7 days and counting

I can't quite believe it. Just one more week and that's it! I have a busy week ahead of me preparing for the Advanced Criminal Litigation exam.

There is a pot of paint at the ready for next week, when I might just get around to painting the front door, which was sanded down last Autumn, but somehow never got finished. I hope that front doors don't have feelings, as every time I look at it I mutter "bloody mess". I'm sure if front door could speak, it would utter something quite similar in return:-)

There's also a stack of folders in the corner of the dining room that need sorting out - BVC makes for a lot of paperwork. I think a bigger bookcase is required.

Details for Call arrived a few days ago, so I have to sort out gown hire etc. I must also get around to doing some more dining!

I took Bar-Os out for a ride today. When I brought him in from the paddock he had a big insect bite on his belly, so I couldn't put the saddle on him because the girth would have rubbed against the bite. I had to ride bareback and by the time I'd finished, my legs ached so much that I struggled to dismount. I think the Spring grass has expanded his waistline a tad! Either that or I'm getting old!

Good luck to everyone on their final push towards the finishing line. I think we all deserve a pat on the back, or perhaps some new shoes.

Good Luck

Good Luck to all who are awaiting their BVC exam results today:-)

Same but Different

Well, that's another 2 exams ticked off the list.

There's a theme emerging here. The last 4 exams have all been quite different to the work that we have come across in the BVC classes. The Drafting and Opinion Writing were different. As was the Negotiation and the Advocacy. Come to think of it, the Civil MCT wasn't exactly familair territory either.

Something tells me that provider wants to see that we can 'think outside of the box' (I know, I hate the expression too but couldn't think of an alternative). The thing is and in a nutshell, we can't. We enjoy being comforted each month by the predictable nature of the classes; it makes us feel quite clever; almost like we know what we are doing. And then they go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you giving us a different type of THING for the exam. It's not big and it's not clever, so stop it. Don't you know that the most important thing about being a barrister is being a pompous know it all (who knows nowt)?

As you may have guessed, today I feel both shaken AND stirred by recent events.

Not sure when the results are out; there are delays (and as far as I'm concerned, the longer the better).

Enjoyed my Options classes, but felt a bit of a space cadet because my mind was on the exams. It didn't go unnoticed by one tutor, who expects more next time. Don't we all:-)

So, just 1 more compulsory exam and 2 options exams and hey presto, that's it, unless of course there are any fails and subsequent re-takes. No rest for the wicked at the moment. There's quite a bit of work to do for the next classes in 2 weeks, and of course, the last of the compulsory exams - advocacy 3, which is cross-examination.

I definitely don't feel myself today, if only I were American I could seek therapy, but alas I shall have to make do with chatting things over with Bar-Os this evening.

Next Week

Next week, I have two important oral exams. Yesterday I felt a bit shivery. This morning I woke up feeling quite dodgy, my throat is very sore and I’ve got the snuffles. I thought I’d done really well to get through the Winter without a cold; suppose it was too good to last! I do have a habit of losing my voice when I’ve got lady flu. Oh well, it could be worse, my best friend has had a week of galloping sickness and the other, so I guess a croaky voice and red nose is better than projectile vomiting in the direction of the witness during examination-in-chief! BF called round for a coffee yesterday and I gave her ‘the mug that nobody likes’ just to make sure that the bug didn’t leap down my throat during subsequent coffee quaffing.

This afternoon is earmarked as Negotiation research/preparation time, but then so was yesterday afternoon and Sunday evening… Mmm, I think there is a problem with motivation.

My Inn has sent a confirmation for my call date. I’m really looking forward to it, not least because it will spell an end to 8 long years of studying. I’ve quite a bit of dining left to do before my qualifying sessions box is ticked. Living in the back of beyond makes dining a time consuming effort because of the associated travelling. I did consider asking the Inn if I could dine at a local hostelry instead and send pictures of proof that I ate all my vegetables, but thought better of it.

