MARVYN S.

LLAMAS1

General Tips

Congratulations! You are now a graudate of the Ateneo Law School. As many people
before me has said, have faith in the Ateneo education.

Since its bar review youll read many tips on how to pass. Dont feel pressured to copy
their study schedule entirely but instead try to see which elements best fit you and you
can incorporate in your schedule.

If you did fine in law school, I dont suggest you change your study routine entirely
during bar review. That being said, the surest way to pass is to aim to top the bar.

Keep in mind that bar review is a marathon, not a race. As such, try to keep calm and
focused throughout the bar review, and above all, avoid cramming.

Ive revised my tips keeping in mind that your bar will be 80% essay.

Vacation

What I suggest is to take time off and start studying during the first or second week of
May. In my case, I did not start until May 7.

Place of Studying

This is very important. Find a place that is conducive for your studying. I personally
preferred the Ateneo law school library since Ive been reading there since 1 st year. I
picked a spot and every day Id be there. I left a physical marker so people knew it was
my spot.

If the library was closed, I was usually in starbucks one rockwell.

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Acknowledgements: In addition to my close friends and family, without whom it would not have been possible, I would like to thank the entire
Block B 2012 (especially Jacky, Chin, Dane, Tasha, ) and my CMO friends (Chinnie, Yannee, AS) for being very supportive during my bar
review. Special mention to the Ateneo Bar Operations (Pierre, Gian, Gab, Hannah, Cokie, Jake, Francis, Mimah, Aislyn), ASIL, my hotel
roommates (Joren, Mark), my study tablemates Tony and Johann, my good friends Atty. Chua, Atty. Grai Esoscia and JP dela Pasion. And of
course, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all things are possible.
I dont suggest studying alone because you need to ask questions, and your fellow
barristers are the best source of information.

Study Schedule

Since the bar is in October, youll have roughly five months to study. I can assure you, it
is more than sufficient to finish everything.

The first thing you need to do is plan your review schedule. There is no hard and fast
rule to this, I know some who had only one reading, while others did more than four.

For each reading, I had at least three or four school days wherein I did not have
anything planned. This is for allowance in case I take longer than expected to finish a
material. If you finish earlier, on time, I suggest taking some time off to recharge

In my case, I did three readings. In summary this is what I did per reading:

1st Reading: This was from May 7 up until around July 14. This is the most important
reading so I took my time. Generally, I read one subject at a time only, but if I got bored
Id read the next one in advance.

I started with the lightest (and easiest) to the heaviest to make sure I only read the major
subjects when I had momentum.

In order, I read:

1. Ethics
2. Labor
3. Crim
4. Taxation
5. Poli
6. Comm
7. Rem
8. Civ

2nd Reading: Middle of July to last week of August. This was for roughly one month.
Every week or so Id read two subjects to simulate the bar.

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In order it was:

1. Poli and Labor

2. Civ and Tax
3. Comm and Crim
4. Rem and Ethics

3rd Reading: This was for the month of September. I did a reverse reading. This was to
make sure I ended with Poli and Labor by the end of September, in time for pre-week.

1. Rem and Ethics

2. Comm and Crim
3. Civ and Tax
4. Poli and Labor

Mock Bar. At the end of each reading, I took a mock bar exam. What I did was to
photocopy the UP Suggest Bar Exam Answers from 2001 to 2010. (Note: 2011 was
pure MCQ), and answer one or two complete set of bar exams. This was to test whether
Ive learned anything. Score yourself moderately since you wont know if your examiner
will be tough or generous. For the 1 st reading, my average score was in the 60s, in the
2nd, it was in the 70s, and by the 3rd, it was in the 80s.

For the MCQS, I could not find, despite earnest efforts, a fully reliable bar reivewer so I
just read the 2011 bar exam over and over again (as well as my past exams in law
school).

Note however there were many instances wherein I disagreed entirely with the suggest
bar exam answers. In that case, I took note of the problem, moved on, and made sure I
formulated final answer come bar time. Usually, I asked around to confirm whether I was
correct.

That said, keep in mind the Pareto Principle or the 80-20 rule by not wasting time
studying unnecessary things which are rarely asked in the bar (aka study smart). I only
followed it during the second and third reading and found it useful to remember that
most of the bar problems will center on a few provisions.

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Daily Routine: I made sure I had at least 8 hours of study every day, except Sunday.
Usually I was in the lib at 9, and left by 8. In between, I had a one hour lunch break at
12, and a siesta/snack break at 3.

At first I was still adjusting, so Id be home by 6. However as time went on, I studied
longer and longer and by August, I was studying 10 or 12 hours a day. By pre-week, I
started reading at 730 and ended at 9.

On a daily basis, I took a lot of breaks because I dont believe in reading if youre tired or
distracted.

In addition, I made an effort to find time to talk to my friends and blockmates. It helps
cope with the pressures of bar review, and it is helpful for study discussions.

