FE1 Exam Thread (Read 1st post!) NOTICE: YOU MAY SWAP EXAM GRIDS

kiwi33

EthanSS wrote: »

A few of us on this (Beerose, CkOne, Galw) seemed to have taken the MEQR approach so perhaps we'll get some marks for that approach? Clutching at straws here. I have prosecco chilling in the fridge but now I just want to go to bed after answering that question all wrong. The annoying thing is I thought I was approaching it correctly, it seems is logical in there. Ha!!

If you made a rational attempt at trying to answer and it put it forward in a half decent structure I wouldn't worry too much. As long as you were referring it back to the problem question and if others have done it too you're not exactly gonna get zero. Crack open that prosseco you deserve it. It's not easy to pick everything up when you have 35 mins to supposedly write a question. It doesn't give you time to plan and things can be missed

lawbear

dashdoll wrote: »

Well done to everyone who finished and made it through the past 2 weeks.

It's a pretty crap experience, so easy for an exam to go wrong and some people are under horrendous pressure for the exams with loss of training contracts etc hanging over them. It's just a crazy system.

Really wish the Law Society would put on a 3rd sitting a year but I'm sure they won't do anything to inconvenience themselves.

Meant to be going to blackhall in Sept but unlikely given my last two exams.

Anyway thanks for the advice on here....let's all enjoy chilling out for a bit!

Dashdoll I'm in the same boat as you. Meant to start work this summer, blackhall September now I'm about 80% sure I failed my last three, and going to lose my training contract, dreading telling the firm. I had four missed call when I came out of the exam, people waiting to see how I did....horrendous as usual.

For the vacuum question, god I didn't know what was going on. Ifcanyone seen a girl transcribing from the legislation it was me. Clutching at straws.

I did the cases on the Latvian workers and the citizenshio one...can't even remember the names now...drinking wine here now lol.

Of course stupid Pringle made an appearance...didn't have a clue...Cher looknit .

EthanSS

Thanks kiwi. Appreciate that. And your positivity. Will open the prosecco now. Dreading the results already though.

XxMCRxBabyxX

lawbear wrote: »

Dashdoll I'm in the same boat as you. Meant to start work this summer, blackhall September now I'm about 80% sure I failed my last three, and going to lose my training contract, dreading telling the firm. I had four missed call when I came out of the exam, people waiting to see how I did....horrendous as usual.

For the vacuum question, god I didn't know what was going on. Ifcanyone seen a girl transcribing from the legislation it was me. Clutching at straws.

I did the cases on the Latvian workers and the citizenshio one...can't even remember the names now...drinking wine here now lol.

Of course stupid Pringle made an appearance...didn't have a clue...Cher looknit .

I can't make any promises but I have heard stories, including those of people I know personally, of the top 5 not actually sticking to their "must pass the FE1s in (#) attempts" clauses so I wouldn't lose all hope of your contract just yet. In fact, I haven't actually heard of a person losing their contract for that reason at all. :-)

EthanSS

Prosecco has been open and is being consumed. Whoop!!!!

F**k you FE1's!!

oraghabd

Does anyone know the results date?

legalease2172

oraghabd wrote: »

Does anyone know the results date?

It's usually 6/7 weeks after the date of the last exam.

jdbarry

Yeah it's usually 6 weeks so should be Friday 22nd of April, posted online at 9am.

Yohnathan

Hey guys and especially KCookies, thanks a million for the help during the exams. I have stayed clear of the laptop for the last week and just went nuts after the exams so I am a little bit late with this! Hope everyone does well. Best of luck!

legalease2172

wow! activity really drops off here!

nekk

Guys could anybody share a breakdown of the EU exam or perhaps send me a copy of it? Thanks in advance!

Kcookies2015

Yohnathan wrote: »

Hey guys and especially KCookies, thanks a million for the help during the exams. I have stayed clear of the laptop for the last week and just went nuts after the exams so I am a little bit late with this! Hope everyone does well. Best of luck!

no problem at all!! hopefully we'll all meet in Blackhall in the near future:)

Hunchback

Starting to strategise now for the inevitable repeats. The first time around I really didn't know how they went, but I ended up passing all four VERY narrowly. This time around I can't see how I possibly passed EU with constitutional and company being strong doubts. Tort was my best, I think. The ONLY thing that gives me hope is that the pass rate in EU is usually so high. But you know when you finish writing early, having not written for extended periods throughout the exam, it ain't good.

Also, I'm feeling really guilty at not having done a tap since last Friday - I'm between jobs at the moment. I had a training contract riding on favourable results on this sitting. It'll prolly still be there in a year's time, but I am dreading the results and the fact that I'll have to wait another year before I get to Blackhall.

