FE1 Exam Thread (Mod Warning: NO ADS)

Emz2

colonel1 wrote: »

I was very impressed with the one day intensive revision courses offered by Griffith for Company (especially with the update case notes and such) and contract. They are heavy going but worth it. I will definitely do the property and tort one day courses in October.

Company can be a pain. The first time I sat it I got 14%, so it is possible to do quite badly in this subject. I would avoid second guessing Courtney, as he is proving to be very unpredictable, what with leaving out borrowing and the like on the March paper. Know the material and then practice exam questions. Have a look at his book as well in case the manual doesn't make sense. I still can't believe I passed, as I was certain that I would have to do this exam again. Good luck.

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. Will give Griffith a shot I think.
Also somewhat reassured that there are other posters bemused by their company results. Hopefully i'll get it nailed this time

sin0city

skeenan89 wrote: »

apart from a manual....i would suggest craig and de burca's book! not too difficult to understand and has all the relevant stuff for the exam! sooo glad eu is done and dusted, hated it! good luck:D

Thanks, and just to clarify, I'm talking about texts you can bring into the exam. Is Craig and de Burca's book the one most people use..?

corkgirl88

crystalmice wrote: »

Hi all,
Im planning to do my first lot of FE1s in september/october this year. Im going to be working abroad all summer, returning mid august. I have two questions, firstly, is starting in mid-august enough time to study for four? Im just finished my final year of college so I just did company and equity, planning to do those two and then maybe EU and Contract. My summer job will be pretty full on so I wont have enough time to spend 4 hours a day doing online lectures, but I was thinking of doing the Independent Colleges online course in maybe just 1 or 2 of the subjects. My question is which subjects would people advise taking courses in if I can only do 2? I was thinking EU since its been ages since I did it, but not sure about the other one. Any opinions?
Thanks!

if you are going to do a course, do the EU course online. I did the griffith course and found it really good. I studied for 3 exams in 8 weeks and got everything covered but it was stressful. the fact you have just done company and equity will definitely work to your advantage.

If i was in your position, i would do criminal instead of eu due to the fact that you may be under pressure for time. EU is a fairly long course and probably the hardest exam where as the criminal course is shorter and easier.

brian__foley

crystalmice wrote: »

so I wont have enough time to spend 4 hours a day doing online lectures,

Just on this, you might find you don't need to. Just from a GCD perspective, I've found that some people like to study the manual themselves and work out their notes / overview for (maybe) the first 3-4 weeks of the courses. They then start to watch the videos after this and don't need to watch the whole thing all the time. If, for example, the person is simply interested in having a particular exam question explained, or a particular topic explained, they just use the links provided to that part of the video. The time-saver here is using the manuals as the primary source and the videos as the secondary source where needed. This won't work for some people, but if it does work for you, then there isn't a need for a four hour per day committment.

skeenan89

sin0city wrote: »

Thanks, and just to clarify, I'm talking about texts you can bring into the exam. Is Craig and de Burca's book the one most people use..?

sorry i thought you meant texts to help you study! you may only bring in unmarked legislation/....i was advise you to use blackstones! its the easiest to use!

rbag

sin0city wrote: »

I also had a question re: EU. I'm sitting it in the autumn and was wondering what's the best text to get?

Try and pick up a text that's post Lisbon. John Fairhurst and perhaps Catherine Barnard

Craig and de Burca is pre lisbon but excellent

234

sin0city wrote: »

Thanks, and just to clarify, I'm talking about texts you can bring into the exam. Is Craig and de Burca's book the one most people use..?

Chalmers is post-Lisbon and good enough, but I hate EU law so even if it was brilliant I wouldn't know.

law girl

Howdy,

I'm planing on sitting 5 this sept/oct...Equity, contract, property, tort and one more....

Any suggestions on an elusive 5th subject?

Thanks

Random Interjection

law girl wrote: »

Howdy,

I'm planing on sitting 5 this sept/oct...Equity, contract, property, tort and one more....

Any suggestions on an elusive 5th subject?

Thanks

Howdy Partner,

I suggest you do 'An Introduction to Gardening'. It will keep your mind relaxed while you concentrate on the other four. In addition the fresh air you receive from your outside work will keep your mind and body as one. This will aid in your overall performance of the other four. I hoped this helped.

