So, I am now a barrister. I have been called to the 'utter' Bar. I have, in the words of Lord Justice Laws, begun my legal odyssey.
Yes, I did smirk just a little when he said that the ceremony.
It's already been a hell of a journey to get here, and I have to say my boat has certainly sprung a few leaks in the storm. The biscuits have all got weevils, I'm all out of wine, and frankly I'm downright suspicious about the coffee.
My internship is going well, and is sadly drawing to a close. In some respects, it will be a relief simply to have some free time. Between the internship and my job that has been certainly lacking.
The feeling that is nagging at me however, is have I made the wrong Call? I did not put in my QLTT papers, and in retrospect I think that was the wrong move.
I also wonder whether the BVC was the right decision at all. I do wonder how the qualification is viewed by legal employers. It would be interesting to know how firms view the BVC in, say, paralegal applications. That is, of course, not to say my failure to secure work is in any way related; that failure is my own. However it is a query that has popped in my mind from time to time.
I also wonder how the BVC is viewed outside the legal profession. I know I can sell it as a set of transferable skills and my CV is certainly not sparse. It would be interesting nonetheless to get an insider opinion.
Second, the statistical reality that I would have been in a better position with an LPC is hitting home. The changes at the Bar continue to reflect that perhaps the LPC becomes increasingly the better option. However, I made my choice; I knew the risks and I did it anyway.
I have increasingly turned myself to non-legal work in an effort to hedge my bets. I'm also tired of working for minimum wage when I would like to think I could secure something at least a little better. the next round of applications in March is looking like a very far off land indeed.
I better get bailing water.
Weevil, anyone?
Friday, 22 October 2010
Monday, 27 September 2010
In the name of employability
I‘ve been an intern now for a few weeks, and so far I’d say it’s been a positive experience. For the most part, I enjoy the work. It’s occasionally a drag to spend the afternoon doing the filing, photocopying and general grunt work that no one else wants to do, but then that’s the way it goes. That aside, I do get to do some interesting work for the most part. There have been some really interesting aspects to the work I get to do, even if it is necessarily at the lowest level of the legal chain. In fact, there are a few cases that have hit my desk that have got me really involved. It must be my liberal sensibilities bubbling to the surface after having been shoved down so deep during the BVC. I’ve even had a few late nights when the pressure has been on and I’ve found myself willingly staying to get the work done.
I have found a few intricacies of office politics a little trying at times, though I do generally enjoy the environment. The fact that I work another job around my internship hours has left me a little worn down and on edge at times. Between the long hours and crippling financial instability, it’s good experience for the Bar.
This isn’t all just being done out of the goodness of my heart. Doing a nine-to-five for free is something that can be a little bit of a bitter pill to swallow at times, particularly when a heavy load of filing heads my way. I know full well that even a minimum wage job would leave me at least more financially sated, even if not intellectually. The point of an internship is the experience I get; both to enhance my CV and in terms of real tangible skills. There is nothing like actually having to deal with an incredibly difficult client repeatedly to hone your people skills. Learning the polite way to say “sod off, I haven’t got anything new to tell you since you rang 5 minutes ago” is a skill that I will carry forever. Believe me when I say that’s no exageration.
It’s no secret that right now work is hard to come by, particularly criminal paralegal work. Without experience and Police Station Accreditation, it seems impossible to get a foot in the door. However, the experience I gain is one reason why I drag myself up at 7am every day even though I know I could make much better money working full time.
So, would I recommend it? In short, yes. Of course not every internship will be a good experience. We’ve all had the work experience that has been making the coffee and doing the filing. There are some amazing opportunities out there that are genuinely worth the time and effort, and mine has fortunately so far been one of them.
Though I can make a mean cuppa.
I have found a few intricacies of office politics a little trying at times, though I do generally enjoy the environment. The fact that I work another job around my internship hours has left me a little worn down and on edge at times. Between the long hours and crippling financial instability, it’s good experience for the Bar.
This isn’t all just being done out of the goodness of my heart. Doing a nine-to-five for free is something that can be a little bit of a bitter pill to swallow at times, particularly when a heavy load of filing heads my way. I know full well that even a minimum wage job would leave me at least more financially sated, even if not intellectually. The point of an internship is the experience I get; both to enhance my CV and in terms of real tangible skills. There is nothing like actually having to deal with an incredibly difficult client repeatedly to hone your people skills. Learning the polite way to say “sod off, I haven’t got anything new to tell you since you rang 5 minutes ago” is a skill that I will carry forever. Believe me when I say that’s no exageration.
It’s no secret that right now work is hard to come by, particularly criminal paralegal work. Without experience and Police Station Accreditation, it seems impossible to get a foot in the door. However, the experience I gain is one reason why I drag myself up at 7am every day even though I know I could make much better money working full time.
So, would I recommend it? In short, yes. Of course not every internship will be a good experience. We’ve all had the work experience that has been making the coffee and doing the filing. There are some amazing opportunities out there that are genuinely worth the time and effort, and mine has fortunately so far been one of them.
Though I can make a mean cuppa.
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Sailing on...
So the BVC is over, and like many I find myself without pupillage. The question is, what next for the BVC graduate?
I still want to continue the search for pupillage. Well, I think that's a given for another year anyway. The Bar is still the career I strive for and that gets me excited. It's what made me want to move to the Big Smoke and take up the BVC. The real question is, what now?
Well, as I see it there are a number of options open to me that warrant some exploration with that in mind.
First, there is the low-paid, random, fill-the-time job. Personally, I think this is a bad option. I'm still pursuing the dream of the Bar, and I think a non-legal non-progressive would not be taken well. Yes, if it pays the bills and is a stop gap then it makes sense. But simply cruising along is not going to help me progress either at the Bar or in some other future career.
Second, there is the legal job. This is, it seems to me, the ideal. Unfortunately is the probably the hardest to gain entry to. Hopefully I can get some work that will not only pay me well enough to get by, but improve my experience. The problem is that, particularly with criminal paralegal work, there are significant barriers to entry. Most, though not all, London based jobs I have come across require police station accreditation which is both costly and not simple to get. Almost all require experience, which is hard to come by.
Third, there is the internship route. These opportunities offer (hopefully) great experience, but come at price; they aren't going to pay the bills. So, whilst it may help with the employability for the future, it could leave the already impoverished graduate facing some touch times. Nothing like eating cornflakes for a few months to make one feel virtuous. However, I do think it may be worth it in the long run even if it makes times a little tough. I think that, given the right internship, it could help with paralegal jobs too.
So, where will I find myself? Well, I think that's yet to be seen. I have between now and next year's HellGate season to improve my chances. I think options 2 and 3 are most likely to help me succeed given the incredibly tough competition. That, and a little self-critical analysis of my attempt this year. Back out into the endless rough sees of the job market.
The remaining question is of course....what, if not the Bar?
I still want to continue the search for pupillage. Well, I think that's a given for another year anyway. The Bar is still the career I strive for and that gets me excited. It's what made me want to move to the Big Smoke and take up the BVC. The real question is, what now?
Well, as I see it there are a number of options open to me that warrant some exploration with that in mind.
First, there is the low-paid, random, fill-the-time job. Personally, I think this is a bad option. I'm still pursuing the dream of the Bar, and I think a non-legal non-progressive would not be taken well. Yes, if it pays the bills and is a stop gap then it makes sense. But simply cruising along is not going to help me progress either at the Bar or in some other future career.
Second, there is the legal job. This is, it seems to me, the ideal. Unfortunately is the probably the hardest to gain entry to. Hopefully I can get some work that will not only pay me well enough to get by, but improve my experience. The problem is that, particularly with criminal paralegal work, there are significant barriers to entry. Most, though not all, London based jobs I have come across require police station accreditation which is both costly and not simple to get. Almost all require experience, which is hard to come by.
Third, there is the internship route. These opportunities offer (hopefully) great experience, but come at price; they aren't going to pay the bills. So, whilst it may help with the employability for the future, it could leave the already impoverished graduate facing some touch times. Nothing like eating cornflakes for a few months to make one feel virtuous. However, I do think it may be worth it in the long run even if it makes times a little tough. I think that, given the right internship, it could help with paralegal jobs too.
