How To Become a Lawyer in the Philippines: 6 Steps

1. Cultivate the Important Skills and Qualities Required To Study Law

Let’s say that you’re in high school and you want to become a lawyer. You want to cultivate
skills that will help you in law school and the Bar Examinations.

The following are the skills and mindset you need to have to survive law school:

a. You Need To Be Committed

Law school is not for the faint of heart.

The study of law is unlike your high school and college education. Most, if not all, law
professors practice the Socratic Method in their teaching, which means that the law students had
to have read the assigned materials ahead of time, and the professor will ask questions through
recitation.

Don’t expect them to discuss the material in front of the class with a marker and visual aids.

The questions may range from the simple like “What is property?” to the downright absurd
like “Let’s say that you are standing in a piece of cardboard in the middle of a puddle. A thief
walked by and stole your wallet. Is the piece of cardboard considered a boat? Did the thief
commit piracy?”

Practicals: Make sure that you are ready to study law! If you are not committed, gauge
your interest by at least enrolling in the first year of law school. If it’s not for you, at least
you have tried.

b. You Need To Learn How To Read and  Read Fast

You will spend 90% of your time reading laws, cases, notes, books, and articles.

Our laws are codified in more than a thousand statutes, with most of these laws having children
on their own in the form of implementing rules and guidelines. Aside from these, we have a
wealth of cases since 1901 that the Supreme Court has rendered decisions and resolutions.

You have your notes, your friend’s notes, or the notes made by your law school’s Bar
Operations. You have your hardbound textbooks, each almost two-inch-thick. Finally, you have
articles from law journals, newspapers, and online.

Practicals: Start reading NOW! It does not have to be a law book, but it should be more
than reading your Facebook or Twitter feed. Make a habit out of reading books,
newspapers, and magazines.

c. You Need To Know Basic Sentence Construction

From recitations to quizzes and finally, the Bar Examinations, you need to practice and review
your English. Go over your grammar and basic style. In law school and even after passing the
Bar Examinations, you need to readily and briefly state the facts, the issues, and the application
of the law.

Practicals: Grab your old English textbook, practice online, or get Strunk and
White’s “The Elements of Style.” 

d. You Need a Proper Study Habit

Some geniuses can pass law school with minimum reading and a lopsided study schedule.
Unfortunately, more likely than not, we are not these geniuses.

You need a proper study habit. Like Stephen King and his writing, you need to treat the study of
law as work. Work can be fun, but unless you are sick or otherwise predisposed, you need to
work every day, you need to work hard, and you need to work for a length of time.

Practicals: Set a time for study or reading and a different time for leisure. Do not confuse
the two. Do not study while you are taking a break, but do not check Facebook while you
are studying. Check the Pomodoro style of studying and make it work for you.

e. You Need To Practice Your Handwriting ASAP

As of this writing, 100% of the Bar Examinations are essay-type. This means that there is no
machine that will check if your answer is correct, no scanner that an intern will pass your exam
sheet to.

All booklets used during the Bar Examinations are read and checked by persons like you and me.
If they cannot read your answer because of your handwriting, even if you are correct, you will
lose points in an exam where one point means the difference between passing and failing.

Ensure that your handwriting is neat, follows the margins of the page, and, most importantly, is
readable.

Practicals: Write! Take notes and prepare reviewers. Have a friend read your handwriting
and get some critique.

2. Obtain a Bachelor’s Degree From a Recognized College or University

According to the Rules of Court, you need to take a bachelor’s degree in arts or sciences with
any of the following subjects as a major or field of concentration:

 Political science
 Logic
 English
  Spanish
 History
 Economics
The above Rule, however, does not mean that only those who possess a bachelor’s degree in
Political Science, English, History, or Economics can enter law school or take the Bar
Examinations.

The Rule is construed to mean by the legal profession that you took the specific number of units
in the subjects above. This means that a person holding a bachelor’s degree in Nursing, Applied
Mathematics, Chemistry, or Physics may enter law school so long as they have accumulated the
required number of units in the subjects above.

