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.

The start of the exams

Well, it's been all go for the last week or so and the BVC homework has been seemingly never ending. Today I have been reading through the Civil Litigation homework questions and have completed about three quarters of them, but I may have to leave them in order to finish off some Criminal Litigation homework and also have a final tweak at my Drafting formative (which I intended to tweak at the weekend but somehow didn't find the time). This weekend sees the last of the Civil and Criminal tutorials before the MCT in January.

I've done no Christmas shopping as of yet and must make a bit of an effort soon, but shopping doesn't float my boat and I suspect that it will be a last minute online clickathon.

I've been practising my advocacy on Barman, who, when I'd finished my cross-examination of him, he uttered one word; "bitch". Perhaps I need to tone it down a bit, but what the heck, it's like PMT heaven:-)  Best friend is invited to mine tomorrow to be a witness, good job I haven't bought her Christmas present yet, she may never speak to me again! Her boyfriend has been appointed as judge in the proceedings and I suspect that the two of them are conspiring against me as I write.

My fondness of advocacy dwindled last year and I got a bit bored with the interim civil applications that we had to perform each month, but this year's witness handling is much more fun, not least because my group has a very good tutor, who's enthusiasm is contagious, so much so, that one or two of the staunch civil aspirants are contemplating a switch to the criminal bar instead!

The early nights are a bit depressing, but I do find that studying is a little more focused without the distractions of nice weather to lure me away from the computer. However, in a slight distraction to the Costs homework I decided to throw myself around the house to the Prodigy's 'Fire Starter' and tonight have a slightly sore back and a somewhat bewildered neighbour.

Seem to think that call dates are to be released soon - ooh er, it's all getting a bit real - wigs, gowns and the small matter of several dining sessions to complete. I'm not one for being suspicious, but I do feel a little intrepidation at having to book my call night when I've got such a lot of exams lined up.

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!

Ooh you are awful, but...

As part of the Bar Vocational Course I have to fulfil 4 court visits and write a report on the cases that I see.

Today I went to the beautiful old Crown Court pictured above and those suppressed emotions re-emerged. I want to be a Criminal Barrister.

I know the money is rubbish, the hours of work expected are unreasonable, the criminal justice system is on its knees, job prospects are abysmal, but there's nothing quite like it. I was insanely jealous when the barristers swooshed past in their gowns, rushing from one hearing to another, overworked and underpaid. On the way home my mind was awash with the evidence that I'd heard, what was good, bad or indifferent about the advocates that I'd listened to and watched, how the judge dealt with that evidence and what the possible outcome of the case might be.

In hindsight, I should have spent the day at a County Court and those old passions would have remained submerged.

Perhaps there's a cure, a sort of Criminal Barristers to be Anonymous?

Half Time Submission

Some readers will be starting BVC this Autumn and perhaps some readers are contemplating BVC at some point in the future. I thought that it might be of interest for me to provide aspirants with a short(ish) perspective on how BVC has panned out so far and what my take on the course is. Of course there will be others who perhaps won't share my views and I hope that they too will offer their views of BVC in my blog's comments section. For those of you who may be concerned about your identity being revealed, there is an anonymous option provided when posting a comment and I don't have sight of anyone's email address, so your privacy is protected.

Where do I start? Well, I know that I was pretty uptight about BVC prior to starting the course, not least because there wasn't really that much information that meant anything sensible to the uninitiated. I trawled the web looking for information and stumbled across a few blogs that gave a glimpse of BVC, but many of my worries/questions were not quelled/answered. Having studied LLB part-time, in a group where all of the other students were taking the LPC route, I was out on a limb regarding any sort of meaningful conversation/information about Bar School. I purchased 'Bewigged and Bewildered' and recommend the book for anyone contemplating BVC. It's a pity that Law Minx's blog was hi-jacked last year because many of her earlier posts provided an insight into the BVC, but as far as I know (and I'm sure LM herself will correct me if I'm wrong), the early stuff was lost when the blog was kidnapped.