During bar review, it is important to be physically fit. I never went to the gym so I made it
an effort to walk around Ateneo and to eat healthy food on a daily basis. I also made
sure I did not skimp on vitamins.

And lastly, leave time to pray. In addition to praying everyday, I sometimes attend the
lunch or evening mass during bar review.

And relax, if you do you part, you wont fail.

BEFORE PRE-WEEK

Before bar starts, and this is very important, I suggest you visit a doctor and talk about
sleeping aids since everyone will be anxious about the bar. A lot of barristers were not
able to sleep well on the night before the first exams. On the first night, I was asleep for
only 30 mins even though I was in bed by 8pm. I wasted my time rolling in bed. I was
extremely anxious about the result since I was not fully awake while I was taking the
poli and labor exams.

When I was prescribed a sleeping aid during the third and fourth week, only then was I
able to get a good nights sleep, and I felt I did much better.

PRE-WEEK

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Ignore all pre-week chismis on topics to read. I learned it the hard way when I focused
on the wrong things and none it came out.

Just read your trusted reading aids, and try to read fast.

In addition, brush up on past bar exam questions, in case they repeat.

SUNDAY BAR

Our bar exam was extremely long, and as a result, many people were not able to finish
it. I suggest writing an answer directly in the blue book, leaving space in case you
change your answer, and coming back to it only after you are done.

If pressed for a time, remember a short answer is better than no answer at all.

THINGS TO AVOID

Comparing reading progress. I found this counterproductive since people read

differently.

Worrying about absurd scenarios. I spent a lot of time pondering about hypothetical
questions, which turned out counterproductive since it did not come out and diverted my
attention.

Cutting down trees. Unless you have any intention or time of reading the reviewers or
study aids available, dont photocopy it. Barristers have a habit of photocopying
everything in sight but not reading them and it results in wasted paper.

LIST OF MATERIALS

Note, most of these materials I read during fourth year law school, so during bar review
it had all my comments and/or corrections.

Materials/ 1st 2nd 3rd Pre-

Books Reading Reading Reading Week
POLITICAL LAW

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Bernas Consti Primer (and addednum) x x x x
Nachura x x x x
Sarmiento PIL (relevant parts only) x x x x
Bernas PIL x
Jack imenez Book x x
Agra Notes for Pub Corp and Election x x
Ateneo Bar Ops 2012 Reviewer
x x x x
(including Supplements and Pre Week)
Jack Jimenez Poli Updates x x x x
LABOR LAW
Azucena Vol I. x
Azucena Vol II. x
Azucena SPL x x
Abad Green Book x x x x
Abad Labor Law Compendium x x x x
Chan Labor Notes x x x x
Ateneo Bar Ops 2012 Reviewer
(including Supplements and Pre Week) x x x x
CIVIL LAW
Sta. Maria Persons x
Sempio-Diy Persons (rumored examiner
during my exam) x
Sta. Maria Oblicon x
Sempio-Diy Conflict x
Aquino - Land Registration x
All others - Paras (light reading) x
Ateneo Bar Ops 2012 Reviewer
(including Supplements and Pre Week) x x x x
Codal x x x x
Dean de los Angeles Civ Law Land Titles
Reviewer x
Block B 2012 Torts Reviewer (Courtesy
of Atty. Andrea Katipunan, Atty. Skip
Leido, Atty. Stevie de Guzman) x
TAX LAW

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Mamalateo Reviewer x x
Mamalateo Income Tax x x
Cassasola Tax Codal x x x x
Co-Untiang Tax x x x x
Ateneo Bar Ops 2012 Reviewer
(including Supplements and Pre Week) x x x x
Pierre Reyes Tax x
Atty. Mickey Ingles Tax Reviewer x
COMM LAW
CLV Commercial Law Reviewer x
Ateneo Bar Ops 2012 Reviewer
(including Supplements and Pre Week) x x x x
Sundiang Comm x x x x
Jack Transcript x x
Jack Comm Updates x x x x
Atty. Abano Transpo Tables x x
Atty. Glenn Tuazon Notes (Transpo,
Corp, Insurance) x
Codal x
CRIM LAW
Reyes Vol. I and II. (I suggest you read
Gregorio as supplement) x
Boado SPL x x x x
Boardo Crim x x x x
Ateneo Bar Ops 2012 Reviewer
(including Supplements and Pre Week) x x x x
REM LAW
Riano CIV PRO x
Riano CRIM PRO x
Riano EVIDENCE x
Regalado SPEC PRO x
Regalado EVIDENCE x
Ateneo Bar Ops 2012 Reviewer
(including Supplements and Pre Week) x x x x
Codal x x x x

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Atty. Glenn Tuazon Notes x x x
ETHICS
Pano x x x x
Aguirre x x x x
Codal x x x x
Ateneo Bar Ops 2012 Reviewer
(including Supplements and Pre Week) x x x x