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The standard of the FE's and Blackhall.

  • 26-01-2009 7:59pm
    #1
    Amazotheamazing
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,048 ✭✭✭


    I've been banging a drum about this for a while now, but I think it might merit being a separate topic.

    For those of us who have been through the FE's and blackhall, or just through the FE's, what was your impression of the standard required to pass the exams and then the standard of the lecturing, tutoring, and exams in blackhall?

    Imo, the standard of the FE's is too low. They are badly structured and require no in-depth knowledge of any area of law to pass. Infact, i think it's easier to pass with just the bare minimum of knowledge across a large number of topics, than to know any area with expertise.

    This leads to a problem in blackhall where people are arriving in with only the loosest knowledge of basic tenets of contract law, tort law, etc.

    When in blackhall, the onus is on passing with the least effort possible. The standard of tutoring is poor, and the standard of lecturing is risible. People are going through the system doing just enough to pass, and again, having only minimal knowledge of the practicalities of being a solicitor.

    I am lucky in that my boss treated me with (perhaps misplaced) confidence from my first day in the office. I was flung into seeing clients in my first weeks in the office, and managing files from the outset. While I did some of the traditional work like photocopying, filing, etc, that was discontinued after about 4 or 5 months. Some of my colleagues weren't as lucky, and are still doing hand-delivery's and copying even though they are qualifying in a few months, or have just qualified.

    Imo, blackhall is poor at training solicitors and it depends on the luck of the draw as to whether your boss will make up the considerable shortfall. This can only lead to a considerable percentage of poorly qualified solicitors and it is entirely preventable if the Law Society made simple reforms to the FE's and improved the standard of teaching in PPC1 and 2.


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