Fe1lady

law girl wrote: »

Howdy,

I'm planing on sitting 5 this sept/oct...Equity, contract, property, tort and one more....

Any suggestions on an elusive 5th subject?

Thanks

I would suggest criminal or company, I found them both grand in the last Sept sitting and I only used my college notes for them, no manuals or anything. Criminal is a fairly short course too and manageable as a 5th subject so long as you start studying early!

law girl

Fe1lady wrote: »

I would suggest criminal or company, I found them both grand in the last Sept sitting and I only used my college notes for them, no manuals or anything. Criminal is a fairly short course too and manageable as a 5th subject so long as you start studying early!

thanks for the feedback on this, I was considering criminal as the 5th actually. I didn't find it too bad in college although that was a bit o time ago now - hopefully things haven't changed to much!

colonel1

Hi all,


Am planning to do tort and property (land) in October, so I was wondering if anyone had any tips. I believe that the tort paper can be unpredictable.

chopser

colonel1 wrote: »

Hi all,


Am planning to do tort and property (land) in October, so I was wondering if anyone had any tips. I believe that the tort paper can be unpredictable.

What worked for me in property was learning the sections on Wills inside out. easy enough to do and the questions v. similar. always 2 questions and if you can answer them close to perfect (as possible in an FE1 exam) you are on your way to a pass.

Heineken pants

Totally off the point lads but looking for some info about blackhall/PPC1. First of all what are the in class hours like? Is there alot of assignments, course work etc? Are the PPC1 exams difficult? Would it be possible to work part time while going? Would appreciate any feedback

colonel1

chopser wrote: »

What worked for me in property was learning the sections on Wills inside out. easy enough to do and the questions v. similar. always 2 questions and if you can answer them close to perfect (as possible in an FE1 exam) you are on your way to a pass.

Thanks for that chopser. I am a property newbie:D , so will look out for wills. Hopefully the examiner will be kind in October. The Independent college manual is short enough anyhow!

skeenan89

colonel1 wrote: »

Hi all,


Am planning to do tort and property (land) in October, so I was wondering if anyone had any tips. I believe that the tort paper can be unpredictable.

im doing the same as you colonel! must be fate! hahaha couldnt face doing four again and having no life!

colonel1

skeenan89 wrote: »

im doing the same as you colonel! must be fate! hahaha couldnt face doing four again and having no life!

Lol skeenan89. Dunno about fate, just couldn't get the time off work to do the final four:D Would love to have them all done and a training contract to look forward to. Haven't even started looking for the latter:eek:

law girl

Do people generally try and get a trainee placement prior to completion of the FE1 exams? It's not really something I had considered thus far but am wondering if it might be better to look for work in this area as opposed to holding on to the job I have which currently doesn't facilitate any study towards these exams.

any thoughts?

bob_lob_law

law girl wrote: »

Do people generally try and get a trainee placement prior to completion of the FE1 exams? It's not really something I had considered thus far but am wondering if it might be better to look for work in this area as opposed to holding on to the job I have which currently doesn't facilitate any study towards these exams.

any thoughts?

Hitch your skirt up about three inches and start pounding the pavement.

shaneybaby

bob_lob_law wrote: »

Hitch your skirt up about three inches and start pounding the pavement.

Probably true, going on the game would eventually give you plenty of exposure to the legal world;)

shaneybaby

law girl wrote: »

Do people generally try and get a trainee placement prior to completion of the FE1 exams? It's not really something I had considered thus far but am wondering if it might be better to look for work in this area as opposed to holding on to the job I have which currently doesn't facilitate any study towards these exams.

any thoughts?

everything legal on your cv is going to get you another few points in interviewers head, whether it's all the FE1's or past experience. Plus getting your foot in the door in a firm is always handy. If it's what you want to do then working in a solicitors will give you an idea of what life is like as well as helping out the cv...trouble is trying to get such a job unfortunately!

RebelScorned

Just started Griffith prep course for company and finished first set of lectures and I must say, I really rate Caren Geoghegan already, she is really on the ball, went through a summary at the beginning which really has clarified my mind already on which topics merit more concentration than others and delivered a really informative and interesting opening class. Very impressed already and hoping all the other courses will be equally as informative and helpful. If anybody is still on the fence about doing a course or not for the company fe1, i would strongly recommend Caren for the organisation and clarity demonstrated in the first class alone. I was a bit skeptical of forking out so much money on a prep course having already obtained a law degree and masters and procured a training contract with one of the big 5 but after literally making myself sick last time around trying to cram all the information going solo, I really think I made the right decision.

