tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67939028583435531492023-11-15T14:26:17.574+00:00Two Year LawA more personal account of the Senior Status Law degree at Cambridge.Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-51705528646936275082009-05-28T12:40:00.007+01:002009-05-28T12:44:14.771+01:00Exam Season!<br>I am currently 2/5 of the way through my exams, but after I finish next week, I will post an update on here, and also my general affiliated law blog.<br><br />For those of you who are curious, here is my exam timetable:<br />25th of May - Constitutional<br />27th of May - Contract<br />1st of June - International<br />2nd of June - Land<br />3rd of June - Tort<br><br />Each exam lasts three hours, in which you are expected to answer 4 questions (any combination of problem or essay questions are permissible).<br><br>Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-31455727463856008142009-03-12T15:23:00.007+00:002009-05-28T12:41:53.620+01:00Term 2, Year 1<br>The second term is much (in Cambridge terms!) more relaxed than the first, as we gained an extra 4 hours of free time due to each of the 3h p/week modules dropping down to 2 (International was always only 2 hours). This proved to be invaluable: not only did this mean that I was able to start attending rowing sessions, and having the odd lie-in, but it also garnered valuable study time in the afternoons after lectures and seminars.<br><br />I decided to try and get a head start on assessing the work, so that I'd have more time over the break rather than having to make my notes then, so I tried my hardest to review notes on the same day that we'd covered them. It really is important to also have some leisure time, which was why I was really pleased that the time change allowed me to start rowing properly - we even managed to go down to London to compete in WeHORR which was a real experience.<br><br />I feel as if I've gotten to a stage where I'm finally feeling that I'm understanding the work, but time-pressures are really kicking in. Next term we'll not only be trying to revise for the impending exams, but also still having lectures right up to the wire. I haven't had to cope with this sort of thing before, so I'm hoping that I'll still be able to somehow memorise the content we're being taught, whilst also learning the ones I've been looking at over this break.<br><br />We still don't know when the exams are scheduled for, aside from that they're due to start from the 25th of May and run until the 10th of June at the latest. I really hope that we're lucky enough to get a day or two between exams, and don't have two on the same day, as I know how draining that can be!<br><br />Obviously I'm a bit nervous about the exams, as there really is a lot to memorise, but I'm confident that everything will begin to fall into place. Here's hoping!<br><bR>Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-77196428782931057722008-12-04T17:53:00.002+00:002008-12-04T18:04:00.740+00:00Term 1, Year 1<br>At the end of Michaelmas, I can certainly appreciate why they have eight week terms here! It's not so much the amount of work (although there is a lot), but rather that the intensity of the way they teach here really gets to you. Having three lectures a day four out of five days a week immediately removes a good chunk of the day from you being able to do anything else, and in weeks where you have supervisions in the afternoon, you often only have an hour or two hours in the middle to do some work. <br /><br />The toughest part is finding the time to review what you've learnt in lectures whilst also preparing for your supervisions. Even though they're on a fortnightly basis, it's a balancing act between trying to get the work done well in advance, and then risking forgetting it, or frantically doing something the night before. I tend to err on the side of the former, as I'm certainly not one of those people who stays awake until 2am writing an essay (although there are certainly some here!) <br /><br />Sometimes it can be difficult to find time to do extra-curricular things, but you have to make sure that you do have some time to yourself. I certainly appreciate the weekends, as it means I can have a lie-in!<br /><br />I think everyone is glad to be getting away from here for the break, as it's an extremely pressurised environment. We'll obviously all be busy over the holidays, but sometimes you just need to physically remove yourself from a place in order to get away from its 'atmosphere'. Even so, it'll be lovely to go home for a while.<br /><br />Merry Christmas!<br><br>Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-3336296928563108602008-12-04T17:33:00.003+00:002008-12-04T17:52:19.532+00:001st year books<br>It might be useful if I share the books I've bought for this year. I should point out that Constitutional and Tort are IA (first part of the tripos/Y1 of a regular undergrad.) courses, whereas the remaining three are IB (second part of the tripos/Y2 of a regular undergrad.). You normally have between 2-3 books for each subject, although you're by no means obliged to get any books at all (although this would be a bit silly if you didn't!) There is normally an introductory text, a textbook and a casebook, although the latter two often tend to intersect, and for Constitutional there is no specific 'casebook'. <br /><br />I'm listing my copies in this order, with a dash to show if I don't own the recommended title for that part. I'm also putting an asterix at the beginning of the book that I find most useful/use most often for each course. More