Rewind

So it turns out that I'm staying in Luton after all. 3 days after moving out of the flat in Luton; my parents offered me enough money to keep it until my first full-month's paycheck rolls through. With this in mind, I swiftly called up the landlord. the place was still to let. this means I was able to re acquire the same flat. Of course, that means moving all my stuff back in to the flat. But the way I see it; it was just a really thorough (and really late) spring clean. In moving back in; I made sure to not bring back any clutter. Now that I'm no longer studying; my Law books can stay in storage. The same can be said about the countless number of pieces of papers and documents I've accumulated during my studies.

With my new (and also old) set-up; I am 10 minutes walk away from my current work place, 5 minutes away from a bus stop where a bus can take me to another stop thats just 5 minutes away from my up coming workplace at Sharman Law in Bedford. Everything is falling into place. Things are looking up for me. And i firmly believe that I owe a lot to my student experience in the University of Bedfordshire.

During my interview for the new job; I think my experiences of project management frm participating in Enactus Bedfordshire really carried me. This; coupled with the skills I developed in my current workplace within the University boosted my prospects during my interview for the law firm. It really helped me stand out among the others. Now; who knows where my road will take me.

But I cant wait to find out.



Paul G,
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Expiry and Experience

Today marks the first day in a long time where I stop being a student. I say this because my University ID expired yesterday. This means no more student bus tickets, no more student discounts and no more fancy sounding beep as I go pass the barriers within the University. I was however glad to get one last student-discounted cinema ticket yesterday. We went to watch Hercules! It was a nice outing before I move out of my flat in Luton. But that's tomorrow; as for today; my girlfriend and I have to pack up everything in the flat; ready to go for tomorrow.

I really loved it here in Luton, and now I'm moving back home for abit. But with any luck; I'll be back living here soon enough. Once my pay checks start coming in; hopefully I can find another place here in Luton. A nice affordable place. Writing about it now makes me look forward to it more. I really like it here; a university town seems more alive than most other towns; and I want to be a part of it again.

Plus as an added benefit; Luton is just a bus ride away from my new place of work. I'm excited to start working there too. I'm almost there!

Speaking of impending events; my blogging will stop soon. My blogging service to the University was only short term, and the contract is about to end. this is why I've recently been squeezing in as much blogs as I can; to give my readers a proper send off. Come the 4th of April, my contract will officially end with an exit interview in the University. So too must this blog. I'll try to squeeze in one more blog before then. But no promises (but in all honesty I will try my very best).

Paul G,
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Knowledge Transfer Associate

Today; I received further information on what my job will be in Sharman Law. As it turn out, I am supposed to work on reducing the carbon output of the firm through the use of technology. This means managing all the data in a more efficient manner, teaching the other staff to cope with the new databases that house the information and (as an extra task); fix up the social media aspect of the Law firm. I start all this at the first of September. 

For this; I will be paid just under £21,000 pro rata. Not bad for straight out of University. I'm really lucky to have stumbled onto this opportunity. All this was made possible by the University's HireMe scheme. A service which I recently found out is still available to Bedfordshire Alumni despite having graduated and no longer studying at the University. The level of support they give us for maximum exit velocity is staggeringly good. It seems like the University of Bedfordshire really wants to help all it's students as much as they can.

As it currently stands; I will receive some kind of pay check every month on the 21st from now on. Despite the fact that Sharman Law is likely to pay one month in arrears; the back pay I will be receiving from the Quality Assistant job will sustain till my Sharman Law pay-checks come in.

The only thing I'm worried about is the tax. I've braced myself for the 22% emergency tax. Accounting for the worst case scenario makes me feel more prepared. So I do all my financial calculations with that in mind. Regardless, I'm sure it will work out.

