Frankfurt or Bust!

I recently received my letter of acceptance for the Master of Laws in Finance Program from the ILF in Frankfurt, Germany [click on the title of this post to view the ILF webage]. I was also granted a scholarship so I'd just have to pay a token amount as part of the tuition fees, in addition to my duties as a student librarian, where I have to put in a couple of hours a week. The feeling is surreal, as I wasn't too confident in getting accepted, given my rank in class, which is slightly below the requirement for acceptance of the ILF. However, I suppose that my extra-curricular activities and work experience more than covered for the academic shortcomings, if one would even consider such as a shortcoming in the first place. I am actually very pleased considering that I applied only in 2 schools, the ILF and the LSE in London, the results of which will come out mid-January. However, in case I get accepted in the LSE, I am still inclined to enter the ILF (despite the LSE's sterling reputation), because I feel that studying in Germany will open new doors and opportunities--the opportunity to live in a truly foreign country, the opportunity to learn a new language (which I wouldn't be able to do in London), and more importantly, the opportunity to travel around continental Europe. I have a feeling that people in my position would take the easy way and opt for London. The adventurer in me tells me otherwise, and so I'm taking the road less travelled. ShaiSe!

Of Curfews and the Good Things That Come From It

Last night, in the wake of the Manila Pen Takeover by Sen. Sonny Trillanes, Brig. Gen. Danny Lim and several other religious and political personalities [collectively referred hereinafter as the "Idiots"], the government decided to impose a curfew from 12mn to 5am this morning. Needless to say, we yuppies were a bit dismayed, considering that we've presumably made plans for a long night [the following day, Friday, was a holiday, National Heroes Day], although we couldn't help but feel excited at the prospect of having a feel of what our parents experienced on a daily basis during the height of Marcos' Martial Law regime.

Allow me to speak firstly on the towering fiasco that was the Manila Pen Takeover. For the life of me, I cannot fathom what the Idiots were thinking. What were they trying to accomplish by walking out of their hearing, marching along Makati Avenue, entering the Manila Pen, holing themselves in the Rizal Function Room, and then, surrendering anyway, after a barrage of tear gas attacks, and only after an APC rammed through the doors of the Manila Pen?! Did they suppose that they could cause a stir and rally people to their cause? In fact, how could they even think that the pinoys would even back them up when most of them had been bitten by the bug we call apathy [of course, this is another story altogether]. More importantly, how can the filipinos support that Chief Idiot Trillanes when he has obviously lost all his rationality. I myself do not like this administration, and I would personally like to see Gloria and her gang of thieves crucified, disemboweled and burned at the stake, but I wouldn't support the Idiots even if they forced me at gunpoint. Sana nagpakamatay na lang silang lahat dun para mas may effect, at para matahimik na rin sila.

Anyway, having said that, I realized that although the curfew imposed had a chilling effect on everybody, as I said above, I personally couldn't help but feel a bit excited about all of these goings-on. I found it particularly amusing that when news of the curfew came out, everyone started calling their family and friends, reminding them to go home before 12mn, lest they be subject to any form of inconvenience and/or detention by the authorities. Obviously, everyone was a bit too frightened about the curfew, and this was clearly shown by the fact that by 10pm all major roads in Manila were so congested with home-bound traffic, as if rush hour had extended beyond its usual time. Even my brothers, who would normally go home way past midnight, were at home before I was. Hilarious. Indeed, last night's circus clearly showed that pinoys can easily be disciplined, given the right enforcement measures and scare tactics. Of course, we hope that those who are vested with authority to employ these enforcement measures and scare tactics wield it with prudence and justice. Sadly, I daresay that such is not the case today.

Speaking of Politics

People have asked me why I don't talk about politics in this blog. For me, there is nothing about politics [Philippine or otherwise] I can talk about that hasn't been discussed or debated by luminaries or by simple folk whether in the distant or recent past. Why? The truth of the matter is, our political system and our political psyche as a nation has never developed enough for there to be a meaningful political exchange reminiscent of that of Plato's The Republic. The Philippine political scene has remained constant, er, stagnant, to use the more appropriate term--so stagnant that it has bred one breed of politicians and political leaders--those who put their self-interest over and above the interest of the nation, and that of their countrymen. And so, time and again, in whatever age or era, we are given the same type of politicians who do the same kind of damnable things.