**Needless to say, I am not affiliated with Griffith in any way, shape or form!

Dal86

Hi,

I am going to sit contract, company, constitutional in the next lot of fe1s and don't feel I really need to do a prep course but was looking for a tutor or someone that I could meet up with every two weeks or so to give them questions I have done and ask them questions about any areas causing me problems. Was looking at the list provided by the law society and wondered if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks

fmcdaid

Hi,

Does any body know what the best Company Law Text book is?

1. Company Law by Michael Forde & Hugh Kennedy.
2. An Introduction to Irish Company Law By Gráinne Callanan.
3. The Law of Private Companies, 2nd edition by Thomas Courtney.

Please Advise?

RebelScorned

fmcdaid wrote: »

Hi,

Does any body know what the best Company Law Text book is?

1. Company Law by Michael Forde & Hugh Kennedy.
2. An Introduction to Irish Company Law By Gráinne Callanan.
3. The Law of Private Companies, 2nd edition by Thomas Courtney.

Please Advise?

I own all three of these books. Courtney is comprehensive- everything about anything to do with private companies is in this book- however it is a little out of date i think so you wouldnt want to be relying on it solely for purposes of FE1 exam. Forde is, in my opinion, the least useful book. I personally found the Keane book very useful as a preliminary reading- ie i would read through Keane first to understand a topic because he was more concise the Tom Courtney but I would then to go Courtney's book for more depth needed for exam purposes. If you were buying one, i recommend second hand copy of Courtney. Hope this helps.

skeenan89

fmcdaid wrote: »

Hi,

Does any body know what the best Company Law Text book is?

1. Company Law by Michael Forde & Hugh Kennedy.
2. An Introduction to Irish Company Law By Gráinne Callanan.
3. The Law of Private Companies, 2nd edition by Thomas Courtney.

Please Advise?

id go with courtney....hes the examiner after all!!!:D

skeenan89

after doing the independent course and passing my first four fe1s, ive decided im going to do my next exams without doing a prep course (mainly because i simply cant afford it). ive managed to buy the latest up to date manuals...but just wondering if anyone would be so kind as to send me the exam grid for tort and/or property??!?!
id be eternally grateful:D
the thoughts of starting to look at/ study for the next fe1s making me feel ill alreadt!:(

colonel1

skeenan89 wrote: »

after doing the independent course and passing my first four fe1s, ive decided im going to do my next exams without doing a prep course (mainly because i simply cant afford it). ive managed to buy the latest up to date manuals...but just wondering if anyone would be so kind as to send me the exam grid for tort and/or property??!?!
id be eternally grateful:D
the thoughts of starting to look at/ study for the next fe1s making me feel ill alreadt!:(

Yah me too, two months off is enough for the anti study rot to set in:D. I can email you the exam grids, as soon as I get them, which will be next week. Just PM me next week to remind me. Are you just going to go for two this time?

The prep courses are pricey all right, am practically a pauper now having just handed over a cheque for same;)

fmcdaid

OK, this may sound like a silly Q but is there a difference in the Land and Property, i.e. in terms of the text books??

I going to be getting 'Lyall, Land Law in Ireland, 3nd Ed, (2010) Round Hall / Sweet & Maxwell – Land Law'

Will this be OK for the exams? of course I going to use the manual, but for understanding the material will Lyall book do?

Or is there a better book??

Assistance needed!!

skeenan89

colonel1 wrote: »

Yah me too, two months off is enough for the anti study rot to set in:D. I can email you the exam grids, as soon as I get them, which will be next week. Just PM me next week to remind me. Are you just going to go for two this time?

The prep courses are pricey all right, am practically a pauper now having just handed over a cheque for same;)

at the moment im just going to do the two....working in a solicitors office at the moment but no actual traineeship lined up so figured no rush in getting the other 4 and might as well go easier on myself!:D

i know how you feel....felt like an absolute pauper in november....but in fairness, was def worth it in the end when the results came:)
what about urself?

thanks soo much for the exam grids...will give u a pm next week:)