First of all, it is a very popular myth that BVC is some sort of a joke course. I was under the impression before commencing BVC, that merely showing my face now and then would be adequate in fulfilling the requirements of BVC. My experience to date (and I have no reason to suspect that things will alter next year) is that BVC is a very demanding course. Any pre-conceptions that I held were quickly blown out of the water, once BVC started. My provider threw us in at the deep end and the monthly reading list approached 1000 pages and my 20 hours per week study time was quickly expanded to almost double that. I remember only too vividly my despair around Christmas time, when everything seemed to overwhelm me and the studying mixed in with work and family was relentless (although I did manage to have Christmas day off!).

It all sounds very doom and gloom so far, but I don't really intend to cast that sort of picture. BVC is an extremely expensive course and I for one would have been very disappointed had the course lacked intensity and content. I dare say that a student can get away with, to a certain extent, not doing much work, but it is a risky business and based on the failure figures for the Criminal Litigation exam (approx one third of students failed), I for one am pleased that I took the course seriously and put the work in. It should be borne in mind that I'm part-time and as such my experiences will differ somewhat to the full-timers. I will now try and paint a picture of the BVC modules that I have studied so far:

Criminal Litigation

There is a lot of reading and a lot to digest. I'm sure that I've already forgotten most of it, but naturally evidence plays a big part, along with sentencing and PACE. Either-way offences are a popular topic, no doubt because they form the bread and butter of a fledgling criminal barrister's workload. Criminal Litigation must be taken seriously because a BVC student will rely on it in other modules too, particularly Conference and Advocacy. My provider provided Blackstone's, Archbold and Archbold Magistrates Guide for this module, but perhaps other providers differ. We weren't provided with the ICSL Crim Lit manual and I bought one, but it should be perused with care because some of the provisions contained in it are not yet in force, I have more or less abandoned the manual because I messed up one month's homework relying on it.

Civil Litigation

Much of what is studied is contained within the White Book and seeing as the tome is relatively modern, it's fairly easy to comprehend, however the sheer volume of information that needs to be remembered at exam time makes this module quite demanding, not least because there are a lot of timescales to learn. It is quite boring at times, but again it needs to be learnt because you will refer to the Civil Procedure Rules in Advocacy classes. The subtleties of Civil Litigation can catch one out if not careful - some of the rules are discretionary, others mandatory and it is easy to confuse the two.

Legal Research

What can I say? It is a pig of a module, very time consuming and there are no shortcuts. I believe that it is being dropped from the BVC syllabus, which is a great shame as I firmly believe that others should suffer as I did:-) But seriously, I thought that I already knew how to do Legal Research when I started BVC because it was part of my LLB course, was I in for a surprise. It is the most useful module that I have learnt to date and its rumoured demise is IMO a mistake. Take Legal Research for granted at your peril, you will need to be on the ball with the latest legislation in other BVC modules.

Conference

I really enjoyed this module, but some students hate it. Essentially Conference is interviewing a client. A relaxed, personable outer self is needed, combined with sharpness of mind to glean any snippets of information that may turn a case/defence on its head. My provider expects a fair amount of paperwork to go with the oral skills. A Conference Plan outlines the areas of questioning, followed by an analysis of the law in relation to liability/culpability, remedies/sentencing. Conference requires good inter-personal skills, combined with a decent knowledge of the law. Whether or not I have the said skills remains to be seen because I haven't received my exam result yet. Negotiation is also a separate BVC module, but I don't start Negotiation until this Autumn, so am at present unable to comment on its content.

Advocacy

For me, this has been the most disappointing module. It is such an important skill, but we part-timers are meant to learn it by some sort of long distance, subliminal process. In real terms we get less than 15 minutes per student, per month, to make our submissions and be marked on the said submission. Each month we make different submissions - eg. one month a bail application, next month an interim injunction application etc.. I had anticipated that a great deal more guidance and time would be spent on teaching Advocacy. In all fairness, from what I gather this criticism spans all of the providers, so it is an area that needs improvement and no, I don't think that we should be trying to teach ourselves the Art, BVC is expensive, we deserve to be taught this module thoroughly. I should add that this is not a criticism of the Advocacy tutors, merely that there isn't enough time spent on it. Perhaps the full time students get a fairer time allocation for their Advocacy?

