How to Prepare for the Bar

How to Prepare for the Bar Atty. Reiner Yebra “There’s no need to reinvent the wheel.” “Preparing for the bar entail physical preparedness, emotional psychological, emotional, even financial preparedness.” “The bar is not a difficult subject, it is just complex.” 1. Be at peace with your self. You don’t need emotional baggage. You need to FOCUS. a. Forgive everyone b. Ask forgiveness 2. Prepare your materials, books and reviewers. a. Codals: hindi lahat ng provision ng codal kailangan mong basahin. b. You must have atleast one reviewer. i. Ex. Political Law – Nachura c. You don’t need to read your materials two or three times. d. READ TO COMPREHEND. READ TO UNDERSTAND e. Objective: read it once and fully understand. f. FORCE YOURSELF TO READ AND UNDERSTAND NG ISANG BASA LANG. g. MEMORY AIDS – your main is your codal, second is your reviewer and your last is the memory aid. It helps you to memorize, it does not help you to understand. This is a universal truth. i. Read your memory aid during your downtime. ii. Ang gumagawa ng memory aid ay student and student’s tendency is to make it comprehensive like a text book. iii. If you don’t like memory aids: use notes like Jara Notes for light reading. 3. Make your study area conducive for studying. a. use ear plugs i. wala ka tlaga marinig ii. signals to other people not to disturb you Goal: Setting to turn yourself into a machine. Table is arranged is such a way you know where your pens and codals are. Ceiling: may nakadikit na papel: “There’s plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead.”

4. Count the days to the bar. a. Try to make a system: hindi pwedeng bara-bara. b. Divide the number of days you have to 8 (subjects). What to study for Ethics? a. Code of Professional Responsibility b. Canon of Judicial Ethics c. Lawyer’s Oath Buy a calendar planner. This will be your guide because you may loose track of time. If wala, gumawa kayo. Get a paper and assess yourself: rank the subjects from 1-8. Ask yourself per subject kung maalam ba ako dito? Or, mahina ako dito? Determine your level of proficiency. Ex (Yebra’s Personal) 1. Remedial Law 2. Civil Law 3. Commercial Law 4. Taxation Law 5. Criminal Law 6. Political Law 7. Labor Law 8. Ethics. Example: (Top 4: 20 days) Kailangan hindi mo ma exhaust lahat ng target days mo. You need extra 10-15 days as buffers days kasi malamang magkakasakit kayo or cram days. PLOT IN YOUR CALENDAR PLANNER. Then write the material that youll use: first: study codals- three or four days. Then study reviewer. MASTER THE CODAL AND YOU WILL PASS THE BAR. In POLI LAW: 1987 Consti provision. Read Art 1-8. Art. 17. Admin Law: no need to read code: just Nachura International Law: No Codals Election Law: Book in UP law center Florence Silbay : magulo elec law natin kasi madami, you don’t know whats Labor: Read Codal GSIS and SSS Law And doctrines Civil Law: Codal and Family Code and Adoption Taxation Law: Tax Code, include VAT and :consti provision on tax and local government code. Commercial Law: Read Nego, Insurance, Transpo, Corpo IP n SRC: Reviewer nalang Special law: extrajudicial foreclosure Criminal Law: Use codal in book 1. For book 2: Use reviewer. Illegal possession of firearms: know the effects Remedial law: Civil Pro and Evid – very important, SCA – Book 1 :all the writs – Data, Amparo, Kalikasan

Why do you have to read the codal? Ang batas ay isang malaking storya lang yan. Don’t focus on one article lang. Be conscious of its interplay. See the law as one big story. Browse what is important. Ex. Section 1. DON’T MEMORIZE CODAL PROVISIONS. What is the law trying to tell me? Get the big picture. Start with your codal as your map. Studying the law is like a walk in the forest: you look at everything – the birds, the trees, the sky, etc. When you’re taking the bar, you should think like a lawyer. Have a working knowledge of the law in general. You want to make it good in the bar, tiisin nyo ang codal. After codal, read your reviewers. Usually, 100 pages a day. Develop a system. Sa umpisa and codal mahirap. Its so boring. Wake up: 7am Bath and Eat: 1 hour. Study: 8-12 Lunch Break: 12-1 Study: 1-5 Dinner: 6-7 Dapat ang break time should not be Saturday. Because sa Bar, Saturday is crunch time. Date time: Sunday Night or Monday Morning. Red notes or red book: just choose one. Very important: read the case digest. Read the cases where the ponente is the chairman. Move on to the next subject even if you don’t finish one subject. Pre-week: September if the bar is on October. ATTEND PRE-WEEK LECTURES/REVIEWERS. BAR is a game of probability. And lecturers are more adept in predicting kung anu ang mga lalabas. Doggie Bag: Mineral Water. Energy Drink. Banana. Energy Drink. Meds to control bowel movement. You play with the cards you are dealt with. During the Bar: 1. What the first thing you’ll do? Count the number of questions. 2. And divide the number of minutes to the questions. So youll know how much time you’ll spend with each question. 3. Always bring your watch. 4. Read directions carefully.

5. In answering MCQs: look for the wrong answer. Process of elimination or deduction. 6. Use a simple language. Don’t use legalistic words. Use elementary language. 7. Do not cite specific provisions or cases. 8. In citing just say: “the law states…” “jurisprudence provides…”. 9. Don’t use “former” or “latter” 10. In answering essay, it can be categorized into two: simple question. Is the contention valid? When the question says: decide the case. A more elaborate answer is required. HOW YOU SHOULD ANSWER ESSAY QUESTIONS? 1. Traditional way. First sentence is the conclusion. Second: cite basis. Third, in the case, application. Fouth, therefore or the repetition of the question. “Don’t impress the examiner.” “Decide on the outcome that you want then take action” “Accept the truth that you will make a mistake.” 2. Syllogism. Major, minor then conclusion. This is direct to the point. Practice answering questions. Polish your method of answer. When you’re answering, use indentation. Have a margin. If you missed a number: just put a note “N.B. my answer to number (that you missed) is on the last page. How to attack a problem? Bakit hindi makaperfect sa essay? 4 Pillars or Parameters 1. Do not panic. 2. Read the questions carefully. 3. Address all issues. 4. Answer all questions. “We fear, those which we do not understand” Panic is your first enemy. You need clarity of mind. All questions start with a single idea. Now it is surrounded with relevant facts and irrelevant facts. In answering essay type questions look for the correct issue. Read the questions 2 or 3 times. First reading of the problem. Wag ka muna mag analyze. Wholistic. Look a the bigger picture. Second reading. That’s the time you start underline and cross out some of the facts. Third reading. You are now reading for the purpose of answering. Write sa side ng questionnaire mga key words. That’s the draft of your answer. “Nothing worth having is easy.” Bar exam is a numbers game.

Sometimes there are many issues. You are expected to address all these issues. Ex. Necessary Deposit. In transportation law and the passenger is carrying a baggage it is now a necessary deposit and not a contract of carrier. You must inform the common carrier. Necessary deposit, only due diligence is required.