FE1 Exam Thread (Read 1st post!) NOTICE: YOU MAY SWAP EXAM GRIDS

Jenosul

Teamhrach wrote: »

Junior cert pass is 40%. LLM is 50%. Medicine is 60-65%. 50 is fair and I think necessary for professional exams.

There’s a separate thread that might be of interest though: https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057917486/8
Or search “FE1 challenge the rules”

Thanks for the link. My college exams LLB Law required a 40% pass.

user115

Anyone have manuals and grids on Tort Constitutional and EU? I have lots on Contract, Criminal and Land to swap

b.anna

Jenosul wrote: »

Got results. 46% I am not sure if I am more upset or angry. I would love to start a petition. It is my first go but how long can one be in limbo for? A mere memory test that serves no purpose.

Open book examinations would be more of a real life practice and serve better purpose on a practical level. They themselves can be testing and need preparation but are realistic to reflect future career practice.


We have all sat our previous degree examinations. We are no longer college students but working individuals with bills to pay as well as other commitments.

Fe1 Law Society Exams standard percentage pass to be changed to 40% as with regular acceptable examination marking standards.

In the name of fairness with the consideration that many sitting examinations have no choice but to be in full-time employment. Candidates already have obtained a degree, and in most instances in Law.

This is a costly process and limiting the number of individuals financially capable or otherwise supported to pursue a career as a solicitor.

It is also causing unnecessary stress on people whom are capable and wholeheartedly doing their best to move forward with their career.

The Fe1 examinations are only a recent requirement. It is difficult enough to obtain an apprenticeship.

A career in law should not be limited to those who have the finical advantage to take time off work to study and sit these examinations.

At the very least the standard of pass be lowered to 40% which is a required standard pass at university levels.

Agree 100%.

It's a good money spinner, they'll never change it.

Katelawstu

Jenosul wrote: »

Thanks for the link. My college exams LLB Law required a 40% pass.

I think 50% is average and fair. If it's only your first time doing them and you feel you threw everything at it then it must feel **** not passing, but if you feel like you could have done more maybe you know the areas you fell on. A lot of it is a memory exam. I've passed all 8 no resits and if you want any advice (which is soley subjectively my own) pm me and I'll try help in what helped me.

holliek

Anyone know when the March timetable comes out?

LawStudent2018

holliek wrote: »

Anyone know when the March timetable comes out?

It's already out. Look a couple of pages back someone posted it already

DoomDaDa

Supermax1988 wrote: »

Can I ask what the "easy fours" are?

I was exactly the same as you in May. Had sat the exams twice. Both times I'd passed two and failed the third (Equity twice!) Really felt like packing it in after that.

Sat four in October and to my absolute amazement I passed all four and Equity was my highest score!

I did a prep course for the last sitting and for me the most valuable thing I got out of it was being able to practice tackling exam questions and getting feedback on them.

The courses aren't for everyone but I think the most important thing is to give yourself enough time with the study and make sure you spend plenty of time practicing exam questions.

The easy fours are supposedly equity, contract, criminal and property

Jenosul

Katelawstu wrote: »

I think 50% is average and fair. If it's only your first time doing them and you feel you threw everything at it then it must feel **** not passing, but if you feel like you could have done more maybe you know the areas you fell on. A lot of it is a memory exam. I've passed all 8 no resits and if you want any advice (which is soley subjectively my own) pm me and I'll try help in what helped me.

Thank you for the kind message. I don’t think I could have done more as I work full-time and was up at all hours. Well done on getting all yours in one sitting...Any tips welcome.

For me I cannot learn all topics as I know I would not remember the case law if I were to cover everything. Although I will know the general answer to a problem question let’s say.

I am not out to make things easier on just myself (i.e all for me so I pass!!) if and when (being positive) I passed all the exams I would still be in support of change for others sitting. Even if they just abolished the magic 3 and let a person keep what they passed.