Paul G,

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Achievement Unlocked: Graduation

So today was my graduation. It was a momentous occasion and lots of picture taken was involved. It was great seeing some of my friends again after weeks of none-contact. It's probably best if I get in contact with them more from now on. Anyway, graduation was really fun. It was held in Putteridge Bury which is a fantastic looking venue. It featured a nice manor-house, some topiaries and a fountain pond kind of thing (but that wasn't on whilst it was there). It was a great day.

Speaking to one of my lecturers; I was told that it was actually a University of Bedfordshire campus and that post graduate lectures/seminars were held there. I was a tad envious; I wanted to have classes there too. He continued to explain that due to the fact that the venue was somewhat detached from the town centre; the post graduate centre was built to cater to the wishes of students previously studying in the Putteridge Bury campus.


I normally wear a suit anyway as my daily attire; so for graduation, I had to do something else extra. The only thing I could think of was a new knot for my tie. I went with my good-luck trinity knot. I dubbed it so due to the fact that I used the same know for my tie for an job interview yesterday. I am pleased to say that I got the job. I will now become a knowledge transfer associate for Sharman Law Solicitors' Firm. I am very excited to start work there and to open a new chapter of my life.

Paul G,
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ID

So today I received my staff ID for my work as quality assistant. It may not seem like much; but this brings
about certain privileges. I CAN NOW USE THE PRINTER! Haha, well what I was really looking forward to regarding this whole ID thing is to be able to wear one of those ID holders that say staff on it. But they didnt have any available at the time :(

But I havent given up just yet, I now set off on a quest for the staff ID holder. I plan to get one tomorrow. Or maybe the day after that. Or the day after that. But eventually I'll get one. Its understandable though. Currently, the University ID people (I dont know what they're called) are tending to the freshers. There was lots of people today in queue to get themselves enrolled. That was me 3 years ago. And now next week I'm graduating. How the time flies. The freshers angels were giving tours to the new arrivals, some people were strolling their luggage behind them towards the student accommodation and the cafeteria was peppered with students and their parents eating (probably for them to see their kid's new place). It's been a good day; a walk down memory lane.

Part of me wants to do it all over again; just for fun. I actually enjoyed Uni. It was an amazing experience. But I tend not to dwell in the past. This nostalgic feeling; I felt the same with my awesome secondary school. But when I rolled in to University; it was also just as awesome. So I'm confident that whatever happens next; whatever the next chapter of my life will be; it'll be awesome too.

A Quality Job

This week, I began working as a quality assistant for the University of Bedfordshire. It features pretty decent pay and the work load is perfect. Though its mostly dealing with paper work; overall, I am pretty pleased with my current employment. Its also nice to see a few friendly faces there. Two of my colleagues from my LLB also work there. A standard day consists of checking if documents are correct and there are no discrepancies between  the forms and the information contained in the databases.

However, where the job really shines is with it's curious effect on the status quo. For three long years, I spent hours on work that is to be checked by my Law lecturers. But now the tables have turned. As part of the University's quality department; I am charged checking the written work of my lecturers. Muhahaha!

However, unfortunately for me, the Law lecturers seem to be on point with their documents. Little to no errors arise which means that if I was grading their work; they would be getting firsts. Still; its pretty fun marking their work. I quite enjoy my new job; and the extra money is a fine bonus!

The office is really nice and the building itself looks to be newly refurbished (either that, or the tenants just keep it in good condition). We can eat and listen to music whilst we work so it is actually a pretty comfortable workplace. With its flexible hours and charismatic workers; I am very happy with how this all turned out.


Paul G,
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Barrio Fiesta

So today my family and I attended Barrio Fiesta in Stevenage. This is the first Barrio Fiesta to be held there and I believe it was a success. So I look forward to many more. Barrio Fiesta (from what I gather) means town festival. For us Filipinos; this is a time in which we celebrate our nationality and heritage. There are rides, food stalls and performances. The stage features these entertainment segments and they are all delivered with a Filipino twist. These range from traditional dances, folk music and songs from Filipino artists. To give you a small taste; here is a video featuring one such traditional dance that involves coconuts.

