Bar Exam Tips & Secrets

NEVER QUIT!

An Interview with Dean Vicente Abad Santos

Contributed by:

Atty. Glenn M. Mortel

(espogi4@yahoo.com)

This valuable piece of advice from former Dean Vicente Abad Santos of the College of Law, University of the Philippines, is addressed to all bar candidates, present or future.

The UP law dean, the youngest to occupy this distinguished position in the state university, cited the cases of some UP law graduates who quit after the first day of the examination because they thought their answers were no good.

Only the examiners can determine this, he pointed out.

Preparations should not begin after graduation but on the first day the candidate enters his freshman year in the law school.

What did he do after graduation day?

Dean Abad Santos immediately went on a two-week vacation from his codes and textbooks. The idea here, he explained, is to relax both mind and body in preparation for the review during the months prior to the actual examination day. This, according to him, will enable the candidate to conserve as much energy for the grind that is to follow so that on the first day of the examination, he will not be exhausted and confused.

He recommends no hard and fast rules on schedules with respect to the review of the eight subjects given in the bar examination.

First, the UP law dean suggests, the candidate should go on leave from work if he belongs to the working gentry.

The review should be made easy the first three months after graduation, one subject after another, he said. This review will be intensified only during the month prior to the examination.

Dean Abad Santos has no objection if the candidate should go to a movie the afternoon prior to the actual examination day. He also suggests that the candidate should sleep early so that when he wakes up the following day, he feels fresh and ready for the battle.

After any given examination, the candidate should never worry about his answers any longer, the UP law dean said. After all, there is nothing he could do about changing them. Rather, he should worry about the next examination.

Another advice Dean Abad Santos wants to pass on to bar candidates is that they should never leave any question unanswered.

If they are at a loss as to what specific legal provisions or doctrine to use in answering problems, the only alternative left for them is to use their own common sense.

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Table of Contents

Contributed Articles:

The Bar Exam for Dummies

by Atty. An Sazon

The Great Formula in Passing the Bar Exams

(Atty. Glenn M. Mortel)

Interview with

Bar Topnotchers:

Contributed by:

Atty. Glenn M. Mortel

Dean Jovito Salonga

HARD WORK

Dean Vicente Abad Santos:

NEVER QUIT

Dean Ricardo Lacson:

CONFIDENCE

Dean Teodorico Martin

REVIEW MATERIALS