6 Bar topnotchers reject call to practice law in provinces, join SolGen’s office

Six of the country’s best new lawyers have opted to become state counsels, spurning the call of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno for them to practice their profession in the provinces.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) on Sunday disclosed that half of the 12 law graduates who landed in the Top 10 of the historic 2016 bar exams have enlisted in the government’s primary law firm.

“Six topnotchers from the most recent bar examinations will be joining the OSG in its pursuit of social justice as the republic’s defender and the tribune of the people,” Solicitor General Jose Calida said in a statement.

Alanna Gayle Ashley Khio, who placed second, said her decision to join the OSG would give her an opportunity to “become the best lawyer I can be.”

Khio, a graduate of Silliman University in Dumaguete City, got a grade of 88.95 in the gruelling bar exams, which was topped by Karen Mae Calam of the University of San Carlos in Cebu City.

Besides Khio, among the bar topnotchers who joined the OSG were Athalia Liong (3rd place, Andres Bonifacio College in Dipolog City), Justin Ryan Morilla (5th, Ateneo de Davao University), Mark Dace Camarao (6th, Northwestern University in Laoag City), Nia Rachelle Gonzales (9th, University of Batangas) and Andrew Stephen Liu (10th, Silliman).

“When I got invited to join the OSG, there was no doubt that I would accept the invitation. What better place to start your career than (in) the best law firm in the country?” said Liu.

Past top bar passers have started their careers in the OSG, among them Calida’s predecessor, former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, a graduate of the University of the Philippines (UP) who topped the 1999 bar exams. 

The latest batch of lawyers etched their place in history as all the bar topnotchers came from law schools outside of Metro Manila, ending the decades of dominance of UP and the Ateneo de Manila University in arguably the country’s most difficult professional licensure examinations.

The 59.06 percent passing rate in the 2016 bar exams was the highest since the Supreme Court imposed a 75-percent passing mark and the second highest after the 75.17 recorded passing rate in 1954, which had a lower passing grade.

The historic feat prompted Sereno, also UP graduate, to encourage the bar passers to stay in their home provinces and “serve where the need (for legal services) is greatest.” 

“We need to talk about encouraging more Mindanao, Visayas and non-Metro Manila lawyers to consider staying and rendering service where they are,” Sereno told the new lawyers at their oath-taking ceremony in Pasay City last month.