FE1 Exam Thread (Mod Warning: NO ADS)

wits end

Hi Chuckler,

I was in same boat as name suggests then decided to drop Tort and I chose 5 in total for the first sitting - got three and finished the rest last May in the next 3 sittings. So dont despair I should know!!

Chuckler

wits end wrote: »

Hi Chuckler,

I was in same boat as name suggests then decided to drop Tort and I chose 5 in total for the first sitting - got three and finished the rest last May in the next 3 sittings. So dont despair I should know!!

Blathblath and Wits end, thanks a mill for the support. I'm the kind that I won't let myself get knocked down on this. Its time to roll up the sleeves, blow off the dust off the old notes and start learning all over again. Thanks a mill for the support - I greatly appreciate it. I wish you both the best of luck in your careers and who knows our paths may well cross sometime in the High Court.

JCJCJC

Chuckler wrote: »

Blathblath and Wits end, thanks a mill for the support. I'm the kind that I won't let myself get knocked down on this. Its time to roll up the sleeves, blow off the dust off the old notes and start learning all over again. Thanks a mill for the support - I greatly appreciate it. I wish you both the best of luck in your careers and who knows our paths may well cross sometime in the High Court.

Keep on with it, good to see you picking yourself back up on the same day. I would suggest that as well as your own study, you should do as many of the GCD 1-day intensive revision courses as you can, they will focus you in the right direction for each subject. You need to have your study done beforehand to get the value from them, they aren't a substitute for the slog that must be done. They are run a few weeks before the exams so be ready for them. Keep going....

JC

RS1987

Hi Guys,

First time poster long time lurker!


Just got my results (first timer) today:

Tort 50%
Criminal 50%
Company 31%
Contract 18% (did hardly any study due to time constraints)

I have no Law degree ( in fact I have no degree at all!) I passed the Law Society Preliminary entrance exam (for people with no degree) in April this year and started studying for Fe1's in June (first time I ever opened a law book!)

I expected to fail all 4 so I am happy enough with my results.

Is this any good for a first timer considering the above?

Cheers,

RS1987

NoQuarter

Thats really good results mate, such a pity your 2 passes wont count but try the same 4 again and then go for maybe 1 or 2 more this time!

I only passed 2 and failed 2 and i have a law degree from this year, Only start studying mid august though which clearly wasnt enough time!

Hogzy

Am I the only one who didnt get any results today?

Podge007

im not saying this to make people who didnt pass feel worse or anything like that but i it was my second time doing constitutional and i thought i did diabolical, even left the exam at 11:45 that day and still passed? not that im complaining but the marking seems to vary a lot from paper to paper??!!

32minutes

last result: constitutional 53% so relieved to be finished, now just to secure a traineeship...

hope this thread continues as it's a great resource for everyone doing the exam especially from the regular contributors such as Brian Foley.

I'll leave the thread with the word of advice a solicitor gave me during an interview 2 weeks before sending me a PFO;

persistance.

NoQuarter

Hogzy wrote: »

Am I the only one who didnt get any results today?

They will need to be collected from your local delivery office. I wouldnt have got mine had i not braved the snow! shouldnt have bothered now though!

Strawberry Fields

I just found I failed all five. is it me? or are they the hardest marked exams of all time?

_JOE_

Hi all,

Congratulations to all who have passed.

I have been informed by many friends who are in a similar situation that the general consensus was that company was graded tough again...This is striking considering the previous pass rate of 30%

To those who have failed, i would reiterate comments above for persistence; possibly look at your schedule, when i sat these exams i was doing a postgrad and working in a law firm full time. I think those days are long gone and with the stricter marking, i would encourage all to take the appropriate time off in preparation for these exams.

ilovelamp2000

Hogzy wrote: »

Am I the only one who didnt get any results today?

No. I still haven't received mine either.

I wouldn't mind but it's not like I'm living on the Aran Islands.

Smonkey

Finally got mine delivered in Dublin this morning. Cant believe it but managed to pass my first four, delighted!!!

Chuckler

Ok folks - the news is dissappointing - the results came back and the news was bad. I'm doing something wrong - Just can't seem to retain everything I've read and apply it to the exam questions. This is really bothering me as I thought that I could answer at least 6 questions in every exam yet still I failed them. What gives?

Hogzy

Passed my first 3. Cannot believe i passed EU and failed Constitutional for the 2nd time. I thought if it were to pass anything it would be constitutional. 45% definitely deserves a recheck. Im shocked i failed it and passed the others.

Folks, I have 5 left to do.
Constitutional
Property
Tort
Equity
Company

Can i do 3 and then 2. What subjects would you recommend doing together? Ill defo be doing Constitutional again unless i pass on recheck. I am thinking of doing Property, Tory and equity and constitutional. Or would i be better doing 3 and then 2?

browsergal

Greetings from a long time browser, first time poster.

