviewers would say that to be able to pass, you must have at least read the reviewer twice for the lessons to retain in your head, but then, I was not even able to finish my first reading,” he said.

“I was still working for the huge portion of the Bar review and I did not think that I would make it given my handicap as to my time of preparation. I did not expect to top the Bar; I was actually nervous if I’d pass,” he said.

Instead, he gave the credit to his law professors for his victorious feat in the Bar examination.

“I will hugely credit this to my professors in UST Law because, during the Bar exams, it’s true that you will remember what they are saying, you’ll hear their voices as if they were guiding you in writing your answers in your Bar examination booklet,” he said.

“The Bar exam is a 100 percent essay so I’m afraid the manner and style of writing and penmanship may not be appreciated by whoever is checking my paper.  I am still entertaining the possibility I will fail the Bar examination. That’s why I was afraid and I turned off my phone…I am really nervous,” he added.

Manuel graduated cum laude from UST Faculty of Civil Law and magna cum laude in accountancy from Colegio de San Juan Letran-Manila. He ranked 14th in the 2014 CPA board exam and later taught taxation for five years to students reviewing for the CPA board exams.

A member of the UST Law Debate and Moot Society, Manuel was the first overall best speaker in the 2019 Conflicts of Law Debate competition hosted by the Association of Law Students of the Philippines.

Some of Manuel’s time was dedicated to sharing witty, funny stories and relevant information to then law students like him.

He started the @YourLawyerSays blog as a meme page which has since given inspiration, relevant legal information and humor to thousands of lawyer hopefuls.

“It’s important to bring legal concepts and all these legal matters happening in the news in a way that is understandable by lawyers because a lot of those being presented is confusing to the ordinary person so that social media account will fulfill that objective,” he said.

In his blog, he described himself as an “advocate of the rule of law” available for free legal opinion and humor with a caveat: His tweets do not reflect the legal profession. 

The flare and sharpness in writing probably could be attributed partly to his previous work as a former features writer for Gavel & Robe, a lifestyle magazine for the legal profession.

“(The blog) caught up with the law student community; the followers grew and found it funny. Now, the blog also publishes case digests like those of the recent Supreme Court decision in the Ampatuan massacre case.

The account, however, was inactive during the scope of the Bar review also for another thing.

“(My account) is @YourLawyerSays and if I fail the bar I may not be worthy of that blog title and social media identity. “I toned down and kept sharing my thoughts in my personal account,” he said.

“I realized this account has the potential to have so much influence in order to promote values, human rights, and equality. It started to become a mix of law-related news and had (later) become a channel for my advocacy which is equality, in particular, gender equality since I am a member of the LGBT community,” he said.

Manuel’s opinion– sharp and most of the time funny– on legal issues ranging from the constitutionality of Philsat’s imposition of passing grades in law schools, copyright law infringement issues of singer Taylor  Swift, sexual harassment not being a fortuitous event, transportation issues, denial of marriage licenses to same sex-couples, objectification of women, the typical lawyer-above-all-profession mentality of some politicos, among other issues.

Manuel said he manages time by not managing it.

“When people ask me (how I manage my time), my reaction is, it’s not really manag(ing).  I don’t manage my time. I’m trying to make the most of my time that I get. For instance, after work, if there’s remaining time, that’s when I study. There’s no really time management involved. I can only keep track of what I’m doing and my next tasks at work,” said Manuel.

Now a lawyer, Manuel said he will continue teaching, his passion. Improving the legal profession, he said, starts with legal education and in how schools instill to their students how it is to be a true lawyer.

To soon-to-be lawyers, Manuel warned that the walk to becoming one would really be difficult.  

“But not just because it’s difficult means it’s already a signal to give up. No difficulty in law school cannot be overcome. Just keep pursuing your dreams, stay focused,” he said, adding that the proper mindset is to treat each difficulty as a challenge, not a reason to be complacent but to constantly improve.

/MUF