[pflann]

Hi All,

Just wanted to share a good news story. I sat Company in March this year and got 36%. Couldn't believe it as felt confident coming out of the exam that I at least should have passed (passed all other 7 exams first time).

I decided to stick with my instinct and get it re-checked.......

The re-checks are out today and I passed...Can't believe it.

Moral of the story - stick with your gut and if you feel you should have passed, go for the re-check. Everyone I spoke to said that I'd never be brought up by that amount...

Blackhall here I come...!!

[cotch]

hey guys im sitting , my first 4 FE1s in october , tort , property , criminal contract . and while im studying like made at the moment Im feeling lost and every little bit of help i can get is much appreciated ... does anyone have any prepared answers and topics that they would be willing to email to me , would really appreciate it and would help me to se other peoples answer construction ...

many thanks

cotch18@hotmail.com

[skeenan89]

Hi guys....
just wondering if anyone has a recent tort exam grid that they wouldnt mind sending me?? not doing a prep course this time round cause i couldnt afford it. just bought manuals for the two im sittin in october but have no exam grid!

would be eternally grateful!!!

just PM me if u wanna make my day

[M.Myers]

Hey everybody, Im new to this thread and looking for some advice!

I just finished up my law degree in May and had no intention of starting the FE1s until I had secured a TC, however, due to the boredom of unemployment I am considering taking my first four FE1s this Sept/October. The only thing is I leave for a 2 week holiday tomorrow morning so I wouldnt be able to start studying for the exams until mid July. I have the independent colleges books from summer 2009 and so will not be taking any prep courses. I am aware that this leaves me 6 weeks behind anyone taking the prep courses. Could anyone with experience offer me some advice on this? Would mid-july be too late to start studying and have a chance of passing? Like i said im unemployed so I would be dedicating my life to them from mid july forward!

Thanks!

[XXXMaria777XXX]

Hey guys, im new to this! Just finished my degree, thinking of doing three fe1s in october, im not sure what the three easiest would be!!if anyone has any advice id be very grateful!!

[Thirdfox]

Originally Posted by XXXMaria777XXX

Hey guys, im new to this! Just finished my degree, thinking of doing three fe1s in october, im not sure what the three easiest would be!!if anyone has any advice id be very grateful!!

Hey Maria - I probably wouldn't recommend doing all the easiest ones - EU and Constitutional would be two that I'd keep apart (just as they both absorb so much energy and effort).

Two very "easy" courses are Criminal and Property. Contract is another that people generally pass.

Tort can be marked surprisingly hard (for what I think is an "easy" subject).
Company can have very low pass rates (lowest was 30% I believe).
Equity is the other one that people think they do well in but many only scrape by (so relatively speaking the examiner is a "hard" marker).

On the other hand - if you're starting now and want to take it easy - criminal, property and contract are the easiest...though don't tie into one another that well.

And if you can stomach it - I passed all 8 from 3 months of study (intensive study in the last 3 weeks). It's hard work but it's "easier" to pass all 8 in one go than to do them separately in some ways i.e. you may be given that 50% where normally you would only get a 47%. You definitely still have time to start all 8...but you'd have no life for 3 months...your choice!

[colonel1]

Originally Posted by Thirdfox

Hey Maria - I probably wouldn't recommend doing all the easiest ones - EU and Constitutional would be two that I'd keep apart (just as they both absorb so much energy and effort).

Two very "easy" courses are Criminal and Property. Contract is another that people generally pass.

Tort can be marked surprisingly hard (for what I think is an "easy" subject).
Company can have very low pass rates (lowest was 30% I believe).
Equity is the other one that people think they do well in but many only scrape by (so relatively speaking the examiner is a "hard" marker).

On the other hand - if you're starting now and want to take it easy - criminal, property and contract are the easiest...though don't tie into one another that well.

And if you can stomach it - I passed all 8 from 3 months of study (intensive study in the last 3 weeks). It's hard work but it's "easier" to pass all 8 in one go than to do them separately in some ways i.e. you may be given that 50% where normally you would only get a 47%. You definitely still have time to start all 8...but you'd have no life for 3 months...your choice!

Hey Thirdfox,

congrats on getting all 8 in one go, that is a mighty acheivement:-) I am currently doing property at the moment, but was thinking of doing tort as well. I work FT, and won't have a lot of time off for the exams (5 days max). Is that a doable combination? I liked tort in college, but as you say it is marked rather hard.

