{"id":262316,"date":"2017-10-16T06:06:23","date_gmt":"2017-10-15T20:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=262316"},"modified":"2017-10-16T06:06:23","modified_gmt":"2017-10-15T20:06:23","slug":"local-lawyer-passes-3-bar-exams-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/local-lawyer-passes-3-bar-exams-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Local lawyer passes 3 Bar exams in a year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Newly sworn-in CNMI lawyers Hyun Jae Lee and Jose Silvestre P. Mafnas Jr. pose for a group photo with their families, judges, justices, and lawyers during a special session at the CNMI Supreme Court last Friday. Lee and Mafnas are among the three who passed the CNMI Bar examination last July. (Ferdie de la Torre)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two of three successful CNMI Bar examinees took their oaths during a special session at the CNMI Supreme Court last Friday morning. <\/p>\n

CNMI Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro administered the attorney\u2019s oath to Hyun Jae Lee and Jose Silvestre P. Mafnas Jr.<\/p>\n

The third one, Christopher A. Heeb, was off-island last Friday.<\/p>\n

The three passed the CNMI Bar out of five who took the exam last July. <\/p>\n

The 34-year-old Lee said: \u201cIt has been an uphill and long journey with a lot of setbacks.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lee, who was born in South Korea and was raised on Saipan, first arrived on island when she was just 8 years old. She gave thanks to her parents\u2014Jong Sik Lee and Hye Sook Kim and her sister\u2014who were seated on the front row in the court\u2019s gallery. <\/p>\n

Lee expressed gratitude to Castro and associate justices John A. Manglona and Perry B. Inos as well as the Judiciary family for supporting her. Lee, who has been a law clerk for Castro for two years now, also cited judges Joseph N. Camacho and Teresa Kim-Tenorio for their encouragement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very privileged and honored to be admitted to the [CNMI] Bar,\u201d said Lee. <\/p>\n

Describing the CNMI Bar exam as \u201cvery tough [and] very hard,\u201d Lee plans to stay with the CNMI Supreme Court for awhile and \u201cjust go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee\u2019s parents have been in the CNMI for 29 years already. Their first business on Saipan was the Korean American Cable Vision at Channel 23. The family now runs a souvenir wholesale business.<\/p>\n

Lee graduated high school at Grace Christian Academy. After obtaining a bachelor\u2019s degree at the Georgia State University, she took law at the Handong International Law School in South Korea. <\/p>\n

Before joining the CNMI Supreme Court, Lee passed the Bar in Tennessee.<\/p>\n

In his speech, Mafnas thanked attorney Stephen Nutting, the Judiciary, and his family, friends, and relatives.<\/p>\n

Mafnas, 28, just started work less than a month ago at Nutting\u2019s law office. Before that, he worked as a law clerk at the Guam Supreme Court. <\/p>\n

Mafnas passed the Bar examinations in California, Guam, and CNMI in a one year. Of the three, he considers the CNMI\u2019s the hardest. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of pressure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels to be good to be home and I\u2019m glad that I will be able to practice here at home,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Mafnas, who is also a graduate of Grace Christian Academy, completed his bachelor\u2019s degree at the Chaminade University. He took law at the University of California Davis School of Law and graduated in 2016. <\/p>\n

His parents are Customs director Jose Mafnas Sr. and Geraldine Mafnas. Seeing his son take his oath was Mafnas Sr.\u2019s proudest moment. \u201cI watched him go through elementary, high school, then he went to his graduate, to law school,\u201d the father said. <\/p>\n

Attorney Jane Mack, directing attorney for the Micronesian Legal Services Corp., served as the keynote speaker at the ceremony, while NMI Bar Association vice president Sean E. Frink presented the applicants to the NMI Bar.<\/p>\n

Mack said that lawyers have to think of fairness everyday. \u201cIt is about fairness. Life is not fair,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Frink urged the new Bar members to take up pro bono cases. \u201cNo. 1, you are helping. No. 2, it reminds you of your humanity,\u201d Frink said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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