The dean of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law, Attorney Nilo Divina, defined Ephraim Bie as an analytical and intelligent student after being hailed as the topnotcher of the 2023 bar examination.

In an interview with the Daily Tribune on Wednesday, Divina noticed Ephraim's intelligence. He had been his student for two semesters and had also been one of his associates at Divina Law, his law firm.

"Ephraim writes very well. He writes very analytically and he is very intelligent. One of his advantages is that he can express his ideas in a very clear and convincing manner," Dean Divina said.

When asked about the preparations of the faculty for the 2023 bar examination, the dean said that bar review programs were being offered to all law students.

"First, the students pray and study. The Faculty of Civil Law offered a bar review program to all law students, and we also gave them a case digest, a short version of the new jurisprudence. And of course, we in the faculty pray for them every day," the dean stated.

Dean Divina added that it was 22 years ago since UST topped the bar examination, which was aced by now-Atty. Arlene Maneja. The success of Ephraim Bie brings UST to having its 4th topnotcher in the history of bar examinations.

Ephraim finished AB Journalism at the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters in 2015 before taking up law school. According to his teachers, he was an "all-around smart" student during his undergraduate years while actively being a campus journalist for The Flame, the official student publication of Artlets.