Jenosul

DoomDaDa wrote: »

The easy fours are supposedly equity, contract, criminal and property

I did equity as I thought it would be easy. I only sat 3. Would people suggest I sit 4? I just wanted to cover as much as I could but it failed me in the end, well equity did!!

What are people’s thoughts on tort, property, equity - what I did last time around and also do criminal?

Is criminal difficult in the scheme of things?

Thanks in advance.

jus_me

Jenosul wrote: »

I did equity as I thought it would be easy. I only sat 3. Would people suggest I sit 4? I just wanted to cover as much as I could but it failed me in the end, well equity did!!

What are people’s thoughts on tort, property, equity - what I did last time around and also do criminal?

Is criminal difficult in the scheme of things?

Thanks in advance.

I thought criminal was my best exam was so happy after felt I had 5 solid answers and got 32 answered 3.5 in EU and passed so I’m not sure which subjects are the easy ones now haha

Jenosul

jus_me wrote: »

I thought criminal was my best exam was so happy after felt I had 5 solid answers and got 32 answered 3.5 in EU and passed so I’m not sure which subjects are the easy ones now haha

**** I’m sorry to hear that. It feels horrible I know. Well done on EU I heard it’s the hardest.

leavingcert17

Has anyone taken a prep course for constitutional law? And do they have recommendations on which course to take or not to take. Who is the best lecturer for this

Teamhrach

Jenosul wrote: »

I did equity as I thought it would be easy. I only sat 3. Would people suggest I sit 4? I just wanted to cover as much as I could but it failed me in the end, well equity did!!

What are people’s thoughts on tort, property, equity - what I did last time around and also do criminal?

Is criminal difficult in the scheme of things?

Thanks in advance.

Sit 4!

Criminal is a good one to add on - you don't have to delve into the case law too much. You'd be fine with a manual/notes and knowing your legislation. The exam reports are really thorough/useful as well!

Property - a good first exam! Not sure if you done a course but you could nearly bulk out your LLB materials by using the past papers/reports.

Equity - it seems to be getting tougher in terms of predictions.
Tort - I haven't sat it yet so no idea.

^ For you, if you know where you can improve to achieve a pass in March, stick with those subjects plus criminal. But if you're really at a loss and maybe your limited time will prevent you from studying them from every examinable angle, you might be better to swap equity or tort for something else. Although constitutional questions can be tricky, it's very easy to find extra readings for the big cases that help you to understand it better - exam papers and maybe you could get some notes. Here's a good blog: http://constitutionproject.ie/). This book is invaluable also: https://www.easons.com/the-supreme-court-ruadhan-mac-cormaic-9780241970331.

Not sure what others would think of this....?
Some say to do contract first if doing land/equity? If you don't find it excruciatingly boring, it might be a good one!

Jenosul

Teamhrach wrote: »

Sit 4!

Criminal is a good one to add on - you don't have to delve into the case law too much. You'd be fine with a manual/notes and knowing your legislation. The exam reports are really thorough/useful as well!

Property - a good first exam! Not sure if you done a course but you could nearly bulk out your LLB materials by using the past papers/reports.

Equity - it seems to be getting tougher in terms of predictions.
Tort - I haven't sat it yet so no idea.

^ For you, if you know where you can improve to achieve a pass in March, stick with those subjects plus criminal. But if you're really at a loss and maybe your limited time will prevent you from studying them from every examinable angle, you might be better to swap equity or tort for something else. Although constitutional questions can be tricky, it's very easy to find extra readings for the big cases that help you to understand it better - exam papers and maybe you could get some notes. Here's a good blog: http://constitutionproject.ie/). This book is invaluable also: https://www.easons.com/the-supreme-court-ruadhan-mac-cormaic-9780241970331.

Not sure what others would think of this....?
Some say to do contract first if doing land/equity? If you don't find it excruciatingly boring, it might be a good one!

