I’m writing this post a day after Thanksgiving, which is a big thing among Americans. I did have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner complete with the obligatory turkey, thank you very much. My kind landlord, who is vacationing with his daughter in the Middle East, and who knew that I would otherwise be alone, inveigled his friends to invite me to their Thanksgiving dinner. The hospitality and generosity of my hosts as well as the friendliness and kindness of the other guests should lay to rest any doubt about the existence of such qualities in the land of the free. I don’t fully appreciate the historical or cultural underpinnings of Thanksgiving, but it got me into thinking about things I should be thankful for.
To be honest, I was afraid I wouldn’t be writing a happy postscript to my previous post on the New York bar examinations. I found all the exams—the multi-state (i.e., federal) component, the New York State portion, and the multi-state professional responsibility—difficult. The multiple choice questions were particularly tricky because most of the time the choices all seemed to be correct. Given the degree of my uncertainty, I have no idea how I made it. As usual, I ascribe this fortunate result to God’s grace. I thank God for that grace. And I thank everyone—including gods and goddesses and, of course, fairies—who have prayed for me, wished me well, and supported me through the bar exams.
The score report I obtained confirmed my initial observation about the differences in attitudes towards bar exams in the Philippines and the United States. Whereas Filipinos are obsessed with ratings and rankings, I didn’t even get a full report from the New York Board of Law Examiners. I was informed only of my multi-state rating, probably because it helps one determine if the same result meets cut-off scores in other State bars. I have no clue about the rating I got in the New York portion. But I’m not complaining. Ignorance in this case is good for my ego because I can indulge in speculation that I did sufficiently well to pass this portion of the exams.
The good news is that all Filipino students in Georgetown who took the New York State bar exams passed. The bad news is that there was a huge mortality rate for foreign students in Georgetown. Apparently, this is true in other schools as well. A Filipino friend who graduated from Northwestern University told me that more than 70% of her foreign-educated classmates didn’t make it. I don’t know the exact mortality rate for Georgetown, but I would hazard a guess that it is probably in the vicinity of Northwestern’s rate.
It’s not that those who failed the exams are not bright. Many of those from Georgetown who didn’t make it were in some of my classes. And I could tell from class discussions and my interactions with them that they are bright, indeed. It’s probably our facility in the language. Filipinos are lucky in that regard. We learn the language even before we start school and use it as principal medium of instruction in all levels of education. Incidentally, if China is going to be the next economic superpower, which I think is very likely, then Filipinos must start incorporating Chinese (Mandarin probably?) into the educational system. Since Filipinos will soon be taking bar exams and other professional exams in China, we should start mastering the language.
At the moment, I’m in the midst of preparing documents to support my application for admission to the New York bar. Apparently, passing the examinations is not enough. I have to request both the UP College of Law and Georgetown for transcripts. I also have to provide proof of my good standing as a member of the Philippine bar. In addition, I have to submit affidavits of former supervisors in all my law-related employment. Moreover, I have to find attorneys who are willing to attest to my moral fitness to practice law in New York. Finally, I have to submit myself to an interview before they allow me to take the oath. As you can see, becoming a member of the New York bar entails a lot of work. But I passed the exams and that, you’ll agree, is enough reason to be thankful.
