Many would sprint for the high pay and the perks of private law practice. But for these bar topnotchers, a fat paycheck would never match the rewards of representing the government in landmark court battles, while still getting some downtime鈥攃onsidered a luxury in the legal profession.
Over the past two years, nine recent bar topnotchers have found their way to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), giving up lucrative offers from the country鈥檚 top corporate and law firms for the privilege of arguing the state鈥檚 case in the courts.
Infusing new blood into a more than a century-old institution, the fresh recruits鈥攅ach one from the Top 10 placers in the bar exams from 2011 to 2013鈥攁re part of the 70 new solicitors that Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza hired during his two-year stint at the OSG.
Jardeleza, a prominent corporate lawyer and law professor before he joined the government, made it a priority to boost the government鈥檚 legal team with 鈥渢he best and the brightest.鈥
The best and brightest
鈥淚 was already working in a private firm when OSG chief and now Associate Justice Jardeleza met with me and asked if I wanted to be a patriot for the country. I asked to be given some time to decide. I waited until I had at least a year in private practice before I decided,鈥 said 27-year-old Luz Danielle Bolong, a graduate of Ateneo de Manila University and second-placer in the 2012 bar exams.
Maria Graciela Base, at 26 one of the youngest hires, gave in to Jardeleza鈥檚 wooing because she believed OSG work was a chance to handle major cases involving the government.
It helped that she was promised that she would be working under her University of the Philippines (UP) law professor, now Acting Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, whom she considered 鈥渁 brilliant constitutionalist.鈥 Like Base, who finished fifth in the 2012 bar exams, Hilbay is a bar topnotcher, placing first in 1999.
Since joining the OSG last year, Base has been part of the legal team that is defending the government in petitions in the Supreme Court. The list of cases is impressive: the Disbursement Acceleration Program, the Priority Development Assistance Fund and, most recently, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really the opportunity to handle the really interesting cases defending the government [that drew me]鈥 Now that I鈥檓 working for the OSG, I鈥檝e seen how things really work in government. You don鈥檛 really focus always on legal matters. You should see how things work, how the government deals with people and how the different agencies of government interact,鈥 Base said.
Ivan Bandal, a Silliman University graduate and sixth-placer in 2011, said he found both growth and purpose at the OSG. He joined the team in January 2013, soon after he got a call on the same day his alma mater threw him a parade in Dumaguete City for acing the bar.
鈥淗ere at the OSG, even new lawyers like us are given the opportunity to take a direct and active role in handling cases involving diverse subjects鈥攃onstitutional law, criminal law, even cases requiring the application of corporation law, taxation cases,鈥 Bandal said.
鈥淪o it鈥檚 intellectually enriching, and at the same time it鈥檚 also emotionally fulfilling because you feel that you have really done a lot to also serve your country,鈥 he said.
Also on the OSG鈥檚 roster of bar topnotchers are 2011 top finishers Christian Gonzales from the University of Santo Tomas (fifth place) and Ateneo Law School鈥檚 Irene Qua (eighth), and 2013 top placers Manuel Elijah Sarausad of the University of Cebu (sixth), Tercel Mercado-Gephart of the University of San Carlos Cebu (sixth), Rudy Ortea of the University of Batangas (third) and first-placer Nielson Pangan of UP.
Aggressive recruiter
Making the OSG a top employment choice for the country鈥檚 best law school graduates was on top of Jardeleza鈥檚 agenda during his more than two years as chief government counsel. With more than three decades of private practice before moving to the government, Jardeleza said he knew how to play his cards and steal away the best from the biggest law firms.
鈥淚 compete with them head to head. Since I came from the big law firms, I know how they recruit. So I recruit direct from the law schools. The big law firms, a year before they already know the top 10, top 20 and send out letters to candidates, offering positions,鈥 Jardeleza said.
He said the private firms would 鈥渨ine and dine鈥 the top graduates and present enticing packages on the table, including signing bonuses of P60,000 to P100,000.
In the case of the government, all it can offer is a snack of siopao, said Jardeleza, who is himself a bar topnotcher, having placed third in the 1974 bar exams.
鈥淏ut I鈥檓 very proud that we get good lawyers. I get the same list, I go to the schools, talk to the deans,鈥 he said.
This aggressive recruitment strategy also involved a personal touch to convince his prospects: Jardeleza waited a year to get Bolong鈥檚 鈥測es,鈥 separately took Gephart and Sarausad out to lunch, and called up Ortea, Gonzales and Pangan to invite them to join the OSG.
鈥淚鈥檓 very proud. I am very persistent. I court them,鈥 said Jardeleza, speaking like a proud father shepherding young, brilliant legal minds.
Jardeleza admits that he agreed to be interviewed by the Inquirer in order to help the OSG recruit even more top-notch graduates. Just a little over 200 lawyers鈥 positions have so far been filled out of the total and ideal 361, and only 23 of the OSG鈥檚 supposed 30 divisions are staffed with personnel.