Opinion Writing

This module requires a meticulous approach to law. An Opinion is basically a written document, often requested prior to litigation, that sets out the law in relation to the Claimant's/Defendant's case. The merits and pitfalls of any potential proceedings are set out, along with advice on remedies available (such as quantum). I'm not going to go any further on this topic as I don't at this point consider myself fully informed on Opinion Writing, much of the teaching of this module commences in year 2.

Drafting

I had no idea that barristers had to draft documents before I started BVC, I assumed that the judge did all of that. I approached this module with extreme fear, but I really like Drafting. It is probably one of the most difficult modules, but extremely rewarding. As with Opinion Writing, I'm only part way through this module, so cannot offer a fully informed insight, however I imagine that Drafting skills/exam results will be based on how good the tutor is, as it requires a very clear and methodical style of teaching, accompanied with the patience of a Saint.

I haven't chosen any electives yet, they form part of year 2, so I cannot offer any guidance on them.

Most importantly, I can truly say, that never have I learnt so much in such a relatively short space of time. BVC has stretched my mind beyond what I thought it capable of, whether that newly learned knowledge is of any use or not remains to be seen, but it's been one hell of an experience getting this far.

If I can offer one BVC tip, try to get along with your classmates, build trusting relationships and share your worries with them, if they are worth their salt, they will support you and help you. If they turn their back on you, wipe the floor with them during Advocacy, it's very satisfying:-)

Love's (not so) Young Dream

Always wanted to 'do' criminal law, no discussion, no doubt, criminal law all the way, from year 1 of law studies.

I still have a yearning for criminal law, there's something about it, for me that is. I realise that many despise it with a vengeance. It's a tricky module too, caught quite a few out in the MCT's recently. Unlike civil litigation, which (at this stage) is all neatly contained in the White Book, criminal litigation is a bit of a tart and puts itself about all over the place. Ok, so Mr Blackstone's and Mr Archbold do attempt to cover it all, but a lot of the time, one has to seek further guidance from caselaw and sentencing guidelines etc., so all in all criminal is a weighty subject - so much for the myth that the thickos opt for criminal law because 'it's easy'. It isn't. It changes very rapidly too, particularly on the sentencing, so there is constant need to check databases and update any recent amendments.

My respect for criminal lawyers has grown, they are up against it much of the time, late evenings spent preparing for a case because the trial bundle has only just arrived, last minute change of pleas from defendants, who no doubt are oblivious to the fact that their barrister has been up until 3am preparing their case, ungrateful and obnoxious clients - actually forget that last one, that comes with the territory no matter which area of law we choose.

But despite my fondness of all things criminal, I am having a bit of a turnaround. A reality check if you like. Legal aid is an ever tightening purse and it's a worry, combine this with the notion that there seems to be some sort of mission to oust lawyers from certain aspects of the criminal justice system and replace them with paralegals, I envisage that before too long, the bread and butter of criminal litigation will be taken over by quasi-professionals, who will be appearing in the lower courts representing clients for minor offences and pre-trial hearings etc. Although this may not impact too severely on those already established at the bar, I believe that the fledgling barristers, who cut their teeth in the lower courts and earn their keep by doing those pre-trial hearings and minor offences etc. will be hard hit. And of course the knock on effect will be that if a baby barrister doesn't get the necessary experience in the lower courts, he or she will be ill prepared when they suddenly appear in the Crown Court, overwhelmed by the occasion or simply too inexperienced to do their job competently. Ok, so there is an argument that a pupil will have spent time with their colleagues in the Crown Court, watching and learning, but watching and doing are two different things, I know this for sure, Barman watches loads of football, but I've seen him try to play:-)

I've always had an interest in the quasi-criminal law anyway, regulatory crime, environmental law etc. and I'm now thinking that this is where my future lies, if I have a future in law that is...

