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

Iso_123

bkm2020 wrote: »

Do you think it is better to "plan/rough work" at the start of the actual typed answer or to use the sticky note/notepad option? I suppose the examiner will be sure to notice it at the top of the answer...

I'm not sure if that sticky note/note pad will be seen by the examiner or if its just for us? either way I've always put a plan section at the beginning of my answers instead of writing notes on the actual exam paper because you never know you may pick up a mark for it if you forget to use some of the cases in your actual answer. I am just going to continue doing this and put it in the actual answer box!

bkm2020

Iso_123 wrote: »

I'm not sure if that sticky note/note pad will be seen by the examiner or if its just for us? either way I've always put a plan section at the beginning of my answers instead of writing notes on the actual exam paper because you never know you may pick up a mark for it if you forget to use some of the cases in your actual answer. I am just going to continue doing this and put it in the actual answer box!

I was unsure because my sticky notes were so messy yesterday but I would need them for prompts when answering! Thanks for that

channing90

Constitutional: would a copy of the constitution from 2015 be ok or should I buy a new version ?

StabiloLaw

channing90 wrote: »

Constitutional: would a copy of the constitution from 2015 be ok or should I buy a new version ?

I would recommend getting the newest version as there's been a few changes since then.

They're typically only €5 or so- might be worth it.

lsheehaneire

I am using the 2015 version... there has only been around 3

Termination of pregnancy,
The word blasphemous,
Time of Separation before filing for Divorce.

I wouldn't put yourself under pressure to get it.

Twinings2016

Hey!

For Equity, are people thinking if Specific Performance comes up it will be a problem question or essay?

Last time it came up it was Oct 2019 and an essay on sp in contracts for personal services. I'm thinking it may come up as a PQ this time...

Does anyone have any thoughts on this??

KMPT

I did the mock. It seems straightforward but time consuming to use. I think it's unfair for Law Society not to at least give us an extra 30mins. There is a notepad and sticky notes but tapping into those and all the scrolling with the questions and answers eats away at the time. Some students will manage quite well and others won't. Whatever you do don't panic. Just take your time and do your best. Please God Law Society gives us an extra 30 mins as those who will find it difficult could do with that time. Those of us who will have no problem won't be hanging aorund to use that extra time so really it's only fair that the LS gives the extra time.

FE1new

Twinings2016 wrote: »

Hey!

For Equity, are people thinking if Specific Performance comes up it will be a problem question or essay?

Last time it came up it was Oct 2019 and an essay on sp in contracts for personal services. I'm thinking it may come up as a PQ this time...

Does anyone have any thoughts on this??

I'm thinking the same, also probably not Mareva injunctions maybe QT instead (I will still cover Mareva).

Katiemckay60

Can anyone explain the difference between insane automatism and the defence of insanity ? Or in which situations would you apply either.
I know there is non-insane automatism which applies to external factors which obv wouldn’t be qualify for insanity but I can’t see much difference with the requirements for insane automatism and Insanity

Lawlaw12

For constitutional, would people plan on doing the case note questions?

I know it might be hard to avoid depending on the particular paper. But for EU people generally recommend avoiding case notes, so just wondering if it's the same for constitutional?

awsah

insantiy is an internal factor, automatism is an external factor. this is copied from my manual;

Insanity v Automatism
[10-20] The distinction between insanity and automatism is particularly important and has
been expressed in various ways. In R. v Rabey5 (a case we will look at in more detail later)
Martin JA for the Ontario Court of Appeal said the distinction is between a malfunctioning of
the mind caused by an internal factor (insanity) and one that is caused by an external factor
(automatism):
“[T]he distinction to be drawn is between a malfunctioning of the mind arising from some
cause that is primarily internal to the accused, having its source in his psychological or
emotional make-up, or in some organic pathology, as opposed to a malfunctioning of the
mind, which is the transient effect produced by some specified external factor such as,
for example, concussion. Any malfunctioning of the mind, or mental disorder having its
source primarily in some subjective condition or weakness internal to the accused
(whether fully understood or not) may be a ‘disease of the mind’ if it prevents the accused
from knowing what he is doing, but transient disturbances of consciousness due to
certain specific external factors do not fall within the concept of ‘disease of the mind’.”
[10-21] In R v Falconer
6 Malcolm C.J. in the Court of Criminal Appeal of Western Australia
drew a distinction between “non-insane automatism” (automatism) and “insane automatism”
(insanity), saying:
“In the context of automatism, if the accused did not know the nature and quality of his
act because of something other than a defect of reason from disease of the mind, then
his act may not be properly described as voluntary. In such a case he would be entitled
to be acquitted on the ground that the Crown had failed to prove beyond a reasonable
doubt that the relevant act was voluntary. This is the significance of non-insane
automatism. If the failure to realise the nature and quality of the act was due to a defect