Thank you so much for the advice and the link it is very much appreciated. I might give criminal a go!
Thanks again for replying and being so helpful.

Fe1hayes

Hi abit late but I have sat 3 in March and October and passed 6 . Averaging at 56 which I am fine with .
I did equity last time and got 50% I forgot a lot of case names but answered 6 questions to get me over the line. I have heard of a few saying they did this and passed . I have never really thought my exams were shock results .Although I did get 60 in constitutional and feel I could have failed it and 53 in Tort thinking I aced it but never any real shock results which scares me as I look at some people’s comments and it does seem very possible .

I am sitting contract and EU for my (hopefully) final sitting should I do a course in these ? I have never done one before but really want to just never have to do them again . Would it be beneficial or would I be ok with just manuals and test papers ?

holliek

LawStudent2018 wrote: »

It's already out. Look a couple of pages back someone posted it already

I’ve gone back and can’t find it on any of the messages or on the Law society website

Blazedup

holliek wrote: »

I’ve gone back and can’t find it on any of the messages or on the Law society website

Monday 11 March - Tort
Tuesday 12- Company
Wednesday 13 -Criminal
Thursday 14 - property
Friday 15 - Constitutional

Wednesday 20 - Equity
Thursday 21- Contract
Friday 22 - EU

Pyggg

Blazedup wrote: »

Monday 11 March - Tort
Tuesday 12- Company
Wednesday 13 -Criminal
Thursday 14 - property
Friday 15 - Constitutional

Wednesday 20 - Equity
Thursday 21- Contract
Friday 22 - EU

My big fear has happened.. have to sit 3 in a row! Slightly daunting

ArthurDayne

Pyggg wrote: »

My big fear has happened.. have to sit 3 in a row! Slightly daunting

It happened me in the March 2018 sitting (Company, Contract and EU) and ironically I passed them all but failed the one I had in the second week!

My advice would be to book yourself into the Red Cow. It will give you that little bit extra time for a nap after exams and it also means you can stroll out of the room at 9.15 well rested. That's how I got through it. I actually live in Dublin but going back and forth from the Red Cow for three days actually takes a chunk of time and you also get less Z's!

Aside from that, unfortunately the only other advice I can give is the painful truth that you will simply have to be in a position where you aren't looking at anything new at all in the week of those exams. Too many people (I was guilty of this too) cover topics based on the grids rather than going by the past papers. It means people end up covering stuff generally rather than picking out the little curveballs that are thrown up in the exams (which often repeat). Then when you look at the past papers / exam reports etc etc you hit panic stations and start flicking through your manual and other materials and trying to learn new things. When you're doing three in a row you just have to make sure you aren't in that position at a late stage.

fe1hunzo

Hey everyone.

Congrats on all the recent results. Would anyone that got theirs be able to tell me when the deadline is for the March 2019 applications? They don’t have the most recent application form online yet as far as I can see. Thank you

vid36

January 25 is the deadline for applications.

fe1hunzo

vid36 wrote: »

January 25 is the deadline for applications.

Thanks so much!

Katelawstu

Jenosul wrote: »

Thank you for the kind message. I don’t think I could have done more as I work full-time and was up at all hours. Well done on getting all yours in one sitting...Any tips welcome.

For me I cannot learn all topics as I know I would not remember the case law if I were to cover everything. Although I will know the general answer to a problem question let’s say.

I am not out to make things easier on just myself (i.e all for me so I pass!!) if and when (being positive) I passed all the exams I would still be in support of change for others sitting. Even if they just abolished the magic 3 and let a person keep what they passed.

I pm'd, hope it helps!

vid36

Has anyone heard anything back from the Law Society about viewing our paper.I applied for a time slot but have not received any response.I fear slots will be filled pretty quickly.

Pyggg

vid36 wrote: »

Has anyone heard anything back from the Law Society about viewing our paper.I applied for a time slot but have not received any response.I fear slots will be filled pretty quickly.

