Rafael Alejandro L. Solis2003-04678Legal ProfessionReflection Paper

“Paper Chase: I am not alone in my experience after all!”

In the interest of initiating my reflection paper, let me begin by using two quotes, both

originating from the 30th President of the United States, John Calvin Coolidge. First is the

following: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is

more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost

a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and

determination alone are omnipotent.

The second quote is written as such: “If I had permitted my failures, or what seemed to

me at the time a lack of success, to discourage me I cannot see any way in which I would ever

have made progress.”

If it ever came to one’s mind how these two quotes relate to the movie that I need to

reflect upon, it would be that the arduous experience of preparing for the profession in the field

that is law can be overcome through persistence, determination, and encouragement. Looking

at the background of President Coolidge, he must have undergone a similar experience in law

school as I am going through right now. Thankfully, “The Paper Chase” somewhat manifested

visually how comparable these experiences are despite the fact that Hart and Coolidge are

people living in the United States of America, while I reside here in the Philippines.

The session allotted in last week’s class was not my first time to watch the film “The

Paper Chase”; a friend of mine gave me an electronic copy of the said movie. But every time I Page 1 of 3 / Solis

get to watch the adventures of Hart in the halls of Harvard Law School during the 1970s, I am

enthralled and inspired about the experience that is law school.

One of the scenes which got imprinted in my mind was when Hart was walking Susan

back to her house after purchasing pizza. Hart kept on blabbering to Susan on how amazed he

knew that the greatest minds were being molded in the Massachusetts-based University, most

probably producing future presidents, Wall Street bigwigs and other leaders of the country.

When I started my law school experience, I felt the same thing as the introductory speeches

during the freshmen orientation were also about how the law school also produced leaders of

the country. If there is such a long history and legacy which backs up these stories, then it is

only proper that the undertaking that is law school would be indeed difficult.

The study group reminds me of the diversity of students in Malcolm Hall. The main

characters of the story, Hart, Ford, Kevin, Anderson, Bell and O’ Connor, each having his own

distinct personality, contributed to the flavor of the journey towards “making the grade”. While in

the end, their study group was reduced to half, I was hoping that perhaps it would not be the

same here in UP, that there would be no culture of attrition, and that all those who aspire to

practice the law because they have love for the law would be retained despite not being able to

maintain grades befitting of law school. My position negates the preceding paragraph in the

view that law school should be difficult. In the end, the grades will not be the ultimate

determinant of my future in a law career, as Hart symbolized through his action of making his

copy of grades fly as a paper airplane.

Sometimes, I wonder if Hart’s name actually had any significance in the film, as he

showed “heart” towards his battles in law school. Of all the members of the study group, he was

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the one who took the assignment of making an outline for Contracts, the most difficult subject of

their study. Now that’s “heart”.

I am experiencing a tremendous challenge ahead of me, having an overload in the

number of subjects I am taking despite being enrolled in the evening program. At times, I catch

myself lagging in the requirements, such as getting to class on time or making the deadlines.

This is where Hart and I differ, in the sense that I no longer have time to take a swim for

recreation or to enter into a relationship (hopefully, not with a married woman at the brink of

finalizing her divorce) and that Hart was able to cope easily with the requirements for law

school. I am very thankful that my Legal Profession teacher Atty. Concepcion Jardeleza

reminded me of the said movie.

However, I can always go back to the two quotes by President Calvin Coolidge, as these may

serve as guiding words for me to continue my difficult journey here in UP Law. Despite my share

of professors like Kingsfield, I am hopeful that with the messages brought about by “The Paper

Chase”, the virtues mentioned in the above quotes (Persistence, Determination, and

Encouragement), and by the grace of God, I will endure like Hart.

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