I prepared my notes for the Advocacy exam a while back, but haven’t had a practice run at it yet. Barman will have the dubious pleasure of, yet again, being a witness for me this weekend. My next door neighbour has also been coerced volunteered to assist, so that’s another bottle of wine to buy.

So, that just leaves the small matter of completing the next 3 compulsory exams + the 2 Options exams and… oh, what was it, er, I’m sure there’s something else, um, oh yes, I’ve remembered, a pupillage.

What are you doing Monday?

The results for the civil and criminal MCT exam have been delayed, they are released next Monday. I'm concerned about the civil; we shall see.

The options papers have been given out and there is quite a bit of work to do in time for the next study weekend. In relation to the Advanced Criminal Litigation, the tutorial looks to be mostly oral skills based, with a conference, a bail application, first appearance in the magistrates court and finally, endorsing the brief. I had rather hoped that endorsing a brief meant signing my name on George Clooney's underpants, but apparently it doesn't and instead it's something a bit boring, but necessary.

We have been given the 1 page handout for the Negotiation exam, which is a basic list of the areas of law that the negotiation will entail. I'm dreading the exam. With just 2 hours to read the papers and to prepare a negotiation plan, it will be a tall order, as I'm not the quickest worker by any stretch.

I have also received the papers for the second Advocacy exam which is examination-in-chief. We have to prepare for 2 witnesses, but will only examine 1. There will be some last minute instructions and we are given 30 minutes to fathom out how those instructions alter the case and the subsequent line of questioning.

Just for a change, we had snow AGAIN last night and it looks as though the weather is going to be really cold again next week; minus 6 predicted for Tuesday night:-(

Oh, and I have just sent off my application for call. I feel quite excited about it all and just hope that I don't mess up the final load of exams.

Work in progress(ish)

I am still working on the BVC written exams and progress is painfully slow. I have chopped and changed my Opinion until it has lost what little flow it had in the first place. Today I intend to try and reach the finish of the first draft and will let it sit for a couple of days, before looking at it with a fresh set of eyes. Last night I read it out to Barman and was surprised that it sounded better than I thought, although it was repetitive in parts. The niggling feeling that I had about missing something obvious hasn't gone away and yesterday I spent a couple of hours perusing Chitty and Halsbury's to see if there was something that I'd forgotten - the search was futile, but the niggle remains.

The Drafting is on ice, as I came to a sticking point and decided to leave well alone for a few days before trying to work out where I'm going with my pleadings (nowhere fast probably:-)).

I dread the point at which I have to hand over my work and then the wait for weeks before discovering my mark. Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.

There are 4 other lots of homework to do - 2 lots of Advocacy prep and 2 lots of Negotiation plans. I will be lucky to finish the homework this month!

The options DVD lectures are handed out in February, I haven't heard whether or not I have been given the choices that I wanted. I also haven't had the MCT results yet, but I think that they are out in the next couple of weeks? Good time to join the Foreign Legion perhaps!

It was very frosty this morning and I had to take it steady with Bar-Os on the way to the paddock. He has got a little bored with the routine and stops dead at any given point, looks in the direction that he would prefer to go (he has a thing about gravel drives and always wants to walk up them and explore). This morning he decided that he wanted to have a walk around the snobby cul-de-sac and refused to move, standing on the spot staring into a little hankerchief garden and the kitchen window beyond. I pretended that I'd had to stop to faff about with something in my pocket. He has also developed a bum scratching fetish (a leftover from his skin condition) and turns his rather large backside around to be scratched. I haven't seen his face for weeks and it is only a matter of time, I fear, before I am hauled down to the police station to explain exactly why I always seem to have a horse's arse in my face:-)

Oh well, I can't delay it any longer, opinion writing here I come...

The Circle Line

It is always nice to see a picture emerging from the gloomy waters of legal research, alas, this month I am disappointed that no such crystal clear image has yet emerged. Instead the further I delve, the muddier the waters become. This in itself, and at any other time, wouldn't be too bad, except that this time the said legal research is for my written exams.

