FE1 Exam Thread (Mod Warning: NO ADS)

Asparagus

04341929 wrote: »

Hey youse guys,

I'm looking to buy Griffith manuals for Contract, Constitutional, EU, and then probably Criminal...

If anyone has them please reply, reckon I probably need them as I'm drowning in the workload at the minute:D

Hiya, I have Constitutional and Criminal from Independent colleges last FE1 sitting. Thats the college set up last year by Philip Burke who used to run Griffith. The manuals are practically the same as Griffith. If you're interested send me a pm. cheers.

Joe-Law

Hi guys,

Just logged on to this site. I see some to-ing and fro-ing of msgs re: the griffith and independent colleges manuals. I'm looking for an up to date Constitutional manual, if any one still has one available maybe they could let me know.

Doing Const., Tort and Contract this time round so any hints of tips welcome too.

I've found it best to really focus on the exam papers.

ganoo

I need contract, company, criminal and tort books....

Anyone offering?????

ganoo

Crim yes please.... i dont know how to pm....

StudentEmeritus

How much work are people putting in at this stage?

Worried I'm not doing enough...

ganoo

Im doing 4 and havn't started as yet.....

LawyerGirl

I'm doing four as well and am just starting to look for my class notes!!! Does anyone have a recent Property manual they are looking to sell?

StudentEmeritus

Ah, I feel a wee bit better.

I have to say, the classes really are great. Try to get manuals at least. That said, I'm getting very little from the EU class. Maybe it's just me...

sarah8655

Hey guys wasn't planning on doing my blackhalls this year and have spent the last 6 weeks looking for jobs as legal secretary etc. but it wasn't going to well so I decided yesterday that I'm going to try sit 4 exams (property,contract, criminal and equity..) not going to do any courses, just going to use the manuals given to me by a friend.. anyone think i'm mad and its impossible???

Asparagus

Hi Sarah,

No, you're not mad at all. The manuals are all you need and do loads of past exam questions. I did 4 the last time and got 3 which is all you need first go really, and I was working full time. So if you are jobless, make the most of your free time and you should get all 4!

Good luck!

LawyerGirl

Do you really need to cover all the topics in the syllabus? I was thinking of leaving out Consumer Protection in Contract (mainly because the chapter in the book is really long!!!) and maybe one or two of the small topics!!

SATSUMA

Hey LawyerGirl,

No you don't have to cover everything. I would consider myself a vetran of these exams by this stage and am happy to give advice on all aspects of the Fe-1's!!!

A wide knowledge is better than an in depth knowledge on fewer areas is a better approach. Be smart in your approach by looking at previous papers. For example, in contract you wont go wrong by knowing frustration, misrep, offer & acceptance, mistake ect. They are fundamental to contract and come up every time. The key to these exams is a working knowledge of the law, the ability to think fast and with confidence and a hell of a lot of luck on the day (which is often the missing ingredient!) Think like a solicitor and know core points of each area. Try not to be scared of the course, once the fe-1's scare you life becomes harder!!!

Font22

consumer protection didnt come up last sitting in contract and it was expected so i wouldnt leave it out completely, its a long chapter but its easy stuff.

LawyerGirl

I did a module last year on commercial law (sale of goods) so maybe I'll just skim through my notes on that!! Bits from the sale of goods and Unfair terms in consumer contracts seem to come up in other areas would that be enough?

Font22

thats pretty much all the chapter is about. i'd say that would prob cover you!!

pampers1

I've just decided now to do 4 FE1's in October also. I'm terrified now. Thankfully we can come on here and vent as well. Good luck to everyone. How long does it all take to qualify etc. Could I say this time 3 years I will be a qualified lawyer?

dats_right

pampers1 wrote: »

I've just decided now to do 4 FE1's in October also. I'm terrified now. Thankfully we can come on here and vent as well. Good luck to everyone. How long does it all take to qualify etc. Could I say this time 3 years I will be a qualified lawyer?

If everything goes exactly to plan (very unlikely in my experience) and you pass 4 FE-1's in Oct followed by 4 in April & you immediately secure a traineeship, you will commence the PPC1 Course in Sept 2009. Meaning that your apprenticeship commences April-May 2010 & your training period as per your Indentures will only start then. So the earliest you could become eligible to be admitted to the Roll of Solicitors would be May 2012 (or January if on top of studing for the FE-1's you were working in-office full-time immediately prior to going on the PPC1 Course).

By the way the Irish exam has now officially been scrapped, any of you due to sit it later this month will be refunded.

http://www.lawsociety.ie/displayCDAContent.aspx?groupID=149&headerID=11080&code=latest_news

StudentEmeritus

On that actually, can someone outline the situation with the PPC1, PPC2 etc... the timelines, what is involved, pointers, dates etc.? Again, it's something they tell you nothing about and I know people would be interested...

