Netizens hail Christian Lawyer for passing bar

By: Tarra Quismundo - 10 years ago

PHOTO BY RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net

He may not have topped the bar, but Netizens think he should get an award for living up to his name.

Bar passer Christian Lawyer has drawn cheers online for his very apt name, like it is his birthright to belong to the legal profession, according to some tweets.

“Whoever this Christian Lawyer is, he just claimed his birthright,” said Twitter user Lambert Lauengco (@TrololoLamb).

“Congratulations to you, sir, for passing the bar and giving justice to your surname, Atty. Lawyer,” posted James Cuevas (@NotJamesCuevas).

Lawyer, among the 1,126 who passed the 2014 bar exams out of 5,984 takers, has attracted attention on Twitter and Facebook and has been the subject of jokes and comments just like 2013 bar passer Habeas Corpuz.

Best name

Listed as bar passer No. 586 on the alphabetical list, he will be addressed as Attorney Lawyer once he takes his oath with the rest of the successful bar candidates on April 24.

But already, Netizens are having a grand time playing with his name.

Tweeted Borgy Gavina (@borgygavina): “And the award for the Best Name to Pass the 2014 Bar goes to … LAWYER, Christian Apollo U!”

So inspired was Facebook user Gene Paulo Abrajano with the name that he even created a mini-poster of sorts in honor of the lawyer, Lawyer.

“Winner, Best Name, 2014 Bar Examinations,” Abrajano’s photo post read, the title inscribed inside a gold laurel wreath similar to those used to honor critically acclaimed films.

The award came complete with a made-up quote: “It’s like, I was born for this, bro,”—Attorney Lawyer supposedly said on the redundancy of his name and chosen profession.

It’s a good thing Lawyer passed the bar, “otherwise, it would have been a little awkward,” tweeted Aileesa Lim-Sua (@Aileesa).

The Inquirer has yet to locate Atty. Lawyer, but his Facebook account showed that he finished law at the University of Santo Tomas, where he also has a bachelor’s degree in Legal Management.

Despite the Supreme Court deciding en banc to adjust the passing rate from 75 to 73 percent, the 2014 bar exams posted the second lowest passing rate, 18.82 percent, since the year 2000.

This was the third consecutive year that the high court had to adjust the passing rate: it was lowered to 70 percent in 2012, when only 949 out of 5,343 takers or 17.76 percent passed, and in 2013, when only 22.18 percent of 5,292 examinees made it despite the lowered 73 percent passing rate.

Administered by the Supreme Court, the bar examination is considered the country’s most prestigious professional licensure test owing to its difficulty.

Quality of instruction

Asked about the declining rate of successful examinees, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said the quality of teaching in law schools deserves more attention.

“I think what should be the concern of everybody, especially law schools, is whether the quality of instruction is improving (on) all levels,” Sereno said on the sidelines of a business forum in Makati City on Thursday.

“This is a matter that law school deans need to look at because we cannot allow applicants who are unable to answer very basic questions, and who aren’t able to articulate (themselves) in an appropriate fashion,” she added.

Sereno had earlier said reforms were underway on the composition of the bar exams, an extensive test conducted over four weekends which covers various aspects of law practice.

The chief magistrate called on heads of law schools to review the quality of courses they offer and the qualification of their faculty members.

“This is an appeal to all law school deans to undertake an extensive review of how their courses are being taught and how they recruit their faculty, and even the students who are applying to take up law,” Sereno said.