SC exec pushes to evolve legal education beyond mere memorization

Supreme Court Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez, Chairperson of the 2024 Bar Examinations, delivers his keynote speech titled “LAMBIGIT: Fostering Community Ties Towards Creating Socially Conscious and Well-Equipped Contemporary Law Students” at the 34th National Convention of the Association of Law Students of the Philippines in Cagayan de Oro City on April 13, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the ALSP)

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Supreme Court Associate Justice Mario Lopez stressed the need for legal education to evolve beyond mere memorization of legal doctrines toward a deeper understanding of the laws’ intricacies and nuances.

Lopez, chairman of the 2024 Bar Examination, said lawyers should be “knowledgeable on social realities.”

Speaking during the 34th National Convention of the Association of Law Students of the Philippines (ALSP), Lopez said the Legal Education Summit organized by the Supreme Court in 2019 pointed to the critical finding that it is always legal education that adjusts to the Bar Examinations, with most students concentrating at memorizing legal doctrines and spotting issues on essay questions at the expense of an in-depth understanding of the law.

Lopez said the findings led to the recommendation to the court regarding the structural, methodological, and policy reforms on legal education, which were incorporated in its Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 or (SPJI).

Among the recommendations are the removal of bar-centricity, the prioritization of skills training and ethical responsibility, and the enhancement of legal education through Bar reforms.

Because of the policy reforms, the SC has already introduced and implemented the Revised Model Law Curriculum to improve law school course and pedagogy; the Clinical Education Program requiring all law schools to establish legal clinics and the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) as well as the new Lawyer’s Oath.

For the Bar Exam this year, Lopez said: “The 2024 Bar Examination will exhibit a more standard, transparent, and accurate gauge of the examinees’ practical skills and jurisprudential perspectives.”

“The goal is to produce ‘Fundamentality Ready’ and ‘Potentially Capable’ Lawyers,” he added.

The questions, Lopez said will “evince analytical and problem-solving abilities, strong sense of ethics, professionalism, empathy for clients, and commitment to public service as minimum benchmarks for admission to the practice of law.”

“If you feel that law school has been exacting and your journey has been imperious, embrace the beauty of the entire experience in relation to what’s in store,” Lopez said.

Over 12,000 aspiring lawyers registered after the April 5 deadline for submitting applications to take the 2024 Bar.

READ: Over 12,000 register for 2024 Bar Exams

The 2024 Bar will be held on September 8, 11, and 15, 2024