S is for slattern

Slattern - n - a slovenly woman or girl.

My slatternliness (yes there is such a word!) let me down a little this weekend. Having spent so much time preparing for the MCT Criminal/Civil exam, my Conference and Advocacy were somewhat neglected and as such, I was marked accordingly. It seems to be a continual game of catch-up and no sooner have I taken on board feedback from the previous month's tutorial, my provider ups the stakes yet again. This week I chose the wrong court for my pretend client, I thought Magistrates was best, provider thought Crown Court. I completely missed the point on one or two things that should have been dealt with in much greater detail (well ok, one of them I didn't deal with at all), and as such I'm going to have to up my game once again. Still, I didn't fail, so it's not too gloomy and it's all part of the learning process. The pretend clients were played by actors who'd been briefed to be quite grumpy and unco-operative, it seems that 'real' clients can be like this too:-)

How anyone can graduate from Bar School with their post LLB/GDL arrogance retained is quite beyond me, they must be extremely thick skinned, or extremely, amazingly bright!

I'm still pitching too high in Advocacy, it seems that Barmaid still can't do subtle, but the 'judge' did have a smile about it and said that I stood up well to the judicial intervention.

The MCT was ok and when I say ok, I mean ok. I don't think I've failed, but there were quite a few questions that I was unsure of and one or two that had me stumped completely. The revision was tough and tiring, but I'm so relieved that it is over. Although the revision for Civil Litigation seemed to be easier than Criminal Litigation, I've a feeling that I scored better in the latter? Not sure when the results are out, but I'm guessing April. The exam post mortem was painful and I got that sinking feeling when realising that I'd picked the wrong answer to one or two stinkers, oh well too late now. I'm amazed how many people whizzed through the exam in about half of the allocated time and I did wonder if they are true geniuses or perhaps they thought "bugger it, I'm off down the pub"? Whilst hanging around in the corridor I noticed the MCT results were posted up for the full-time BVC students and there were a fair few fails in there, which of course set off the post exam jitters.

I had the results from my mock Opinion this weekend and did ok for a first attempt. I will take encouragement from it because it was marked as though it was the real exam, so there is plenty of time to improve before the real thing next year. It helps when the tutor is good, and luckily mine is excellent, she leaves no stone unturned, but the criticisms are dealt with methodically with advice on how to improve.

This coming month looks heavy, but fingers crossed, April and May look much quieter, so I'm gearing myself up for a final slog towards the finishing line. My mood has changed too, for the last 2 months I have been quite despondent, particularly when the study workload basically cancelled out any sort of Christmas break, but I'm now feeling as thought the worst is over and I may even get to have a life of sorts in the coming months.

R is also for revision

Revision - n - the oppresive method recommended by BVC provider to cause or bring about the learning of something that should have already been learnt at an earlier date.

I'm not panicking or anything and there's absolutely no rush, but does anyone know where I can locate the Ladybird book on Hearsay for Muppets? An old edition will suffice. Failing that, the Janet and John Guide to the Bail Act 1976, or even All you ever wanted to know about Sentencing, but couldn't be arsed to ask, will be just fine (fine get it, ha ha). I'd prefer the paperback versions, as these are easier to stuff down my Bridget Jones' knickers in order that they can be perused during the 11 toilet breaks taken during the MCT exam:-)

Q is for quixotic

Quixotic - adj - preoccupied with an unrealistically optimistic or chivalrous approach to life; impractically idealistic.

I'm quixotically hoping that my lack of revision won't have any effect on my forthcoming MCT exam. I have been so busy this week that study has been neglected, but today I condensed my civil notes down to 9 pages and hope that they will suffice for the purposes of the exam. Not sure if anyone else experiences this, but it is often at revision time that I finally understand what a particular subject was all about. It was only today that the penny finally dropped with search orders and I realised they were/are one and the same as Anton Piller orders which I allegedly studied during LLB, but failed to recognise.

