The Paper Chase

Escobar, Paola Beatriz Oct.
6, 2018
L-1800463 1R
The Paper Chase
The Paper Chase is a movie that narrates the struggles of first year law students
in their Contracts course with Mr. Kingsfield, a professor known for being one of the most
difficult professor and subject to pass. I have always been wondering how law classes
take place in different countries and this movie have showed me a close glimpse that
Filipino law students are no different to other law students from other parts of the world.
We may have come from different cultures but our struggles are the same.
. I have a few insights on how I relate the film to my life now as a first year law
student who experience the same sufferings and conflict with the people around me.
First, no matter what happens, always come to class prepared. Our professors are
strict for a reason and that is because life after the four corners of the classroom will be
far more difficult and challenging. It is important to memorize the provisions and the ratios
or doctrine of the cases but analyzing and expounding is also one of the essential skills
that we have to learn. Law school is not a place of black and white where things are being
spoon fed for us to learn. Our teachers are actually the books and jurisprudence that we
read. The law is learned not by the discussion of our professors, but through reading the
cases which embodies the law. There are times that I feel that my brain can’t take in all
the information that I am reading, but that is just a perspective that we can control. How
we’ll view things affects the way we’ll take it in. A good study habit and perspective will
help us through our steep journey to becoming an attorney.
Second, law school is a jealous institution, it demands our full time and attention.
However, no matter how much of ourselves is being asked for, never forget the life we
had before we enter class. Our personal relationships are equally important with our
studies, a good balance between the two can help us keep our sanity and have a clear
head while studying. There may be times that we think we are going nowhere because of
the continuous disappointments and failure, but that is just the way of life and in every
mistake a new lesson is learned. Our families and friends only see our external struggles,
they may not truly understand what is going on inside our heads and that may cause a
lot of misunderstandings and by spending time with them, it helps in alleviating the
pressure and the fears wallowing in our hearts. I, personally, is struggling with my
emotions and I constantly question my knowledge and abilities if I’ll be able to surpass all
the hardships I am about to face, but seeing my friends and making time with my family
realigns me to go back to the reason why I wanted to study law in the first place. It helps
in keeping a positive attitude that even if a fail, I know that there are people who are
always cheering me on.
Another two things I’ve noticed from the film itself; first, culture set a standard on
how well people will keep up with the pressure of law school; and second, language is a
great factor that helps us express ourselves during recitation and exams. I first laud the
students in the film because they were confident and fluent during their recitations but I
realized that they were able to do that because English is their mother language. Here in
the Philippines, English is just a second language and a lot of people have difficulty in
expressing their thoughts through that medium and I include myself with those people.
However, our laws and jurisprudence are written in English so we must adhere to the
meaning and the essence of the language used in making the law.
Studying the law is difficult but applying it is the greater challenge that our
professors are preparing us for. Just like how it’s depicted in the film-- life in law school
drains both our emotional, mental, and physical strength. But I know all that sacrifices will
be worth it in the end.

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Escobar, Paola Beatriz Oct.

The Paper Chase

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