Forty-seven (47) students of the UC School of Law took their oath as law student practitioners before Executive Judge Marlon Jay G. Moneva of the Regional Trial Court of Cebu City today. These law student practitioners will be allowed to engage in supervised law practice under the law school’s Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP).

Also present during the oath taking were UC Law Dean Al-Shwaid Ismael, UC CLEP Supervising Lawyer and UC Office of Legal Aid Director Atty. Christopher John Menguito, UC Law Asst. to the Dean for Academic Affairs Atty. Kristine Joy Argallon, and UC Law OIC for Administrative Affairs Atty. Lorenil Archival.

The Supreme Court en banc, on June 25, 2019, adopted and promulgated A.M. No. 19-03-24-SC Rule 138-A Law Student Practice, otherwise known as the Revised Law Student Practice Rule (Revised Rule). The Revised Rule is an amendment to the existing provisions of Rule 138-A of the Rules of Court.

Under Section 3 of the Revised Rule, a law student shall apply for and secure a Level 1 or 2 Certification, as the case may be, in order to be permitted to engage in any of the activities under the Clinical Legal Education Program of a law school. The basic distinction between the two levels involves the minimum academic requirement the law student has successfully completed: for Level 1 Certification – first-year law courses, while for Level 2 Certification – third-year law courses. 

Further, starting in the 2023 Bar Examinations, candidates are required to complete at least Level 1 Certification in order to be eligible to take the Bar exams.

Even before the Student Practice Rule, UC Law has incorporated experiential learning into its curriculum and also made CLE subjects mandatory for students in both Juris Doctor Thesis and Non-Thesis programs.

At UC Law, we provide holistic training and prepare our students for the Bar exams and the challenges in law practice after being admitted to the Philippine Bar.

Congratulations to the first group of the first batch of UC Law student practitioners!