I sat four of the exams in October (Property, Equity, Criminal and Contract) and am delighted to report that I passed all four. To say that I was nervous is an understatement, particularly as I have friends who are solicitors who failed their first few attempts. What made me totally lack confidence facing these exams was the fact that my degree isn't in law (although still quite academic). As one poster said, getting a pass result on that slip of paper is nearly better than sex!

I just wanted to thank everyone on this thread as knowing there are other people going through the same difficult process is a comfort. Friends and family try to understand but in essence they can't really comprehend the stress of it all. I've still four more to do so it's not like I can sit back, relax and stop stalking this thread just yet! Roll on March/April :eek:

Chuckler

_JOE_ wrote: »

Hi all,

Congratulations to all who have passed.

I have been informed by many friends who are in a similar situation that the general consensus was that company was graded tough again...This is striking considering the previous pass rate of 30%

To those who have failed, i would reiterate comments above for persistence; possibly look at your schedule, when i sat these exams i was doing a postgrad and working in a law firm full time. I think those days are long gone and with the stricter marking, i would encourage all to take the appropriate time off in preparation for these exams.

Hi Joe,

Am in the situation that you were in previously (i.e. working and studying) and have wasted the last 2 years at these exams. Just as a matter of interest - what is the appropriate time off for, say, 4 exams next March? Should I be looking at packing in the work now?

Podge007

Hogzy wrote: »

Passed my first 3. Cannot believe i passed EU and failed Constitutional for the 2nd time. I thought if it were to pass anything it would be constitutional. 45% definitely deserves a recheck. Im shocked i failed it and passed the others.

Folks, I have 5 left to do.
Constitutional
Property
Tort
Equity
Company

Can i do 3 and then 2. What subjects would you recommend doing together? Ill defo be doing Constitutional again unless i pass on recheck. I am thinking of doing Property, Tory and equity and constitutional. Or would i be better doing 3 and then 2?

Id recommend that you do propert and equity together as there is overlap in certain areas between the two subjects. Maybe do Company with them and leave Constit and Tort till the end as there much bigger courses in terms of materials....but as they used to say on Blind date....the choice is yours!!!

page1

Chuckler wrote: »

Hi Joe,

Am in the situation that you were in previously (i.e. working and studying) and have wasted the last 2 years at these exams. Just as a matter of interest - what is the appropriate time off for, say, 4 exams next March? Should I be looking at packing in the work now?

I really don't think it's necessary or advisable to give up work to study for these exams. I sat first 4 in March 2009 and have just passed them all now. I work full time, at the first sitting I had a 1 yr old and was pregnant on my second baby and at last sitting I had a 2.5 yr old, a 1 yr old and pregnant on third baby. I used to study at night after the kids were in bed and on Sat when my husband looked after the kids. I had no time off from work I just had to study whenever I could like on my lunch break at work. I would start studying the minute the results came out. These exams take serious dedication and few people can study full time so I would take an honest look at how much time up spent studying. You have every weekend between now and March that's plenty of time.
Good luck and don't give up. Perhaps look at the one day revision course in GCD I did it for my last two and found it great.

farela

I just got result of last fe1 constitutional. Got 42, really thought I did enough to pass it. What do you think of a recheck?

zanybornmissfit

Failed again! Does anyone know when the examiners report comes out? Really dont know where I went wrong.

shelly666

Hey guys, for those who have failed i feel for ye. i sat 5 subjects (well really only 4, as walked out of EU as planned) only passed property. got 46% in Equity and its my third time sitting it. i'm soo disgusted with this result and really sick of equity at this stage. after a year and a half of this i've only 4 subjects out of the way. 40% in Constitutional wtf, thought i'd done enough to pass but anyway onwards and upwards. Gonna definately have to take time off work to study before the next set of exams because if i don't start ppc course next year i'll crack.

shelly666

farela wrote: »

I just got result of last fe1 constitutional. Got 42, really thought I did enough to pass it. What do you think of a recheck?

Farela, i got 40% i thought i did better, definately gonna get it rechecked, pity we still have to wait 8-10 weeks for the results of a recheck

colonel1

brian__foley wrote: »

And Trietel is affordable too.

Hi Brian,


thanks for that Brian, any other tips?

colonel1

JCJCJC wrote: »

Hard luck - I know the feeling, been there. Remember the old latin maxim that applies in this case - nihill illigitemi carborundum sunc - don't let the bastards wear you down. Think of all the thick solicitors you know, they have all got through this process, you'll be fine.

