EN BANC

B.M. No. 2265

RE: REFORMS IN THE 2011 BAR EXAMINATIONS

Preliminary Statement

The Court has found merit in the proposed changes in the conduct of
the bar examinations that the Chairperson of the 2011 Bar Examinations and
Philippine Association of Law Schools recommended.

One recommendation concerns the description of the coverage of the

annual bar examinations that in the past consisted merely of naming the laws
that each subject covered. This description has been regarded as too general
and provides no specific understanding of the entry-level legal knowledge
required of beginning law practitioners.

A second recommendation addresses the predominantly essay-type of

bar examinations that the Court conducts. Because of the enormous growth
of laws, doctrines, principles, and precedents, it has been noted that such
examinations are unable to hit a significant cross-section of the subject
matter. Further, the huge number of candidates taking the examinations
annually and the limited time available for correcting the answers make fair
correction of purely essay-type examinations difficult to attain. Besides, the
use of multiple choice questions, properly and carefully constructed, is a
method of choice for qualifying professionals all over the world because of
its proven reliability and facility of correction.

A third recommendation opts for maintaining the essay-type

examinations but dedicating these to the assessment of the requisite
communication skills, creativity, and fine intellect that bar candidates need
for the practice of law.

Approved Changes

The Court has previously approved in principle the above

recommended changes. It now resolves to approve the following rules that
shall govern the future conduct of the bar examinations:

1. The coverage of the bar examinations shall be drawn up by

topics and sub-topics rather than by just stating the covered laws. The test
for including a topic or sub-topic in the coverage of the examinations is
whether it covers laws, doctrines, principles and rulings that a new lawyer
B.M. No. 2265 2

needs to know to begin a reasonably prudent and competent law practice.

The coverage shall be approved by the Chairperson of the Bar Examination
in consultation with the academe, subject to annual review and re-approval
by subsequent Chairpersons.

2. The bar examinations shall measure the candidate’s knowledge

of the law and its applications through multiple-choice-questions (MCQs)
that are to be so constructed as to specifically:

2.1. Measure the candidate’s knowledge of and ability

to recall the laws, doctrines, and principles that every new
lawyer needs in his practice;

2.2. Assess the candidate’s understanding of the

meaning and significance of those same laws, doctrines, and
principles as they apply to specific situations; and

2.3. Measure his ability to analyze legal problems,

apply the correct law or principle to such problems, and provide
solutions to them.

3. The results of the MCQ examinations shall, if feasible, be

corrected electronically.

4. The results of the MCQ examinations in each bar subject shall

be given the following weights:

Political Law -- 15%

Labor Law -- 10%
Civil Law -- 15%
Taxation -- 10%
Mercantile Law -- 15%
Criminal Law -- 10%
Remedial Law -- 20%
Legal Ethics/Forms -- 5%

5. Part of the bar examinations shall be of the essay-type, dedicated to

measuring the candidate’s skills in writing in English, sorting out the
relevant facts in a legal dispute, identifying the issue or issues involved,
organizing his thoughts, constructing his arguments, and persuading his
readers to his point of view. The essays will not be bar subject specific.

5.1. One such essay examination shall require the

candidate to prepare a trial memorandum or a decision based on
a documented legal dispute. (60% of essays)

5.2 Another essay shall require him to prepare a

written opinion sought by a client concerning a potential legal
dispute facing him. (40% of essays)
B.M. No. 2265 3

6. The essays shall not be graded for technically right or wrong

answers, but for the quality of the candidate’s legal advocacy. The passing
standard for correction shall be work expected of a beginning practitioner,
not a seasoned lawyer.

7. The examiners in all eight bar subjects shall, apart from

preparing the MCQs for their respective subjects, be divided into two panels
of four members each. One panel will grade the memorandum or decision
essay while the other will grade the legal opinion essay. Each member shall
read and grade the examination answer of a bar candidate independently of
the other members in his panel. The final grade of a candidate for each
essay shall be the average of the grades given by the four members of the
panel for that essay.

8. The results of the a) MCQ and b) essay-type examinations shall

be given weights of 60% and 40%, respectively, in the computation of the
candidate’s final grade.

9. For want of historical data needed for computing the passing

grade in MCQ kind of examinations, the Chairperson of the 2011 Bar
Examinations shall, with the assistance of experts in computing MCQ
examination grades, recommend to the Court the appropriate conversion
table or standard that it might adopt for arriving at a reasonable passing
grade for MCQs in bar examinations.

10. In the interest of establishing needed data, the answers of all

candidates in the essay-type examinations in the year 2011 shall be corrected
irrespective of the results of their MCQ examinations, which are sooner
known because they are electronically corrected. In future bar examinations,
however, the Bar Chairperson shall recommend to the Court the
disqualification of those whose grades in the MCQ are so low that it would
serve no useful purpose to correct their answers in the essay-type
examinations.

11. Using the data and experience obtained from the 2011 Bar
Examinations, future Chairpersons of Bar Examination are directed to study
the feasibility of:

11.1. Holding in the interest of convenience and

economy bar examinations simultaneously in Luzon, the
Visayas, and Mindanao; and

11.2. Allowing those who pass the MCQ examinations

but fail the essay-type examinations to take removal
examinations in the immediately following year.
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12. All existing rules, regulations, and instructions that are

inconsistent with the above are repealed.

This Bar Matter shall take effect immediately, and shall be published
in two newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

January 18, 2011.

RENATO C. CORONA
Chief Justice

ANTONIO T. CARPIO CONCHITA CARPIO MORALES

Associate Justice Associate Justice

PRESBITERO J. VELASCO, JR. ANTONIO EDUARDO B. NACHURA

Associate Justice Associate Justice

TERESITA J. LEONARDO-DE CASTRO ARTURO D. BRION

Associate Justice Associate Justice

DIOSDADO M. PERALTA LUCAS P. BERSAMIN

Associate Justice Associate Justice

MARIANO C. DEL CASTILLO ROBERTO A. ABAD

Associate Justice Associate Justice
B.M. No. 2265 5

MARTIN S. VILLARAMA, JR. JOSE PORTUGAL PEREZ

Associate Justice Associate Justice

JOSE CATRAL MENDOZA MARIA LOURDES P. A. SERENO

Associate Justice Associate Justice