We are all bios politikos, i.e., political creatures, to borrow the term of philosopher Hannah Arendt. And to be bios politiki presupposes a certain kind of maturity in a person, a level of maturity that can enable one to intelligently discuss and debate about the ways and means to achieve the good life for everyone. While I do not doubt that we are all capable of being political, from what I've been seeing, there is an apparent lack of bios politiki in this country, and for this, our country is certainly doomed to failure. Apathy is the nemesis of politics, and up to this point in our country's socio-political history, our psyche as a nation is slave to apathy. There can be no healthy political exchange if people do not choose to develop and mature politically. They shall forever be, the prisoners described in Plato's Allegory of the Cave-- people who, kept in the darkness, will never know anything beyond what is presented/told them. It cannot be over-emphasized that a citizenry in darkness breeds a propagandist state. And a propagandist state means the death of politics.

So why don't I talk about politics? I guess I consider it in bad taste to talk about things that have long since died.

What Law Firm Partners Really Know

I'm sure all associates in law firms will agree. Our bosses, i.e., the Partners, only know as much as their associates. I venture to add that they might even know less than we do, considering that, in the course of our legal research, we usually come across information that, although irrelevant for the memos we prepare [and are thus not sent to the Partner for review], add to the [lack of] information our sorry little law schools were so benevolent enough to provide us. By the way, for those who do not know how a law firm works, here's a brief step-by-step heads up:

1. A client meets with a Partner to discuss a legal problem. This is usually at a fancy resto or hotel. Client pays the bill, of course, but I'm sure you already knew this.

2. Partner goes back to the office and calls an associate to his/her room. After making the associate wait outside his/her room for half an hour while the Partner surfs the internet, chats with a friend, or does whatever the hell he/she wants, the associate is called into the room. Partner then explains the problem of the client and asks the associate to draft a memo on how the problem should be solved. Partner tells the associate to prioritze the memo and give it to him/her before the end of business hours. It is 4:35pm. For those who do not know, the earliest end of business hours for law firms is 10:00pm. [Ridiculous.]

3. Associate then rushes to research and draft the memo and submits to the Partner [who has already left for dinner with some friends or clients]. Associate sends to the Partner by email, but after several hours of waiting for a reply, the associate figures that the Partner has already fallen asleep. It is 435am.

4. The following morning, the associate receives the memo from the Partner with the inscriptions on the top of the page "OK".

As can be seen from the above, associates, in a very real sense, really control the knowledge that Partners have. Partners very rarely check the contents of memos submitted to them. They simply have no time. After all, lunches out [and/or golf/squash/racket ball games] with clients are billable, so any time spent researching or studying their associates' memos may substantially reduce potential profit for the firm. In other words, the Partners simply rely heavily on the output given by their associates.

Nevertheless, Partners have experience, and that should count for something, right? Nah. While years of experience may tend to give partners an edge in terms of practical knowledge, this fact doesn't prove that associates are less capable in this regard. After all, it is the associate who does all the leg work--i.e., "liaising"[read: corrupting] with government officials, thinking of the best structure to avoid [read: evade] taxes, and the like. Partners merely want things implemented based on the recommendations of their associates. They don't want to do it themselves, however. They have associates to do it for them. So much for practical knowledge, huh?

So, if Partners lack both academic and practical knowledge, what do they really know? Nothing. But the beauty of being Partner is that you can look/appear as if you know every friggin' law in this jurisdiction! In fact, if you dress even more sharply or look even more dapper, you could even come across as knowing the laws of other jurisdictions! It's totally insane! In this profession, form is everything--substance is [next to] nothing. The trick is, to come across as knowing the law, or, if a client asks a particularly difficult question, knowing how to tritely say, "I'll get back to you on that", without coming across as being totally clueless. At the end of the day, the Partner simply asks an associate to look into the query of the client, and the client gets billed. Meanwhile, the Partner has lunch at a fancy resto or hotel, or plays golf/squash/racket ball, or does whatever the hell he/she wants.

Someday, if I stay my course, I'll be a Partner, too. Then, I'll review this blog to see if all of the above are true.