On the whole Criminal Litigation is proving to be more difficult to revise than Civil Litigation. There is such a lot of case law to remember and many tricky areas such as sentencing, bail and the dreaded reverse burdens of proof. I have charts to peruse in order to hammer home Lucas Directions, Newton Hearings, Galbraith and Turnbull. PACE is also figuring hot on the top ten list of things to read this weekend, particularly powers of arrest and detention. Such a lot to remember and so little space available to store it all in. At least I haven't yet resorted to sticking a home-made poster on the fridge door which is exactly what I did when cramming for Land Law and Trusts, it was the only way to make myself remember covenants and easements. Moody v Streggles is still embedded in my brain, but it didn't turn up in the exam.

My mock Conference exam is next week and I'm hoping that my plan is sufficient to afford a decent mark, the only area I'm uncertain about is sentencing, which on the whole is an art, rather than a science. I also have advocacy next week, which consists of a no case to answer, this one looks hopeful and pretend client should hopefully walk free.

I'm still unsure when I receive my very first proper assessment mark for the Legal Research, but I get to know my mark for the mock Opinion next week. I re-read my Opinion paper a couple of days and realised with annoyance and dismay that I'd messed up with the limitation period for product liability. Funny how these things are blatantly obvious when it's too late to correct them? Hopefully it shouldn't be too disastrous, as limitation wasn't a problem anyway, but nevertheless it looks pretty bad on my part.

My credit card was cloned this week and the bank didn't let me know for 5 days that they had put a stop on the card, it was only when I tried to use it in a shop and it was declined that I realised anything untoward. Imagine what a mess I'd have been in if I was away from home at the time and was relying on my card for fuel or accommodation. As if banks aren't unpopular enough at the moment! I'm now trying to fathom just when/how my details were nicked. I've a good mind to go back to using cash - when I've paid off my overdraft, BVC fees, mortgage, holiday...

M is for mendacity

Mendacity - n - the tendency to be untruthful

"Yes, the present was just perfect, exactly what I wanted", Barmaid uttered mendaciously.

Today I have drafted a Particulars of Claim and it actually went quite well, which usually means that I've completely misunderstood the requirements of the exercise and have messed up big style. Curiously the study pack literature states that for claims in negligence, the Claimant's date of birth must be included in the Particulars of Claim, but none have been provided by my provider? There are also no details of claim number or which court the case is to be heard, which makes it all a bit of a farce. I just made something up - nowt new there then:-)

I've been practising my advocacy and feel more than a little uncomfortable with my first stab at Civil Litigation. Barman yawned 3 times whilst I was going through it with him, so I guess it is just as I thought, dull and unimaginative, but it's difficult to set the world on fire when it's just an application for more time to serve a defence.

Yesterday I finally managed to complete this month's Criminal Litigation homework, but I'm uncertain that I've conquered the subject and had to guess the answers to several of the questions. I really thought that Criminal Litigation would be relatively easy for me, but it is turning out to be a bit of a nightmare and it is Civil Litigation that is easier to digest. We only have one more lot of Civil and Criminal Litigation homework before the MCT exam at the end of February and at this point in time, I feel ill prepared. Oh well, perhaps I'll have a eureka moment before the exam.

I have another study weekend looming and simply can't wait to receive the results from the Legal Research mock *cough*. Unfortunately we have an SGS to go through the papers, which means public humiliation for me, I'd rather forget all about it and move on. I'm also eagerly awaiting the 'proper' Legal Research exam handouts which we receive this weekend, to hand in at the end of January. Apparently 8 out of 10 BVC students fail first time, so at least I won't be lonely on the naughty step. Just please, not another negligence paper, I'm negligenced up to the ears.

