OFF MY CHEST MUNA

So there’s a classmate of mine in 4L na super bossy and super toxic ang attitude. Dati di naman sya ganyan because friend din nya mga barkada ko. So noong lumipat lahat ng close friends ko to another, nag-iba rin ang attitude towards me. To give you a background, she’s also working at the same law school and taking up law at the same time and beadle pa. So technically alam nya lahat ng chismis inside the offices in law school.

So eto na nga, every time I ask questions sa GC na seemingly “dumb” question for her, kino-callout ako sa GC as if may ginawa akong masama. But kung ibang mga kaklase ko yan, “Haha” reacts lang with matching friendly banter. Whenever I ask profs questions regarding the subject matter kahit it to most of my classmates think it is a legitimate question (and yes they insist din for me to ask), magpi-PM sakin na, “wag ako magbida-bida” or “wag ka na magtanong ng mga kumplikadong tanong at tatandaan ka na ng prof” or “pag ito lumabas sa exam kasalanan mo to”. But yung prof, each and everytime I ask complicated questions, they appreciate naman and even commended for asking them. Somehow, those profs validated me for asking difficult questions.

Tapos every extracurricular activities na both inside and outside ng school (yes isa akong extracurricular person) na involved ako, sasabihin ba naman “talagang sinabay mo pa sa review”. And at the same time, this is the same person na manghihingi pa ng review materials sa akin. Diba? Saan ka nakakuha ng kapal ng mukha matapos lait-laitin or even make me look dumb? Kesa na magtutulungan dahil 4L na, nanghihila nalang pababa? For what, to secure your slot for graduation? Paano kaya pag naging abogado pa to? Ganyan din gagawin nya sa kapwa abogado? Yung mga ganitong law student na may ganitong ugali, eto ung mga di dapat pinapasa sa law school. Bakit kaya 4L na ganun ang ugali? Ang hirap magseek ng validation lalo na’t I feel isolated sa LS kase wala na yung peers ko. Hayst.

Hi, 1L here. I know it is a canon event for 1L students given na nasa adjustment phase pa kami. I keep gaslighting myself that I am still adjusting really, pero di sapat na excuse yon and I feel underwhelmed with my performance sa midterms ko. I failed with just a 0.5 point and one item na lang din sana madalas eh papasa na ako. I sound OA but I have to get a minimum of 2.0 final grade to maintain my scholarship and free tuition here at LS.

I think to myself that I am a working student, eh English teacher na nga ako tas yung essays sa law school syaka recits nabobokya ko pa? I teach kids yet I, myself cannot even barely get a full point kahit ALAC method pa. I feel so ashamed of myself.

Any advice from the higher years how to do issue spotting better? Any study tips as well since nagstrustruggle ako sa codals>commentaries>cases and often times wala na akong time for cases at naasa sa digests. Should I try to alternate codals and cases? Tinatry ko lahat, may audiobook pa nga ako syaka nakikinig sa podcasts during commute. I also watch lectures on YT. I also try my best to finish the topics before the evening class since most of my classes are evenings and sa morning oang ang schedule ko sa work, kaya sa hapon ako nag-aaral.

This has been my dream for as long as I can remember and I feel like I am dissappointing the younger me for my poor performance. I want to make it up to myself since there are still chances to pass and bawi before the sem ends. Any tips would be very helpful, please. I don't want to lose this dream and battle. ☹️

PERO KAKAYANIN. 2 years na ako sa LS at always underload ineenrolan ko every sem since I am working. Since hindi always busy sa office, mas may time ako magaral. Despite that, parang I feel like I am running and exhausted and I am hardly breathing. Yung mga assignments namin, pinapa-AI ko nalang. Please don't judge as I just want to ventilate what I feel. Besides, kino-compensate ko naman by actually reading the whole cases and books. It's just that wala akong oras para bigyan pa ng attention yung mga lengthy assignments na reasonable at nakakatulong naman talaga huhu.

My point is, salute po talaga ako sa mga law students na nakasurvive at gumraduate during the time na walang AI🫡. Like HOW?

Hi! Incoming 1L here.

I wanted to ask if there are jumbo or large-print editions available for the different codals, or are the pocket-sized versions the only ones commonly available?

I personally prefer larger books since I find pocket-sized ones a bit inconvenient to read and handle. Would you recommend getting the pocket codals anyway, or are there larger alternatives worth considering?

Would appreciate any advice from current law students. Thank you!