Law schools have different criteria for accepting law students. For example, San Beda University
– College of Law requires that students earned 18 units of English, 18 units of Social Sciences,
and six units of Mathematics.

If you do not have the required number of units, you may be conditionally accepted but must
satisfy the requirements before admission to second-year law. This means that you may have to
take summer classes during law school to reach the number of units required.

3. Take the Philippine Law School Admission Test (PhiLSAT)

PhiLSAT, or the Philippine Law School Test, is an entrance exam separate and distinct from the
entrance exam of the law school itself.
It is conducted by the Legal Education Board (LEB) and is a prerequisite for admission to the
basic law courses leading to either a Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor degree.

PhiLSAT is an aptitude exam – similar to an IQ exam – composed of four subjects:

Communications and Language Proficiency, Critical Thinking, Verbal Reasoning, and
Quantitative Reasoning.

Update: In a 108-page decision released on December 3, 20195, the Supreme Court has

officially declared as unconstitutional the orders and memorandums of the Legal
Education Board (LEB) that require aspiring law students to take up the Philippine Law
School Admission Test (PhilSAT), making permanent the temporary restraining order it issued
in March of the same year.

Although PhilSAT will no longer be mandatory, the court en banc, through Associate Justice
Jose C. Reyes Jr., said in a statement that it’s still open to approving more “standardized and
acceptable law admission examinations” that may be developed in the future.

4. Study Law for Four Years in a Recognized Law School

As explained earlier, the study of law normally incorporates the Socratic Method. The typical
law student studies on his own and, by the time is called by the professor to answer, already
knows the material.

Your choice of law school, therefore, is important but not a necessity in passing the Bar
Examinations. If you have persistence, a good study habit, and courage, together with some
luck, you will pass the Bar Examinations no matter what law school you come from.

5. Take and Pass the Bar Examinations

The Bar Examinations is a grueling four-day exam conducted by the Supreme Court.

It is normally given on all four Sundays every November in the City of Manila (particularly

the University of Sto. Tomas).

a. Bar Exam Requirements

As per the Rules, you have to be a resident of the Philippines, at least twenty-one years of
age, and of good moral character to qualify for the Bar Examinations. 

According to the Office of the Bar Confidant of the Supreme Court6, applicants for the Bar
Examinations must file:

 A verified (signed) and notarized petition, a form of which is available at the Office of
the Bar Confidant;
 A copy of the applicant’s birth certificate;
 A copy of the marriage certificate for married female applicants;
 Two (2) testimonials of good moral character executed by a lawyer;
 The original or certified true copy of the applicant’s pre-law degree transcript;
 The original or certified true copy of the applicant’s law degree transcript;
 Certificate of no derogatory record;
 Certification by the school registrar executed under oath and noted by the Law Dean
that the applicant graduated a four (4) year law course and that his/her name is
included in the LEB Certification;
 Three (3) copies of the latest un-retouched photos with name imprinted thereon; and
 A self-addressed stamped envelope.
There is a filing fee of PHP 3,750.00. Normally, your law school will help you accomplish the
petition and its attachments. You need to consult with your school’s registrar.
b. Bar Exam Subjects
The Bar Exam is composed of eight subjects:

 Political and International Law

 Labor and Social Legislation
 Civil Law
 Taxation
 Mercantile Law
 Criminal Law
 Remedial Law
 Legal Ethics

c. Bar Exam Passing Rate

To pass, you need to obtain a general average of 75% in all subjects, without falling below
50% in any subject. The Supreme Court, however, has the discretion to change this passing
average.

6. Take Your Oath and Start Practicing Law

One doesn’t automatically become a lawyer by just passing the Bar Exams.

You still have to take your oath in a ceremony before the Supreme Court Justices and afterward
sign your name in the Roll of Attorneys. Once you have signed your name and obtained your
Roll Number, you may be officially called a lawyer.

Then, you can already practice law! There are, however, some continuing requirements that you
have to accomplish as a member of the Philippine Bar in good standing:

 Pay your annual membership fee (PHP 2,000) with the Integrated Bar of the
Philippines7;
 Attend a Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) every three years8; and
 Pay your professional tax with the City Hall9.