Claudine De Luna-Panotes of AUSL in Top 19 Position in the December 2023 Bar Exam

Unlike in other Asian countries, female lawyers in the Philippines are well accepted, as shown by a big number of them holding important positions in both the government and the private sectors. Also, a good number of women are enrolled in colleges of law all over the country.

The Arellano University School of Law (AUSL) boasts of the growth of its female enrollment over time. And in the December 2023 bar exam Claudine De Luna-Panotes continued the tradition of the college for excellent performance by getting the 19th place in the Top 20 positions category.

Atty. Panotes has been working as an accountant for five years when she decided to go back to school to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a lawyer. She chose the Arellano University School of Law because of its good reputation as a law school; also, because she found the law program and curriculum of AUSL to be considerate with working students.

Regarding her review experiences, she summarizes it with two attributes: focus and discipline to guide future bar reviewers, as indicated in the following:

1. Read all the topics and cases in the Bar Syllabus.
2. A lecture on a specific topic should be preceded by reading about it in advance; this gives assurance of retention of voluminous information.
3. Stick to the schedule of studying, which in her case, is studying from 8:00am to 7:00pm, with break and meals in-between.
4. No social media or other distractions.
5. Spend quality time with family once a week.
6. Be kind to your body: she slept for seven hours every day.
7. Set realistic goals; for example, doing things for 10 hours or more will affect self-esteem if unaccomplished.

And lastly, her advice to those who plan to take up Law: “Believe in the power of your dreams”.