Hello everyone! 😊

I'm a first-year law student from UC Law, and for my Legal Profession course, I'm hoping to interview a practicing lawyer for a short class activity. I only have a couple of questions, so it won't take much of your time.

I'm looking for someone who'd be comfortable meeting over Zoom and taking a quick photo with me, since it will be submitted as proof of the interview.
If you're a lawyer and wouldn't mind helping a student out, please comment or send me a DM.

I would be so grateful for the chance to learn from your experience. Thank you so much, and I hope to hear from someone soon! 🙏

Hello, I'm a 2025 bar passer, Metro Manila law school graduate but stayed in the province since February. I tried applying here in the province but no luck coz internal applicants lagi priority and not much law firms here. Hence, I'm an occasional solo private practitioner but no litigation experience. More on legal advising and drafting docs lang, pro bono pa. Did not consider Notary Public since may bagong open na Notary rin sa amin.

Now, Im considering applying as a Junior Associate in Metro Manila to gain experience. How long does it take for law firms to reply regarding job applications and call for interviews? Torn kasi between magbalikan from province to Metro Manila for interviews or to move back to Metro Manila na lang while looking for a job. Also, is November a hiring season for firms? TIA

Hopefully may makatulong please. Newbie in the practice here and will be attending arraignment and preliminary conference for the accused in a BP 22 case. Tanong ko lang po, what do I need to prepare? Do I need to prepare and submit preliminary conference brief prior the scheduled arraignment and conference? How about the JA of my client? Do I need to wait for an order to submit JA? Salamat in advance po.

can I still make if if my mt score is 19/100?

As requested by some members, this weekly thread shall be for all things unrelated to law school. You can talk anything under the sun as long as it still adheres to Reddit's Rules.

⚠️ Emphasis on No Libelous Content.

Cheers and happy aral!

Hi! Any tips po paano magpaexam si Justice? Torn ako between reading his PPT or yung LMT po nilabas nya para sa bar exam. Ano po mas maganda basahin para sa major exam sa kanya? Pls notice me

Hi! Does anyone here works for or knows someone who works at OCP Mandaluyong? Been trying to call their hotline but no one is answering. Are they work from home every Friday? I just don’t want to waste my time and money going there if no one’s there to assist today. Thanks!

I made a bar reviewer for my officemate. I figure I might share this here as well. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YSMK00nt4zH314sOZZJORHAfdLcIZlS7/view?usp=sharing

Anyone here who failed to submit and/or upload their deferred documents on time and was disqualified from previous years’ Bar Exam? Asking for advice for a friend.

Possible pa kaya makahanap paralegal work na patapos na taon? 🥺 I just need to shift career na and hopefully makahanap opportunities.

Hello! Law school is difficult by itself. We need all the help we can get. We need encouragement from families and friends, we need tools to help us on studying. Kaya po, as 2L student, I developed BARkada. A law school app made by a law student, for law students

BARkada is a law school companion:

- it builds study plan/outline through your syllabus
- it builds recitation cards (flash on screen and voice chat)
- it generates bar exam questions
- it reminds you of your schedules, exams, quizes or anything due
- it gives full text of cases in text file and pdf
- it has all the codals and statutes used in 2027 bar exams
- and pwede mo lang sya kausapin at kakwentuhan. Para syang kaibigan na minsan maglalambing, minsan mangugulit, minsan mangaasar.
- pwede mo customize ung friend mo (name, identity and appearance

Sana po makatulong sa inyo. Free po sya. Enjoy po.

https://www.lawbarkada.com

Hi po! Wanted to ask advice for case digests.

I found that reading full text didn't help me as I'd soon lose details in my brain. Is there any efficient way po in digesting cases? We have 40 cases assigned for tomorrow and I've only done 11 so far.

Skim na po ba? Should I stop reading full text? Some cases din are very confusing chronologically, any tips for spotting the issue faster?

Thank you po, sincerely from a struggling first year.

Taking comm1 now and part ng syllabus ang nego. Maybe its the high cortisol and the level 10 crashout cause i feel alanganin sa comm1 despite studying hard. And ofc ang papalapit na finals week.

I locked in earlier than usual cause i know pupuksain ako ng topic na to. So i read na agad kahapon instead of my usual na wednesday morning.

