BAR TIPS (ATTY.

JOAN DE VENECIAS LECTURE)

BY ATTY. FRED
The entire phbar community would like to express its gratitude to Joan for sharing her time and effort in giving
a lecture during the 2nd Gathering of the phbar community. Joan placed No. 1 during the 2! "ar #xams.
$ere%s a summary of the lecture&
'irst& (ake an honest assessment of the sub)ects you are good at* and the sub)ects you feel you have an
inade+uate foundation on. ,d)ust the number of days devoted to each sub)ect accordingly.
-econd& .ompact reviewers might not necessarily help* especially for those sub)ects in which you are weak at*
and the morning sub)ects.
Third& .hoose the review classes you want to attend. /0 enrolled at the law center but didn%t attend most of the
lectures1.
'ourth& ,void unnecessary comparison to the pace of others. 2e all have our own rhythm according to the laws
of inertia.
'ifth& 3erfect your handwriting and grammar.
-ixth& 2rite things down. 0 had so many post4its in my codals* especially for .iv and 5em. 0t was like a mini4
book where all the important doctrines were )otted down.
-eventh& No need to memori6e laws. 0f you must memori6e* memori6e only the key words of important
doctrines. 3lease* don%t memori6e case titles and -.5, citations. 7on%t clog your brain with useless clutter.
8nderstanding is key.
#ighth& 'or the bar* short answers don%t necessarily work. The answer must be firm yet exhaustive. 0 did not
cite cases nor specific provisions* but )ust went straight to the answers.
Ninth& 8pdates on latest )urisprudence are indispensable. 5e+uest that the updates come with short facts*
because bar +uestions are often facts4based.
Tenth& ,lways make time for gimmicks and relaxation to keep you sane during the review.