More and more women are etching indelible marks for themselves also in the traditionally masculine legal profession. In the recent Bar exams, two ladies – Jennifer L. and Yvanna  T. Maalat -- gave honor to their home city, Bacolod after placing second and third in the rigorous examination.,

Jennifer, who will turn 26 on May 19 and a graduate of  the university of the Philippiness after earning her legal management degree from Ateneo de Manila, is the daughter of Ong On long and Preciosa Ong while the parents of  Yvanna, 25,  who is presently residing in New York City, are lawyer Roseller Maalat and the former Carissa De Leon. Jennifer, who  now  resides at Xavierville Subdivision in Quezon City, is an alumna of  St. John’s Institute while Yvanna went to St. Scholastica’s Academy before  earning her bachelor’s degree in Literature   and her law education at Ateneo de Manila.

Below is the StarLife interview with the two bar topnotchers:

How is it a few weeks after the release of the Bar results? How have the results affected your daily routine?

Jennifer Ong : For a week after the Bar results came out, everybody was congratulating as well as asking me for a treat. I had to spend time with family and friends in order to celebrate with them. However, as to my daily routine, nothing really changed. I still wake up at 6:30 in the morning to get ready for work, and sleep before 12 midnight so I can get up early the following day.

Yvanna L. Maalat : The euphoria has passed, so it’s back to the same old routine. Since I’m in New York City right now, I have been replying via e-mail to congratulatory messages from family, friends, and professors from St. Scholastica’s and Ateneo de Manila. A high school professor, Jess Bermudez, even sent me a postcard from Zurich. I am so grateful that people say they are so proud of me and always believed in me. I am especially thankful to my father’s legal partner, Atty. Alfredo Soto, who encouraged me throughout law school. 

You did not expect to be in the Top among the bar examinees. How did it feel when you learned about the result? What were you doing when you got word of your performance in the Bar?

JO: I was in the mall, about to watch a movie, when a friend of mine who works in the Supreme Court called me up and told me. At first, I felt a mixture of shock and disbelief. I didn’t really believe that it was I who placed No. 2 until my professor from law school called me up and told me the news. Moreover, to be 100% sure, I went to the Supreme Court to check my name on the projector screen!

YM: I was happy but dazed since I had just woken up. My friend Monica Liwag, a lawyer herself, called me from California at 4:30 in the morning. She had stayed up to check the results online, and I remember the first thing she said to me was “Number 3, baby!” 

How/ and where did you treat yourself after knowing the results?

JO: I had dinner—Angus steak and cheese fondue at the Old Swiss Inn. Hehe. Then I had Heineken beer. Somebody suggested champagne, but I like beer better. The following day, we had buffet dinner.

YM: I had dinner and drinks with friends at Vynl, a quirky diner in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City.

What were the highlights of your years as a law student (academic, curricular, and others) ?

JO: I was just a regular student in law school. My grades were fairly high, but not high enough to qualify for honors. I was not very particular about my grades. I guess the highlight was our clinical legal education at UP which required us to render free legal service at the UP Office of Legal Aid. It as a required subject for all third or fourth year students.

YM: I ranked fourth in my graduating class and graduated with honors. I was nominated for my Juris Doctor thesis on refugee law, which I wrote two weeks before the deadline—I am especially proud of that. I am grateful to Minerva Novero-Belec, who gave me temporary access to the New York University Law Library, where I discovered a wealth of research material.

Please describe your high school education in Bacolod. What honors  did you receive in the  grade and /high school? Your major activities?

JO: I graduated as salutatorian from St. John’s Institute. I joined the student council twice, as a batch governor and secretary.

YM: I graduated with highest honors in both grade school and high school at St. Scholastica’s Academy. I am grateful to my professors there who gave me the confidence to achieve lofty goals by encouraging me to participate in various oratorical and extemporaneous speaking competitions. 

How did your high school education prepare you for the rigors of law studies?

JO: My HS education taught me discipline and time-management.

YM: The Bendedictine motto Ora et Labora, prayer and work, captures the rigors of law study most succinctly. As a freshman in law school, my class was assigned 40 Constitutional Law cases every session. My professor, Atty. Sedfrey Candelaria, who is likewise the Dean of Student Affairs at the Ateneo Law School, would then shuffle our class cards and call our names at random. We were required to recite three or four cases each. I think that was one of my most stressful freshman experiences. I did a lot of studying and a lot of praying then! 

Which grade or high school teacher/s greatly influenced you as a pupil/student? Why?

JO: Mrs. Linda Ong who was my Chinese teacher and mentor. She taught me to be creative and hard-working. She also taught me to always strive to be better, and not to be complacent.

YM: I am fond of all my grade school and high school teachers from St. Scholastica’s. If I were to list all their names, it would take the whole page! Having them as my teachers was a transformative experience and I believe I became a better student because of the challenges they posed while I was in school. A future lawyer's success in the bar exam is determined by her education even prior to law school. I believe my bar exam preparation started years before, with teachers from St. Scholastica’s who truly wished to impart knowledge and a passion for learning. 