So, where will I find myself? Well, I think that's yet to be seen. I have between now and next year's HellGate season to improve my chances. I think options 2 and 3 are most likely to help me succeed given the incredibly tough competition. That, and a little self-critical analysis of my attempt this year. Back out into the endless rough sees of the job market.
The remaining question is of course....what, if not the Bar?
Friday, 13 August 2010
Back once again....
That's right, I'm back! Or at least, I'm going to try to be.
Where does the time go?
So, sine my last post, a fair few things have happened. I passed the BVC with a VC...somehow, and will soon get to call myself "barrister". Woo!
I failed to get pupillage (despite a valiant effort, or something along those lines) and am left with the same despondency as last year. In fact, I got less interviews which suggests a huge failure on my part somewhere on the form; something I intend to try and correct for next year which I think may be my last. I fear I may not be up to the required standard, and with the ever passing time am unlikely to improve my advocacy. I did once again reach second round, though fell at that hurdle.
So, with that in mind, I ploughed on with the summer and into the ever rough sees of the job market. I secured myself some short term work at a solicitors though it has now dried up. Good for the bank account, good for the CV. Win win!
I've also bagged myself an internship at a reputable place, which I hope will bolster my applications for the future. I'm considering becoming an appropriate adult, though it a term that has probably never yet been applied to me. Adult...sometimes. Appropriate...almost certainly not.
It's going to be a hard few months from a financial perspective. I've managed to line up a little part-time work locally which should just about see me through. Does anyone know of ways to secure internship funding? Most bursaries that I found required me to submit applications long before I had even interviewed for the position. God know's how I will even pay for Call night attire.
So, that's the quick catch up. Lets see if I can stick at this a little better second time around.
I hope I still have a few kind readers left to notice my return into the blawgging fray.
Oddy.
Where does the time go?
So, sine my last post, a fair few things have happened. I passed the BVC with a VC...somehow, and will soon get to call myself "barrister". Woo!
I failed to get pupillage (despite a valiant effort, or something along those lines) and am left with the same despondency as last year. In fact, I got less interviews which suggests a huge failure on my part somewhere on the form; something I intend to try and correct for next year which I think may be my last. I fear I may not be up to the required standard, and with the ever passing time am unlikely to improve my advocacy. I did once again reach second round, though fell at that hurdle.
So, with that in mind, I ploughed on with the summer and into the ever rough sees of the job market. I secured myself some short term work at a solicitors though it has now dried up. Good for the bank account, good for the CV. Win win!
I've also bagged myself an internship at a reputable place, which I hope will bolster my applications for the future. I'm considering becoming an appropriate adult, though it a term that has probably never yet been applied to me. Adult...sometimes. Appropriate...almost certainly not.
It's going to be a hard few months from a financial perspective. I've managed to line up a little part-time work locally which should just about see me through. Does anyone know of ways to secure internship funding? Most bursaries that I found required me to submit applications long before I had even interviewed for the position. God know's how I will even pay for Call night attire.
So, that's the quick catch up. Lets see if I can stick at this a little better second time around.
I hope I still have a few kind readers left to notice my return into the blawgging fray.
Oddy.
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Banging the same old drum
Some time ago, I ranted about the UK approach towards legal highs. They have recently been the subject of fresh, fervent and once again (in my opinion) misplaced discussion. This time, the drug of choice is Meow Meow. Once again, I am not sure the right reaction to this little kitty is to try and drown in in the river of legislation.
The government reaction has predictably been outrage, indignant opposition and calls to ban the new high. Quelle surprise. In fact some have been so ignorant as to label it "one of the most dangerous drugs in circulation". I hardly think so, given for example heroin.
I stand by me earlier analysis; that criminalisation will have the opposite effect and may even cause usage to rise. Take a look at the Isle of Man.
Apparently however, the UK government will still insist on banging the same old moral panic drum. I don't know about you, but I think it's time for a change of tune, preferably to one that actually solves the problem, not sweeps it under the carpet in a short-lived moral-outrage-driven action.
Friday, 9 April 2010
Where does the time go?
I have twice started, and then abandoned, a post about recent events. Why? I bored myself with my ranting on about exams in a long winded fashion. Dull! And it has yet again been too long since I posted!
So, I'll try something a little different.
And finally, something to make you smile
So, I'll try something a little different.
And finally, something to make you smile
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Eat, sleep, do exams
I am increasingly aware my blawgging this year has become sporadic, to put it mildly. Now that I am once more clawing back some small semblance of organisation into my life, I will start to post as often as I had hoped. For now, on with the splurge that is my ramblings...
Exams have started to appear with worrying rapidity into my otherwise already busy calendar, leaving me with the prospect of a few weeks propped on coffee, junk food and a pitiful quantity of sleep. If only I can stop the BVC from expanding my wasteline even further, I will not count the year as a total loss.
Chastened by recent poor marks in an opinion mock (gulp), a further poor attempt at drafting (robbed I say, robbed!) and the impending release of the papers on Thursday, I find my waking hours filled with concerns as to my upcoming performance. Hopefully my last few sessions of dedicated note taking mixed with blissful self-deprecation (I was recently banned from a library for full blown flagellation, so decided to tone it down) will leave me swimming in the tranquil waters of the mid-VC.
However, these concerns must exit stage left, for it is my negotiation exam tomorrow. 2 hours of tense reading, writing on the evil that is carbon copy paper, followed by 20 minutes of the cut and thrust of negotiation. I still find the whole process artificial, and like many, difficult to really prepare for. Whilst the overall topic is released a week in advance, there is little to do save brush up on the law and print out a few choice notes. The whole experience of the negotiation exam is an odd one; it feels like spending a week reading books and taking notes before being given two hours to climb to the top of a hill and spend 20 minutes wrestling over a pile of someone else's cash.
Lets hope there's at least jelly involved somewhere.
Is it rude to pack a spoon?
Exams have started to appear with worrying rapidity into my otherwise already busy calendar, leaving me with the prospect of a few weeks propped on coffee, junk food and a pitiful quantity of sleep. If only I can stop the BVC from expanding my wasteline even further, I will not count the year as a total loss.
Chastened by recent poor marks in an opinion mock (gulp), a further poor attempt at drafting (robbed I say, robbed!) and the impending release of the papers on Thursday, I find my waking hours filled with concerns as to my upcoming performance. Hopefully my last few sessions of dedicated note taking mixed with blissful self-deprecation (I was recently banned from a library for full blown flagellation, so decided to tone it down) will leave me swimming in the tranquil waters of the mid-VC.
However, these concerns must exit stage left, for it is my negotiation exam tomorrow. 2 hours of tense reading, writing on the evil that is carbon copy paper, followed by 20 minutes of the cut and thrust of negotiation. I still find the whole process artificial, and like many, difficult to really prepare for. Whilst the overall topic is released a week in advance, there is little to do save brush up on the law and print out a few choice notes. The whole experience of the negotiation exam is an odd one; it feels like spending a week reading books and taking notes before being given two hours to climb to the top of a hill and spend 20 minutes wrestling over a pile of someone else's cash.
Lets hope there's at least jelly involved somewhere.
Is it rude to pack a spoon?
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Ladies and Gentlemen....
Roll up, roll up!
The circus is about to begin!
See this year's contenders bear their souls for the ultimate prize!
Watch as the yearly royal rumble begins. Who will survive? Who has done enough? Who will be victorious, and who will lay exhausted and broken in the gutter of despair?
Only time will tell! Place your bets at the door!
How you'll laugh, how you'll cry, how you'll whoop with excitement!
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's that time of year again. Once a year, every year!
Pupillage applications have arrived.
Popcorn, anyone?
The circus is about to begin!
See this year's contenders bear their souls for the ultimate prize!
Watch as the yearly royal rumble begins. Who will survive? Who has done enough? Who will be victorious, and who will lay exhausted and broken in the gutter of despair?
Only time will tell! Place your bets at the door!
How you'll laugh, how you'll cry, how you'll whoop with excitement!
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's that time of year again. Once a year, every year!
Pupillage applications have arrived.
Popcorn, anyone?
