FE1 Exam Thread (Mod Warning: NO ADS)

Brian010

Independent Colleges Manuals for Sale

Law of Contract Winter 2008/2009 €50
Constitutional Law Winter 2008/2009 €50
Criminal Law Summer 2008 €50
Equity Summer 2008 €50
Property Law Summer 2008 (includes Reform Bill) €30
Contract Law Summer 2009 (photocopied and bound) €20
Criminal Law Summer 2009 (photocopied and bound) €20

Based in Dublin - Can post also.

PM me for more details.

Paulywalnuts

Hi, Paul here,i have the most recent griffith manuals for equity & contract 2009/10,both come with past papers/exam reports, both are virtually new, used for one sitting, i'll sell them for 60eur each or swap either for MOST RECENT! EU/TORT manuals, griffith or independent, doesnt matter, pm if you wana sort something, ta.

Paulywalnuts

hi, im looking for the eu & tort manuals, 2009/2010, will pay reasonable price, pm me if you wana offload them!

32minutes

clearout**

just clearing out all my notes and before throwing everything out; wanted to know if anyone wanted various references, all seven subjects except constitution(argh) including various griffith / independent manuals of varying years, sample questions, answers, summaries, just a general mix of notes.

everything bar my own handwritten notes (keeping for some misplaced sense of attachment).

not looking for any money except to cover postage or can pick up kildare area, selling as a set so might be handy for someone starting off studying just to get an idea of the topics. throwing everything out in a week

law_lady

Hi, I've just started studying for my Contract FE1, and I have what is probably a silly question, apologies if it is, but may as well ask!

If a case has a long name, such as, for example, the Smokeball case (Carlill v The Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. Ltd. [1893] ) is it necessary in the exam to write out the full case name or is calling it "the Smokeball case" or "Carlill" or whatever sufficient. I would still know the full name and facts, I'm just thinking it would save time not to have to write the whole thing out. I often did this in undergrad exams and I think it was acceptable.

Would that be alright in the FE1s? Thanks in advance.

RebelScorned

Hello all!

I am a totally petrified FE1 first timer sitting first batch of exams in September/October 2010 and I haven't a clue where to begin! I came straight out of undergrad to postgrad, and now I am concluding masters thesis, but painfully aware of stinky FE1ness lurking in a few months! I just need a few pointers- what subject combos have worked for people in the past? I am sorely tempted to try 6 out of 8 bar property (always hated it) and EU (like it but it's just so much)- is this craziness? Also, I have all my own textbooks from college and access to UCC library until October so I am just wondering if people recommend revision courses or would my own materials or even just the manuals suffice? I have an internship with one of Big 5 in July and I am so looking forward to it and hopefully I'll earn a training contract out of it so I need to get FE1s done and passed as quickly as possible. Pressure!

All help greatly appreciated! Thanks a mill!

paulanthony

What I would generally do for something like that is call it "Carlill v. The Carbolic Smokeball Co" the first time I mention it in an answer to an exam question, then just refer to it as "Carlill" any time I mention it subsequently. It shows the examiner you do actually know the proper name of the case but saves time if you have to write it 15 times.

Other people might think differently though.

P

layzee

Agreed, ideally you want to always be able to quote the full case name so do if you know it but once is sufficient, the examiners understand you're under time pressure!

JCJCJC

law_lady wrote: »

... is calling it "the Smokeball case" or "Carlill" or whatever sufficient...

Would that be alright in the FE1s? Thanks in advance.

It's risky. Dr. Jack Anderson who was the Property law examiner until recently specifically criticised the practise in one of his exam reports. His point was that this is a common-law jurisdiction, if you want to become a practising lawyer you must know the names of the cases. I would try to get the parties' names right at least, I can never remember the years. The other advice you have received here is good - full citation the first time, abbreviate after that in a common-sense way.

JC

Jev/N

layzee wrote: »

Agreed, ideally you want to always be able to quote the full case name so do if you know it but once is sufficient, the examiners understand you're under time pressure!

If time allowed, write the case names fully, once, and then in brackets: hereafter referred to as X

JCJCJC wrote: »

It's risky. Dr. Jack Anderson who was the Property law examiner until recently specifically criticised the practise in one of his exam reports. His point was that this is a common-law jurisdiction, if you want to become a practising lawyer you must know the names of the cases. I would try to get the parties' names right at least, I can never remember the years. The other advice you have received here is good - full citation the first time, abbreviate after that in a common-sense way.

