Legal Education in The Philippines

Legal education in the Philippines is developed and offered by Philippine law schools, supervised by the Legal Education Board, that has replaced the Commission on Higher Education in respect to legal education. The Supreme Court regulates admission to the Bar and administers the Bar Examinations. Furthermore, the minimum curricular requirements for membership in the Philippine Bar are set forth in the Rules of Court promulgated by the Supreme Court.

Law degree programs are considered graduate programs in the Philippines. As such, admission to law schools requires the completion of a bachelor's degree, with a sufficient number of credits or units in certain subject areas.

Graduation from a Philippine law school constitutes the primary eligibility requirement for the Philippine Bar Examination, the national licensure examination for practicing lawyers in the country. The bar examination is administered by the Supreme Court during the month of September every year.

Members of the bar in the Philippines are required to take mandatory continuing legal education in order to continue practicing their profession.

Legal education in the Philippines normally proceeds along the following route:

• Undergraduate education (usually 4 years)
• Law school (usually 4 years)
• Admission to the bar (usually by taking a Philippine bar exam)
• Legal practice and mandatory continuing legal education