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Scraping by
So, the exam results are in. The inevitable conclusion was that perhaps I need to work a bit harder. Whilst I certainly won't sneer at a VC for 3 of my 4 subjects, including the all important advocacy, they were disappointingly at the lower end of the spectrum. The one C I have so far obtained has left me concerned, particularly with the fact that drafting and opinion I find difficult. If nothing else, surviving the first exam period by the skin of my teeth ought to serve as a much needed kick up the proverbial.
Term 2 has already got worryingly under way, giving me the the joys of witness handling and negotiation to chew on. Luckily I seem to have at least some natural ability at witness handling. I am already growing to love the feeling of being on my feet, backing a class mate into an inescapable corner. Once again, having a good group makes a huge difference to the learning process. Having witnesses who are prepared to deviate wildly from the script as their closet-Thespian claws for freedom, eff, blind, talk inanely, try intensely to extract a snigger from your thin professional veneer and generally make the process as taxing as possible certainly forces you to bring out the best. That or gibber quietly as your brain tries agonisingly to coax the procedure for inconsistent statement out of the dark and cobwebby reaches of the mind, whilst the tutor stares deploringly at your quivering form.
Negotiation on the other hand is tedious, artificial and treated by many as a bit of a joke. Once the painful artificiality of the situation is overcome, it still remains ludicrous to reach a negotiation based on pre-determined lowest offers from 2 students, neither of whom is particularly willing to back down in case they breach their written "plan" and destroy their marks.
Now to return to my weekely ritual of completing the item marked as "work I really should have done during the week".
To coin a misquote, "Lead on, Macduff"
Term 2 has already got worryingly under way, giving me the the joys of witness handling and negotiation to chew on. Luckily I seem to have at least some natural ability at witness handling. I am already growing to love the feeling of being on my feet, backing a class mate into an inescapable corner. Once again, having a good group makes a huge difference to the learning process. Having witnesses who are prepared to deviate wildly from the script as their closet-Thespian claws for freedom, eff, blind, talk inanely, try intensely to extract a snigger from your thin professional veneer and generally make the process as taxing as possible certainly forces you to bring out the best. That or gibber quietly as your brain tries agonisingly to coax the procedure for inconsistent statement out of the dark and cobwebby reaches of the mind, whilst the tutor stares deploringly at your quivering form.
Negotiation on the other hand is tedious, artificial and treated by many as a bit of a joke. Once the painful artificiality of the situation is overcome, it still remains ludicrous to reach a negotiation based on pre-determined lowest offers from 2 students, neither of whom is particularly willing to back down in case they breach their written "plan" and destroy their marks.
Now to return to my weekely ritual of completing the item marked as "work I really should have done during the week".
To coin a misquote, "Lead on, Macduff"
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Deceit Cookies
Ok, so term one was over, the holidays were ahead of me, looking to be filled in characteristic fashion a frantic mix of revision, sleeping and things I probably shouldn't have been doing when I had so much revision to do. All in all, a fairly standard affair.
The exam, as they are want to do, loomed ominously ahead of me. Given the (oh so justifiable) expenditure on the course that is the BVC, I thought that I really ought to try and do well. So I settled to the post festive spending season with with uncharacteristic fervour,. Considering myself not to be at home to Mr Cockup, I crammed, noted, studied and squinted until I felt prepared. I took the mock, racing through the questions like a hot knife through butter, and tallied up more score.
Damn.
Apparently I knew nothing, and so I returned to the drawing board for round two. It was then my coffee addled brain received a confidence boost. Sitting, surrounded by the detritus of the ritual takeaway, I cracked open the fortune cookies supplied to sneer scornfully at their superstitious scribbles. Low and behold, I was greeted with the following:
"You will pass a difficult test that will make you happy"
Questionable English aside, this small act of clairvoyances was at least close to the money. Not bad for a fortune cookie. Onto number two.
"You should think before you answer questions on Thursday".
Thursday was my exam day. I was, I must confess, at least slightly disturbed by this point. Not being the superstitious type, I was at least amazed by the chance involved in the presence of these particular two sayings, in my bag of sweet, free, crunchy goodness.
The exam day came and went, despite the best efforts of the snow to postpone the impending event.
It did not go well.
Apparently, I had been deceived by the cookies! These biscuity soothsaying deserts had led me astray! I had been misled by confectionery!
Shrugging my poor performance aside, term began once more. Hoping for a pick-me-up, I waited eagerly for the return of my mock drafting exercise.
It did not have the desired effect.
Ah, Mr Cockup. We have the penthouse room available. I'll have your bags sent up, along with my self-respect, immediately.
Oddy
The exam, as they are want to do, loomed ominously ahead of me. Given the (oh so justifiable) expenditure on the course that is the BVC, I thought that I really ought to try and do well. So I settled to the post festive spending season with with uncharacteristic fervour,. Considering myself not to be at home to Mr Cockup, I crammed, noted, studied and squinted until I felt prepared. I took the mock, racing through the questions like a hot knife through butter, and tallied up more score.
Damn.
Apparently I knew nothing, and so I returned to the drawing board for round two. It was then my coffee addled brain received a confidence boost. Sitting, surrounded by the detritus of the ritual takeaway, I cracked open the fortune cookies supplied to sneer scornfully at their superstitious scribbles. Low and behold, I was greeted with the following:
"You will pass a difficult test that will make you happy"
Questionable English aside, this small act of clairvoyances was at least close to the money. Not bad for a fortune cookie. Onto number two.
"You should think before you answer questions on Thursday".
Thursday was my exam day. I was, I must confess, at least slightly disturbed by this point. Not being the superstitious type, I was at least amazed by the chance involved in the presence of these particular two sayings, in my bag of sweet, free, crunchy goodness.
The exam day came and went, despite the best efforts of the snow to postpone the impending event.
It did not go well.
Apparently, I had been deceived by the cookies! These biscuity soothsaying deserts had led me astray! I had been misled by confectionery!
Shrugging my poor performance aside, term began once more. Hoping for a pick-me-up, I waited eagerly for the return of my mock drafting exercise.
It did not have the desired effect.
Ah, Mr Cockup. We have the penthouse room available. I'll have your bags sent up, along with my self-respect, immediately.
Oddy
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
I am assessed....
Tomorrow, weather permitting, is the 3 hour long slog that is the multiple choice test on civil and criminal so far.
It's fair to say.... I'm bricking it.
It's fair to say.... I'm bricking it.
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Returning from the wilderness
I have, it must confess, been somewhat lax in my blogging. Once term kicked in, I rarely found the time as things became more chaotic. Moving to the Big Smoke, the BVC's constant workload and generally trying to swim not sink means that I have failed to post.
And when I fail, I like to fail with flair.
So, now that the Christmas horror is upon us, I intend to return to this venture with renewed gusto, and hopefully some will carry on to the next term.
Since my last post, much has happened. In fact, the majority of the first term has slipped by with an alarming speed. There has been much rumbling in the criminal world too, and Labour's intended bills for the coming year will no doubt have attracted some attention to those interested. I will hopefully post on some of the highlights of the last few weeks that caught my eye n due course. I have also finished another mini, and will post up my idle ramblings shortly on mini's.
For now however, a few thoughts on the first term of the BVC...
Term 1 has been, for the most part, enjoyable. It is however, a mountain of work from week to week. I think it can perhaps best be described as 'relentless'. That is not to say that it isn't manageable, and spending a working week in the library means that it can more or less be done without eating into weekends or evenings. Unfortunately, I failed to be quite so organised after a few weeks, and soon slipped back into the student ways of slipping off for coffee (ahem, beer) at lunchtime with friends similarly inclined.
The abhorrent legal research in particular drove many to the early stages of alcoholism. For any pre-BVC students reading these ramblings, I should warn you now of the horrors of legal research. Being asked to produce the answer to a legal problem is, in itself, interesting. However, being forced to provide along with it upwards of 20 pages of "research trail" is mind numbing to say this least. What is this "research trail" I hear you cry? Is it a fun foray into the woods of knowledge? By calling it a trail, it sounds almost like a weekend activity for the under 12s at Butlins, complete with kendle mint cake, a compass that you won't use and green wellies half a size too big.