Oh my that took ages to upload. And I cant seem to rotate it. I hope it'll do. My plan was to upload a second video featuring the parade. But I'll have to sort out the orientation first. In the mean time; enjoy the video.

There were lots of performances. There was even a little girl who sung a certain song from Disney's Frozen. A song who's name I shall not repeat as it has the tendency of getting stuck in my head. Unfortunately, after a few performances; it began to rain. But I stuck it out to watch some more.

The cold never bothered me anyway ;)

Paul G,

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GG, Well played

So after much anticipation, my Company Law grade finally came through. That morning; I woke up to find that I had apparently failed the module. Closer inspection revealed that my efforts at the final exam yielded a G. Needless to say; I got worried. I had no idea what G meant. All I know is that eVision stated that I had failed Company Law!

So it turns out that G means a "non-submission". This was difficult to believe as I DID turn up to the exam and I submitted a completed exam paper. Naturally, I called up the University to see what was going on. My presumption was that they had misplaced my paper. Calling the University directs my call to a help desk. Once there; I requested to be wired through to the Law department. After leaving my details and information about what I was after; there was not much else for me to do. Overall, it was pretty straight forward.

But to ease my conscious, I felt it was necessary for me to try and contact my lecturers directly.  I didn't know who to e-mail so I e-mailed everyone. And I mean EVERYONE. Someone then got back to me on the same day. Of this fact; I was very thankful. She said that I received a G due to the fact that the faculty was unable to locate my paper.  She went on to say that they found it in the end and that my grade will be amended after a couple of days. For my efforts; I received a B-

Peace of mind at last.

Paul G,
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Results Day

E-vision now features the results for everyone studying the 3rd year of LLB Law within the University of Bedfordshire. My initial thoughts of my grades were that it was average. I achieved a B+ in Equity & Trusts,  B in Evidence, and for E-commerce; I got a B+. One interesting thing to note is the fact that my results for Company Law are yet to be posted. I was made aware of the fact that everyone else's Company grades are up; but mine seems to be an exception to this consensus.

To segue from that, I've heard that a lot of people achieved low marks for their exams, lower than mine. I find this very hard to believe... and yet, apparently, its true. These students work hard. Most of them exert more effort than me. This then changed my outlook on my grades; it appears they were above average after all. This news makes me feel very undeserving. My current results, in conjunction with my performance in the previous years, gives me a forecasted grade of a very high 2:1. Its a border-line 1st class degree and the results for my Company Law exam or the good will of my lecturers may well tip it over the edge. This of course is subject to the accuracy of the University's award predictor; though I have no reason to doubt it.

But I digress. The point of the matter is; the work I do is minuscule in comparison to my fellow colleagues. They should be the ones getting high grades. When they partake in late nights studying; I am snug in my bed. When they surround themselves with books in the study spaces dotted around the University; I am at home playing video games. It is unjust for me to get higher grades than them :( Ive been asking around to see if anyone got good grades; maybe some of them will tell me they got good grades :D

Paul G,

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Job Hunting

So now that my course has practically finished (except for the actual graduation); I've been focusing more on job-hunting. Legal knowledge can apparently be applied to various different things. As an LLB student; your options are not limited to being either a solicitor or barrister. A world of possibilities are available. For instance; we could be a legal executive, legal secretary, paralegal and other jobs that may not seem to require legal knowledge at first glance.

For instance; this week, I attended a workshop kind of event in a new establishment over in Bedford. It was
owned by a company called European Oat Millers. From what I gathered from the talk; a new branch has recently been set up in Bedford and they need workers from all walks of life; so to speak. One of the open jobs they talked about was for "new product development" as well as something about packaging. They continued to talk about that fact that regulations and Laws need to be followed when designing new products.

