Lawyer spin

In our previous columns, we highlighted and lauded the efforts and achievements of our legal exports — Filipino lawyers who have made a mark in a foreign jurisdiction.  In one column, I provided my colleagues a back-handed compliment. I quoted Shakespeare’s Henry VI- “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” arguing that these OLWs (Overseas legal workers) have proudly raised our professional flag, remitted foreign exchange back home and at the same time lessened the membership of the local bar. However, Global Best Practices’ lecturer Jim Lopez reminded me that the Shakespearean quip was actually made in praise of lawyers.  I was not fully convinced so I did a quick internet research.  

Apparently, the context of the statement was a brewing rebellion to oust the monarchy. The positive lawyer spin is that one of the plotters, Dick the Butcher, speaking to co-conspirator and would-be-King, Jack Cade, supposedly believed that the elimination of lawyers was essential for their revolution’s success.  Dick feared that practitioners will stand up for the rule of law and not allow an extra-legal maneuver to prosper.  Moreover, an investigation conducted by lawyers could reveal that Jack was an imposter with no royal lineage. 

 There is also the interpretation that the remark was critical of people who think they can ignore the rule of law and tradition.  Commentators (mostly lawyers) believe the statement is an indication of Shakespeare’s high regard and intellectual preference for lawyers as the “guardians of independent thinking.”

On the other hand, the negative counter argument rides on the perennial unpopularity of lawyers and that the remark should be plainly interpreted as is.  This is not only a reflection of the ordinary person’s frustration with legal arcana and gobbledygook but a general impression that lawyers just look out more for themselves. If made King, Jack Cade was promising a utopian society that is lawyer-free.  

Another plausible explanation is somewhere in between — that it was simply Shakespeare making a lawyer joke. In fact he has made fun of lawyers in his other works. In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio describes lawyers “who straight dream on fees.” In King Lear, the fool compares his way of speaking to “the breath of an unfee’d lawyer.” And in Hamlet there is an uncomplimentary passage describing the contents of a lawyer`s skull.  So for Shakespeare to praise the second oldest profession may be out of character. 

In any event, regardless of what he really meant, the fact that its meaning is still being debated more than 400 years later shows not only Shakespeare’s genius but also the skill of lawyers to argue a point that was originally thought to be unfavorable to their profession. Well isn’t that what lawyers do best?  

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Culinary exports:  Aside from our legal exports that we can be proud of, there are two culinary exports who have made a name in the Swiss food world.  Thanks to Ambassador Leslie Baja and First Secretary Tess Lazaro (namesake of our Ambassador to France), we were treated to the gastronomical talents of two kababayans working in Berne.  

Domingo Domingo’s family hails from Cagayan. He learned to cook in Australia but honed his culinary skills in London before opening his own dining facility in Berne together with his sommelier fiancée Madelin. At Mille Sens (Million Senses) which was filled with Swiss customers during lunch, we sampled a coconut based soup with shrimp and tuna, a veal adobo as a main course and chocolate glace for dessert.

At a Thai healthy eating place interestingly called Cha cha, we sampled our Thai favorites prepared by Noel Abarca. Born in Bohol, his family migrated to Switzerland at an early age so much so that he speaks Bisaya with a German accent.  I am certain that more Filipino chefs are making a mark in other parts of the world.

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Inspiring story: Carmen Once comes from a small barangay in Ivizan, Capiz.  Her father is a small coconut farmer but also engages in rice and vegetable farming. She is the seventh among 11 children.  (Speaking of family planning, it seems that her father made sure that the number of children would live up to the family name.) Her six older siblings have families of their own, but only two of them were able to finish college.

Her father was hospitalized after she graduated valedictorian in high school.  The family had to sell their carabao and pawn the title of their farmland to pay off the father’s hospital bills.  There was no money left to send Carmen to college.  She felt envious that her less-academically inclined classmates were already taking college entrance tests.

Fortunately, she heard about the COCOFOUNDATION Scholarship of the UCPB-CIIF Foundation which provides school fees and monthly allowance for children of coconut farmers. She applied and qualified after rigid screening. She took up Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Technology at the Western Visayas State College of Science and Technology in Iloilo City.  While in college, it was difficult for her parents to provide any additional financial support. So Carmen joined contests such as the Philippine Statistics Quiz which offered cash prizes. She also accepted tutorial tasks in exchange for free dinners. She made history in her 80-year-old Alma Mater as its first Summa Cum Laude graduate.

The Coco Foundation Scholarship has benefitted 1909 students since its launch. The Program not only provides financial assistance to the scholars, but also supports and develops them morally, spiritually and socially through regular monitoring by the Foundation staff.

 Carmen is not resting on her laurels and she faces a new challenge — getting a job! After all, she is now expected to help fund the education of her four younger siblings.

But like other Coco Foundation beneficiaries, she is not fazed with the challenges that will come her way. She embodies the Foundation’s maxim to STRETCH: Strive Tirelessly to Reach Excellence, Take Challenges to Heights!

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“What does a lawyer do when he dies? Answer:  He lies still.”  – Anonymous lawyer joke

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