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dragon_1706
We all had to do an advocacy session during the foundation course and were filmed on DVD. The idea is that we go away and watch it to learn from our mistakes, but I haven't plucked up the courage yet!
Yes I know exactly what you mean! I've already been there and done that! This is the practical thing apart from mooting which I've done with the LLB students at Southampton (I'm on the CPE). Oh what joy it was! Definitely more fun that mooting thats for sure. I was able to see just what a nice job solicitors have interviewing clients! I had to learn a scenario which basically entailed a holiday that went badly wrong and I had to seek compensation, naturally. In one of the takes I almost ruined it by entering into a fit of laughter which came out of nowhere! The LLBers were generally satisfied with my performance though...naive fools that they are....
SSU Ambassador
Where is the best place to do the LPC from people's point of view here? Cardifg? Guidlford? Bristol UWE? London College? London BPP?
Well I'm really enjoying Cardiff - everything about the course is first-class, so I'd certainly recommend it. Although 180 people still seems like a lot to me, it's a much smaller course than at some places, which I see as an advantage - I very much feel like a person rather than a number.
OMG, you get an advocacy DVD to watch, I look fwd to watching DVDs as part of my course, cushty 
Lewis-HuStuJCR
OMG, you get an advocacy DVD to watch, I look fwd to watching DVDs as part of my course, cushty
lol not quite...
you get a fact pattern, prepare your presentation / application or whatever it is you are doing your advocacy for, then they film you and make a DVD, which you then have to take home to watch in your own time to learn from your own mistakes.
not quite a settling down with popcorn type thing
Ethereal
My presentation so far "Madam, the defence does not oppose remand as the client is prima facie a thieving git"
Mine so far...
"Madam, I have not prepared a prosecution as yet as I have spent the afternoon chasing horses round the mud"
... oh my god isn't there actually an exception to get him remanded while the prosecution has more time to prepare their bail stuff?
ellewoods
Mine so far...
"Madam, I have not prepared a prosecution as yet as I have spent the afternoon chasing horses round the mud"
... oh my god isn't there actually an exception to get him remanded while the prosecution has more time to prepare their bail stuff?
"Madam, I have not prepared a prosecution as yet as I have spent the afternoon chasing horses round the mud"
... oh my god isn't there actually an exception to get him remanded while the prosecution has more time to prepare their bail stuff?
We could write one
Lol I was joking when I trivialised it, I guessed it would be something harsh!
Nice arguments, I am sure the House of Lords would rule in your favour based purely on them
Nice arguments, I am sure the House of Lords would rule in your favour based purely on them
ellewoods
lol not quite...
you get a fact pattern, prepare your presentation / application or whatever it is you are doing your advocacy for, then they film you and make a DVD, which you then have to take home to watch in your own time to learn from your own mistakes.
not quite a settling down with popcorn type thing
you get a fact pattern, prepare your presentation / application or whatever it is you are doing your advocacy for, then they film you and make a DVD, which you then have to take home to watch in your own time to learn from your own mistakes.
not quite a settling down with popcorn type thing
No - more of a hiding behind the cushion trying to be brave enough to look out sort of thing!
dragon_1706
Well I'm really enjoying Cardiff - everything about the course is first-class, so I'd certainly recommend it. Although 180 people still seems like a lot to me, it's a much smaller course than at some places, which I see as an advantage - I very much feel like a person rather than a number.
Cardiff is a fine place I'm sure but, like Bristol, it seems a touch remote.
Ok, ok, let me rephrase that. How long is the train journey from Cardiff to London?
London is not the centre of the universe you know.
SSU Ambassador
Cardiff is a fine place I'm sure but, like Bristol, it seems a touch remote.
Ok, ok, let me rephrase that. How long is the train journey from Cardiff to London?
Ok, ok, let me rephrase that. How long is the train journey from Cardiff to London?
Cardiff to London is 2 hours by train and Bristol to London is 1.5 hours. As Lewis said, though, London is not everything! The attraction for most of us in Cardiff is that it's a great city with loads to do, but isn't as expensive or busy as London.
