Atty. Jozef Maynard Borja Erece, 26, always played a different tune. It took less than a year for Australian based commercial litigator and dispute resolution solicitor, Jozef Maynard Borja Erece, to power through a triple International Bar examination sweep. He initially passed the Bar Examinations for England and Wales in May with top marks, then followed it up with the New York bar Exams in July after a two month review, before finishing the year with the Queensland Bar Exam in October. Upon completion of all the requirements, Jozef is now a step closer to his aspirations of representing smaller nation states in the International Court of Justice. He wants to be able to represent countries like the Philippines in resolving disputes against larger and more wealthy nation states. It will take up to the end of 2023 to comply with all the requirements needed by all three legal jurisdictions.
A former law prodigy, Jozef first attained global notoreity in 2015, when, as an 18 year old law graduate, was admitted to the Roll of Barristers and Solicitors by the Supreme Court of Queensland, Australia to become the youngest person in world history to be licensed to practice law.
Jozef graduated with a Master of Laws, specializing in International Law (summa cum laude), from the Australian National University, completed the highly competitive Masters Degree in Corporate Law from the University of Cambridge (magna cum laude), a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Southern Queensland (cumlaude) and a postgraduate Diploma on Legal Practice from the Queensland University of Technology. He also has a pre-MBA certificate of recognition from Harvard University and is a notable alumnus of the now defunct education program for gifted and talented youth from Stanford University. He is an associate editor of the Cambridge Law Review, the principal academic publication of the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law. The first and so far only Filipino known Editor in Cambridge University's 800 year history.
National citations have been given to Jozef for his achievements. He already has two commendations and citations. He is a recipient of a Baguio City commendation under Resolution No. 015, series of 2023 recognizing him to be one of the most prodigious citizen, if not in history. He was also awarded a congressional commendation under House resolution number 2072 from the Philippine House of Representatives in 2014 for his achievements branding him as "arguably the most prodigious modern day Filipino prodigy". In 2023, he is a Finalist in the Awards Australia- Young Achiever Awards with his sister, Maynah Borja Erece.