[NoQuarter]

Hi guys, I checked with FS and he said it was ok to post this here:

Im currently studying for the Kings Inns and am working in the evenings part time. The exams are on August 15th so Im planning to give up work for all of august so I need to find a replacement for the month.

The reason I post here is that there is plenty of time to study in this job so its perfect for someone studying fe1s.


Requirements:

Be RELIABLE
Be RELIABLE
Live in or near Dublin City Centre
Have own car

Details:
The job is delivering for a restaurant in Dublin City center. You will be delivering to Dublin 2, 4, 6, 8, 1 and some other places. Nowhere too far.

Your days will be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and every second Friday.

The hours are 5-10pm.

The pay is 25 euro flat rate per night and you get 2 or 2.50 for every delivery. The max deliveries ive ever done in 1 night is 8. So if you have a quiet night, you get less money but more study time. A busy night is more money but less study time!

Basically on a 3 day week you'll come out with about 100, the 4 day weeks about 130.

I know the money is pretty crap but if you are going to be sitting at home studying all night like I would have been, you might as well be sitting in here earning some money and studying!

So if anybody fancies covering me for the month just drop me a PM, then if I ever need any other days or the other guy does we could give you a shout again! Its very very handy work, you are left alone to study until there is a delivery!

Cheers!

[boomtown84]

Hi, i'm looking for a tort,property and constitutional exam grid if anyone could pm me that would be great.
thanks.

[Thirdfox]

Originally Posted by colonel1

Hey Thirdfox,

congrats on getting all 8 in one go, that is a mighty acheivement:-) I am currently doing property at the moment, but was thinking of doing tort as well. I work FT, and won't have a lot of time off for the exams (5 days max). Is that a doable combination? I liked tort in college, but as you say it is marked rather hard.

Thanks colonel, necessity does focus one's mind somewhat .

Taking two exams is eminently doable, property - especially with the new examiner seems to be marked rather easily...but how long this lsts is anyone's guess. Plus you get the potential that she'll throw some complete curveballs out at students...and a surprising love for treasure trove...

Tort seems like one where you'll do well once you really do know all the topics. I suspect my difficulty with it lay in the fact that I tried to strategise too much (couldn't afford not to doing all 8) and got punished through lack of options. For example, strategising on company law I could answer 7 questions, having effectively prepared for half of the course (though brushing over the whole course beforehand).

So, if you have the time...even on weekends, tort and property is doable definitely. But everyone is different, so take everything I say with a pinch of salt (especially my observations of what I see as characteristics of the different examiners).

Good luck whatever you decide to do!

...and with the legal services bill coming in September the Fe1s will be changed, potentially drastically, as the Law Society (and Bar Council) will be stripped of its regulatory functions...

Change is a-coming to the legal industry... barristers and solicitors may be merged into the one profession eventually for example.

But that's neither here nor there...though one relevant factor is that the new regulator will be tasked with making it easier to enter the profession and breaking down barriers to entry. On the other hand, better the devil you know!

[skeenan89]

Originally Posted by boomtown84

Hi, i'm looking for a tort,property and constitutional exam grid if anyone could pm me that would be great.
thanks.

I can send you the property grid later on tonight when im home from work! if you manage to get your hands onto a property grid would you be an absolute gem and send it to me please??

[trasla7]

new to this and wondering what people's opinions are on sitting 5 in first sitting (constitutional, company, equity, property and contract)?

i can pretty much start studying in mid july for them full time and will use independant college manuals. is 5 too hard a task to take on and would i be better advised to do 4 to try and guarantee that i can give my best effort for 4 in the time that I have (approx 2 and half months). I have a law degree and masters so im not coming at these subjects completely new. Any opinions would be great -- especially from those who have tried 5 in first sitting.

also i am in DESPERATE need of exam grid for constitutional. does anyone have one?

thanks

[Thirdfox]

Originally Posted by thirdfox

I don't believe I stated anywhere on the threads that I hadn't studied law before. And I would also believe that most people would impliedly assume that I must have studied law before.

But, if you do take the FE-1 exams - you will find that they are a different beast as compared to college exams.

So please read carefully before making assumptions one way or the other.

Kind regards,

Thirdfox

I've decided to respond to the issue on the thread as I believe that discussion should be out in the open rather than behind PMs. If anyone was under the impression that I had never studied law before then I apologise. While I still would think that it is possible to do all 8 fe-1s not having studied law, using just the manuals, in 3 months...it would be very difficult indeed.