Another thing to note about this company is because of the fact that they are interested in sourcing workers straight from the University of Bedfordshire (either for graduate jobs or placement years). This is very welcome news. If an employer WANTS to hire; your chances are greatly increased. And I intend to capitalize on this opportunity. On that note; I left them a copy of my CV (Note: always have a copy of your CV on you). Fingers crossed :)

Paul G,
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Cross Animals

Now that most of the activities for University have finally been completed; I have recently found myself with
more time than I can occupy. On that note; I picked up a copy of Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City. You may have noticed that this blog was posted a tad bit late. This is due to the fact I left my laptop in my girlfriend's flat for the weekend. The same flat where my Wii is currently placed.

This of course leads to be late in both my blog post AND my duty to water the plants for the animals in Funky Town. So if any of you are mad at the concept of tardiness; so too are the animals.

On a more professional note; I saw one of my friends in Uni today. He had just finished his viva voce and gave me a heads-up on what approaches. He was allowed a PowerPoint presentation and was told that it is just a formality. So this makes me feel at ease. However, it also means that I have to work on my presentation some more now. But hey, I have time to spare so why not?

He was also wearing clothes that is more formal than what he normally wears so I reckon I'm going to go formal too. Anything to potentially make my childish presentation about gaming as formal as possible.

After his viva voce, he went out for a victory milkshake.

I too will have that victory milkshake soon!

Paul G,
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Finalés Funkeln

I have now finished all of my exams. All that remains is my viva voce. Apparently that's latin for "with living voice" or "word of mouth". Basically; this is when you present to your dissertation/thesis to your examiners. This is done orally so good communication skills and public speaking is definitely a plus.

From what I've heard, it is not compulsory to have a PowerPoint presentation with you. Although I can definitely see the benefits of being equipped with one. Having slides to lean on during a presentation means that you can have bullet points infront of you for your benefit. This results in you not omitting anything that is really important. I've always been taught that failing to plan equates to planning to fail; but that's a "glass-half-empty" kind of attitude!


Plan the work; then work the plan!


So on that note; I am definitely preparing one for mine. I'm not even too sure if my supervisor will allow it; but regardless: I'll make one anyway. One: because I have more free time due to my exams having been concluded. And two: because I like PowerPoints animating it to have awesome effects has a certain charm about it. I would highly recommend that everyone do the same.

Paul G,
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Examinations

I apologise for the inconsistency of posts these last couple of weeks. It's exam season and we're all studying hard. I have 3 exams left. Starting from tomorrow; I have an exam every day. And what's worse; my exam tomorrow is at 6pm in the afternoon! That means that the exam finishes at 8pm. So my plan is to stay up late for the sole purpose of having the ability to sleep in till noon. Then thats around 5 hours of revision time and leave the last hour prior to the exam to relax and calm your nerves.

If you are reading this; I suggest you do the same (if you dont already do). One of the biggest factors of decreased performance in exams are nerves. Take a moment to step back from all the knowledge osmosis you are trying to attempt: and just be. Keep your chin up and dont let the stress defeat you. For my exam a couple of days ago; the sun was actually out. During the last hour towards the exam; people were eqquipped ith their notes for some last minute revision. I on the other-hand was under the shadow of a tree, laying flat on the grass and playing with small pine-cones. Or whatever those things are:

The important thing is, although it might sound contradictory; the last thing you want to think about in the final hour prior to the exam: is the exam itself. It has something to do with your psychology or something. I'm no expert so I'm not going to claim I'm right. But I reckon that it stems from the fact that we used to need adrenaline whenever we were about to engage in combat. Obviously in this particular setting: adrenaline just acts as excess stimulants which might be detrimental to your cognition. But hey: thats just a theory: A PINE-CONE THEORY!... thanks for reading

Paul G,

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My Weakness

Video games. I cant stop playing video games. My first exam is in a week's time and I'm still playing games. Sure I've studied every now and then, and I'm pretty confident with the level of my knowledge. But whenever I take a stroll around the university, I see my colleagues nose deep in notes and text books. Which begs the question; should I be doing the same?

