“IF you want to become a lawyer, get it, it’s yours. If you want it, achieve it, it’s yours,” said Attorney John Jacome, Human Resources Director of San Beda College Alabang (SBCA) and a professor from the SBCA Legal Management Department and School of Law. These words instilled determination and endurance in the Legal Management students as they held their town hall meeting organized by the Junior Bedan Law Circle (JBLC) with the theme, “LM Towards the Greater Future!” last Sept. 3 at the St. Maur Auditorium.

Along with inspirational talks, the event also had a raffle, a free photo booth, and a performance by Esquire, a band of Legal Management students.

Attorney Charles Washington Baculi, JBLC moderator warmly welcomed the students for another school year. He discussed the academic and disciplinary policies stated in the student handbook on behalf of Attorney Juan Ruffo Chong, Dean of the School of Business, Accountancy, and Management and the Legal Management Department Chair.

 In his inspirational talk, Attorney Jacome illustrated “How to Become a Bedan Lawyer.” He emphasized that “BEDAN” is a brand name with a century-old tradition equivalent to excellence and that San Beda would help a student achieve its hidden capability. As he focused on the expertise of San Beda in the field of law, he pointed out that a student must first determine to themselves what they truly want. He also said that in law school, a student’s greatest rival is no other than oneself. 

Attorney Jacome gave tips and strategies on how to survive law school. Notably, one of these strategies,‘Secret of a Bedan,’ is a strategy that would help a student to pass its law subjects and the bar examination. He expounded that this strategy requires a student to read the material five times until everything becomes absolute. As he quoted Aristotle, “You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit.”

Moreover, Attorney John Roland Mabbun, a graduate of the Legal Management program and alumnus of the SBCA School of Law, who also recently passed the 2022 Bar Examinations shared his experiences of being a law student and eventually becoming a lawyer. He shared that there are three things to stress out: habits, relationships, and mindset. “I want to show how an average student can excel and exceed his/her perceived capabilities.” He said.