James Yang (
Yang, the author of Come on! Lawyer! Judge! Liar?, is currently a second-year graduate student of the NCU's Industrial Economics Law Division.
Yang is a graduate from the National Taiwan University's (NTU, 台灣大學) Law Department. He told the Taipei Times that he participated in the Bar exam after he graduated last year but he decided to leave in the middle of the exam.
"It was ridiculous," he said. "Many questions on the test came from either material taught exclusively at cram schools or they were selected from famous law professors' publications. Which means, if you didn't go to the cram schools or haven't read these professors' texts, you will never be able to answer these questions. That's not fair."
Yang wrote in his book that in order to pass the Bar exam, many law students stop going to classes and start going to cram schools during their third or fourth year in college.
"I'm not saying that going to cram schools is a bad thing. Actually, I think these cram schools do help students outline the text books while they are studying for the exam. However, many students are misled. The students don't realize that attending classes on campus should be their priority," he said.
Yang said that seats are often empty for important classes such as "International Business" since the course is not included in the Bar exam.
However, if the course is included in the Bar exam or instructed by a professor who has been or might be an examiner for the Bar exam, absenteeism will not be a problem for the class.
Taiwan's law education includes undergraduate, graduate and doctorate degrees. Those who have finished their four-year undergraduate law education are eligible to participate in the Bar exam.
Yang is the first person in Taiwan who has published a book detailing some of the problems of the country's Bar exam and how these problems affect law education.
He said that he had decided against a career in law. However, he still hopes to pass on legal knowledge to the younger generation.
"I will not take part in the Bar exam ever again and I'm not planning to take other exams to become a judge or a prosecutor," he said. "However, if I have the chance, I'll be more than happy to accomplish a doctorate degree in law and become a law professor."
The book was first published on July 15 and is available at major bookstores.
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