Ive been learning and absorbing the information my lecturers dish out throughout the whole year. So when I look at the few notes that I have; it all just sinks in and I get it. But the fact that everyone else is working so hard is a bit daunting. I study a few hours a day and spend the rest of it on my Wii or PS3. I really really hope that what I'm doing is sufficient for the exams. Maybe I'm just doubting myself; my tactics have gotten me this far. No reason why it should come up as inadequate now.

So I shall carry on the way I am now. Still in the process of completing FarCry 3 and I just bought myself a new JRPG! It's been an eventful day today anyway (went to the airport to pick up my parents and my brother's fiancé); so I guess I'll put off studying for abit to spend time with the family :)

To those of you who are strong enough to resist the temptation of procrastination; Kudos to you!

Paul G,
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Just Dissert.....ation

Today is the deadline for 3rd Year LLB dissertation. Whilst everyone's idea of celebrating is either getting drunk, eating out or something called an Ann Summer's Party (I have no idea what that is), I'd rather plug my laptop into a 50" TV and play some Hearthstone! Though this is a happy occasion, it is important to keep in mind that we still have exams just over 2 weeks away.

I'm so glad that the Law supervisors allowed us to contact them for feedback when it was close to the deadline. Other courses apparently didn't do that. So I count myself fortunate. It's such a sigh of relief to hear from your supervisor that your work is alright. It is very reassuring considering that they are the ones marking it too. I even made an acknowledgement page thanking mine.

In the faculty meeting; some of the supervisors made a comment that not many students actually contacted them for feedback, guidance and/or support. This is very puzzling. Why wouldn't you make use of the resources you have at your disposal? They are literally one click away.

But never the less; it's finished now. Time for the home stretch. Once the post-dissertation day(s) off are finished, its back to the books. Life is hard as a Law student. But I wouldnt change a single aspect of it :)

Paul G,
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I take requests now!

Due to feedback from some of my readers; I am addressing a point one of my friends made. Mohammed Alarifi; my colleague in 3rd year LLB Law has asked what my opinion were with regards to exams. Well my thoughts on this subject isn't exactly original; but still, might as well vent it out.

As a whole I think exams are flawed. It's become more of a memory test than a test of knowledge. If I wanted a memory test, I'd whip out my Nintendo DSi and play some Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training. But since I don't at this point in time, the impending exams are a bit of a burden. Don't get me wrong, exams do have their merits. It's like peeling off a band-aid (or "plaster" as my girlfriend keeps reminding me.... "we aint in America sweet-heart"). In comparison to coursework; exams are quick to get over and done with. Coursework on the other hand drags on and saps your time.

Sure, coursework can be easy at times and you can leave it till closer to the deadline (though not too close mind you), but during those few weeks in between the set date and the days in which you actually work on it, it just sticks at the back of your head. Making you feel a tad guilty about not doing it. Or maybe that's just me.

I used to prefer exams due to the facts stated above. I could revise for it a few days before and still come out with As. But oh boy was I wrong with that attitude. Ever since A-levels I learnt my lesson (get it; "lesson"....hahahaha...ha..ha.....ha....sorry). Exams are not to be messed with. I've grown accustomed to coursework more. It felt like it was a much more accurate portrayal of what I know. The self-guilt tripping thing my mind seems to do is easily outweighed by the fact that coursework is just easier and less stressful to tackle.

Paul G,
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Easter Scrambles

With exams looming in; a majority of my Easter is spent studying and doing dissertation. Despite the fact that lecturers are not running sessions over the Easter break; a few other students and I have been going into the University practically every day of the week for at least 5 hours of straight study. That's more hours than some days of regular Uni.

Needless to say; I got some work done. Dissertation is up and running, "super-notes" of a couple of my modules are completed and there is only a couple of modules left to do. These notes are concise versions of the everything you need to know for each exam. This is derived from the known topics which are going to be featured in the exam (we wouldn't want to waste precious memory space on information that will not come up now; do we?) I then set it out in a format that is easy to understand and I employ diagrams if a concept is too complicated to explain in words.

