Gerardo D. Ocampo, Jr.

Making of Case Digests

1. (a) Before making a case digest, I always see to it that I have the complete tools that I need in
order for me to produce a quality digest. I make sure that (1) I am in a nice, peaceful place,
where I could write in peace, (2) I have my my trusted ballpen and paper laid in front of me, (3)
and I make sure I that I have read and comprehended the case I would be digesting.
(b) During making the digest, I always re-read what I wrote so I would be able to comprehend the case
at hand, and by writing it, I would be able to memorize it subconsciously.
(c) After writing the digest, I try to pose questions to myself that might be asked to me by my professor
so I would be able to answer such questions during recitations.

2. a. I would be giving myself an 8 because in terms of motivation, I always have dreamt to be a

lawyer, and now that I am pursuing my dreams, it is only natural for me to be motivated and to
spend much effort on studying the law.

b. I would be giving myself a 6 on time spent reading the cases. Due to my heavy work
schedule as an employee of the Judiciary (Regional Trial Court), I find it hard to give much
time to reading all the cases assigned to us by our professors. My work requires me to spend
much time and effort, but I see to it that I am doing my duties as a student of the law and I make
sure I comply to all the assignments given to me.

c. I would be giving myself a rating of 8 in terms of time spend digesting a case. As a freshman,
with no background of digesting a case, I found it hard since the first day of law school,
because every class requires such activity. But as time went on, I have learned all the techniques
that would be helpful in creating a case digest, and my professors have been helpful too. I have
been able to properly write a proper case digest, thanks to my subjects, and of course, to my
legal writing subject wherein my professor has been a big help to me, for she handed out tips
and tricks on producing such relevant, but concise digests.

d. I would rate myself an 8 for determining the legal dispute of the case. I find it quite easy to
determine the legal dispute because all you have to do is to read the case, and understand some
relevant points, and you would be able to distinguish the legal dispute of a case.

e. I would give myself the rating of 9 for determing the relevant facts, because for me, it is one
of the task I excel in, because I am able to determine the relevant facts of the case pertaining to
the subject it would be discussed in. I just skim over the case, and look for relevant keywords
that I am looking for, and thus, giving me an easier time of determining the relevant facts of the
case.

f. I would be giving myself a rating of 6 in terms of determining the resulting legal rules. Due to
the fact that I am still new to Law School, and I have not read all the codals and law books out
there to be studied, I find some rulings trivial, and I have to research all the statutes that they
are pertaining to. And in that way, I am learning a lot more due to my curiosity of the law.
Gerardo D. Ocampo, Jr. Making of Case Digests

g. I would be rating myself with a grade of 8 during recitations. I have always been a part of
recitations, and I do not even know why I always get called, but not that I am complaining. I
have been part of all the recitations of every class, since day one, and I can say that I have
properly expressed myself and my thoughts to my professor and to my classmates. At first, I get
all jumpy and nervous, but after some time of practicing speaking in front of the class, and due
to the fact that I have read all the cases clearly, and I have prepared myself properly before the
class, all those internal nuisance I had in my head has been rid of and now I could recite without
being shaken at all.

h. I would be rating myelf with a grade of 7 for over-all quality/goodness of case digests. I
know I have lots to improve on, and there is still a big room for improvement that I know to
myself would be reached if I continue on finding ways I could improve in, in terms of digesting
a case. I have produced what I can consider myself as a well written case digest, and I know
that I am giving myself a justifiable rating of seven. I dont want to give myself a higher nor
lower rating because I know that I have lots of things to improve and that I need more time to
sharpen my skills in digesting a case.

3. My areas of strength in digesting a case is determining the ruling of the court, and
understanding as to why it was imposed in such a way that it favors a party more than the other. When
reading the ruling of a case, I am always curious as to how the court would decide a case and how it
would interpret the law. When the court states a statute that I am not aware of, I would be researching it
so I would have extra knowledge that I might find usseful later on in practicing the law.

4. Yes, this activity given to us by our legal writing professor was really helpful to me because I
was able to practice and sharpen my case digesting capabilities and that I learned a lot of techinques,
tips, and tricks that I is very valuable and will be helpful in my years I would be involved with the
study of law. At first, I find it very hard to understand or comprehend a case, even more in digesting
one. But after our activity, it helped me a lot to understand on how to construct a relevant, concise, and
clear digest that would help me in further understanding and memorizing a cse given to us by our
respective professors.

5. I have concluded that in this activity, practice makes perfect. If you work hard on your craft,
you would be able to master such legal writing if you put your mind and focus unto it. The following
days to come would be a lot more important because I would be applying what I learned in this activity
to each and every class I m in, because whether the professor requires you to produce a digest, or not,
you are still required or advised to make a digest of the case because it would be a extremely helpful
for you to memorize cases, and it would serve your reviewer in the long run. I might be able to use it
duriing my bar review, and this mi8ght be the difference I need to pass the bar exam. Every effort
counts here in law school, and I am willing to give it all that it takes for me to excel in this field, and be
able to reach for my dreams of becoming a lawyer, now that I am well on my way. But since I am still
in my freshman / first year of law school, I know that I got lots to improve on, not just in reciting, or
Gerardo D. Ocampo, Jr. Making of Case Digests

memorizing statutes and cases, but also in writing summaries or case digests, because learning never
ends and even if I become a lawyer, I would be able to use such skills imparteds to my by my ever most
valuable professor iin legal writing. This would help me in understanding all the case I would be
tackling in the field of law, and in further expanding my knowledge of the law.