Contract tactics - this worked for me. Looking at the Examiners past papers, all the problems were each directly from the fact pattern of one single case. Therefore, concentrate on the leading Irish case law, and read cases, get to know the colour of the stories. Above all, know how far they went and know the final outcomes, eg Dakota packaging -v- Wyeth was a full question on October, and it went to the SC which reversed the HC, if you knew that you couldn't go wrong.
Look at the examiner's own textbook to see what recent (c. 07 onwards) Irish cases she thinks are important enough to mention - tip: there's a review on Amazon which lists them, cheaper than buying the bloody book.
Look through the law databases if you have access, find journal articles published by the examiners, ext and int. Prof Robt Clarke published an article on recovery of damages in Contract last year, full essay question directly on it in October, if you had read his article and knew the cases he cited it was a very easy essay, if there is such a thing, two hours study would have bagged it.
Concentrate on the old reliables, contract formation - is it/isn't it a contract, know the story of all the cases, the one about sulphur in hops came up last March - Bannerman v White. I think it matters quite a bit if you show in your answer that you have read something more than condensed notes and nutshells, even if it isn't wonderful law - I quoted Ray Friel's comments on Hamer v Sidway where he said that (refraining from) wine, women and song were "the usual third-level pursuits" - irrelevant to the point, but it showed that I'd read the book.
Other easy areas are mistake, breach and frustration. I find those easy and compact, but each to his own - I could never understand voiding/vitiating factors and a few other things. Do what makes most sense to your self, if you find something like 'mistake as to identity' conceptually easy to grasp, do it, if not, move on to something that comes more easily to you.
Keep checking on bailii.org for new cases in the SC and HC, the fresher your sources, the better, it seems.

Read Nutshells and Nutcases first to get the basic conceptual framework of your chosen topics, then read a more substantial textbook and you'll understand it much better having first read the easier one. Some authors' styles of writing are easier than others, it's an individual thing. Trietel is a great old classic book on contract, and not hard to read, I find, others are more opaque.

Good luck

JC

Thanks JC, I have read Friel and Trietel and they are excellent, as well as the nutshell (Fergus Ryan explains things very well). I just need to know the material better this time, so I'm going to cut by existing notes right down to enable that. I will keep an eye on recent case law on Westlaw etc too. Will also chance a recheck just in case. I know in company that one of the questions I answered I just couldn't recall enought about it, though it was an easy enough topic, so I know where I went wrong there. Hopefully, I will get them next time.

heylila

Congrats to everyone who got good results during the week Have a quick question, am going sitting the first of the exams in march...not working at the moment so am thinking of sitting 5 instead of 4. Just wondering do people think this is a bit too ambitious? Don't want to pay for 5 and only end up sitting four! Have a law degree and LLM if that makes any difference so am not new to law. Was thinking of sitting Criminal, Contract, Company, Equity and Property if anyone had thoughts/advice on this it would be great or would I be better sticking to four? Thanks guys!

Mickalis

heylila wrote: »

Congrats to everyone who got good results during the week Have a quick question, am going sitting the first of the exams in march...not working at the moment so am thinking of sitting 5 instead of 4. Just wondering do people think this is a bit too ambitious? Don't want to pay for 5 and only end up sitting four! Have a law degree and LLM if that makes any difference so am not new to law. Was thinking of sitting Criminal, Contract, Company, Equity and Property if anyone had thoughts/advice on this it would be great or would I be better sticking to four? Thanks guys!

No I personally don't think it's too ambitious at all. Especially if you're not working at the same time and you can concentrate on the five as if they were your main 9-5 job. Added you already have a Law degree and LLM you should breeze them. Also the ones you choose to do are 'regarded' (depending on what you like obviously) as the easy ones. So IMO I'd say yup, go for it, put in solid studying from the start of Jan and you should pass all five. Just checked and the dates for the ones you chose are nicely spread out also so that is a major help also. You can check the dates when they are on at http://www.lawsociety.ie/Pages/Public-Becoming-a-Solicitor-CMS/Irish-Applicants-Solicitor/FE-1-Exam/ under the dates tab in the middle of the page, just in case you want to give your self a day in between each one! Either way, best of luck with them!

heylila

thanks a mil for the advice, appreciate it! Think i'm settled on those five so. It means I would have two consecutively each week, am probably mad but it would be a great relief to have 5 even attempted!

dumbyearbook

heylila wrote: »

Congrats to everyone who got good results during the week Have a quick question, am going sitting the first of the exams in march...not working at the moment so am thinking of sitting 5 instead of 4. Just wondering do people think this is a bit too ambitious? Don't want to pay for 5 and only end up sitting four! Have a law degree and LLM if that makes any difference so am not new to law. Was thinking of sitting Criminal, Contract, Company, Equity and Property if anyone had thoughts/advice on this it would be great or would I be better sticking to four? Thanks guys!

I think Constitutional, EU, and Tort are the harder ones so I'd give one or two of them a shot first to get them out of the way? I'd much prefer to be facing the 5 you have above if I knew I had one or more of these 3 done first.

Got my 8th passed yesterday happy out. Congrats to all those who've passed.

tony28

Anyone in dublin 4 area still not got their results?its extremely frustrating and ive been to the local office but they have only got 20% of their post in-why cant the law society do this online. On another point anyone who is thinking of throwing the towel in dont, on my first two attempts i kept getting two out of four, on my third i went full time for all eight and ended up getting 7, only advice is start early and cover everything and someone else asked is 50% a pass, not only is it i think its the best kind of pass