4 Section 20(4).
5 (1977) 37 CCC (2d) 461.
6 (1990) 171 CLR 30.
THE DEFENCES CHAPTER 10
156 | P a g e
© Griffith College Professional Law School
of reason from disease of the mind, then according to the McNaghten Rules, the accused
would be not guilty, but insane … This is the significance of insane automatism … The
rationale of the distinction lies in the need to protect the community from the recurrent
conduct of persons suffering from a disease of the mind.”

External factors capable in law of causing a state of Automatism
[10-22] In R. v Quick7 Lawton L.J said, “[a] malfunctioning of the mind of transitory effect
caused by the application to the body of some external factor such as violence, drugs, including
anaesthetics, alcohol and hypnotic influences cannot fairly be said to be due to disease.”

IgoPAP

Is the mock exam for today not appearing for anybody else.

Lealaw

IgoPAP wrote: »

Is the mock exam for today not appearing for anybody else.

Think it was only available until 2pm. Hope you logged in and got to have a look around it

Lawlaw12

IgoPAP wrote: »

Is the mock exam for today not appearing for anybody else.

It was only available until 2pm today

IgoPAP

Lawlaw12 wrote: »

It was only available until 2pm today

I'm such an f-ing idiot. I thought it was from 2pm on Friday! Can anybody explain what it's like before I panic.

Aoibhin511

IgoPAP wrote: »

I'm such an f-ing idiot. I thought it was from 2pm on Friday! Can anybody explain what it's like before I panic.

I took some pictures send me your email and I'll send them to you so you can see
the layout

IgoPAP

Aoibhin511 wrote: »

I took some pictures send me your email and I'll send them to you so you can see
the layout

PM'd!

SS_98

Wondering if anyone can help!

I thought the mock exam started at 2 today but turns out that’s the time it ended. After about 5 mins from logging in I got a warning saying return to exam and then I was kicked.. just wondering did I do something wrong or is this what happens when the exam is over? Can’t get through to anyone from the law society!

Supermax1988

Just phoned the law society there as I had a minor panic attack wondering about what would happen if the timer for the exam hit zero before you've clicked to submit the exam for grading and was told that it looks like they're going to give us an extra 30 minutes at the end to have time to review and submit our exam. She said we should get notice about it shortly.

Lealaw

IgoPAP wrote: »

PM'd!

Did you get sorted?

The paper itself was the march 2020 criminal from what I could make out.

It was pretty nice to navigate I thought. If you login to the practice exam on better examination, it is pretty similar. All of them with the text box like questions 2. It has additional functionality of the sticky note and the note pad. The last bit is the same in the review of the paper and finish.

Hazel774

Supermax1988 wrote: »

Just phoned the law society there as I had a minor panic attack wondering about what would happen if the timer for the exam hit zero before you've clicked to submit the exam for grading and was told that it looks like they're going to give us an extra 30 minutes at the end to have time to review and submit our exam. She said we should get notice about it shortly.

"shortly"... their favourite word lol

Lealaw

SS_98 wrote: »

Wondering if anyone can help!

I thought the mock exam started at 2 today but turns out that’s the time it ended. After about 5 mins from logging in I got a warning saying return to exam and then I was kicked.. just wondering did I do something wrong or is this what happens when the exam is over? Can’t get through to anyone from the law society!

The exam was only available until 2pm. I'm sure that is why it ended.