No such joy. It is, in short, cutting and pasting from the material you find. Worse still, proof of hardcopy research means that you have to copy verbatim text from hard sources, and edit to show that you can do so. Of course, photocopying the relevant passage and highlighting is not acceptable! It does not show the required editing. Apparently. Most infuriating of all, is the fact that the question is stolen wholesale from a real case. Many, like myself, quickly found the case and were therefore painfully aware that despite knowing the answer, the correct authority, and everything you need to answer the question, that you then had to spend several days slumped in front of the computer producing the trail of hell. Propped up on coffee, and gibbering slightly to myself, I did hand the answer in, complete with its research trail, loving crafted from a range of sources despite knowing the relevant ones within 10 minutes.
Adding salt to the wound, we were informed that we were to be the last year to suffer this task set by beelzebub himself. So, if this prediction comes true, then I state for the record that you are all lucky, lucky people.
Whilst mostly enjoyable, I have found the course incredibly frustrating. The questions often prevent thinking outside the box, the subjective nature of the marking of the oral skills can drive one to distraction, and the penchant for leaving students blundering in the dark is nothing short of infuriating. It is the last which is the most painful. On many occasions, we were tasked with something for advocacy and would then proceed to give it our (collective) best stab. We would then be criticised for having done X or Y wrong, and have it explained how it should be tackled. Often, we would have a lecture after the week's seminars explaining how our esteemed provided want said blunder to be approached or even a seminar in a separate skills subject covering it. The worst was the assessment. Required to edit a draft order for an interim injunction, I found myself fumbling inanely as to the best way of editing their provided version. My wild stab in the dark complete, I handed it in on time. The following day, we had a drafting seminar on how best to produce draft orders for interim injunction which was, most painfully of all, on almost an identical topic. This left myself, along with a fair few others, seething and ultimately left unable to do anything but await our fate in the marks apportioned for this with the assessment still a week away.
For now, I shall return to the laborious task of cleaning the detritus of a terms chaos. Negotiating the treacherous path from my desk to the kitchen is still of labyrinthine difficulty, and is a minefield of papers, cups of half drunk tea and notes that look like the inept scrawling of the insane.
Let the holiday begin.
Oddy
And when I fail, I like to fail with flair.
So, now that the Christmas horror is upon us, I intend to return to this venture with renewed gusto, and hopefully some will carry on to the next term.
Since my last post, much has happened. In fact, the majority of the first term has slipped by with an alarming speed. There has been much rumbling in the criminal world too, and Labour's intended bills for the coming year will no doubt have attracted some attention to those interested. I will hopefully post on some of the highlights of the last few weeks that caught my eye n due course. I have also finished another mini, and will post up my idle ramblings shortly on mini's.
For now however, a few thoughts on the first term of the BVC...
Term 1 has been, for the most part, enjoyable. It is however, a mountain of work from week to week. I think it can perhaps best be described as 'relentless'. That is not to say that it isn't manageable, and spending a working week in the library means that it can more or less be done without eating into weekends or evenings. Unfortunately, I failed to be quite so organised after a few weeks, and soon slipped back into the student ways of slipping off for coffee (ahem, beer) at lunchtime with friends similarly inclined.
The abhorrent legal research in particular drove many to the early stages of alcoholism. For any pre-BVC students reading these ramblings, I should warn you now of the horrors of legal research. Being asked to produce the answer to a legal problem is, in itself, interesting. However, being forced to provide along with it upwards of 20 pages of "research trail" is mind numbing to say this least. What is this "research trail" I hear you cry? Is it a fun foray into the woods of knowledge? By calling it a trail, it sounds almost like a weekend activity for the under 12s at Butlins, complete with kendle mint cake, a compass that you won't use and green wellies half a size too big.
No such joy. It is, in short, cutting and pasting from the material you find. Worse still, proof of hardcopy research means that you have to copy verbatim text from hard sources, and edit to show that you can do so. Of course, photocopying the relevant passage and highlighting is not acceptable! It does not show the required editing. Apparently. Most infuriating of all, is the fact that the question is stolen wholesale from a real case. Many, like myself, quickly found the case and were therefore painfully aware that despite knowing the answer, the correct authority, and everything you need to answer the question, that you then had to spend several days slumped in front of the computer producing the trail of hell. Propped up on coffee, and gibbering slightly to myself, I did hand the answer in, complete with its research trail, loving crafted from a range of sources despite knowing the relevant ones within 10 minutes.
Adding salt to the wound, we were informed that we were to be the last year to suffer this task set by beelzebub himself. So, if this prediction comes true, then I state for the record that you are all lucky, lucky people.
Whilst mostly enjoyable, I have found the course incredibly frustrating. The questions often prevent thinking outside the box, the subjective nature of the marking of the oral skills can drive one to distraction, and the penchant for leaving students blundering in the dark is nothing short of infuriating. It is the last which is the most painful. On many occasions, we were tasked with something for advocacy and would then proceed to give it our (collective) best stab. We would then be criticised for having done X or Y wrong, and have it explained how it should be tackled. Often, we would have a lecture after the week's seminars explaining how our esteemed provided want said blunder to be approached or even a seminar in a separate skills subject covering it. The worst was the assessment. Required to edit a draft order for an interim injunction, I found myself fumbling inanely as to the best way of editing their provided version. My wild stab in the dark complete, I handed it in on time. The following day, we had a drafting seminar on how best to produce draft orders for interim injunction which was, most painfully of all, on almost an identical topic. This left myself, along with a fair few others, seething and ultimately left unable to do anything but await our fate in the marks apportioned for this with the assessment still a week away.
For now, I shall return to the laborious task of cleaning the detritus of a terms chaos. Negotiating the treacherous path from my desk to the kitchen is still of labyrinthine difficulty, and is a minefield of papers, cups of half drunk tea and notes that look like the inept scrawling of the insane.
Let the holiday begin.
Oddy
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Abuse of police powers – s 5 POA 1986
There is always much controversy about the police, and abuse of their powers. As a general rule, this focuses around stop and search powers, and expansion under various pieces of terrorism legislation.
Today however, I am not focusing on this. I am instead looking at, in brief, S 5 Public Order Act 1986. In my opinion one of the most abused pieces of legislation under the expanding belt of police powers. I have always thought this is legislation which can be both defended and attacked depending on how it is used.
Of course, reading the act gives us the impression that it is intended to stop severely reprehensible behaviour in public that occurs “within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress”. In other words, it should be used to stop the public being unduly concerned in their day by actions that go against that which is publically acceptable. A bit draconian, one might argue, but at least defensible in some respects.
However, my quibble is that it is used in such as a way as to be inconsistent with this. My annoyance has always been sparked whenever I have seen those appalling excuses for popular television that pass for cop shows. Police are frequently shown portraying a role of dealing (badly) with ASB in the public by going round and arresting drunkards on a Friday night in town centers.
I had the misfortune to catch one of these shows, and it neatly demonstrated why my anger at this is justified. I will recount what I saw:
A provocatively dressed young man (his jacket emblazoned with the intelligent slogan “fuck off”) broke up with his girlfriend in public, and, in an ill considered move played a quick round of fisticuffs with a wall. Marquis of Queensbury rules, naturally. No member of the public displayed any concern whatsoever.
An office then walked up to him, from behind, and grabbed his elbow. In response, the gent spun around and said “don’t fucking touch me”. The second officer restrained him forcibly, and they removed him from the train station. After a brief discussion where by the clearly dangerous youth (cough cough) asked politely what was going on, and was clear that he was just uptight due to his split from his now erstwhile girlfriend. His outburst he put as the result of being grabbed by surprise.
Frankly, the young man, despite his provocative dress, was intelligent and eloquent. He declined the penalty and was hauled off to the station. On route the police were forced to ignore a more serious call of a fight with one man being knocked out.
However, the crowning turd in the water pipe was this: he asked why he had been arrested, and the answer was (and I quote) “backchatting” as they drove to the station.
Now, I am pretty sure, “backchatting” doesn’t appear in the statue. Nope, it doesn’t. This is what infuriates me; it’s not an offence to annoy an officer by questioning what they are doing, provided it doesn’t stretch into the realms of obstruction. To be honest, using the power for this is clear abuse. The officer involved here ought to be disciplined, and very harshly. The statute has a legitimate public order aim, but arresting any individual you do not like is appalling. I was genuinely angered by this demonstration of police action, and continue to be infuriated by this statute’s public exercise. This needs a strong guideline on use, and police need to be forced away from doing this. I would go so far as to say current police practices are undermining the legitimacy of the police, as well as the legislation. Worse still, it wastes time and public money dealing with trivial issues that would have deflated had they been left well alone.