info on these texts (i.e. years) and other recommended books can be found in the Law Faculty's handbook, which can be accessed <a href="http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/docs/view_doc_info.php?doc=5236">here</a><br /><br /><u>Constitutional</u><br />Munro, <i>Studies in Constitutional Law</i><br />* Bradley & Ewing, <i>Constitutional and Administrative Law</i><br />Turpin & Tomkins, <i>British Government and the Constitution</i><br /><br /><u>Contract</u><br />* McKendrick, <i>Contract Law</i><br />Chesire, Fifoot & Furnston, <i>The Law of Contract</i><br />McKendrick, <i>Contracts, Cases and Materials</i><br /><br /><u>International</u><br />---<br />---<br />Harris, <i>Cases and Materials on International Law</i><br />(I only own one book in this paper, but I tend to use various texts from the library for this topic, so I don't have a particular one which I use most often)<br /><br /><u>Land</u><br />* Gray & Gray, <i>Land Law</i><br />Smith, <i>Property Law</i><br />---<br /><br /><u>Tort</u><br />* Mullis & Oliphant, <i>Tort</i><br />Markesinis & Deakin, <i>Tort Law</i><br />Hepple, Matthews & Howarth, <i>Tort: Cases and Materials</i><br /><br />You also need the relevant statute books for all of these (aside from Contract and Tort which are together). <br /><br />I bought nearly all these books (aside from the statutes as you need the newest editions) from individuals, or at the book fair, where you can get some really great deals. I would advise that people wait to attend their universities' book fair (if one is held) before they buy books online, although make sure you have figured out what is a 'good' price for a book by researching first. I found that most of the books at the fair were often 1/2 the best price that I had found online. However, make sure that you're purchasing the newest edition of the book, or that you aren't buying something which has a new edition in the pipeline, as this effectively renders the old book useless.<br><br>Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-43392774340768820072008-11-30T17:40:00.006+00:002008-11-30T17:43:55.210+00:00Michaelmas term draws to a close<br>Well, the first term is nearly finished, and it has certainly been an experience. I realise that I haven't updated for over a month, but I will try and make another post within the week regarding books, and general recollections I have.<br><br>Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-52633158040720986912008-10-08T17:17:00.013+01:002008-10-08T18:09:41.044+01:00Final timetable II<br />Constitutional - Const. / Contract - Contr. / International - I / Land - L / Supervision (i.e. not a lecture) - S / Tort - T / Week One or Two - W1/2<br /><br /><u>Monday</u><br />9am: Const., 12pm: T, 3pm: IS (W2)<br /><u>Tuesday</u><br />9am: I, 10am: Contr., 12pm: T, 5pm: TS (W2)<br /><u>Wednesday</u><br />9am: L, 10am: I, 11am: Const., 3pm: Contr. (W2), 5pm: L (W1)<br /><u>Thursday</u><br />9am: L, 10am: Const., 12pm: Contr., 3pm: Const. (W2)<br /><u>Friday</u><br />10am: Contr., 11am: T, 12pm: L<br /><br />To explain the Week One and Two part, similar to other universities, Cambridge operates on a numbered weekly system (although different in that their terms only last eight weeks), beginning with one on the first Thursday of the academic term and finishing with eight on the final Friday (more information about Cambridge terms can be found <a href="http://www.cam.ac.uk/univ/termdates.html">here</a>).<br /><br />Supervisions alternate on either odd or even weeks; at the minute I've got four supervisions in one, and one in the other, which isn't the ideal arrangement, and hopefully I can change Tort over in Week three, so I'll have work for a fortnight, but then things can even themselves out.<br /><br />I'll be in a group of anything from two to four for these, and normally have to travel all over the place as the people teaching are spread between four colleges (including my own). My lectures 'officially' start tomorrow, but I've been on the go the past couple of days arranging appointments with the supervisors for the supervisions, and we've already been set quite a bit of work; something which is pretty daunting when you have a grand total of no legal knowledge at present!<br /><br />I'll try and post later regarding what I've learnt about books.<br /><br />Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-6772070244797797542008-10-06T22:35:00.006+01:002008-10-06T22:47:21.159+01:00Final timetable<br> At the minute my timetable is looking (reasonably) spacious, I have lectures from 9am to 12pm most days, aside from Thursday where I get to get up at 10, and then supervisions Mondays through to Wednesdays at 3pm or later. I've been to two of the three introductory lectures that were held in the first week, as the last one clashed with some events that were going on in my college, but I plan to go to the repeat series next weekend. <br /><br />I'll post the final draft of my timetable when I've confirmed all my supervisions; at the minute I've only seen my supervisors for International, Tort and Constitutional, which leaves Land and Contract. I'm seeing these last two to arrange appointments on Tuesday and Wednesday. <br /><br />It also looks as if I'll have to write an essay for each of these classes once every two weeks, probably no longer than 2000 or so words. Encouragingly, they seem to be keen for me to use my own intuition and thought quite a lot, which is a huge change from my previous degree, where the standard of excellence was a wide variety of quotes and references!