As a child, what did you want to be? What/Who influenced you to pursue law studies?

JO: I did not have any particular profession in mind when I was a child. I guess it was my Tita Lily Valencia (who was No. 2 in the Bar, too) who set a good example for me.

YM: In fifth grade I remember writing in the Wee Dove—St. Scholastica’s grade school publication—that I wanted to be an astronaut, and then I realized there was no astronaut university in Bacolod. My parents Jack and Carissa set me straight and influenced me to pursue the legal profession instead. 

Was Law school ever fun? In what way/s?

JO: Law school was fun. It was not as difficult as I thought it would be before I got in. I had almost the same classmates for four years. We supported each other instead of competing with each other. We also watched movies and went drinking.

YM: Definitely! I met smart, energetic, and determined people who were a perfect mixture of fun and brilliance.

What wasn’t fun ?

JO: What wasn’t fun was this particular professor I had when I was in first year. For some reason, she hated me. She gave me a hard time everytime I recited in her class. She has a reputation for doing this to a few girls in every class.

YM: Being sent out of the classroom by Succession legend Atty. Ruben Balane in my senior year of law school for not bringing my Civil Code to class. Not only did he inspire me with his unparalleled knowledge of the law, but he also made sure I came prepared for recitation! That’s an invaluable lesson I will never forget. 

How did your Law studies/Bar review affect your personal/love life?

JO: Only slightly. It was just a matter of time management.

YM: It didn’t! I made sure to balance both. In fact, I met my fiancé Paolo in my junior year at law school. He has been wonderfully supportive and encouraging.

What activities (co-curricular) did you engage in when you were still in Law school?

JO: I’m a member of Women in Law, a women’s organization based in UP College of Law.

YM: I was a member of the Board of Editors of the Ateneo Law Journal, which demanded a lot of my free time. I also worked as a summer associate at Villaraza & Angangco as well as Sycip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan Law Offices. 

Describe your preparations for the Bar (review and others).

JO: For five months, I studied five and a half days a week, eight to 12ours a day, depending on my mood.

YM: I made it a point to take a vacation before studying in earnest. I started in May and treated it as if it were a full-time job. I compared notes with my father and I remember asking him how many hours he would clock in every day when he studied for the bar exam. He told me he had kept a rigorous schedule, so I struggled to keep up with his pace. 

What were your recreational activities while reviewing?

JO: I went to the gym or for a jog at least three times a week. I sometimes went on day diving trips to Batangas. I watched movies with my boyfriend.

YM: I would go to the beach with my college friend Kara Garilao, who works on Philippine historical restoration projects. It was invigorating to spend time with someone who was totally removed from the bar exam, and who kept me grounded. 

What was easy and what was difficult about the Bar?

JO: Starting the review was hard. I had to adjust to a life of doing nothing but studying. Once I had established a routine for myself, it became easier. There was nothing easy about the Bar.

YM: Easy—taking it! You hit each question, and you move on. Difficult—preparing for it!

To whom /what would you attribute your “success” in the bar exam? Why?

JO: I attribute it to my law school professors, my classmates and friend who made the Bar bearable, my mom who told me not to give up, and my Tita Lily who gave me tips on how to answer the Bar exam questions.

YM: I am grateful to my entire family who always believed in me—especially my Mama Nena de Leon, who would always tell me that I didn’t need to top the bar— passing it would be an achievement in itself. She is a great woman and a great source of inspiration to me. I am also thankful to Fe David, who was always there to listen to me complain about my having to study every day.

What would you advise to future Bar takers?

JO: Establish a study routine, remember to set at least a day aside for rest and fun, and never give up.

YM: Study hard, study smart, and pray even harder.

Why do you think more women were in the Top 10 this year?

JO: Because there are more women in lawschool in general.

YM: Oh I don’t know. There are a good number of women in the Top 10 every year. It must be our good handwriting, or our good looks.

If you were not a lawyer, what would be? Why?

JO: Maybe a doctor or a pilot.

YM: Astronaut gani. Just kidding, I’d like to be the next great Philippine novelist—someone like Nick Joaquin. I studied his work when I was in college, and being an English major, my first love has always been literature.

After passing the Bar, what’s your next step (If you’re employed, with what company?) ?

JO: I plan to stay with Lim Ocampo Leynes Law Offices in Makati where I have been working since November of last year.

YM: I am interested in pursuing my Masters at Law degree in International Law. I also intend to become more active in international projects concerning Philippine migrant workers. I recently received an invitation to volunteer in the legal program of the Migrant Heritage Commission in the U.S.

How do you see yourself 10 years from now?

JO: I don’t have one particular vision of myself ten years from now. The opportunities are so many that it’s hard for me to just choose one, as of now. Maybe I’ll start my own firm, maybe be corporate counsel for a company, or maybe do business.

YM: Ten years is a long time. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be back in Bacolod, taking up a new hobby like cooking or gardening. Maybe I’ll teach English Literature at my alma mater. I hope to be reading about the next batch of bar topnotchers from Negros in the Visayan Daily Star. 

 

 

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