Not only this, but given that the words “fuck off” on his jacket were not sufficient to cause the offence, then surely him merely saying it an a manner audible only to his friends isn’t sufficient. Unless, of course, the officers were “person(s) likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress” by the expletive? Seems unlikely. In fact, I would say they can fuck off. Swearing does not really offend the public in most cases. Where a circle of people who regularly swear as a matter of course, to the extent that it is ingrained language, and no one else can hear, it must not be an offence. Therefore swearing in front of the officer is not an offence either, unless they fall under said category. Given that most policemen I have met swear like sailors, I find it unlikely.
If I was grabbed from behind on a Friday night, my response would have been along the same lines. In all honesty I would have responded more viciously as a matter of instinct, and suffered the consequences as a result. That aside, I seriously question the use of this legislation for behavior such as this.
What is worse is the fact this can lead to an on the spot fixed penalty notice. The police get to act as the judiciary as well, even where they may very well be in the wrong as to the application of the power. Given that this event is on film, including the abhorrent “backchat” moment, I am sure a competent barrister would have made a meal out of this. Yet most people will no doubt take the fine rather than be required to waste a day at the Mags court. But that is a whole other kettle of fish, for another day.
My point here is that this statute is misused. It has become, in my opinion, a farce. Being arrested for a section 5 offence has become synonymous with not really having done anything, and probably just annoyed an officer at the end of a long day.
Friday, 9 October 2009
It has begun!
Ok, so I have been away from the blawgosphere for a while. Starting at BPP as a lifer, moving down to the Big Smoke and starting the next stage of my life has been a very busy experience.
The second part to my series on my failed application experiences will come later, but I just wanted to get a quick word in first about having at last started the BVC.
A few first impressions
I arrived, fresh faced and rosy on the first day, ready for all that the world had to offer.
Ok, that's a lie. I arrived late, red faced and feeling like a massive idiot already. My subconscious desire for a more glamorous memory of my arrival has therefore kicked in, and has not so much applied rose-tinted spectacles for the viewing but fired the previous director, hired a script writer, taken on a more handsome model to play me and re-shot the whole opening scene. Ah, much better...
The first week was much as I had expected; the usual gloriously tedious introductory lectures, gratuitous queuing to hand in forms to allow one times to become intimately acquainted with the nearby wall, and other pleasures of equally dubious nature.
Life on the inside is divided into two principle ways. There are the imaginatively titled LGSs (or large group sessions) that are the few lectures we have for each module, and SGSs (small group sessions) that are the seminars. Much time is devoted to the latter this is the focus of "student orientated learning", and fortunately so.
The usefulness of the LGS has ranged from integral to ones survival, to an hour of pointing out the inanely obvious. However with the hoop-jumping attitude of the attendance requirement, being present at all of these sessions is an unfortunate necessity. I have been one of the few who has had their name called out to check attendance, and had luckily decided not to slope off to a nearby watering hole with a friend in the area that day.
The SGSs are equally varied, and the subject and lecturer have huge impacts on how interesting these can actually be.
Criminal and Civil feel too much like undergraduate seminars for comfort, just with longer reading lists. Presented with a long reading list from either the CPR or Blackstone's and a list of questions makes for a dull day in the library knocking out the two. Fortunately I really like my criminal tutor, and this makes the process more enjoyable. As a wannabe criminal hack however, civil is doubly tortuous; it seems so irrelevant to what I want to do. Most of my group are the other way round, and find doing criminal almost an insult. The feeling is mutual!
Advocacy and conference are the highlights of the week. The first advocacy session, despite my insatiable incompetency at the exercise finally made it all feel worth while. For any reader who is at that stage in their degree where they wonder why the hell they are in the library again, this is why. The first 5 seconds on my feet speaking and I knew why I was here. Why the hell isn't advocacy in some form part of the undergraduate experience? My own annoyance is that some of my group are already easily getting outstanding, and my competitive nature is chomping at the bit as a result of only achieving a mid VC. Conference is fun, but thanks to my group rather than anything done by the lecturer. Role play can be made less tedious if your client is played by someone witty and imaginative enough to keep the exercise alive. The marking of the exercises however appears random, and some of my class mates who are clearly performing better are not scoring so, much to their frustration. I for one don't blame them.
Legal Research - Just....No.
Professional Ethics - This has been taught surprisingly well, and role playing your answers to the client (played by the lecturer who was determined to be difficult) made the experience a challenge rather than a tedious hoop-jump exercises.
Opinion (and drafting) - made bearable by the tutor who understands the reality of student life, and would rather go through things in an intelligent fashion and explain what you should be doing to get good marks rather than hammer someone who hasn't fully prepared that week. When she said in the first SGS that she understands that how much you get done each week for each topic is a matter of priority rather than saying "opinion comes first" meant she was getting a standing ovation if my head.
So far the workload has been unproblematic. Treating it like a 9-5 job everyday has meant I have had very few late evenings or busy weekend. Given that Friday's are off, I barely even have to work on them to be easily 24-48 hours ahead of my timetable. Much of my group work this way, and we can often be found en masse in the library working away. If you can work like this, I would suggest it. For the first time in my academic career, I am on top of my work. Shame about everything else in my life!
Finally...my group. I am yet to characterise them fully, although they will doubtless appear from time to time. What I will say now is that they have made the course. They allow the tedious elements to be enjoyable, provide worthy adversaries in advocacy and conference, and the good-natured humour between us has given the experience a much needed lift.
The experience has begun. I am on the inside. I am a lifer.
The second part to my series on my failed application experiences will come later, but I just wanted to get a quick word in first about having at last started the BVC.
A few first impressions
I arrived, fresh faced and rosy on the first day, ready for all that the world had to offer.
Ok, that's a lie. I arrived late, red faced and feeling like a massive idiot already. My subconscious desire for a more glamorous memory of my arrival has therefore kicked in, and has not so much applied rose-tinted spectacles for the viewing but fired the previous director, hired a script writer, taken on a more handsome model to play me and re-shot the whole opening scene. Ah, much better...
The first week was much as I had expected; the usual gloriously tedious introductory lectures, gratuitous queuing to hand in forms to allow one times to become intimately acquainted with the nearby wall, and other pleasures of equally dubious nature.
Life on the inside is divided into two principle ways. There are the imaginatively titled LGSs (or large group sessions) that are the few lectures we have for each module, and SGSs (small group sessions) that are the seminars. Much time is devoted to the latter this is the focus of "student orientated learning", and fortunately so.
The usefulness of the LGS has ranged from integral to ones survival, to an hour of pointing out the inanely obvious. However with the hoop-jumping attitude of the attendance requirement, being present at all of these sessions is an unfortunate necessity. I have been one of the few who has had their name called out to check attendance, and had luckily decided not to slope off to a nearby watering hole with a friend in the area that day.
The SGSs are equally varied, and the subject and lecturer have huge impacts on how interesting these can actually be.
Criminal and Civil feel too much like undergraduate seminars for comfort, just with longer reading lists. Presented with a long reading list from either the CPR or Blackstone's and a list of questions makes for a dull day in the library knocking out the two. Fortunately I really like my criminal tutor, and this makes the process more enjoyable. As a wannabe criminal hack however, civil is doubly tortuous; it seems so irrelevant to what I want to do. Most of my group are the other way round, and find doing criminal almost an insult. The feeling is mutual!
Advocacy and conference are the highlights of the week. The first advocacy session, despite my insatiable incompetency at the exercise finally made it all feel worth while. For any reader who is at that stage in their degree where they wonder why the hell they are in the library again, this is why. The first 5 seconds on my feet speaking and I knew why I was here. Why the hell isn't advocacy in some form part of the undergraduate experience? My own annoyance is that some of my group are already easily getting outstanding, and my competitive nature is chomping at the bit as a result of only achieving a mid VC. Conference is fun, but thanks to my group rather than anything done by the lecturer. Role play can be made less tedious if your client is played by someone witty and imaginative enough to keep the exercise alive. The marking of the exercises however appears random, and some of my class mates who are clearly performing better are not scoring so, much to their frustration. I for one don't blame them.
