LEB launches Revised Model Law Curriculum, CLEP website

Pursuant to LEB Memorandum Order No. 24, the Legal Education Board (LEB) formally launched the Revised Model Law Curriculum (RMLC) along with the Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP) website via Zoom and Facebook Livestream yesterday, October 14, 2021.

Designed to mold excellent, ethical, and innovative legal professionals committed to the Rule of Law, the RMLC is set to be rolled out starting the Academic Year 2021-2022.

Commissioner Abelardo T. Domondon, Chairperson of the Curriculum Revision Committee, in his Opening Remarks stressed what the RMLC provides in essence.

"The RMLC treats the law students as adult learners who are mostly part-timers, and therefore it's providing them with foundational mindsets, knowledge, skills, and attitudes to enable them to engage in lifelong learning,” Commissioner Domondon said.

RMLC introduced key changes such as the reduced total minimum academic load which is now 135 units from 153-169 units, maximum flexibility for schools and students to design based on their needs, rationalized and updated mandated courses, earlier interface with procedural law courses, implementable as a ladderized program, specialization through academic tracking, and CLEP fully integrated.

One of the highlights of the launching is the Keynote Address of Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who emphasized in his speech that the RMLC is a decisive step away from bar centricity of the current law curriculum.

"This is the Philippine Legal Education community taking a stand and sending an unequivocal message that henceforth legal education will be primarily student and society-centered as it should be," CJ Gesmundo emphasized.

Meanwhile, along with the formal launching of the RMLC is the launching of the CLEP website. Acknowledging the efforts of the individuals behind the realization of the CLEP, CJ Gesmundo also expressed hope that said program will produce more practice-ready and socially aware law professionals in the generations to come.

"Through the CLEP, we endeavor to expose our law students early to hands-on and experiential learning in an effort not only to develop their skills but purposively to stimulate and enhance their social consciousness," CJ Gesmundo stressed.

"Our duty is not only to graduate law students, not just to ensure that they pass the bar examinations, certainly not just to populate the courts with more lawyers; our duty is to foster an environment during law study which will spawn the next generation of lawyers who are not only practice-ready but who are equally prepared to assume the role of servant leaders in our country," CJ Gesmundo added.

In relation to this, the Mindanao State University College of Law has recently launched its own virtual law clinic, the Sarimanok Virtual Law Clinic as part of the CLE Program of the college in compliance with the Revised Law Student Practice Rule (Rule 138-A). The Sarimanok Virtual Law Clinic is run by Certified Law Student Practitioners and volunteers who are duly supervised by the Supervising Lawyers and Clinical Faculty.