Senior Associate Justice Leonen Marvic M.V.F. Leonen
Photo courtesy of SC
Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen has urged aspiring lawyers to develop empathy, compassion and a deeper understanding of the communities they serve, stressing that legal education must go beyond courtroom preparation.
Speaking at the second Philippine Clinical Legal Education Program Summit in Baguio City, held from 6 to 8 October, Leonen said law students must learn to recognize the limitations of existing laws in addressing the needs of ordinary people.
“This is the more powerful purpose of clinical legal education. It is what the clinic is for. Not practice-readiness in the narrow sense, though it delivers that,” Leonen said.
“The clinic is where a future lawyer learns to sit patiently, with human empathy and compassion. It is where our lawyers should learn to hear a claim that the law, crafted by the powerful, cannot yet accommodate. It is where we learn that the failure is the law’s, and then move toward achieving justice,” he added.
Leonen emphasized the importance of the Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP), which allows law students to gain practical experience handling actual cases and assisting clients under professional supervision.
He said legal education should empower not only students but also the communities seeking legal assistance.
“Andragogy extended only to the student, and withheld from the community, is the savior model of lawyering with a better classroom technique. It produces a graduate who has been respected as an adult learner for four years and who walks into a barangay and treats the first person she meets as a problem to be solved, rather than as the only genuine authority on her own situation,” Leonen said.
The summit, themed “Bridging Theory and Practice: CLEP Andragogy, Judicial Engagement, and Transformative Lawyering in Advancing Access to Justice,” brought together members of the judiciary, law school deans, legal aid clinic directors, lawyers and law students.
Organized by the Supreme Court's Oversight Committee for the Implementation of Rule 138-A, chaired by Leonen, the event sought to strengthen the nationwide implementation of clinical legal education.
The summit was conducted in partnership with the Legal Education Board and the Philippine Association of Law Schools, with support from the European Union Governance in Justice Programme.
Under Rule 138-A of the Rules of Court, clinical legal education is a requirement for admission to the Bar, providing law students with opportunities to apply legal knowledge in real cases under supervision.
Discussions focused on addressing implementation gaps, clarifying institutional responsibilities and improving coordination among law schools, courts and legal aid providers.
Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who attended the summit alongside several Supreme Court justices, reaffirmed the judiciary's commitment to expanding access to justice through legal education reforms.
Gesmundo said the adoption of Rule 138-A was intended to improve law students' practical skills while making legal assistance more accessible to underserved communities.
He also acknowledged the contributions of the judiciary's partners in strengthening legal education and public service.
The summit built on recommendations from the Clinical Legal Education Program Colloquium held in Cebu City in March 2026, advancing efforts to institutionalize practical legal training nationwide.
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