My pro bono has been sadly neglected of late, so I'm determined to make more time in the New Year to make amends and put aside at least 2 days a month for that. I've yet to do any dining and will certainly have to get my finger out on that side of things too, but it's not easy when living at 'the back of beyond' and having to travel to London for everything. I've promised to take my best friend and sister-in-law along to a guest night, so plan to get something booked after Christmas. Best friend is rather loud at the best of times and even more so when nervous or drunk, which will probably result in an entertaining evening for all unfortunate enough to be sat near to our table.

I must admit to feeling quite pleased with myself with regards to ploughing through this month's homework. 3 weeks ago I was pretty certain that I wouldn't be able to get through it all, but with just Conference homework left to do, it's looking quite hopeful. A good proportion of the said homework was completed whilst under the influence and it remains to be seen whether this has enhanced my academic skills or not, but I'm quietly confident that it has:-)

'I' is for involuted

Involuted - adj - Complex, intricate or involved.

This month's Criminal Litigation homework is proving to be involuted, it's all about confessions, illegally obtained evidence and so on.

I'd have thought that Criminal Litigation was right up my street, but I'm afraid to say, the Civil Litigation is much easier to digest. Criminal Litigation, although interesting, is very heavy going, lots of case law jumbled up with PACE and I find that the way information is described in Blackstone's a little too, well... involuted. I have resorted in the past to using the ICSL manual, but my provider frowns upon it and seem to go out of their way to contradict what is stated in the manual, so much for finding an easier way to study:-(

After Criminal Litigation, I have got to tackle the Opinions homework, which I haven't even looked at yet, but by the looks of things time-wise will be a last minute rush job. I was hoping to get some pro bono in next week, but it isn't looking hopeful at the moment and with only one qualifying point under my belt at the moment, I need to find time to do some Inn dining too.

I did have a BVC wobble at the beginning of the week and for a brief time contemplated packing it all in. The sheer volume of work is very depressing and unlike LLB, where precision is the key, BVC work is just a matter of throwing words down onto paper and hoping for the best, because the time restraints don't allow anything better. I reckon that we have about 1000 pages of reading per month and that figure doesn't include any research that we undertake ourselves. That's a lot of reading for a part-time course!

My Legal Research mock has been printed off and hidden out of site, it's abysmal, but I haven't got time to tweak it.

On a brighter note, Bar-Os has come home for a couple of months holiday because I haven't got time to ride at the moment. It's lovely having him home and even the mucking out each morning is ok, it gives me a break from thinking. Because it was mild last night, I left him out in the paddock until 10pm. Some bright spark who was parked up on the side of the lane thought I was a gypsy and played 'join the caravan of love' at full blast as I was leading him back to the stable. Luckily Bar-Os didn't bother too much at the sudden noise. I thought it was quite funny, but Barman was furious, very proud of his aspiring barrister missus is Barman and even more proud of his beautiful, faithful Bar-Os.

Madam, I submit that...

Another study weekend over. Despite working all hours to complete all of the homework set (well ok, 90% of it), I felt sure that I'd somehow wandered into the wrong educational institution, because I really didn't have much idea about what the hell the tutor's were talking about. This has left me feeling rather dejected on the academic side of things. I'm now even confused over the basic stuff, such as the maximum sentence (for more than one offence) that can be imposed by the Magistrates Court, which I thought was 65 weeks, but seems to be 6 months, according to our tutor. So, which figure do I go with, the one taken from Archbold Magistrates Court Practice or the tutor's?

Civil litigation was equally as confusing, which is odd, because I thought that I'd got to grips with it at home and had answered all of the questions set, but we didn't go through the homework much, so I have no idea whether my hours of study produced the right or wrong answers. We did previously unseen questions, which were ploughed through at such speed that I got lost and had to just sit there, confused and depressed.

On a brighter note, I enjoyed the first Conference class and Advocacy was really good too. No-one cares much how they do in any other class, but everyone wants to do well in Advocacy. My Plea in Mitigation last month was decidedly average and I was very disappointed in my performance, however this month I felt that I gave the Bail Application a good shot and my marks improved. I really do need to get to grips with my nerves though because they are affecting my voice. And why the hell can't I stand still? I do hope that I will gain confidence in Advocacy now , I really enjoy it, but do need to be a little less hesitant and dull.