What I normally do with these documents is to disseminate them to as many fellow colleagues as I can. That way; it helps them too. I seem to have received possessive feedback on my previous super-notes last year. I even saw multiple students gripping copies of the knowledge I somehow cobbled together in the few hours prior to the exam. It's satisfying to walk into the ICT suit to see several students benefiting from your work; then proceeding to the social learning space to see even more.


And I intend to recreate that again. The notes I have prepared consists of each topic being condensed to about a page and a half of A4. This way; the information is easier to absorb. It's worked well for me so far!

Paul G,
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Easter Break Blues

With Easter Break hitting the uni-students' calendars, there are still plenty of things left to do and not allot of time to do it in. As a 3rd year, I have to use this break to do 1 more piece of coursework, wrap up my dissertation and prepare for 4 exams. Thats alot to handle and leaving it to the last minute is a bad idea. a VERY bad idea.

Thankfully, I just finished my coursework yesterday and I have done plenty of research for my dissertation. Ive started pulling it all together into one coherent article today and so far; its looking good. I got to write about Pac-Man IN my dissertation. I also get to talk about YouTubers who cover gaming. It doesnt get any better than that. Though I fear that I may get tired of writing the words "video game culture" after a while, so far I'm really enjoying it :)

The way dissertations are set out in this Uni is really great. At the start of 3rd year, you get a list of supervisors and their broad specialities (each one usually has about 4-6). Then it is up to you to decide what to pick and what precisely about that topic do you wish to write your piece about. For me; it was Copyright Law with regards to video game content. I am so glad that I picked my supervisor for his speciality. Its advisable that you dont pick one purely because you like him/her ;)


Paul G,
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LinkedIn Loaded

I have recently been enlightened with the importance of LinkedIn. Its another way for you to build your network. And as a student trying to start a legal career; networking is key. It pays to watch an advert in front of YouTube videos. That, coupled with encouragement from professionals has convinced me into giving my profile more love.

So I've spent a fair  bit of time trying to understand the inner workings of the site. It was confusing at first but I think I've got it sorted. So unless I'm missing some fundamental function; my profile is pretty much complete. Now it's time for a shameless plug. Should you want to check out my profile, you can visit https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=293814218&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile . I apologise for that, but that had to be done :) hope you don't mind.

Anyway, I'd advice you to start using it as it seems like a worth while investment of your time. That's of course if you are not already on it. As the advert described it; it's your CV that never sleeps. So where's the harm in that?

All Nighters!

Right! We are students and every now and again; circumstances call for an all-nighter! It's important to stay nourished. I cooked my girlfriend and I some nice noodles. But no no; this isn't your ordinary noodles where you just add hot water: I cooked this from scratch.

Nice fresh noodles, chopped spring and red onions, sliced pork and mini peeled shrimps. All nicely seasoned with soy sauce and lemon juice. Noodles... with style. It's also time for a little experiment. Cookies.... soaked a little bit in milk (so it doesnt burn).... warmed up in the oven.... then a scoop of ice-cream on top. BOOM! dessert.

Now doesnt that sound nice? Now what could all this prep be for; coursework? revision? dissertation? Nope. It's for playing Pokémon and Monopoly. We all deserve a break sometimes

Paul G,
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Vision & Revision

Today I'm stuck in London without my trusty laptop. So it took me ages to get a some piece of tech that would enable me to write this post. But I did it! I know that the last post is supposed to have a video on it; but for some reason it wouldn't upload properly so you were not able to view it. I'll meet with somebody from the marketing team of the University of Bedfordshire tomorrow to see if anything can be done about this. (I tried to upload multiple times to no avail). The people from the University did mention some equipment I could use to help me with the vlogging so I'll investigate that some more.

