The University of Cebu School of Law (formerly, “University of Cebu College of Law”) was established in 2002 through the efforts of the University of Cebu President, Atty. Augusto W. Go, with the assistance of Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Regino C. Hermosisima, Jr. and former UC Law Deans, Atty. Adelino B. Sitoy and Atty. Baldomero C. Estenzo. The law school is located at the University of Cebu Banilad Campus since its establishment. To attract exceptional students and assure itself of a good performance in the Philippine Bar Examination, it offered charter and other types of scholarships to prospective students who graduated with honors in their undergraduate degrees. It also made a commitment, which is true to this day, to give away cars to its law graduates who will land in the top ten in the Philippine Bar Examination.
The establishment of the law school was a realization of Atty. Go’s dream (being a lawyer himself) of establishing a law school that would produce competent and globally-competitive lawyers who possess a strong sense of responsibility for helping the community, uphold the rule of law, and evoke a fervid desire for law reforms and dedication for people empowerment.
Within a relatively short period of time, the law school has gained popularity for its outstanding track record, generous scholarship programs, and “top the Bar, get a car” stratagem. It is also one of the very few law schools, if not the only law school, in the country with a “no tuition fee increase” policy, i.e., a student’s tuition fee on his or her first year in law school will remain the same until his or her fourth year.
Its first batch of graduates took the 2006 Philippine Bar Examination and produced a very impressive performance— an 80% passing rate and an 8th placer. Since its debut, UC School of Law has consistently made it to the top 10 best performing Philippine law schools and has produced five Bar Exam placers to date. It also participated in several mooting competitions and has won several awards, including the honor of representing the country in the international rounds, e.g., the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition, the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition, and the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, to name a few.
The law school is an active member of the Philippine Association of Law Schools, the International Association of Law Schools, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature Academy of Environmental Law.
It is one of the few law schools in the country with a Clinical Legal Education Program that is accredited by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. It also has a Law Center that is an accredited Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) provider which periodically offers topics and courses, as prescribed and/or approved by the Supreme Court of the Philippines, for the continuing education of the members of the legal profession. It primarily caters to lawyers coming from the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
UC School of Law is committed to providing a student-centered and socially-relevant legal education through its dynamic and globally-oriented academic and professional skills development programs.