(PATHS IN LAW)

by Miguel Perez

           It’s usually helpful to have a finished product as a guide whenever you’re doing a task. Having answer keys for Accounting or Operations Management problems assures you that you’re solving those problems correctly, when you arrive at the same answer as what the answer key provides. Using previous LS or Marketing papers as outlines makes it easier for you to structure and organize your own paper instead of having to produce one from entirely scratch.

            In the same way, I guess this was what Ateneo Lex’s Paths-in-Law was all about. As I sat at the back of the Ching Tan Room, listening to the different lawyers talk about their respective fields, namely, Atty. Elvin Cruz for Labor Law, Atty. Amador Tolentino, Jr. for family law, and Atty. Danny Chan for Corporate Law, several thoughts were going through my mind, apart from the information and the insights the speakers were providing, of course. One significant thought was the possibility that I could be leading the same kind of lives and sharing similar experiences compared to what the speakers had shared. I was the work-in-progress, and they were the possible end results.

            But whether or not I choose to walk the path that these speakers have gone through is an entirely different matter. I mean, that possibility of becoming a lawyer is daunting, to say the least. Atty. Cruz emphasized this during his portion, when he said that becoming a lawyer in real life is very different than being a lawyer on a TV show. Practicing law wasn’t always as glamorous, and there was more to law than just simply the courtroom drama that lawyer TV shows typically have. Atty. Tolentino, specializing in family law, said that while his field is lucrative, the practice also entails social responsibility on his part, as he mainly deals with people and their relationships with each other. Atty. Chan shares the same, saying that while he, or every other lawyer for that matter, has to earn money; he always keeps in mind that being a lawyer is a “noble profession” as he puts it. The saying, “To whom much is given, much is required”, comes to mind. Becoming a lawyer is a privilege that places one in a position of power and authority, but at the same time, demands that he uphold the values and principles of his profession.

           Over the course of the talk, I felt that these people truly loved what they were doing and were passionate in their chosen fields. They may not have expressly said so, but I didn’t think there was any need to. One would have already felt the conviction behind their words. I go back to my being a work in progress, and the speakers being the results, not only in terms of profession, but in terms of the level of passion for the things I do. On a personal level, I am still undecided on becoming a lawyer in the future. But after the talk, probably the more proper question to ask myself would not be “Do I want to become a lawyer?” but rather “How much do I want to become a lawyer?”

        At the end of the day, it is your passion, your desire, your drive to see through your activities to their conclusion, which will determine your eventual success and fulfillment. And while it may sound simplistic to compare, this applies to everything you do, whether they be mind-boggling Accounting or OpMan problems, tedious LS or Marketing papers, or your possible future self.

Miguel is currently a junior taking up BS LM.

All out support to ATENEO LEX this coming SOMweek!

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