I recall another poster earlier in the thread questioning the logic behind the fact that there are only two sittings a year. It seems that with all the money involved in the exam process, adding an extra sitting or two per year would be extra revenue streams for the Law Society - something I would have thought they would be amenable to. I wonder if there are only two sittings per year so as to act as a filter on the amounts of people who enter the profession each year..

fionnsci

CKonetheonlyone wrote: »

Starting to strategise now for the inevitable repeats. The first time around I really didn't know how they went, but I ended up passing all four VERY narrowly. This time around I can't see how I possibly passed EU with constitutional and company being strong doubts. Tort was my best, I think. The ONLY thing that gives me hope is that the pass rate in EU is usually so high. But you know when you finish writing early, having not written for extended periods throughout the exam, it ain't good.

Also, I'm feeling really guilty at not having done a tap since last Friday - I'm between jobs at the moment. I had a training contract riding on favourable results on this sitting. It'll prolly still be there in a year's time, but I am dreading the results and the fact that I'll have to wait another year before I get to Blackhall.

I recall another poster earlier in the thread questioning the logic behind the fact that there are only two sittings a year. It seems that with all the money involved in the exam process, adding an extra sitting or two per year would be extra revenue streams for the Law Society - something I would have thought they would be amenable to. I wonder if there are only two sittings per year so as to act as a filter on the amounts of people who enter the profession each year..

I'm not privy to the inner workings of the Law Soc but it could be the case that more than two sittings a year would be more costly for them (i.e. less profitable). Demand for sitting the FE1s is surely pretty inelastic, the people who are gonna do them are gonna do them whether or not there are 2/3 sittings a year. So I'd imagine the numbers of extra people they'd get in to sit them wouldn't be worth two weeks of paying invigilators + renting out the red cow + paying examiners.

Also, I'm not sure on this one but I think the Blackhall exams are on in the afternoons in the Red Cow after the FE1s so maybe having these on at the same time makes it more manageable money-wise. They wouldn't have that with a hypothetical third sitting. Again, I could be totally wrong on that one.

Anyway, none of this really matters. Don't stress about repeats now. There's nothing you can do. Odds are you'll get some of them even if not all of them. So that'll move you in the right direction. They won't be as bad next time therefore. You'll have fewer exams and will have already studied the ones you need to repeat.

scrummonkey

Well, that was a blast ! Sat all eight and really not sure how I did, though I did write copiously, if not intelligibly ! The one thing that you can't prepare for is the mental exhaustion, trying not to get cases/rules/ etc mixed up between the different exam topics. You might think you are well prepared for a particular exam but damn it, it is hard to not confuse yourself or second guess yourself with information from other exam topics, once under the time pressures of exams. For those of you thinking of doing all eight, it is quite do-able if you apply yourself, 6 months study is more than adequate, I believe,......( I used just the most up to date independent college manuals and nothing else.)...I will let you all know if it was for me anyway ......

I haven't even stared looking for a TC yet as I intend to travel a bit first , so i decided to get all eight passed before I do so. From what I know of the big firms and their trainee contracts/working conditions , it is not for me. From looking at posts re the milk rounds etc, I would just argue there are other career paths to being a legal professional, don't get dazzled or conditioned into thinking all roads must lead to the big 5 etc. Relax, you WILL get the TC somewhere......
Anyway, best of luck to all and I hope we all get what we worked so hard for .

OfficeGirl2015

I cannot believe its only been two weeks since the exams. I feel like i've been waiting FOREVER for these results!!! Ive been assured a contract whether I get the final four this time or not, but I am desperately hoping for the passes just to get going on the next stage....why does the waiting time drag out so long, when the study time flew in!!!!!??????

smeal

OfficeGirl2015 wrote: »

I cannot believe its only been two weeks since the exams. I feel like i've been waiting FOREVER for these results!!! Ive been assured a contract whether I get the final four this time or not, but I am desperately hoping for the passes just to get going on the next stage....why does the waiting time drag out so long, when the study time flew in!!!!!??????

Yeah its a particularly lengthy wait when it's your final set too Feel like my life plans are on hold until the 22nd April!!

clocks

OfficeGirl2015 wrote: »

I cannot believe its only been two weeks since the exams. I feel like i've been waiting FOREVER for these results!!! Ive been assured a contract whether I get the final four this time or not, but I am desperately hoping for the passes just to get going on the next stage....why does the waiting time drag out so long, when the study time flew in!!!!!??????

It is unsettling though the turnaround time for results is in fact rather remarkable given the numbers of candidates. Is it a big advantage to have done some FE1s when looking for a TC? How much credit do they give to an applicant for his 3 or four passes ?

smeal

clocks wrote: »

It is unsettling though the turnaround time for results is in fact rather remarkable given the numbers of candidates. Is it a big advantage to have done some FE1s when looking for a TC? How much credit do they give to an applicant for his 3 or four passes ?

From my own experience of looking for a TC when I had my first set done small & medium sized offices would be reluctant to take the risk of taking you on without having them all done. This is mainly because these type of firms just don't have the resources and want someone in quick. Also a few of them would make it clear that they weren't willing to give you the time off around the exam periods for the rest of your exams, even out of your own annual leave.