<br /><br />Oh, I should also mention that all those classes (aside from International) are mandatory modules, but there is actually one selective module of the first year of the Affiliated course; a choice between that and Civil Law. I'll also post more about books and other things soon. <br><br>Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-67168372142911895692008-09-26T09:45:00.002+01:002008-09-26T10:25:05.523+01:00Introductory Timetable<br>We finally have the timetables for the introductory lectures! They run from 9.00am to 12.30pm each day. Here are the topics that are going to be covered:<br /><br /><u>Thursday 2 October</u><br />Introduction to Cambridge and the Law Faculty<br />Practical issues: from safety to communications<br />Introduction to Law and Sources of Law<br />Structure of the Courts <br /><br /><u>Friday 3 October</u><br />Legal Institutions<br />Reading a Case<br />Introduction to Legal Information Technology<br /><br /><u>Saturday 4 October</u><br />Reading a Statute<br />Judicial Reasoning in Relation to Cases and Statutes<br />Studying Law<br><br>Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-19249136451476146402008-09-22T16:59:00.003+01:002008-09-19T15:57:46.843+01:00Three Day Introductory Course<br>Another affiliated student (not at my college) and I have known for a while about this three day course that all affiliates, and those transferring into law from another subject have to take. However, we only recently found out (of our own volition) when this is supposed to run, the dates being from the 2nd to the 4th of October.<br /><br />I was concerned by this; firstly, by the fact that I had already contacted my college to ask whether I could arrive earlier and been told it would not be possible, and secondly, that my college's induction day would fall in the middle of the three days!<br /><br />However, my college has not only now said I can come earlier (30th of September) but rearranged their induction day for BA(Aff) Law students to fall on the 1st of October, so that it will no longer interfere with the course, which is great. The only thing I'm slightly worried about now is that my parents won't be around on the 1st, so I hope we can get any necessary paperwork out of the way on the 30th.<br /><br>Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-22435728943880162842008-09-08T15:41:00.002+01:002008-09-19T15:58:45.121+01:00Medico-Legal Work Experience<br>I have just finished two weeks in my local hospital's legal services department. Although they made a concerted effort to give me relevant tasks, I did end up doing a substantial amount of admin/PA duties; not that I mind!<br /><br />One of the most interesting things I got to do were attend two inquests at the Coroner's Court (both ruled 'accidental death'), but just being able to read some of the medical negligence or litigation cases going on at the hospital was worth my time there.<br /><br />I realise that we live in an extremely legally savvy age, where 'Slip, Trip or Fall' firms advertise on TV in nearly every ad-break, but it is still shocking to actually realise that people do take out cases against those people who are generally working towards the greater good.<br /><br />However, for its size, there were actually very few active cases, and I learnt that a lot of 'victims' abandon their claims halfway through. Although the work was very paper-based (solicitor-like in nature), I found the area of law one which definitely appeals to me.<br><br>Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-57284426200595764922008-08-04T08:48:00.000+01:002008-08-04T09:03:45.255+01:00Work Experience<br>I've noticed that some people seem concerned over the amount of work experience that they should have when they make their application. Speaking from my personal knowledge, I had only one two-week stretch (I was acting more as a glorified secretary than anything else) at a local solicitors' firm to mention. <br /><br />I think the key is to emphasize that <em>any</em> experience you have had has reaffirmed your interest in law, as well as mentioning any other activities you are hoping to arrange, or already have lined up for the future.<br /><br />If you are involved in any other roles which can be classed as 'legal', such as volunteering as part of the Witness Service, or at your CAB, then these are equally good things to include.<br /><br />To date I have had the aforementioned placement, two mini-pupillages at two Birmingham chambers, and a vacation-scheme at a global firm. I also have a two week placement arranged at the legal department of my local hospital later on this month.<br /><br>Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6793902858343553149.post-40608293976399218682008-07-28T10:42:00.000+01:002008-07-28T10:51:06.809+01:00Preparation<br>Although I haven't explicitly been told to read or not to read anything before the course, I don't think it can hurt just to get a general idea of the British legal system before I go, seeing as I've never done any study of law before.<br /><br />At the minute I've looked at:<br /><i>Learning the Law</i>, Glanville Williams<br /><i>The Law Machine</i>, Berlins & Dyer<br /><i>SWOT: A-level Law</i>, Johnson et al, and<br /><i>A-level Law</i>, Dugdale et al<br /><br />Out of these, I'd say that the second and fourth ones are the most accessible for 'casual' reading, whilst the first one seems like a useful reference text as to how to approach legal study. <br /><br>Cambridge Affiliatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13698507486751763451noreply@blogger.com0