I do not however accept that this is about ego at all. I have explained the practical benefits of doing all 8 at once (you can draw upon all 8's materials in the various exams and you get marked easier - especially helpful when tackling the tougher Constitutional and EU exams) and underlined that for 3 months you will have effectively no life other than study (I also mentioned giving myself two days holidays during the 3 months).

So I'm genuinely surprised by [the] PM - I don't think he is a troll but rather he is worried that people may see my posts and think that passing all 8 is easy or that I'm just trying to partake in an e-penis waving contest... neither of which is my intention.

So now that's all out in the open - I guess we just move on and get back to studying/working.

Final point - genuinely believed that the default situation was that the people here have previous legal studies experience. That was certainly what I encountered in the prep courses - 2 people I met were legal "virgins" while it seemed like the vast majority were in a similar situation to myself (graduated from a law school). So really didn't think it was necessary to "disclose" that I had 4 years of undergraduate studies in law.

Final final point - passing all 8 isn't easy - but it isn't impossible either with the right study plan (again, not e-penis waving). There are quite a few others who have gotten all 8 in one go. As for why I still post here - I'd like to think that I am helping others in some way as I know how tough the FE-1s can be.

How about we all take a deep breath and look at a pac man smilie?

[colonel1]

Originally Posted by Thirdfox

Thanks colonel, necessity does focus one's mind somewhat .

Taking two exams is eminently doable, property - especially with the new examiner seems to be marked rather easily...but how long this lsts is anyone's guess. Plus you get the potential that she'll throw some complete curveballs out at students...and a surprising love for treasure trove...

Tort seems like one where you'll do well once you really do know all the topics. I suspect my difficulty with it lay in the fact that I tried to strategise too much (couldn't afford not to doing all 8) and got punished through lack of options. For example, strategising on company law I could answer 7 questions, having effectively prepared for half of the course (though brushing over the whole course beforehand).

So, if you have the time...even on weekends, tort and property is doable definitely. But everyone is different, so take everything I say with a pinch of salt (especially my observations of what I see as characteristics of the different examiners).

Good luck whatever you decide to do!

...and with the legal services bill coming in September the Fe1s will be changed, potentially drastically, as the Law Society (and Bar Council) will be stripped of its regulatory functions...

Change is a-coming to the legal industry... barristers and solicitors may be merged into the one profession eventually for example.

But that's neither here nor there...though one relevant factor is that the new regulator will be tasked with making it easier to enter the profession and breaking down barriers to entry. On the other hand, better the devil you know!

Hey Thirdfox, thanks for getting back to me I finally decided to take on tort, so I am currently perusing the exam grid (yikes). Fair play on being able to strategise in company, especially as ye old examiner omitted borrowing on the last sitting, which was a bit of a pain tbh. But yes, it would be much easier to do really well, if one didn't have to go through every topic. Still, better to be safe than sorry;-)

As to the new regulations, it will be interesting to see how that pans out, though I can't see barristers and solicitors merging, at most we might follow the english examiner of the hybrid solicitor advocate (they get to wear wigs and everything lol). Hopefully they aren't going to add to the FE1 burden by piling on new subjects like family law etc. Getting the traineeship will be the toughest part of all, so am currently looking at my CV (double yuck) with that in mind!!!!

[JCJCJC]

Originally Posted by XXXMaria777XXX

Hey guys, im new to this! Just finished my degree, thinking of doing three fe1s in october, im not sure what the three easiest would be!!if anyone has any advice id be very grateful!!

Just remember you must sit four exams in your first sitting, and pass three at least to start compling scores. Read, understand and follow the info on the lawsoc website very carefully in relation to that. Opinion here has it that even if you are only sitting a token fourth, you MUST attend, sign on, and wait the minimum period.
If you've just finished your degree, you must know which are your best four FE1-relevant subjects, we all differ in what we find easy or difficult. Generally most of us here have found that the style and syllabus of the FE1s isn't the same as college exams. I was an A-student in college but I have since failed a few FE1s, that is common. Get some of the prep-school manuals, independent or GCD, to see the wider syllabus and to see the style and standard of their sample answers. My personal opinion is that GCD are the better ones.
If I had to advise you on choosing your four initial subjects, all things being equal, I would say Equity, Tort, Contract and Property, because Equity infuses all of them - you need to thoroughly understand the difference between equitable and common law remedies in tort and contract, for example, and similarly equitable estates and legal estates in property.

Constitutional and Criminal have a fair bit in common, eg use of illegally obtained / unlawfully obtained evidence, stopping trials due to pre-trial publicity, etc so group those two as well.

EU and company haven't much in common with any other subject, imho.

JC