JC

Without sounding offensive to the guy, that's a load of bull, IMO at least (and I do know he tends to read certain web resources such as here). If I'm writing 10+ cases a question, it's obvious that I know what I'm on about and even if I only write half the name, it's better than saying "that case with the flu and the £1000 bank account". In a common law jurisdiction, or any for that matter, you have things called books and the Internet - if you know half the name (rather if you just have time to write half the name) it's not long before you'll have the rest - I thought research was the more important issue pertaining to law, not rote-learning.

sin0city

Hi all,

Criminal, Contract and Equity manuals for sale.

All the current manuals 09/10.

All as new - not written on except where instructed to.

Priced to sell @ €50 each!

Includes past papers with reports.

Just Criminal and Contract left.

Pm me.

JCJCJC

RebelScorned wrote: »

Hello all!

I am a totally petrified FE1 first timer sitting first batch of exams in September/October 2010 and I haven't a clue where to begin! I came straight out of undergrad to postgrad, and now I am concluding masters thesis, but painfully aware of stinky FE1ness lurking in a few months! I just need a few pointers- what subject combos have worked for people in the past? I am sorely tempted to try 6 out of 8 bar property (always hated it) and EU (like it but it's just so much)- is this craziness? Also, I have all my own textbooks from college and access to UCC library until October so I am just wondering if people recommend revision courses or would my own materials or even just the manuals suffice? I have an internship with one of Big 5 in July and I am so looking forward to it and hopefully I'll earn a training contract out of it so I need to get FE1s done and passed as quickly as possible. Pressure!

All help greatly appreciated! Thanks a mill!

My two cents worth, based on painful experience. If you're not confident to tackle all eight in one go, that means you will tackle 4 to 7. Since you must sit four and pass three to get them on the scoreboard at all, make sure that your best three are included in your first attempt. They should perhaps be the subjects you studied most recently, because there will have been relatively few significant developments or changes in the law. Once you have your three passes, you can build on that - so much better if you pass more at the first attempt. So pick the three you are going to pass, and then pick a few others. You can leave the EU to last, to give yourself time to read into it, maybe property too since you don't like it.

Your 1st yr undergrad textbooks are likely to be a little stale by now, so check to see if there are newer editions. If so, go through their tables of cases in the library and see what cases from the interim years are cited - then look those up on bailii.org, westlaw, firstlaw etc, and you will be up to speed on the current state of the law in those areas without buying the later textbooks, unless you have a big budget for this.

The manuals are good, and I found the GCD one-day intensive revision courses very good. If you did EU in college before Lisbon, you might as well have studied rocket surgery - it's all been made obsolete by Lisbon, unfortunately. The new Land Law Act has also affected much of the old common law stuff, but it hasn't been litigated so far so just know the Act and the explanatory memorandum. The Act wasn't asked directly in March so it must be 'hot' for the Autumn this year.

Just my opinion - others may differ. Best of luck whatever you decide.

JC

Becky55

Upto date Griffith manuals for sale for,

• EQUITY,
• CRIMINAL,
• COMPANY,

€85 each incl p&p

• Contract 08 Griffith manual €60

All above include All Past Papers, Examinor reports, and Post bank/sample answers

nutshells available for above subjects €10 each

pm if interested,

lalala85

I have the following for sale:

1) Companies Acts, McCann and Courtney 2008 Student Edition- Brand New

2) EU Manual, Griffith College, Summer 2009

3) EU Manual, Griffith College, March 2010....this was given to us in december last year when the Lisbon Treaty was passed and it was in the form of two books bound together, without the final chapters such as equality being included so you'd need to look at an older manual for those 2/3 final chapters.

Prices Negotiable!!!

doz

JCJCJC wrote: »

If you did EU in college before Lisbon, you might as well have studied rocket surgery - it's all been made obsolete by Lisbon, unfortunately. JC

A number of people here have made similar comments and I have to say that I disagree completely. For what it's worth I failed EU in the Oct 09 sitting which meant I was facing up to the first Lisbon sitting. Other than the re-numbering of the Treaty Articles (which is all covered in Blackstone), as far as I can see there are relatively few substantive changes that can be examined directly. Q1 on the March 10 paper did deal with some changes in this regard so I would advise people to have a look at that. Despite being fearful after I completed the exam, it turned out that I passed it very comfortably. EU is not the most difficult by any means, but in terms of length I would suggest people to avoid doing it at the same time as Constitutional or Tort.