On the exam front, dying to finish work so I can properly throw my head into the work. Still hating EU, really struggling with it.:mad:

skyhighflyer

StudentEmeritus wrote: »

On that actually, can someone outline the situation with the PPC1, PPC2 etc... the timelines, what is involved, pointers, dates etc.? Again, it's something they tell you nothing about and I know people would be interested...

On the exam front, dying to finish work so I can properly throw my head into the work. Still hating EU, really struggling with it.:mad:

The entire process is outlined in this document:

http://www.lawsociety.ie/UserFiles/File/Draft%202008%20HBS%20book.11.07.08.pdf

cmd1

I've been unable to find summer work. Would it be too late to start studying for fe1 exams in sept/October as I've all this free time.
Thinkin of doing property, equity, crimminal and constitutional. (which I covered in law degree)

tombren

cmd1 wrote: »

I've been unable to find summer work. Would it be too late to start studying for fe1 exams in sept/October as I've all this free time.
Thinkin of doing property, equity, crimminal and constitutional. (which I covered in law degree)

it's not too late at all, you still have about 11 weeks, and if you're not working at all, that should give you enough time. you'd probably wanna start this week or next though

pampers1

Would anyone have the Griffith Equity Law Manual. Or perhaps recommend a good Law of Equity book. I was thinking of buying: Understanding Equity and Trusts by Alisdair Hudson. Anyone ever read this or any others. Thanks

Snapper1

I'm looking for 2008 Tort and EU manuals if anyone has them to sell...

Font22

Delany's book on Equity is excellent. Might be worth getting a copy if you plan on doing the FE1. I used my notes from college though and was grand, depends on your lecturer though I suppose!

marquise

Does anyone have an Independent Constitutional manual that they would be willing to sell by any chance?

vikena

Hi all,

I'm 42 , an eng graduate since 1988, and over the past year have become very interested in Law esp employment law , having been very active at Trade Union level in this time.

I'm considering doing the 2 year part time diploma with a view to Bar school.

But I really know precious little substantively about what I may be embarking upon.

Any tips or suggestions about where to study or opinions on the difficulty of returning to study which I may encounter would be most welcome.

Is there a preparatory course which it would be advisable to do before making any big decisions?

opinion.advise please.

stepinnman

StudentEmeritus wrote: »

On that actually, can someone outline the situation with the PPC1, PPC2 etc... the timelines, what is involved, pointers, dates etc.? Again, it's something they tell you nothing about and I know people would be interested...

On the exam front, dying to finish work so I can properly throw my head into the work. Still hating EU, really struggling with it.:mad:[/quote


I've just finished the PPC2 and am "doing my time" now to finish up in early 2009. Very bad time to be qualifying so you're probably just as well to be at the start of the process as hopefully things will have picked up again in 2 or 3 years. An awful lot of apprentices have been told they won't be kept on and with the complete collapse of Conveyancing work, recruitment is only really to replace retirements etc.

Now that the bad news is out of the way the structure of the courses is as follows:

PPC1 - runs for about 6 months from August/September of each year and is pretty much like your average college course with perhaps 2 hours lectures per day and a tutorial for an Hour and a Half. Depending on your class there will be days when you have nothing. There are continous assessments in the subjects taught that account for 20% of the Marks and then an open book exam at the end. The subjects taught include Conveyancing, Litigation, Business, Employment, EU, Human Rights etc.
I can safely say it is the most fun you will ever have !!

As for the PPC2 it was chnaged for the first time this year to an exam-based course. Unlike PPC1 you have a choice of subjects and can qualify for exemptions. This year the course was 12 weeks long and there is a vicious rumour doing the rounds that they are proposing to shorten in even more. It's basically a glorified PPC1 in terms of the content but with even less hours and almost no tutorials.

Hope that helps

June2008

On the Land FE1 sylaabus is a thing called Disabilities....any idea what this topic is?

Thanks!

impr0v

vikena wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm 42 , an eng graduate since 1988, and over the past year have become very interested in Law esp employment law , having been very active at Trade Union level in this time.

I'm considering doing the 2 year part time diploma with a view to Bar school.

But I really know precious little substantively about what I may be embarking upon.

Any tips or suggestions about where to study or opinions on the difficulty of returning to study which I may encounter would be most welcome.

Is there a preparatory course which it would be advisable to do before making any big decisions?

opinion.advise please.

You're probs in the wrong thread on this one.

If you're talking about the King's Inns diploma you don't need a preparatory course as it's for people with no previous legal experience. The hardest things about the course are the fees and the time commitment (5 nights a week). Otherwise, there's very little course work, so a few solid weeks of hard work prior to the exams should see you through each year, along with decent attendance:- picking it up as you go along is the best way to do it.

Note that Employment Law isn't one of the subjects covered, though you can select it as an option once you get to the BL degree level.

StudentEmeritus

Stepinnman, thanks for your reply, sent you a PM there!