鈥淏asically, the pitch is [that] the work of the OSG is very interesting. We do the most important cases of the government, like the international work of the government,鈥 said Jardeleza, who presented the Philippine case against China before a UN arbitration tribunal last year.
OSG lawyers handle an average of 1,000 cases at any one time, running the entire legal gamut, from annulment and land disputes to constitutional issues to international arbitration. But not all the cases are active.
Best all-around training
鈥淭he training here is probably one of the best all-around training that you can get anywhere. In fact, in a sense it鈥檚 superior to law firm training because, by force of circumstance, you get exposed to the big cases at a very young age,鈥 said Jardeleza.
Working to the OSG鈥檚 advantage is its competitive pay scale following the passage of Republic Act No. 9417 in 2006, which strengthened the agency by enhancing both personnel requirements and compensation.
Bar topnotchers skip two notches in the pay scale when they join the OSG, going straight to the rank of Associate Solicitor III (entry level is Associate Solicitor I). All top bar finishers hired by the OSG are accorded this premium, earning P75,000 a month in wages and allowances鈥攁 competitive pay mandated by law to ensure that the best lawyers would see the OSG as an option.
According to Jardeleza, in terms of the salary scale, the OSG is on par with the big firms. What they cannot match are the perks, he said.
Moving to the OSG meant giving up a quarterly bonus for Qua and an annual profit share for Bolong.
But the young and bright ones keep coming. It is a phenomenon that Jardeleza still finds hard to explain.
鈥淭here is a sea change in the temperament, in the ambitions of the young lawyers. Me, I鈥檓 from the paying-back generation. I make my pile first, then I pay back to society. My generation will go to private practice, they make their money and then join the judiciary. And then give back,鈥 said Jardeleza.
鈥淭hese guys, they pay forward. And I think it鈥檚 a good thing. I think younger people now want to have a life, want to have work-life balance, something we didn鈥檛 have during our time,鈥 said the lawyer of nearly 40 years.
He remembered how, as a young lawyer in a major Makati firm, he would spend 12 hours buried in work, unmindful of the goings-on outside his office building.
鈥淏ut the young lawyers now, they have many interests, they are a lot brighter. They鈥檙e more savvy,鈥 he said.
More relaxed
According to the young OSG lawyers, the job at the OSG affords them a kind of flexibility that private practice would never allow.
鈥淚n private firms, since clients are normally big corporations, partners want to make sure that your work is polished. So they guide you, there鈥檚 always a team per case. Here, you鈥檙e hands-on. You鈥檙e the one in charge if that鈥檚 your case,鈥 Qua said.
Bolong remembered how when she was working in a private law firm, she sometimes had to write and file posthearing reports in the car to satisfy what a client wanted. Her work also had to undergo several layers of review by her superiors.
鈥淭he nature is different. In terms of work hours, it鈥檚 more relaxed compared to firm work. In corporate, you鈥檙e very guided because the client would be very strict, so you have to make sure that you follow their demands. Here, it鈥檚 your choice. Do you want to give extra effort? That鈥檚 where being a patriot comes in. It鈥檚 up to you, like how focused you will be. But the scrutiny that comes with it, it鈥檚 not as strict,鈥 she said.
Getting time away from the paper work is crucial for young family men Ortea and Sarausad.
Ortea likened his priorities to a juggling act: 鈥淲ork is a rubber ball, family is a glass ball. Even if you drop work, it will bounce back. But if you let go of family, even if it might not break, it will crack. And that鈥檚 irreversible.鈥
Work-life balance
鈥淭he work here is not as toxic, but it鈥檚 important at the same time. Then you have work-life balance. You have time for yourself, your family. You do not work for the sake of working,鈥 said Ortea, 27, who is married but not yet a father.
Sarausad likes that working for the OSG still allows him to do daddy duties. 鈥淚 have two kids so I have to be practical in that I can provide for them and at the same time find meaning in my work. Every morning I am able to bring them to school,鈥 he said.
Gephart, who had been planning to take up her masters in law when Jardeleza convinced her to stay on, said she had to be both 鈥渁 realist and an idealist鈥 now that she is a mother to an 8-month-old daughter.
鈥淎s long as I鈥檓 able to keep my work-life balance and at the same time still contribute to shaping the country鈥檚 future, being trained to become the future Philippines鈥 leader, then I think I鈥檇 gladly stay,鈥澨 Gephart said.
Gonzales sees no greater prize than winning the nation鈥檚 most important cases. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the reward of winning a case, especially when it鈥檚 significant,鈥 she said.
For last year鈥檚 No. 1, it鈥檚 all about making his work worth what the Filipino people are paying him.
鈥淔or me, as long as I feel that I get to contribute my talent to the work of the OSG and the role it plays in our legal and political system, I鈥檒l stay with this office. I don鈥檛 want to waste taxpayer money,鈥 Pangan said.
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