JCJCJC

doz wrote: »

A number of people here have made similar comments and I have to say that I disagree completely. For what it's worth I failed EU in the Oct 09 sitting which meant I was facing up to the first Lisbon sitting. Other than the re-numbering of the Treaty Articles (which is all covered in Blackstone), as far as I can see there are relatively few substantive changes that can be examined directly. Q1 on the March 10 paper did deal with some changes in this regard so I would advise people to have a look at that. Despite being fearful after I completed the exam, it turned out that I passed it very comfortably. EU is not the most difficult by any means, but in terms of length I would suggest people to avoid doing it at the same time as Constitutional or Tort.

Well, sincere congratulations on passing it first of all, but I must disagree with you! I think there is a lot more to it than re-numbering the articles - surely the new provisions relating to all the institutions, how they are formed, how they interact, how they legislate etc is a very substantive change? I have an old Craig and de Burca from when I did EU in College a few years ago, and it's all out-of-date and just plain wrong now.

Regards

JC

doz

JCJCJC wrote: »

Well, sincere congratulations on passing it first of all, but I must disagree with you! I think there is a lot more to it than re-numbering the articles - surely the new provisions relating to all the institutions, how they are formed, how they interact, how they legislate etc is a very substantive change? I have an old Craig and de Burca from when I did EU in College a few years ago, and it's all out-of-date and just plain wrong now.

Regards

JC

I probably should have explained my previous response in a more conclusive manner! Indeed those provisions that you mentioned are a very substantive change but in terms of what can be examined, it appears (based on last paper) that the questions on these changes are not going to be very specific and if one can locate the relevant changes in the new Treaty, it's very possible to answer such a question by almost transcribing in addition to some individual opinion. I guess what I was really getting at is that some candidates fear that everything they learned previously is now useless, which is certainly not the case. However even the most recent Craig and de Burca is now out of date in a number of regards so candidates just have to be thorough in checking what has changed and what has not and that means getting Blackstone early and combing through it. If you wait until close to the exam to get it, you could really find yourself under pressure.

blathblath

Hi all, just wondering if there are many out there that find themselves very demotivated after the results? I have 3 left and really cannot understand how I failed the March sitting....so baffled as to marking schemes etc. and although cannot resist the gamble of a recheck in the hope of even getting one more the thought of sitting down and not knowing where I went wrong is pretty horrible!

Ruby83

blathblath wrote: »

Hi all, just wondering if there are many out there that find themselves very demotivated after the results? I have 3 left and really cannot understand how I failed the March sitting....so baffled as to marking schemes etc. and although cannot resist the gamble of a recheck in the hope of even getting one more the thought of sitting down and not knowing where I went wrong is pretty horrible!

I passed my last three but still would love to see the papers or how they are marked as they seem to have given me the total opposite results for individual papers that I was expecting. These exams seem so hard to predict! I need to pass the next 5 as well this September so am going to start studying this week and I'm feeling your pain on the motivation front. Dreading getting stuck in again. Hopefully it will be worth it in the end. Stick at it anyway if you only have three left. U should definitely get them re-checked if you think you deserved to pass.

silence29

i have an interview coming up with a firm, are interviews similar to that of regular companys or will they quiz you on your knowledge of the law??, its mainly admin work i would be doing with the possibility of an apprenticeship, any help on this would be much appreciated

tony28

hi ive got 7 out of my 8 fe1s now, i obviously have to do the eight exam and hopefully pass that, should i start applying to firms or will they even look at you without the 8 in place now or what does anyone think, any advice is greatly appreciated

Ruby83

tony28 wrote: »

hi ive got 7 out of my 8 fe1s now, i obviously have to do the eight exam and hopefully pass that, should i start applying to firms or will they even look at you without the 8 in place now or what does anyone think, any advice is greatly appreciated

I got one this year in one of the top ten without any FE1s done so I'd definitely go for it if I were u!