Legal Research - Just....No.
Professional Ethics - This has been taught surprisingly well, and role playing your answers to the client (played by the lecturer who was determined to be difficult) made the experience a challenge rather than a tedious hoop-jump exercises.
Opinion (and drafting) - made bearable by the tutor who understands the reality of student life, and would rather go through things in an intelligent fashion and explain what you should be doing to get good marks rather than hammer someone who hasn't fully prepared that week. When she said in the first SGS that she understands that how much you get done each week for each topic is a matter of priority rather than saying "opinion comes first" meant she was getting a standing ovation if my head.
So far the workload has been unproblematic. Treating it like a 9-5 job everyday has meant I have had very few late evenings or busy weekend. Given that Friday's are off, I barely even have to work on them to be easily 24-48 hours ahead of my timetable. Much of my group work this way, and we can often be found en masse in the library working away. If you can work like this, I would suggest it. For the first time in my academic career, I am on top of my work. Shame about everything else in my life!
Finally...my group. I am yet to characterise them fully, although they will doubtless appear from time to time. What I will say now is that they have made the course. They allow the tedious elements to be enjoyable, provide worthy adversaries in advocacy and conference, and the good-natured humour between us has given the experience a much needed lift.
The experience has begun. I am on the inside. I am a lifer.
Sunday, 30 August 2009
Legal Highs – a misplaced fuss
Last night as I sat up late with a good after a night of mild revelry, a program about legal highs came on, presented by George Lamb. I must applaud him for tackling the topic in a much more comprehensive way than much of the media has recently over products such as Spice which simply denounces them as an evil legal loophole that must be closed. However, I must also berate him for presenting his work in such a biased fashion, which at times verged on condescension. Nonetheless, it was at least sufficient to hold my interest, did at least examine both sides of the argument (to some degree) and prompted a good discussion at the time. Mr Lamb even closed by trying one himself before the credits rolled so that he might add his own comment; mainly a shock at the legality of an effective product.
So, a quick bit of background: legal highs (are supposed to) do what they say on the tin. They mimic the effects of many illicit drugs but are legal. Often, they avoid scrutiny by labelling themselves as ‘not fit for human consumption’ and avoid more rigorous testing regimes that would otherwise be required. Dubious perhaps, but nonetheless effective. They fall roughly into two categories; natural and chemical. Fairly obviously, one is drawn from natural ingredients, whilst the other is lab manufactured. The latter in particular is ‘clever’; substances such as MDMA can be easily altered (as Mr Lamb pointed out) by changing only a small part of the chemical structure and is thus nearly identical in effect but no longer classed as MDMA. Herbal products either use already effective products (and perhaps distil their extracts) or combine a series of individually non-effective products to create one.
This last approach is the way with the current product of misplaced political focus – Spice. For you interest, a detailed chemical report can be found replicated in excruciating detail here (unable to re-find link, it will come!). I perused this with some interest; in essence each produce used is ineffective in isolation. What was interesting is that the ‘sample’ was found with synthetic cannabinoids sprayed onto the mix – in other words a synthetic product added that mimics the effects of THC. This sparked some controversy; the synthetic addition was not found at either the factories or in purchased product but was from a raid. Make of this what you will, I pass no comment here.
The upshot is that the produce has been found to replicate the illicit drug, cannabis by producing a similar high but whilst being readily available at high street vendors. It has not come to the attention of the media, politicians and public, and therefore the government have declared it is to be banned.
To my few cents:
Why is this product being made illegal? I must question the government in doing this. I present here just two arguments, and welcome discussion.
So the drugs (and in particular cannabinoids with relation to the final part) fail wholesale to fit the criteria for being criminalised.
So to my next point:
The reason that this substance is being criminalised is being cited as the fact that it is more potent than THC, and the long-term effects are unknown. It is a largely unregulated market. Well, let us consider why it is unregulated. Plain and simple; it intends to recreate illicit substances through loopholes, and as such exploits the path of least resistance to avoid scrutiny and tight control. The market is therefore full or a range of unpredictable products, over which individuals only gain experience by learning drug culture from others; drug taking culture is a learned sub-culture. The same is true of illicit drugs because they are subject to similar non-regulation, but at the hands of dealers rather than legitimate business enterprise. What this means is that legal drugs can be as problematic for users as illicit drugs; the strength, products, and effects can vary from purchase to purchase. This can pose a risk to users as they cannot accurately gauge intake. With legal highs this is compounded as once a product become the subject of media attention it may be banned, and is quickly replaced by a similar but not identical product. One could claim, with a reputable/frequently used dealer of illicit substances, they may at least sell you the same purity each time to maintain reputation. A shop vendor has no such interest.
So the effects of making it illicit? It will be replaced. Another new legal high will take its place, and cause more experimentation to find its effects. Check out any legal high forum to see that this has become an integral part of the process. I actually find it heartening that people are willing to post their own experiences of a product publically whether good or bad.
So let us finally consider the physical/mental harm of the drug, or rather the lack of proper studies into it. Drugs are not controlled. This is their ‘danger’, although frankly if people want to take them, then I feel that should be their right. Alcohol by comparison is very tightly controlled – I am probably not drinking a mixture of tyres and dogs. Surely the answer then is decriminalisation (note, not necessarily legalisation), as tried with great effect in Amsterdam with many substances. This allows for much tighter control of the product – you know what you get. We would then have a regulated market. You could purchase a packet of product Y and know what is in it, its effects, strength, and importantly that it would be of a minimum standard. The result; lesser harm. Surely this is more justifiable.
If the government want to control these legal highs, the answer is simple. Regulate the market. Criminalisation is ineffective, counter-intuitive and draconian. There is no inherent moral harm. Physical effects can be mediated by better regulation, not criminalisation. Look for instance to Portugal.
There is too much fuss being made in the wrong quarter. And frankly, I am appalled.
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Pupillage Portal; reflections of an applicant scorned
The Hellgate Season has drawn to a close. I am left without pupillage, along with many of the great and the good who deserve one more than myself. Given my own blundering steps through the event horizon to the World Beyond, I thought I would post my own musings on the subject, so that others may laugh, cry, or perhaps find something useful from my own foray into the labyrinthine process. I have posted here a few choice words on my experiences, and what I have learnt from the whole debacle. I shall split this post into several pieces, as I fear it will once again become longer than your patience.
Part 1: The Battle of Application Hill
1) Choosing the Chambers of Dreams
Do not, as I did, underestimate the horrors of the Hellgate application. Unaware of the gargantuan effort involved, I decided to set aside a few days of my Easter vacation to tackle the beasts that came through the Gate.
How naïve I was.
The battle drained my entire vacation before I was even close to satisfied with my applications, leaving my university work out in the cold. 12 chambers need to be distilled from a gargantuan list. This alone took me some considerable time. I resorted to making myself a list of key things which I looked for so that I might more quickly sort the wheat from the chaff (in terms of personal choice). On top of that was to whittle the list down to reflect my own level of ability, compared to current tenants. In short, kind readers, this process took much longer than I had ever anticipated.
As an MA student with much on my plate, I am sure you will appreciate the consternation this caused. Therefore, if any budding 3rd years or pre-BVC students read these words before attempting their first foray into battle, be warned; it takes a bloody long time even to get this far. Research thoroughly. Extremely so. Check chambers and partners. Search for them in the news. Examine the whole website with excruciating detail. Do not, on any account, scrimp on this portion. Even having spent many hours on this, I still subsequently made a few choice mistakes that I only discovered later. One I must admit was in my favour, and did me no harm for I made it to interview. The others however were less forgiving. You must demonstrate you knowledge in your Hellgate applications; and not necessarily overtly. Tailor your application to the qualities that are looked for, when Chambers are kind enough to post them.
2) Scribing you applications
Do not, as I did, underestimate the herculean effort this requires. Whilst a few key questions will remain largely untouched from chambers to chambers, a great many will not. This means that you must create unique answers, tailored to each Chamber of Dreams.
