Monday 2 February 2009

What's that soggy white stuff?

It's snowing here today and the back garden is a virginal, fluffy, white carpet of softness. So far I have resisted the temptation to go out and make footprints all over it, but I can't see my restraint holding out much longer (despite being old enough to know better).



Well, the Legal Research paper has been handed in and if they award marks for effort, I should do okay. Not sure that I really nailed it, but hopefully I have got the main gist of it all. Not sure when the results come out either, but for the moment, I will forget all about it and move onto the next BVC task.



Next month we have a 3 hour Criminal Litigation and Civil Litigation exam, so this month's homework will be mostly revision. There are only 2 other lots of homework to do this month, preparation for the mock Conference and mock Advocacy. Fingers crossed, it looks as though I have weathered the storm and things will now start to ease up a little. Funnily enough, I'm not too concerned about the revision, it will be a welcome relief to study something vaguely familiar, rather than the uncharted territories of family law that my LR assessment paper ungraciously threw at me.



Last weekend's Advocacy and Conference results were thankfully back on track and I hope to do well in the mocks next month, but, I'm taking nothing for granted and need to brush up my skills to do well. In Conference, sentencing is proving to be an art rather than a science and it is very easy to get it completely wrong. Advocacy is also tricky, in that I have to learn to deal with judicial intervention more convincingly and confidently (seems a sickly grin doesn't quite suffice). We had to do our first skeleton argument this month and mine was okay, but there is plenty of room for improvement. They are very useful tools and provide a good route map to refer to when the old brain suddenly deletes everything of any possible use in the midst of legal argument.

Anyway, onto more important things, how does tomato soup with melted cheese and toast sound?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds as if you've got it all going on, BM, and that things are going well - I'm seriously pleased for you, because I know - indeed we all!! - know just how hard you've worked! Give yourself a VC right NOW! :)

Drop me an email, would love to know how you got on in Civil Advocacy!

Mel said...

Well done on getting your assessment stuff in. You must be so pleased!

Being able to respond to your audience/judge is the hardest thing with advocacy. If in doubt, go for something along the lines of 'rabbit in headlights-who was caught red-handed doing something he shouldn't have been- with all mental dexterity of Bush before the UN' is what I usually go with.

Not to be recommended...!

barboy said...

Mel, your technique reads as though it is marginally more sophisticated that my "you failed as a practitioner, and you're an equally shit pretend judge. It's first thing, I'm hungover and you should consider yourself privileged that I bothered to show up. So don't get stroppy with me, you numpty" approach.

This, and various other winning ploys, will be included in my soon to be released best seller, How to Fail at the Bar.

Swiss Tony is contributing a chapter on how to smooze the lady judges.

Barmaid said...

Guest Chapter by an anonymous judge - "How to paint realistic looking eyes on your eyelids and further tips in failing upwards"

Lost said...

Judicial intervention - i've only dealt with it via mooting, however I have mooted infront of barristers and a QC ..

"i'm obliged" seems to work quite well

or

"yes my lord I was just coming onto that however if you wish to deal with it now"

and one daring mooter who said to a very difficult judge

"yes my lord if you just let me get a word in edge ways..."

Though I suppose mooting is quite different to actual BVC!!