JURISTS BAR CANDIDATES SHINE IN GRUELING 2015 BAR, FOUR JURISTS BAR EXAMINEES LAND IN TOP TEN

 Jurists bar candidates put on a redoubtable showing in a tough 2015 Bar Examination, with Team Jurists posting a pass rate more than double the national pass rate and four Jurists bar candidates barging into the elite top ten.

 Of the record 6,605 examinees, only 1,731 made the mark for a pass rate of 26.21%.   While the 26.21% pass rate broke the trifecta of ultra-low pass rates from 2012 to 2014 (average 19.59%), content-wise the 2015 Bar was one of the toughest and most grueling bar exams ever. 

The examinees were drowned with a deluge of bar questions (which in the case of Remedial Law and Taxation numbered 41 and 42, respectively) which they were expected to field in four hours.   To add to the degree of difficulty, esoteric questions such as those asking for the definition of “depecage,” “Jason Clause,” and “voir dire,” were thrown in from time to time.  The Supreme Court also declined to lower the pass rate below 75%. 

Team Jurists rose to the daunting challenge with 392 Jurists bar candidates slaying the bar exam dragon for a 60.96% pass rate, more than double the national pass rate.  For those who followed faithfully the Jurists training program, the pass rate was a formidable 74.62%.  The 392 Jurists bar passers represented over 22% of the total nationwide passers of 1,731.

Team Jurists’ impressive performance was highlighted by the feat of four Jurists candidates who landed in the premier top ten: Reginald M. Arceo (Ateneo de Manila, 4th), Jecca B. Jacildo (University of San Carlos, 8th), and Ronel U. Buenaventura (Bulacan State University) and Lara Carmela G. Fernando (San Beda Manila), both tied for tenth.  In the 2014 Bar, two Jurists barristers also barged into the top ten: Jose Angelo A. David and Adrian F. Aumentado, both of San Beda Manila, copping the 6th and 7th places respectively.   

Hail to the new Jurists lawyers!  The Jurists Family is proud of each and every one of you.