Unless you're lucky it would be hard to find a smaller/medium size firm to guarantee you a TC for further down the line until you finish the exams but they might offer you an "Intern" type position until you do. Bare in mind, expect this to be unpaid and be wary of the actual certainty of getting a TC at the end. I'm not sure how much credit the Top 10 firms give for having some FE1s completed as a lot of their trainees are offered TCs way before they even begin their FE1s

makemecrazy

Hey all does anyone know has the Tort manuals changes much over the past couple of years? I am planning to base my study on a 2012 manual so any advice could help!

Also, for Constitutial law: what college course did you use City or Independent and which was better?

corkres1989

Does anyone else have the impending fear of doom when getting these results? iv decided I'm not doing them for a 3rd time if I don't get them, then it's just a matter of deciding what to do with the rest of my life....no big deal 😳ðŸ˜

Hunchback

makemecrazy wrote: »

Hey all does anyone know has the Tort manuals changes much over the past couple of years? I am planning to base my study on a 2012 manual so any advice could help!

Also, for Constitutial law: what college course did you use City or Independent and which was better?

I would recommend purchasing a more up to date manual. Tort does evolve more than say, property law and at any rate, you should be able to pick up a second hand (but more up to date) manual for 30 - 40 euro. It's worth it for peace of mind alone and it is not a very big layout.

As for recommending which course is better between Independent and City for Constitutional law, I would imagine most people used either one or the other and so might not be able to say. Having said that, I have used Griffith for some courses and Independent for others, and I preferred the Griffith College materials because you get far more in the way of sample answers with your materials, and the sample answers are the holy grail, in my opinion. Just my take on it

Kcookies2015

corkres1989 wrote: »

Does anyone else have the impending fear of doom when getting these results? iv decided I'm not doing them for a 3rd time if I don't get them, then it's just a matter of deciding what to do with the rest of my life....no big deal 😳ðŸ˜

Totally in the same boat..... Unless there's the magic 3 this time minimum I'm taking a diff career path! Will be sickened to have to do here's hoping there's good news en route

corkres1989

Kcookies2015 wrote: »

Totally in the same boat..... Unless there's the magic 3 this time minimum I'm taking a diff career path! Will be sickened to have to do here's hoping there's good news en route

A lot of it is the humiliation and knowing you'll have to pick yourself up again....gahhhh very depressing all together! Least I know there's someone feeling the same!

XxMCRxBabyxX

I'm going into my 3rd attempt at the magic 3 in Sept. I was all ready to give up but a lovely PM from a poster here along with the hope that some health issues may be going meaning that my brain might work again have given me one more hope!

Fingers crossed that you won't need to worry about that post results though guys! :-)

OfficeGirl2015

corkres1989 wrote: »

A lot of it is the humiliation and knowing you'll have to pick yourself up again....gahhhh very depressing all together! Least I know there's someone feeling the same!

Definitely. I feel like the world knows I am waiting on these results. I don't know how I'll face everybody with the "so, howd'ya do!?" questions, if I don't get the passes. Wish I had just kept it all a secret!!!!!

sophiehatter

Are people expecting them around the 22nd of April? Pass or fail, it will at least be good not to have life plans for the next year up in the air waiting on these results..

clocks

CKonetheonlyone wrote: »

I would recommend purchasing a more up to date manual. Tort does evolve more than say, property law and at any rate, you should be able to pick up a second hand (but more up to date) manual for 30 - 40 euro. It's worth it for peace of mind alone and it is not a very big layout.

As for recommending which course is better between Independent and City for Constitutional law, I would imagine most people used either one or the other and so might not be able to say. Having said that, I have used Griffith for some courses and Independent for others, and I preferred the Griffith College materials because you get far more in the way of sample answers with your materials, and the sample answers are the holy grail, in my opinion. Just my take on it

I'm not sure the newer manual will have much that you won't find in the 2012. I'm scanning the table of cases in my 2014 manual and I'd say less than 10% of cited cases are even from the 21st Century.

You can always browser the latest copies of a journal or textbook in the library to make sure nothing earth shattering has happened. Two examples might be the "Continuum of Oppression" tort approved and the "Reckless Lending" tort, denied.

Bear in mind that, in my opinion, the famous manuals are not that great at all. The examiners regularly complain about students relying on the same inaccurate summaries of the same limited, cases so there might be something to say for using different materials.

Dublad2012

sophiehatter wrote: »

Are people expecting them around the 22nd of April? Pass or fail, it will at least be good not to have life plans for the next year up in the air waiting on these results..

I think the 22nd yeah?

Considering we haven't heard anything yet it will hardly be this Friday?

dashdoll

I presume it's the 22nd also.

The waiting is driving me mad at this stage more so than before because these were my last two potentially.

Pressure is on big time. HR in my firm called me for an update last week and told me that I have to pass them this time as they can't push out my contract. Nervous doesn't sum it up.