Bachelor of Laws graduates of the UE College of Law: Please read this notice regarding Legal Education Board Memorandum Order No. 19 Series of 2018 on Migration of the Basic Law Course to Juris Doctor. Thank you.
Pursuant to LEB Memorandum Order No. 19 Series of 2018, the Legal Education Board resolved to adopt the Juris Doctor as the universal academic degree for all graduates of the basic law course in the Philippines and to discontinue the use of Bachelor of Laws degree effective 2nd Semester of School Year 2018-2019. The pertinent provision of LEBMO No. 19 states:
5. Equivalency of Degrees – The Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree awarded or conferred to graduates of the basic law course by HEI with recognized law schools prior to the adoption of Resolution No. 2018-370 by the LEB are considered and declared as equivalent to the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.
In Resolution No. 2019-406 issued by the Legal Education Board on 9 January 2019, it further resolved that the basic law degree (whether JD or LLB) shall be considered equivalent to doctoral degrees in other non-law academic disciplines for purposes of appointment/employment, ranking and compensation.
After the issuance of the above Memorandum Order and Resolution, the Office of the Dean and the Department of Registration and Records Management have received numerous inquiries as to when the University of the East will re-issue diplomas and transcript of records to past graduates of the UE College of Law under the Bachelor of Laws Program.
For the guidance of all concerned, the re-issuance of diplomas and official transcript of records for the purpose of “substituting Juris Doctor for Bachelor of Laws” mentioned in LEB Memorandum Order No. 19 is not mandatory on the HEI. Under the same LEBMO, the HEI may apply with the LEB for authorization and permission to re-issue diplomas and other academic credentials to LLB graduates only after the governing Board of the HEI has decided to pass a Board Resolution that expressly authorizes the application to be filed with the LEB. The use of the word may in the Memorandum Order issued by the LEB indicates that the re-issuance of the diplomas and credentials is discretionary with the governing board of the University.
The University of the East has complied with LEB Memorandum Order No. 19 on a prospective basis by changing the nomenclature of the degree to be conferred to law students who were still completing the Bachelor of Laws program at the time of the issuance of LEBMO No. 19 on 1 December 2018.
Graduates of the Bachelor of Laws Program prior to the issuance of LEBMO No. 19 may, if they be so minded, invoke the very provisions of the LEBMO and the subsequent Resolution No. 2019-406 issued by the Legal Education Board to support their application for promotion, ranking and compensation subject to the rules of the agency or the institution where they are employed.