LawCopy16

Hi guys,

I was not able to do the practice exam on better examinations, due to personal reasons I wasn't able to be available during the window when the practice exam was scheduled.
I have installed the proctorio extension on my browser myself but I'm just wondering if there is anything else I need to do? I have had a look at the betterexaminations software but I am not clear about how the exam will appear for me on the day. Would anyone be able to give me even just a brief run down of how the exam will appear - like is it a split screen situation where the exam is on one side and the answer book on the other? and how we access the notepad feature that allows us to take rough notes? Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance for any help! 

Jeremiah25

Lawlaw12 wrote: »

For constitutional, would people plan on doing the case note questions?

I know it might be hard to avoid depending on the particular paper. But for EU people generally recommend avoiding case notes, so just wondering if it's the same for constitutional?

Case notes for Cons. are even more unpredictable than those in EU. Think the same case has only appeared once.

However, there does tend to be a focus on some relatively recent case law so could be worth reading up on the big judgments from this year.

bkm2020

LawCopy16 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I was not able to do the practice exam on better examinations, due to personal reasons I wasn't able to be available during the window when the practice exam was scheduled.
I have installed the proctorio extension on my browser myself but I'm just wondering if there is anything else I need to do? I have had a look at the betterexaminations software but I am not clear about how the exam will appear for me on the day. Would anyone be able to give me even just a brief run down of how the exam will appear - like is it a split screen situation where the exam is on one side and the answer book on the other? and how we access the notepad feature that allows us to take rough notes? Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance for any help! 

Hi.

The questions are individually listed- so if you click question 1, you will be brought to that question. Directly underneath the question is a box where u type your answer. On the right side of this page they're are icons ( sticky note, note pad, highlight). All these features are the same for each question. So, if you have a sticky note on question 5, it will stay on question 5. If that makes sense?
Someone in a previous post has photos of it.
I hope this helps somehow!

yipyop

Hey just wondering if anyone has condensed notes for the Landlord and Tenant chapter of Property? I have useful revision guides if anyone needs.

Lawlaw12

Jeremiah25 wrote: »

Case notes for Cons. are even more unpredictable than those in EU. Think the same case has only appeared once.

However, there does tend to be a focus on some relatively recent case law so could be worth reading up on the big judgments from this year.

Thanks

SKLaw

Update on the LS website is that we’ll have an extra 30 minutes for the exams

“Exam timetable

All examinations will be held between 10.00am and 1.30pm:

Download the November 2020 FE-1 timetable (updated 23 October 2020)”

Aoibhin511

SKLaw wrote: »

Update on the LS website is that we’ll have an extra 30 minutes for the exams

“Exam timetable

All examinations will be held between 10.00am and 1.30pm:

Download the November 2020 FE-1 timetable (updated 23 October 2020)”

Great!
The phrasing is funny though. Does it mean that we all have 3.5 hours or that we have 3 hours between 10 and 1:30, like in case we are slow logging in or something?
The word between is throwing me I think

SKLaw

Aoibhin511 wrote: »

Great!
The phrasing is funny though. Does it mean that we all have 3.5 hours or that we have 3 hours between 10 and 1:30, like in case we are slow logging in or something?
The word between is throwing me I think

I'm not entirely sure either. My hopeful brain would like to believe that we have 3.5 hours but knowing the LS who knows

The timetable still says 10:00 and 1:00pm though

Lawlaw12

When you click on the timetable link it still says 10am-1pm though?
I'm even more confused now

maggie95

Lawlaw12 wrote: »

When you click on the timetable link it still says 10am-1pm though?
I'm even more confused now

I think they've updated it - the website and pdf timetable both say 10:00 - 1:30pm now!

Fe123

So lost for equity guys!! Any tips not sure what to cover

Lawlaw12

They've uploaded an FAQ's document on the website:

Bathroom breaks, water and legislation are all permitted and it confirms there is an extra 30 minutes
No rough work paper, no printing

Also mentions that your work will be saved every 60 seconds, so should be saved in the event that you wifi goes out and you should call them to register that you encountered a problem

CoconutHeadMia

Do we have to show our workspace beforehand does anybody know? Also, can someone just drop in at any random time and ask us to show them our workspace? Not sure from the mock exam how somebody could enter the room at random

Aoibhin511

CoconutHeadMia wrote: »

Do we have to show our workspace beforehand does anybody know? Also, can someone just drop in at any random time and ask us to show them our workspace? Not sure from the mock exam how somebody could enter the room at random