I haven’t either, or about receiving a copy of the paper. I can only view on the time I requested so I really hope they get back soon.

jazzypatty89

Hi all,

I am looking to do a Prep course for Constitutional. Any recommendations? Please PM me (as I know we aren't to discuss on here).
THANKS!!

BeepBoopBot

Hi Guys.

Hope nobody is too disheartened after the results!

Was wondering if someone could pm me a recommendation as regards those clients that sell access to notes on Adverts and the like

Cheeeers

Teamhrach

For anyone who has passed, do you have any subject-specific study tips?

For me, so far:
- Constitutional - lots of reading; SC book/UCC blog; (humanrights.ie is no longer ran by Fiona de Londras etc but follow some academics on twitter); stay up to date with developments; understanding what the past PQs were looking for
- Criminal - knowing the legislation well; breadth of case law
- Equity - past papers and preparing answers
- Property - really don't know how I passed! I think exam grids and having the topics that appear every year well-prepared from various angles.
- EU - extra reading but avoided cases; podcasts; past papers again

I know there's no formula that works for everyone or for each subject but it might be useful to share (i.e., I need all the help I can get with the rest!)

Lostudent

After a long weekend waiting for the results (Couldn't get the Law Society log in to work) I got my results in the post... and passed Equity! Completely gobsmacked - I know from reading this thread it's a tough one and I felt 100% sure I didn't pass it since the injunction question coming up a second year in a row meant I had to nonsense my way through another question I wasn't comfortable with.

I don't mean to diminish the comments from everyone who's had difficulties with Equity, because it is a tough one to be sure. Just a word of encouragement that equity isn't an insurmountable obstacle!

Also, I want to share some of my sample answers online, but I'm conscious of the fact the law society presumably owns copyrights in the exam questions. Curious if anyone knows a way to avoid infringing their IP rights - possibly by just summarising what the issues in the question were, rather than posting the question itself? (Sadly IP isn't a big part of the FE1s, I wish I knew the answer to this question myself)

Legal_Eagle_95

Teamhrach wrote: »

For anyone who has passed, do you have any subject-specific study tips?

For me, so far:
- Constitutional - lots of reading; SC book/UCC blog; (humanrights.ie is no longer ran by Fiona de Londras etc but follow some academics on twitter); stay up to date with developments; understanding what the past PQs were looking for
- Criminal - knowing the legislation well; breadth of case law
- Equity - past papers and preparing answers
- Property - really don't know how I passed! I think exam grids and having the topics that appear every year well-prepared from various angles.
- EU - extra reading but avoided cases; podcasts; past papers again

I know there's no formula that works for everyone or for each subject but it might be useful to share (i.e., I need all the help I can get with the rest!)

Criminal was my best subject and the most helpful thing I did for studying was writing out a table/graph like so: Offence, Governed By, Actus Reus and Mens Rea. It's such a quick way of revising and for all the non-fatal offences it kept it short and to the point. Criminal is one of the best for not needing extraneous detail, if you have the offence and the elements you are sorted. When it comes to defences, have about 4/5 cases on each one.

Property I think the main thing is knowing succession inside out! You're pretty much guaranteed two qs on it so practicing problem qs on it is super helpful. I feel it is one of the subjects that is quite theory heavy but also not too complicated.

Constitutional is tricky - the exam I was most worried for. What seems to be reaaally important is actually having an opinion as a lot of constitutional deals with more philosophical qs like separation of powers, judicial independence etc. If you can actually explain why you believe some constitutional interpretation is right/wrong you are on a good track. Otherwise just an insane amount of case law I'm afraid.

Equity is weird. I was sure I failed and got the magic 50%. I think try not to rely to heavily on predictions and stick to the grid. Learn ALL of injunctions, estoppel and undue influence. Again, caselaw is important here!

Best of luck to everyone in the next round