No-one wanted to be first up for defence, so I opted, just to get it out of the way. Afterwards, it was really interesting to watch the others strut their stuff and I'm amazed just how different we all are in our styles and approaches to Advocacy. As of yet, there have been no divisions in my small group and everyone is very supportive of one another. As part-timers, we only meet once a month and it was soothing to know that others are finding it tough going too.

We have our first mock assessment later this month, it's on Legal Research:-(

Different groups have different questions, mine is family law, the one subject that I know absolutely nothing about, because I didn't do it during LLB. I've no idea what the answers to any of the legal problems contained in the question are, so will have to start from scratch. To date Legal Research is my nemesis and I'll be pleased when the module finishes early next year (unless I fail and will have to do re-takes later on). We haven't started Negotiation yet and I believe that it can be a tricky one. Opinions looks like it can be an awkward module too, it's so easy to go off at a tangent and end up with completely the wrong conclusion. My remedies knowledge is not too brilliant and this may well prove to be a hindrance with Opinion Writing exercises.

My pro bono has been neglected of late due to lack of time, but I'm off to London later this week to get another day's worth completed.

How to speak proper like

Just had my very first advocacy lesson and as Iain Morley says, I need to practise, practise, practise!

My family have cheered up anyway, the dvd of my efforts made everyone laugh. If I'd known that I was going to be filmed, I'd have flown in my make-up artist and hairdresser to add the final touches, just before the performance. I'd love to say that, having got the first one out of the way, my nerves are now settled, but the thought of doing the bail application next time makes me feel quite nauseous. It is remarkable, that out of a total of 6 different subjects studied over the weekend, the only one on everyone's lips was 'advocacy'.

Talking of everyone else, the others are all pretty cool and some really put me to shame with their polished advocacy performances. Memo to me: MUST TRY HARDER.

Criminal Litigation was great. Civil Litigation was a little daunting, the volume of work required is enormous. Legal Research is turning out to be a bit like Marmite, some love it, many hate it. It isn't the actual legal research itself that is the problem, it's the rules surrounding the research record that has to be compiled, that causes frustration and annoyance amongst many. Hard copy research of Halsbury's Laws just isn't funny. It's too early to say what Opinion Writing will be like, but it will probably improve as the course progresses.

The F word

Flapdoodle - n - foolish talk, nonsense

I like that word. I've got an Advocacy speech to prepare for BVC and just hope that I don't flapdoodle too much.

Speaking of 'f' words, my provider is definately trying to effing well finish me off. A quick count up of this months reading equates to circa 1000 pages and that's for a humble part-timer, who's also got to work for a living.

At the moment I'm working through the homework for Criminal Litigation and although it's not especially difficult (at this early stage), there is just so much of it to wade through. I've read through a good proportion of PACE 1984 and most of the Bail Act 1976. Tomorrow I will make a start on Evidence and imagine that things will start to get a little more difficult. In all, there are 37 questions to tackle in the Criminal Litigation homework, I'm about half way through them, but have had to leave off because my brain was full up.

Unlike LLB, which could be unbelievably boring at times, much of what I've studied so far is really quite interesting, if only there wasn't quite so much of it. I've already completed the Civil Litigation homework and part of the Legal Research (which needs much more attention), but I've got to finish off Criminal Litigation and then move onto Writing Skills sometime next week, but before I do, a day or two studying remedies is required. There is a short Opinion to prepare, which I haven't a clue about at the moment, but nevertheless, it looks to be quite interesting, but will be a bit of a challenge, not least because my legal research skills will be called upon. Last but not least, I also need to prepare for the Advocacy, plea in mitigation and I haven't even looked at the SGS notes for it yet! I have left the pim until last because it looks quite straight forward and will be a bit of a 'treat' compared to some of the heavier modules mentioned above.