Ooh I would love to go to Cardiff, I have something of a penchant for a bit of Welsh accent
On the subject of the LPC, to anyone who has been slightly alarmed by mine, and others, stories of the horrors of the LPC... I've finally caught my stride! Fingers crossed, I feel "in the swing of it" now, and although I have enjoyed it all along but felt a bit out of my depth, it all feels under control now.
Getting EVERY answer right in coporation tax yesterday was the icing on the cake and I had several large glasses of good red wine last night
So ok, my cousin's advice of "you'll have it for a month then it'll be ok" was a bit off, but six weeks later, I'm a happy bunny
On the subject of the LPC, to anyone who has been slightly alarmed by mine, and others, stories of the horrors of the LPC... I've finally caught my stride! Fingers crossed, I feel "in the swing of it" now, and although I have enjoyed it all along but felt a bit out of my depth, it all feels under control now.
Getting EVERY answer right in coporation tax yesterday was the icing on the cake and I had several large glasses of good red wine last night
So ok, my cousin's advice of "you'll have it for a month then it'll be ok" was a bit off, but six weeks later, I'm a happy bunny
That's good news, Elle... I'm hoping (and dare I say "expecting") I'll experience a similar personal "moment of clarity" - a point at chich it all falls into place. OK, this isn't the LPC but I suspect the experience - at least in so far as I am concerned (a new experience) I suspect it's analagous. At the moment I seem to be pretty much non-stop but seemingly getting nowhere fast. It all seems a bit disjointed. I wouldn't say I feel out of my depth in any way, shape or form, I just don't seem to know what I should be doing. I suppose I'm really only 2 weeks in, but I had the frighteners put on me on Thursday night when the lecturer in Constitutional Law said that by next week he's have our assignment question finalised - submission to be mid-December!!!
At the moment I feel as though I'm putting hour upon hour in but I don't know whether it's achieving much. Apart from Comaparative Law and the work I've done on the founding of the US Constitution - I actually KNOW and FEEL that I achieved something there... but it felt like an inordinate amount of time to "grasp" something relatively simple... I don't think (in fact I know) I'm not exaggerating when I say I put 20-30 hours of reading into that relatively simple task alone... I'm asking myself - "should I be putting that amount of time into something so seemingly straightforward?"
And the research exercises we were set for Elements of Law module - I reckon I've put upwards of 50 hours into that so far... all that consisted of was using Westlaw and Lexisnexis to find 3 relevant cases to 3 respective problems, 3 relevant statutes for 3 issues and 3 relevant Journal articles for 3 relevant areas... then follow a hypothetical fact pattern and find relevant cases. Then, 3 facts emerged later and we have to address those issues too.
And finally - read the Gillick case (all 80 odd pages) and prepare for a seminar session on it (half a dozen questions posed that we need to be prepared for)...
I'm not really sure what I am getting out of that other than learning/applying legal research skills... Again - it feels like an inordinate amount of time applied and I don't really feel as though I'm achieving anything?
Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining about the time and effort I'm having to put I - far from it... I'm genuinely relishing it all... I'm just not convinced I'm "doing it right"! And that's the crux of it... I'm putting a great deal in but it feels as though I'm floundering and not sure where I'm going or even WHERE IS HOULD BE GOING... but as I said - hopefully it'll all fall into place over the next 2 weeks!
At the moment I feel as though I'm putting hour upon hour in but I don't know whether it's achieving much. Apart from Comaparative Law and the work I've done on the founding of the US Constitution - I actually KNOW and FEEL that I achieved something there... but it felt like an inordinate amount of time to "grasp" something relatively simple... I don't think (in fact I know) I'm not exaggerating when I say I put 20-30 hours of reading into that relatively simple task alone... I'm asking myself - "should I be putting that amount of time into something so seemingly straightforward?"