As far as I can gather, there are no people involved on the other end, so I would say no you won't be stopped during the exam to show your room

arubamuuu

Fe123 wrote: »

So lost for equity guys!! Any tips not sure what to cover

According to the prep course I did if you cover the following you would be able to answer 5 questions out of 8 for the past 15+ exams (excluding the 2/3 question):

1. Injunctions
2. Express Trusts
3. Charitable Trusts
4. Resulting Trusts
5. Trustees
6. Tracing
7. Specific Performance
8. Constructive Trusts
9. Undue Influence

We were also told it's recommended to study estoppel as well if we have time.

I decided I'm gonna do Equity in March next instead of this sitting so I haven't narrowed it down further so can't help you any more than that I'm afraid!

feliznavidab

Could anyone telling me what came up in the Spring 2020 Equity paper?

Creol1

LawCopy16 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I was not able to do the practice exam on better examinations, due to personal reasons I wasn't able to be available during the window when the practice exam was scheduled.
I have installed the proctorio extension on my browser myself but I'm just wondering if there is anything else I need to do? I have had a look at the betterexaminations software but I am not clear about how the exam will appear for me on the day. Would anyone be able to give me even just a brief run down of how the exam will appear - like is it a split screen situation where the exam is on one side and the answer book on the other? and how we access the notepad feature that allows us to take rough notes? Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance for any help! 

SS_98 wrote: »

Wondering if anyone can help!

I thought the mock exam started at 2 today but turns out that’s the time it ended. After about 5 mins from logging in I got a warning saying return to exam and then I was kicked.. just wondering did I do something wrong or is this what happens when the exam is over? Can’t get through to anyone from the law society!

It was reasonably straightforward. I'm not sitting criminal law so I imagined I was answering a constitutional law question to get the feel of it. I normally look at the screen when typing rather than at the keyboard but I found that the speed at which the typed text appeared wasn't quite instantaneous which I found slightly threw my typing so I looked at the keyboard instead.

In a normal exam, I would try to write out practice answers by hand, which helps give me a rough idea of how many pages I should aim for in the time available. Obviously quality is more important than quantity but I like to have a quantitative framework to bear in mind as it helps structure my writing. The mock version didn't include a word count so the only quantitative metric was lines and paragraphs. I counted roughly 20 words per line so that will be useful to bear in mind in considering roughly what type of length I should be looking at.

Creol1

Aoibhin511 wrote: »

Big case on fair procedures/natural justice this year - Damache v Minister for justice (same guy as DPP v Damache, they wanted to revoke his citizenship after all his shenanigans)
Also Corcoran v Garda commissioner, its about that eviction that turned into a riot a couple years back in roscommon or somewhere. Court said journalists can't use freedom of exp. to protect their sources.

both are easy to find on courts.ie and you'll probably find a few articles about them to since the backstories are semi juicy

Edit: there was also that big environment case at the end of the summer, SC said gov's climate plan sucks and wasn't specific enough. but refused to find an unenumerated right to a healthy environment in this case, but didn't entirely rule it our either.
Not quite sure what section this would fit into though

I think it would be quite relevant to separation of powers and unenumerated rights.

Dliodoir2021

See the exam they’re talking about having for students who are uncomfortable (etc) sitting this time, is it supposed to be in person and before March?

Unfortunately an underlying health condition is coming to the fore and I’m having a bit of a battle so doing the next sitting is looking like the better option which I’m gutted about

jus_me

What are people focusing on for tort?

L.E.D

In terms of contract law, consumer protection topic, is it important to cover eu regulations or can we leave them out and focus on the Irish legislation and cases?

awsah

Dliodoir2021 wrote: »

See the exam they’re talking about having for students who are uncomfortable (etc) sitting this time, is it supposed to be in person and before March?

Unfortunately an underlying health condition is coming to the fore and I’m having a bit of a battle so doing the next sitting is looking like the better option which I’m gutted about

There has been no mention regards holding an extra sitting, someone who spoke to the law society said to email concerns so that they knew what peoples concerns were, they said emailing these concerns would not cancel the November exams, there was no mention (as far as I am aware) that they are considering an extra sitting. With the country the way it is at the minute I don't think they could even consider a physical sitting.