It's all very well asking me for my opinion, but I can't make my mind up, the facts and law aren't helping me at all, in fact they are making matters worse. In reality my written analysis could be succinctly put as 'I don't know; it depends'. Somehow I doubt that provider would be satisfied by this carefully thought out conclusion. I mean the title of the work (an Opinion) is a bit of a giveaway really. So I have another 4,995 words to write and somewhere along the line I need to make THE decision; which party is most likely to succeed. At the moment, it could be decided by the toss of a coin. I sincerely hope that after a little more research a clearer picture WILL emerge. There is a niggle at the back of my mind, that somewhere along the line, I have missed an important piece of legislation, there must be something that points me in the right direction, something to help me along my way. Perhaps this exam is really a test of bravery and no matter how much we look, there will be no firm favourite, but we nevertheless have to stick our necks out and make an 'educated' guess.

Next month sees the last of the Advocacy classes. The brief arrived by post a few days ago. This time we are to do dressing up too! Gowns are to be provided by provider. At last, my provider has bestowed upon me the most glorious accolade - that of the barristerial 'swoosh'. I fully intend to 'do aeroplanes' in the hallway in the run up to my grand entrance; at the very least, this is likely to disturb the opposition - they shall be but a microlite, whilst I shall be a jumbo jet no less:-) I am also to play a witness - a tarty married lady, out for a night on the town with the girls. Goodness knows why provider chose me to play this part?

Anyways, all of this chatter won't get baby a new bonnet.

I may be gone some time...

hand written stuff n nonsense

In preparation for my Negotiation exam, I have set about preparing a hand written Negotiation plan.

The real thing, the exam that is, allows 2 hours for reading of the case papers and preparation of a hand written Negotiation plan. Well, I started at 11 this morning and am still going strong on my practice run, so it looks as though I'll have to speed things up a tad for the real thing! Hopefully the real thing won't be as complicated as the case that I'm trying to prepare at the moment, but I'm not taking any bets on it.

The Civil/Crim MCT is playing on my mind quite a bit, but I haven't had time to start doing any revision. Last year's MCT wasn't too bad, but this year's looks to be more difficult; hearsay, youth sentencing, bad character evidence and worst of all, Part 36 payments - they're all a mystery to me, so let's hope that eenie, meenie, miney, moe will work this time:-)

Bar-Os seems to be on the mend and had a serious attempt to pitch me out of the saddle yesterday, much to Barman's amusement. And there was me thinking that the both of them were gentlemen:-)

Oh well, back to page 11 of my 10 page plan!

The Good, The Bad and The Muddly

Well, the first study weekend of year 2 came and went.

We have new tutors this year and I feel lucky in that by and large my group has a very good selection of lecturers. Our advocacy tutor is enthusiastic and punchy and bright. We are just starting to learn about Examination-in-Chief and Cross-Examination and this month's lesson was learning about case theory/preparation. The devil's definitely in the detail! Next month we have our first go at examining a witness.

Our Opinion Writing and Drafting tutor is amazing, so I have no excuses not to get to grips with those 2 subjects. We had to prepare a contract Opinion before class and although mine was ok, there was plenty of room for improvement. I'm starting to feel more comfortable with Contract Law, which has always been a little bit hazy in parts simply because there is just so much to consider and it's easy to omit/forget the obvious. Remedies are a bit tricky, not least because at LLB level students don't really cover them in any detail.

The first Negotiation class was confusing and I'm far from comfortable with this subject. I think that it is a matter of going through the motions? It had a synthetic feel to it and didn't at all resemble real life.

Criminal Litigation was good, but Youth Sentencing is very confusing and I'm going to have to spend a few days trying to get to grips with it. Civil was, well, quite civilised (pretty boring but necessary I suppose).

It was great to catch up with everyone in my group, not so great that none of us have managed to capture the Golden Snitch! Chambers don't know what they are missing:-)

I'm quite relieved that the first weekend is over, but do still feel a little overwhelmed at the mountain I have left to climb.


Onwards and upwards eh!

Phew

The dreaded results came out today and I didn't fail.

Just off to re-check, they must have made a mistake...

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?