To illustrate; a peer of mine, with good academic qualities and similar extra-curricular activities hurried her applications having underestimated the time involved. Knocking out the bulk in just a day, she sent of her applications. She did not receive any interview invites.
I often felt like Sisyphus, toiling away to no avail day after day. I was however rewarded for my efforts in at least getting to interview... even if unsuccessfully. Here to illustrate, is a cat.
There are plenty of places offering sage advice on this topic. Check out the wise words over at Simon Myerson’s excellent blog. Read the TargetLaw information. Pick up a copy of The Path to Pupillage. Speak to your careers advisors. Do not underestimate the help that can be gleaned from these sources; they probably are the reason I even got a foot in the interview door. You need not go it alone; many will be available to help you, and I urge you not to neglect them. My applications were saved from the instant trip to the shredder by just having them checked for errors after I had stopped being able to read them properly myself.
3) Fighting the Hydra of Submissions
I urge any readers who have yet to face their first battle to learn for the war worn; start early. Very early. Start now. Go on, stop reading this and go and do something useful for once! Hellgate WILL break. It will leave you wounded, stranded, and screaming with frustration. On occasion it would have been faster to etch my applications in my own blood and send it by carrier snail. So my advice, kind readers, is to begin as early as you can. Do not think you can be submitting up to the deadline, for you cannot. The goalposts will not only move, they will get up and run the fuck away, before entrenching themselves in a bunker and grabbing the M60. Suddenly your plastic sword of last minute preparation will look at lot less useful. I learnt the hard way. Do not make the same mistakes that I did.
Next time: The Massacre at Interview Ridge
Part 1: The Battle of Application Hill
1) Choosing the Chambers of Dreams
Do not, as I did, underestimate the horrors of the Hellgate application. Unaware of the gargantuan effort involved, I decided to set aside a few days of my Easter vacation to tackle the beasts that came through the Gate.
How naïve I was.
The battle drained my entire vacation before I was even close to satisfied with my applications, leaving my university work out in the cold. 12 chambers need to be distilled from a gargantuan list. This alone took me some considerable time. I resorted to making myself a list of key things which I looked for so that I might more quickly sort the wheat from the chaff (in terms of personal choice). On top of that was to whittle the list down to reflect my own level of ability, compared to current tenants. In short, kind readers, this process took much longer than I had ever anticipated.
As an MA student with much on my plate, I am sure you will appreciate the consternation this caused. Therefore, if any budding 3rd years or pre-BVC students read these words before attempting their first foray into battle, be warned; it takes a bloody long time even to get this far. Research thoroughly. Extremely so. Check chambers and partners. Search for them in the news. Examine the whole website with excruciating detail. Do not, on any account, scrimp on this portion. Even having spent many hours on this, I still subsequently made a few choice mistakes that I only discovered later. One I must admit was in my favour, and did me no harm for I made it to interview. The others however were less forgiving. You must demonstrate you knowledge in your Hellgate applications; and not necessarily overtly. Tailor your application to the qualities that are looked for, when Chambers are kind enough to post them.
2) Scribing you applications
Do not, as I did, underestimate the herculean effort this requires. Whilst a few key questions will remain largely untouched from chambers to chambers, a great many will not. This means that you must create unique answers, tailored to each Chamber of Dreams.
To illustrate; a peer of mine, with good academic qualities and similar extra-curricular activities hurried her applications having underestimated the time involved. Knocking out the bulk in just a day, she sent of her applications. She did not receive any interview invites.
I often felt like Sisyphus, toiling away to no avail day after day. I was however rewarded for my efforts in at least getting to interview... even if unsuccessfully. Here to illustrate, is a cat.
There are plenty of places offering sage advice on this topic. Check out the wise words over at Simon Myerson’s excellent blog. Read the TargetLaw information. Pick up a copy of The Path to Pupillage. Speak to your careers advisors. Do not underestimate the help that can be gleaned from these sources; they probably are the reason I even got a foot in the interview door. You need not go it alone; many will be available to help you, and I urge you not to neglect them. My applications were saved from the instant trip to the shredder by just having them checked for errors after I had stopped being able to read them properly myself.
3) Fighting the Hydra of Submissions
I urge any readers who have yet to face their first battle to learn for the war worn; start early. Very early. Start now. Go on, stop reading this and go and do something useful for once! Hellgate WILL break. It will leave you wounded, stranded, and screaming with frustration. On occasion it would have been faster to etch my applications in my own blood and send it by carrier snail. So my advice, kind readers, is to begin as early as you can. Do not think you can be submitting up to the deadline, for you cannot. The goalposts will not only move, they will get up and run the fuck away, before entrenching themselves in a bunker and grabbing the M60. Suddenly your plastic sword of last minute preparation will look at lot less useful. I learnt the hard way. Do not make the same mistakes that I did.
Next time: The Massacre at Interview Ridge
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
The shape of things to come...
Apologies for the somewhat whimsical post...the format of this foray into blawgging is still under some flux. I do intend to cover some more hard-edged legal topics once I begin the BVC, and already have some in mind.
I am beginning to feel some excitement at the thought of the upcoming start of the BVC. After 4 long years of purely academic work, it will be nice to do something that feels practical. This year has been the closet I have come to doing work that seems like it has a practical purpose, and has strayed away from purely theory. Undertaking a dissertation involving research with the public, and with the possibility of creating some actual change has felt extremely rewarding. Or it will, when the damn thing is finally finished.
The prospect of my new life is also exciting, if leaving me thinking of what I will leave behind. Strolling home last week as the sun came up (yes, I am a dirty stop-out) with the dulcet tones of Frightened Rabbit ringing in my ears, I was reminded why I am so enamoured with this city, and with my life here. Many of my peers will not be leaving here, and others left only to come back. I can see why. Had I not firmly decided that The Big City was my destination of choice, I doubt I would leave here either. I am convinced that had I stayed but one more year, I too would be here for good.
However, I am always one for an adventure. Shrugging off the shackles of my ties to this place, and moving down south holds great excitement for me. With somewhere to live now secured, and with all that the next year will hold looming tantalisingly in front of me, I am certainly looking forward to moving on.Even if it is with a slight backwards glance as I go.
If it all goes wrong? I will still have had a bloody good time getting there.
I am beginning to feel some excitement at the thought of the upcoming start of the BVC. After 4 long years of purely academic work, it will be nice to do something that feels practical. This year has been the closet I have come to doing work that seems like it has a practical purpose, and has strayed away from purely theory. Undertaking a dissertation involving research with the public, and with the possibility of creating some actual change has felt extremely rewarding. Or it will, when the damn thing is finally finished.
The prospect of my new life is also exciting, if leaving me thinking of what I will leave behind. Strolling home last week as the sun came up (yes, I am a dirty stop-out) with the dulcet tones of Frightened Rabbit ringing in my ears, I was reminded why I am so enamoured with this city, and with my life here. Many of my peers will not be leaving here, and others left only to come back. I can see why. Had I not firmly decided that The Big City was my destination of choice, I doubt I would leave here either. I am convinced that had I stayed but one more year, I too would be here for good.
However, I am always one for an adventure. Shrugging off the shackles of my ties to this place, and moving down south holds great excitement for me. With somewhere to live now secured, and with all that the next year will hold looming tantalisingly in front of me, I am certainly looking forward to moving on.Even if it is with a slight backwards glance as I go.
If it all goes wrong? I will still have had a bloody good time getting there.
Friday, 14 August 2009
Death by....Prezi?
I have a pet hate for death by powerpoint. I have sat through many an agonising lecture, wishing only to fine a new and original way to combine the lecturer with the intricate and highly electrical components. Lecturing is a difficult thing to master, and I have seen those whose presentations have ranged from excellent to appalling. My pet hate is to be read to, from overwordy slides. I had one truly awful experience. An hour and a half of a very technical presentation on Data Protection Act 1998. The projected image was tiny, and the lecturer had decided that the best colours were black background and purple writing. Small writing.
I did not learn a great deal, and my teeth are noticeably less efficient.