Arsenal1986

certainly I'd say apply away. What I would say is that in your application, for the love of god don't say Passed 7 FE-1s, 1 left to do. Say something like - All FE-1 examinations completed and by the time interviews roll around in January that will be correct.

Otherwise you are just advertsing that you've failed an FE-1! Which of course is nothing to be ashamed of, but i know some of the big firms don't view them as particularly hard and anyways on an app form never draw attention to anything that could be construed of as negative.

silence29

Arsenal1986 wrote: »

certainly I'd say apply away. What I would say is that in your application, for the love of god don't say Passed 7 FE-1s, 1 left to do. Say something like - All FE-1 examinations completed and by the time interviews roll around in January that will be correct.

Otherwise you are just advertsing that you've failed an FE-1! Which of course is nothing to be ashamed of, but i know some of the big firms don't view them as particularly hard and anyways on an app form never draw attention to anything that could be construed of as negative.

coulnt disagree more, go ahead and put down that you have passed 7,they have no clue of your current situation and in what order you have done them, i received 6 months work with it down on my cv and employers are smart enough to look down on mis-leading information, theres a lot of talk on here about the big 5 or big 10 firms, i personally have no interest in it as the majority of firms are small time and from the majority i have talked to are very sympatethic with the difficulty of the exams and have many secretarys that they have promised apprenticeships too struggling to pass them the same as everyone else.

your are also weirdly in a good position because you cannot start blackhall until sept 2011 and a lot of firms will be down a trainee in sept so it is to your advantage to put on your CV that you only have one left to do and are available for work for the next year and a bit.

Arsenal1986

I thought the OP was specifically referring to Big 5 firms - he wasn't I now realise. For smaller firms yeah I agree it wouldnt make a difference and could indeed be an advantage for the reason you stated but with those big ones with a couple of HR people sifting through hundreds of Application forms in a short period of time, trying to weed ppl out then I just think you'd be better off phrasing it the way I put it. Your not lying or anything, your just saying you've completed them all - which by the time you'll be submitting applications (end of October, after the next exam sitiing) will be true.

mbee

Hi all,

Congrats to everyone who passed exams recently. Studying for my first set of Fe1s in Oct and although the manuals help enormously, I was hoping to get sample questions and answers in the following subjects:
- Tort
- Contract
- Property
- Equity
- Company.
Please PM me if you can help.

page1

I am 32 and have 2 children - 2yr old and 7 month old. I have passed 6 FE1s and am sitting the last 2 in Oct. I am hoping to go to Blackhall in 2011 so that gives me 2 sittings to pass the last 2 exams. I am starting to apply to firms shortly in the hope of securing a traineeship however im concerned about the affect (if any) being a 32 year old woman with 2 young children will have on my chances.
By Sept 2011 my daughter will be almost 4 and son will be 2.
Should i put on CV that i have kids, i just think if i dont they may assume given my age that i would be thinking about having them and they may rule me out on the basis. On the otherhand im worried they will assume with 2 small children i wouldnt be focused on the task at hand, would need time off to care for sick children etc.

I feel i will be up against men in mid twenties, no ties etc and may be ruled very quickly.
I am a SAHM almost 2 years now to devote myself to the children when they are young and i have thought long and hard about the effect of taking on a traineeship next year and i feel i cant do it and my husband is very supportive.
Obviously i will place the emphasis on the experience i have in business - in 2 seperate jobs i was responsible for complaint handling which involved dealing with letters from solicitors and Financial Ombudsman for example.

Realistically do you think it will affect my chances of securing a traineeship?

Arsenal1986

Couldn't see how it would affect your chances in the slightest! Your business experience will make you stand out and as for the rigours of the job, you seem motivated and going in with your eyes open as to what is expected of you work wise.

As an aside, I wouldn't put on your CV anything about your children - just from the point of view of where would you mention something like that on a CV? Perhaps a personal profile I guess but I think it wouldn't look professional. A Cv, to me anyway, is a snapshot of you the professional and your working life, not your whole life.

LoopersC

I need a manual for property law, don't mind whether it is a griffith one or independent coll one. I have manuals for contract, criminal and company, I am finished with them so I would be willing to sell them or swop them or possibly buy the property manual from somebody at a reasonable price.

dynamokev

Hi does anyone have the past exam papers and examiners reports for
Equity
Contract
Criminal
Company

Please PM me. Thanks!