And the research exercises we were set for Elements of Law module - I reckon I've put upwards of 50 hours into that so far... all that consisted of was using Westlaw and Lexisnexis to find 3 relevant cases to 3 respective problems, 3 relevant statutes for 3 issues and 3 relevant Journal articles for 3 relevant areas... then follow a hypothetical fact pattern and find relevant cases. Then, 3 facts emerged later and we have to address those issues too.
And finally - read the Gillick case (all 80 odd pages) and prepare for a seminar session on it (half a dozen questions posed that we need to be prepared for)...
I'm not really sure what I am getting out of that other than learning/applying legal research skills... Again - it feels like an inordinate amount of time applied and I don't really feel as though I'm achieving anything?
Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining about the time and effort I'm having to put I - far from it... I'm genuinely relishing it all... I'm just not convinced I'm "doing it right"! And that's the crux of it... I'm putting a great deal in but it feels as though I'm floundering and not sure where I'm going or even WHERE IS HOULD BE GOING... but as I said - hopefully it'll all fall into place over the next 2 weeks!
Yeah, even in my second year I don't know if I am getting that 'timing thing' right. I spend quite a lot of time on each topic within a module doing basically what you do and then when it comes to answering the questions it feels like I am no-where. I recently encountered a pretty hard topic and basically it lead me to having to do all my notes again. But the thing is, that really helped and now I have no problem with any of the questions I attempted.
It is important that you take time on each topic within a module and studying law effectively is all about getting that 'timing thing' right so that you can not only balance doing the same amount of work for the 2-3 other modules that you are likely to be studying simultaneously but also bringing each topic to a closure so that you free and able to move on to the next topic. For this reason its also helpful to have in mind your syllabus for each module so that you know exactly how far you are going with things and just how much topics you have 'crossed off the list'. That way you feel like you have achieved something and of course you have.
May be that would help?
It is important that you take time on each topic within a module and studying law effectively is all about getting that 'timing thing' right so that you can not only balance doing the same amount of work for the 2-3 other modules that you are likely to be studying simultaneously but also bringing each topic to a closure so that you free and able to move on to the next topic. For this reason its also helpful to have in mind your syllabus for each module so that you know exactly how far you are going with things and just how much topics you have 'crossed off the list'. That way you feel like you have achieved something and of course you have.
May be that would help?
Incidentally, it seems like you have 'fallen in love with the law', which is a good thing because people that haven't find it that much more difficult to stay commited and as a result cannot do the required amount of work that you have to do to master it.
It's natural that you would need to do loads of reading, and it would take you ages to do aswell at first ... the ability to understand quickly and corectly comes with time and always improves... it's the ability to put in the hours without just jacking it in which is impressive, as super says a "love of the law".
Fireman John
That's good news, Elle... I'm hoping (and dare I say "expecting") I'll experience a similar personal "moment of clarity" - a point at chich it all falls into place. OK, this isn't the LPC but I suspect the experience - at least in so far as I am concerned (a new experience) I suspect it's analagous. At the moment I seem to be pretty much non-stop but seemingly getting nowhere fast. It all seems a bit disjointed. I wouldn't say I feel out of my depth in any way, shape or form, I just don't seem to know what I should be doing. I suppose I'm really only 2 weeks in, but I had the frighteners put on me on Thursday night when the lecturer in Constitutional Law said that by next week he's have our assignment question finalised - submission to be mid-December!!
Don't worry, its like driving; you are concentrating and focusing on seperate things when it should flow and be one complimentary movement... and then, it just clicks
Mine didn't click til second year (I was getting 2:2s in semester 1 of the first year) so stick with it, you'll be fine.
In the first year, I was guilty of doing too much outside reading and running out of time to focus on the set questions and work.
So from second year onwards, I did the prep first, dipped in and out of books, skim read the chapter, looked at specific points within the workbook. Then I read the whole chapter properly, and moved onto other books. That was I covered all the relevant material properly and then expanded my understanding.
It was a bit overwhelming starting with huge chapters from several different books.
Also, make lots of notes from the word go. Your revision come Christmas / May time will be 100% easier.