Not even kidding, i woke up tired and dizzy and also felt feverish. Langya, ganon ba kahirap ang nego at ganon ba ako ka-bobo para lagnatin HAHAHA

And as a case enjoyer, blanko pa din utak ko even after going through all the cases sa syllabus namin.

hi! IL, planning to transfer next year to a school that accepts credited subjects, don't want to repeat eh hahaha. im thinking usjr in cebu, univ of cebu or siliman in dumaguete- i cant really find some info online but do they accept transferees with credited subs?

would also really like suggestions for law schools that credit already taken subs. hindi ako luzon based. preferrably sa cebu or visayas lang. thanks!

Hi, any lawyer based in Cebu here? Badly needed one for my short interview in leg prof (1L). Let me know, as in super short lang, I just need proof that I indeed interview one. 🥹🥹

Well, sino bang hindi? Hahaha.

I graduated from law school within four years, which some may say the “exception to the general rule”. I only failed one subject throughout my whole stay. I graduated from one of the known schools in MNL. I was part of the top five overall in my batch. I was a dean’s lister. I currently have a job offer from a reputable firm.

But throughout law school, I always know that I’m mediocre at best. I prepared myself na maybe I’ll take up law for 5-6 years kasi I knew the reality na law school was different from undergrad. Law school is 100x harder. And it was. I fumbled most of my recits. I got humbled over and over. I honestly cannot believe that I was the part of the top 5 of my batch. Nung nasa DL ako, I thought swinerte lang ako. Ang gagaling ng mga kaklase ko, and based on recit alone, parang ako pa nga ang bottom sa class. How I achieved those things were beyond me. I know naman na I studied hard, kasi alam ko na I’m not that smart to be complacent.

Right now, I’m very happy. It seemed that all my years studying hard in law school paid off. I received offers from some reputable firms. I have an underbar position with a decent salary waiting for me. I told myself and others na I’m at peace after I took the bar.

Most of the time, I am. I am at peace with my answers. I am at peace and relieved that it was over. I am at peace knowing that while I do not know the correct answers with certainty, I did my best to answer logically with a sound legal basis. However, there are also times where the anxiety creeps in. One of those times is now. Naisip ko, what if bumagsak ako sa bar? What if swinerte lang talaga ako sa law school? What if kaya lang okay yung grades ko kasi nacurve? Sa bar, wala nang curve. I know naman na I’m nothing special, not the smartest person in the room. But I worked hard. But were my efforts enough?

While I was interviewing for an underbar position, I told myself na ang saya kasi my hard work paid off. I can see a bright future ahead of me. I can feel that the legal profession is only a few steps away. While I was reading some of my job offers, bigla nalang ding pumasok yung anxiety. What if bumagsak ako sa bar? For sure, those offers would be rescinded.

I’m not sure if it’s the imposter syndrome that is talking. I’m not sure if these anxious feelings fail to see what others, particularly profs who gave me passing marks, classmates who turn to me for help, and the partners who hired me, see. Maybe they saw potential in me? But what if that potential is fake? What if I don’t actually have what it takes to pass the bar on my first try?

I know naman na it’s just an exam. I told myself that if I fail, there will always be a next bar. I told my parents that while I hope that I pass, I also expect for the worse. But I also told them that after a few (or maybe several) tears, I’ll be okay. It will not be the end of the world.

But right now, ayoko munang maging confident. Ayoko munang maging headstrong. I want to let all my emotions out. I don’t want to suppress my anxiety regarding the uncertain. I keep telling myself and others na I’m fine and doing well; for most days, I am. Today is not that day.

If you reached this far, thank you. I hope every anxious bar taker like me will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Pupunta ako ng UP Diliman for a seminar and I want to buy some (law) books as souvenir. Thanks po.

I just need to get this off my chest because I’m losing my mind. There are 6 of us in our circle of friends in law school. I love them, but honestly, it feels like I'm running a one-person review center every time we meet.

Since I'm currently at the top of the class and excel in most subjects, group study sessions have completely devolved. Instead of actual brainstorming, it's just me re-discussing and re-teaching every single topic from scratch. Sila kasi, papasok sa meeting na parang blank slate or sabaw sa readings, so ako na naman ang magbubuhat sa buong usapan—talking, explaining, and breaking everything down.
The worst part is, hindi talaga sila makaka-survive kung wala ako. Alam ko na kung iiwan ko sila, babagsak sila o kaya mapag-iwanan talaga sa recits at exams. That makes it so much harder to just walk away because I actually care about them as friends.

While I know that teaching reinforces what you know, may hangganan din naman ako noh. It feels less like a collaborative study group and more like I'm hosting free office hours. I need to prepare for my own exams and protect my own mental health, hindi yung ako ang laging sumasalo sa kanilang lahat linggo-linggo.