2011 Koko Pimentel Last Minute Bar Lecture Produced 56 New Lawyers

The 2011 Sen. Koko Pimentel Last Minute Bar Lectures produced a total of 56 new lawyers coming from the different provinces and cities of the country.

"Our sponsorship of the First Koko Pimentel Bar Lecture was well-worth it. The results were indeed very encouraging. When we started with this project, our goal was simply to help our bar candidates, especially from the provinces, have a better chance of passing the bar exams. The lectures were conceptualized to bolster their confidence since most law schools based in the provinces do not have the traditional last minute lectures given by the Manila-based law schools," said Sen. Koko Pimentel, who topped the 1990 Bar Exams.

"We are working on a better and a bigger 2012 Koko Pimentel Last Minute Bar Lecture for the 2012 Bar Exams. To all our new lawyers, my sincerest congratulations and welcome to the legal profession. Do your humble share in maintaining the nobility of our profession," added Sen. Pimentel, a law professor and a bar reviewer before becoming a senator.

The annual bar exams is the licensure examinations for the members of the legal profession. Arguably, it is one of the toughest, if not the toughest, examination to hurdle in the country. Administered by the Supreme Court through its Committee of Bar Examiners, this year's examinations had 5,990 examinees. Of the said number, only 31.5% or 1,913 hurdled the very first ever multiple choice type bar examinations. This makes the results more meaningful for the new members of the legal profession.

The 2011 Sen. Koko Pimentel Last Minute Bar Lecture was organized by the Office of Senator Koko Pimentel III under his 'Sama Ko sa Pangarap Nyo' program. The lectures were given absolutely free of charge to the participants. It involved some of the most sought after and the most respected bar lecturers in the country including 1979 Bar No. 2 Atty. Rene Gorospe; 2009 Criminal Law bar examiner, Court of Appeals Justice Mario Lopez; Jose Rizal University Law Dean Atty. Eduardo J.F. Abella; University of Manila Law Dean and 2009 Labor Law bar examiner, Atty. Salvador Poquiz; 2007 San Sebastian College of Law Valedictorian Atty. Noel Ortega; Civil Law reviewer and MCLE lecturer, Atty. Elmer Rabuya; Remedial Bar Reviewer and MCLE lecturer Atty. Manuel Riguera; renowned author and MCLE lecturer Atty. Jim Lopez; Bar Reviewer and MCLE lecturer Atty. Mart Maandig; and Bar Reviewer and two-time Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Quezon City chapter president and MCLE lecturer, Atty. Vicki Loanzon.

Applications for the 2012 Sen. Koko Pimentel Last Minute Bar Lecture Series is now open. Interested parties may send their applications and queries by email at [email protected].