Need Advice On FE1 Exams

SteJay

I am currently in yr 3 of Legal Studies,I completed the cert course and am currently sitting an ordinary degree add on yr.I was intending doing yr 4 next year,which is an honours degree add on.I am considering not doing year 4 and instead doing the Griffith college Preparatory Course for the FE1's,followed by the FE1's.I dont know the first thing about the FE1's as no one in our college ever tells us anything about post grad opportunities etc.My questions are,What happens when you pass the FE1 exams,do you automatically enter Blackhall Place/Kings Inn?Do you need a degree in Law before you can sit them?What happens if you sit and pass either the New York/California Bar exams?I am in need of some advice as I am in the dark as to what to do, so thanks in advance for any replies!

aidan_walsh

Moved from IT Certification to Legal Discussion, where you may get a more appropriate answer.

johnnysmurfman

SteJay wrote: »

I am currently in yr 3 of Legal Studies,I completed the cert course and am currently sitting an ordinary degree add on yr.I was intending doing yr 4 next year,which is an honours degree add on.I am considering not doing year 4 and instead doing the Griffith college Preparatory Course for the FE1's,followed by the FE1's.I dont know the first thing about the FE1's as no one in our college ever tells us anything about post grad opportunities etc.My questions are,What happens when you pass the FE1 exams,do you automatically enter Blackhall Place/Kings Inn?Do you need a degree in Law before you can sit them?What happens if you sit and pass either the New York/California Bar exams?I am in need of some advice as I am in the dark as to what to do, so thanks in advance for any replies!

Ring Blackhall's education department. You need a degree to sit the Fe1s.

johnnyskeleton

johnnysmurfman wrote: »

Ring Blackhall's education department. You need a degree to sit the Fe1s.

You don't need a degree to sit the Fe1s, but if you don't have a degree (or other qualification e.g. HETAC, worked as a legal exec) you need to sit the Preliminary Exam. The preliminary exam tests your knowledge of English, Irish Government and Politics and General Knowledge.

First off, Blackhall and Kings Inns are completely different. Blackhall is for solicitors, you need to sit (see above) and pass all 8 fe1s, get a training contract with a solicitor and then you go to Blackhall/start doing your apprenticeship. After all that you are qualified as a solicitor. From fe1s to end of apprenticeship it takes between 2.5 years - 4/5 years.

Kings Inns is for barristers, you need an approved law degree or the Kings Inns diploma in legal studies, you then need to sit the entrance exam, do a one year course in Kings Inns, and then you may become a barrister, provided you devil for one year. From entrance exam to call to the bar it takes about a year, but then there is a long period of earning little-no money (e.g. 3-5 years, sometimes more).

If you do the New York/California Bar, I think you can circumvent the FE1s/blackhall/apprenticeship parts of solicitor training but you need to do the QLTT tests, which are not necessarily easier. If you do the New York/California Bar, you have to do Kings Inns as well to become a barrister.