Of course I may be wrong and they may announce on Monday that there is a physical sitting the first week in dec! if you are unable to sit them this time around perhaps consider picking up a couple extra in March as you have plenty of time now to prepare!

awsah

LawCopy16 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I was not able to do the practice exam on better examinations, due to personal reasons I wasn't able to be available during the window when the practice exam was scheduled.
I have installed the proctorio extension on my browser myself but I'm just wondering if there is anything else I need to do? I have had a look at the betterexaminations software but I am not clear about how the exam will appear for me on the day. Would anyone be able to give me even just a brief run down of how the exam will appear - like is it a split screen situation where the exam is on one side and the answer book on the other? and how we access the notepad feature that allows us to take rough notes? Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance for any help! 

when you go into better examinations website and sign in there will be a link to click on your exam, it will then go through the software checks, webcam, mic, wifi and desktop (think this is to do wth the extention, not sure) if you already have the extention then you should be fine maybe run your own checks for webcam and mics so there is no issue. In theory it is pretty straight forward, it took me forever for them to be able to take a proper picture of me and then my wifi was too slow so I am hoping there are no complications the morning of! I will say that they noticed I was having trouble and contacted me directly to assit me!

Samuma

Dliodoir2021 wrote: »

See the exam they’re talking about having for students who are uncomfortable (etc) sitting this time, is it supposed to be in person and before March?

Unfortunately an underlying health condition is coming to the fore and I’m having a bit of a battle so doing the next sitting is looking like the better option which I’m gutted about

Hi Dliodoir...where did you see this?
Their organisational skills leave a lot to be desired !

fe1fi20

feliznavidab wrote: »

Could anyone telling me what came up in the Spring 2020 Equity paper?

PM me your email, I'll send you the paper

Dliodoir2021

awsah wrote: »

There has been no mention regards holding an extra sitting, someone who spoke to the law society said to email concerns so that they knew what peoples concerns were, they said emailing these concerns would not cancel the November exams, there was no mention (as far as I am aware) that they are considering an extra sitting. With the country the way it is at the minute I don't think they could even consider a physical sitting.

Of course I may be wrong and they may announce on Monday that there is a physical sitting the first week in dec! if you are unable to sit them this time around perhaps consider picking up a couple extra in March as you have plenty of time now to prepare!

Thank you for the reply! No, I saw post either here or on The Facebook group about them issuing refunds for anyone this time and something about an extra sitting but maybe the person who posted it was wondering about it too. I’m onto my last 2 exams and am well prepared for one, okay for the other but depends on how my body holds up as I’ve been hospitalised before. Nothings bad but could be worse though so I’ll try to chip away at it regardless

Iso_123

L.E.D wrote: »

In terms of contract law, consumer protection topic, is it important to cover eu regulations or can we leave them out and focus on the Irish legislation and cases?

From what I remember studying contract I think its important to have a bit of info on EU legislation eg EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005, (Certain Aspects of the Sale of Consumer Goods and Associated Guarantees) Regulations 2003 and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive. Think those are most important

Hazel774

Dliodoir2021 wrote: »

Thank you for the reply! No, I saw post either here or on The Facebook group about them issuing refunds for anyone this time and something about an extra sitting but maybe the person who posted it was wondering about it too. I’m onto my last 2 exams and am well prepared for one, okay for the other but depends on how my body holds up as I’ve been hospitalised before. Nothings bad but could be worse though so I’ll try to chip away at it regardless

Sorry to hear that you're not well
I also saw that post, I think it was in the fb group, about how if you're not comfortable with the online sitting they are considering finding a way to accommodate you... I think the person who posted it might have been speculating that there may be a physical sitting, as opposed to being told that directly. They confirmed that you can get a refund though if you can't do the online sitting.

To be honest it's unlikely that it will be possible for them to organise a physical sitting any time soon, with all the regulations. The last time they reorganised a physical sitting (August) it took them 5 months to organise it, so even if they are trying unfortunately with the restrictions there's no guarantee it would even be organised before next March. I'd say if it's at all possible for you to sit this one at home try give it a go, even if you have to cut out some parts of your study you could still get luck with the paper.