Faced then with the unenviable task of creating a detailed presentation on the content of my dissertation research, I racked my brains as to how to create something that did not befall many of the traps. Without wishing to blow my own trumpet, I have always had some skill at creating presentations that are not too onerous, and the laid back conversational style in which present has been commented on positively by several lecturers. However, the complex nature and depth of my dissertation topic is far beyond anything I have had to create before.
I am a fan of Pecha Kucha as an idea. I think the skill in which these presentations are delivered is admirable, and teaches some of the best qualities when designing presentations. Having been forced to create a plethora of presentations, I have tried to adhere to this format as closely as I can. I would actually relish if this kind of skill were taught as part of undergraduate basic skills, as an ability to present is important in all walks of life. It teaches the ability to condense information orally, which is often sorely lacking from undergraduate seminars - but more on that another time. Unfortunately, the presentation I must give is for a much greater period of time and need be in much more depth than would allow me to use this format.
How then am I to present a complex piece of research?
As a fan of all things techy, I accidentally stumbled across Prezi some while ago.This website is a free zooming presentation creator and viewer, and even allows the option of downloading the website as a flash file. Rather than the one-slide-at-a-time principle with which many will be familiar, Prezi allows much greater freedom. Imagine if you will, a format more akin to a mind map which you can zoom in and out at will, create a non-linear path of focal points and embed video, images and various other files. Having played for just a few minutes it became clear that this was the answer to my problem. The presentation I have created is by far the best I have ever buckled together. It does take more time than sticking a few bullets on a powerpoint, and is sometimes fiddly to get right. There are many tools frustratingly lacking that would enhance the creator more, and some presentations are perhaps not so suited to the format.
However, for something free it is fantastic. Even the wordy series of interrelated topics I have to cover can be given some sense of overall structure in this format. The non-linear zoomable structure is brilliant. So simple, yet so appealing. Of course, if one were to think of Prezi as just powerpoint in flash, then Death by Prezi would certainly be possible. It requires that people do that most difficult of things; think outside the box and years of using powerpoint.
Prezi has another convert. If anyone has checked out the excellent post over on Law Actually titled The Open Source Lawyer and is looking for more weapons in the open source armoury, then I would recommend this one highly.
Death by powerpoint may have met it's end.
I did not learn a great deal, and my teeth are noticeably less efficient.
Faced then with the unenviable task of creating a detailed presentation on the content of my dissertation research, I racked my brains as to how to create something that did not befall many of the traps. Without wishing to blow my own trumpet, I have always had some skill at creating presentations that are not too onerous, and the laid back conversational style in which present has been commented on positively by several lecturers. However, the complex nature and depth of my dissertation topic is far beyond anything I have had to create before.
I am a fan of Pecha Kucha as an idea. I think the skill in which these presentations are delivered is admirable, and teaches some of the best qualities when designing presentations. Having been forced to create a plethora of presentations, I have tried to adhere to this format as closely as I can. I would actually relish if this kind of skill were taught as part of undergraduate basic skills, as an ability to present is important in all walks of life. It teaches the ability to condense information orally, which is often sorely lacking from undergraduate seminars - but more on that another time. Unfortunately, the presentation I must give is for a much greater period of time and need be in much more depth than would allow me to use this format.
How then am I to present a complex piece of research?
As a fan of all things techy, I accidentally stumbled across Prezi some while ago.This website is a free zooming presentation creator and viewer, and even allows the option of downloading the website as a flash file. Rather than the one-slide-at-a-time principle with which many will be familiar, Prezi allows much greater freedom. Imagine if you will, a format more akin to a mind map which you can zoom in and out at will, create a non-linear path of focal points and embed video, images and various other files. Having played for just a few minutes it became clear that this was the answer to my problem. The presentation I have created is by far the best I have ever buckled together. It does take more time than sticking a few bullets on a powerpoint, and is sometimes fiddly to get right. There are many tools frustratingly lacking that would enhance the creator more, and some presentations are perhaps not so suited to the format.
However, for something free it is fantastic. Even the wordy series of interrelated topics I have to cover can be given some sense of overall structure in this format. The non-linear zoomable structure is brilliant. So simple, yet so appealing. Of course, if one were to think of Prezi as just powerpoint in flash, then Death by Prezi would certainly be possible. It requires that people do that most difficult of things; think outside the box and years of using powerpoint.
Prezi has another convert. If anyone has checked out the excellent post over on Law Actually titled The Open Source Lawyer and is looking for more weapons in the open source armoury, then I would recommend this one highly.
Death by powerpoint may have met it's end.
Monday, 3 August 2009
Planning for the void
Well, I did not get the Blessed Pupillage. My foray through HellGate has left me bloodied, battered and bruised; or at least, my ego.
I am at least chuffed that I got through to a second round interview, given that I had been roundly prepared for a flat rejection. Whilst I had thought the interview had gone swimmingly, it apparently did not. I actually left with a smile on my face, thinking that I had made only one blunder, but that I had recovered with an impressive piece of information that had the Daemon Masters smiling and looking genuinely interested . Ihave again cme to the conclusion that:
Post Interview Confidence = Fail
I have asked for feedback, and can only hope that I receive something that gives me a better shot next year. As stoic as I tried to be, I was still rather crushed by the ultimate rejection.
So, I have two realities to face.
Firstly - my plate is looking rather full. With my battle against HellGate so time consuming (what with the dawn raids, midnight guerilla expeditions, and pillaging) my Dissertation has fallen somewhat behind. Not only that, but I am faced with remarkably little time to move into my new accommodation before I commence being a Lifer at BPP. With a new deadline dropped firmly into my briefly snoozing lap this afternoon, my time is a little pressured.
Secondly - The Void. Given then almost all sets recruit a year ahead, I will have an entire year (or more) to fill after the end of the BVC. In an attempt to be positive, I have made a list of the things this will give me the opportunity to accomplish. Of course, the list is long, unrealistic and will probably be completely untouched in two years time. However, hope can be no bad thing.
With that in mind, I feel I should return to battling my Dissertation, before my Supervisor grabs the whip from his closet and comes knocking.
Onward and upward
Oddy
P.S. I am now thoroughly bloody annoyed. The chambers to which I was invited to final interview have refused to give feedback. Of course, this I would understand in the large first round. However, at second round I think it is a farce to refuse. How are individuals supposed to improve? I think this may be the topic of a forthcoming post.
I am at least chuffed that I got through to a second round interview, given that I had been roundly prepared for a flat rejection. Whilst I had thought the interview had gone swimmingly, it apparently did not. I actually left with a smile on my face, thinking that I had made only one blunder, but that I had recovered with an impressive piece of information that had the Daemon Masters smiling and looking genuinely interested . Ihave again cme to the conclusion that:
Post Interview Confidence = Fail
I have asked for feedback, and can only hope that I receive something that gives me a better shot next year. As stoic as I tried to be, I was still rather crushed by the ultimate rejection.
So, I have two realities to face.
Firstly - my plate is looking rather full. With my battle against HellGate so time consuming (what with the dawn raids, midnight guerilla expeditions, and pillaging) my Dissertation has fallen somewhat behind. Not only that, but I am faced with remarkably little time to move into my new accommodation before I commence being a Lifer at BPP. With a new deadline dropped firmly into my briefly snoozing lap this afternoon, my time is a little pressured.
Secondly - The Void. Given then almost all sets recruit a year ahead, I will have an entire year (or more) to fill after the end of the BVC. In an attempt to be positive, I have made a list of the things this will give me the opportunity to accomplish. Of course, the list is long, unrealistic and will probably be completely untouched in two years time. However, hope can be no bad thing.
With that in mind, I feel I should return to battling my Dissertation, before my Supervisor grabs the whip from his closet and comes knocking.
Onward and upward
Oddy
P.S. I am now thoroughly bloody annoyed. The chambers to which I was invited to final interview have refused to give feedback. Of course, this I would understand in the large first round. However, at second round I think it is a farce to refuse. How are individuals supposed to improve? I think this may be the topic of a forthcoming post.
Thursday, 30 July 2009
The interminable wait...
Tomorrow I find out out at long last if my second round interview yielded success of failure. I have prepared for the latter, as the odds are stacked against me (as it is us all). But still I can't help but hope. Just a smidge!
Oh will The Wait just be over?!
Oddy
Oh will The Wait just be over?!
Oddy
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