Anyway; the deadlines for the dissertation and my other coursework is coming up so I should probably get going with those. The exams are also en route so I will start to prepare for those too. Time for a whole lot of speaking to myself. (It's how I revise).

Paul G,
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A Moot Point

I dont know whether it's worked or not until I post it; but this segment of my blog should come with a video about the Moot Court in the University of Bedfordshire. It was supposed to be uploaded yesterday (friday) but I got delayed.

Anyway; back to the Moot Court. As I said in the video; it's going to be changed soon to look alot more like a moot court. The tables for the councils should be facing the right way in the upcoming refurbishment. As a 3rd year Law student, it wont be for me to enjoy :( but the changes should be up for the lower years and new students :D There will also apparently be a jury section. It's going to look super realistic as it is apparently being outfitted by people who fit actual court rooms. It doesnt get any better than that!

Paul G,
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Commercial Awareness in London

This week, I attended a workshop in London about Commercial Awareness. The speakers were people from respected London Law firms. 2 solicitors and 1 trainee. This gave us an insight on the what its like on the first steps and on the end goal. Opportunities like these open up when one joins the University's Law society.

It was a fun day out. We got to learn about what Law firms look for in applicants as well as how to apply in a way that THEY like. It's not about coming to them as the finished product; its about showing potential and presenting traits that would be beneficial to the firm. Attitude as well as knowledge and skill.

Although the workshop was great; the best part of the day was the journey. The coach ride to Victoria Station was easy enough. But after that; the group kind of got separated. I was left to figure out which bus to take to get to Waterloo for everyone who was in my group. I'm not very good at traversing London so all this was very frantic. I had to call my girlfriend to tell me where to go (I assumed since she lives in London; she must know where to go). Overall we got there in the end so it all worked out.

Paul G,
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PS: due to new in formation recently brought to my notice; I will now attempt to do a video blog once a month. So look forward to that

Notes and Stuff

No more coursework! So now all the Uni work left to do for me is to make my notes neat and tidy. So far; I’ve managed to condense 1/3 of the whole company Law module into 2 pages. But apparently; he is gonna give us a comprehensive “revision list” that “will not waste our time”. I took this to mean that he is going to give us hints as to what will come up in the exam. So i’ll probably wait for that before doing the rest of the company notes.

As for news for the other modules; apparently the Equity lecturer is leaving :( This means that he probably wont be marking our exams. I personally don't know whether thats a good thing or not. Aside from that; I found out another interesting fact this week. Apparently, at the end of the year, the lecturers all get together to look at all of the 3rd years’ work. ALL OF IT. This is to give us “exit velocity” apparently. In these meetings; the lecturers find any excuse they can to bump your grade up (especially if you are borderline). So perhaps it pays to be nice to your lecturers eh?

Paul G,

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Company Halt!

Right, our Company coursework is due tomorrow so I suppose it’s relevant for me to talk about it. The target this time is John and he wants information to be presented to him in a certain way too. Firstly (since that’s how he wants it done), I started by talking about the legal issues straight up.  It’s even acceptable if you just say 

“these are the legal issues that arise: issue 1, issue 2, issue 3”

And for your conclusion, don’t forget to actually advise Jane. She is the client. Though I’m a bit skeptical as to whether or not she’s the good guy. For all I know, she could be a terrible business woman and that’s why Tom and Ben want her out. For all I know, buying the soft toys company could be the greatest move in business ever and Jane is a fool for disagreeing with it. 

Anyway, back to the issues. Due to the nature of the question, I made sure to write about things like unfair prejudice, pre emption and pro rata. Alot of what students normally talk about in coursework like these is how to minimize the client’s loss. In addition to this, I thought it was worthwhile trying to consider what Jane can do in retaliation. From things like disqualifying Tom and Ben or winding-up the company are notable options to explore. 

Paul G, 

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Dont Play the Odds; Play the Man

To make up for my fairly lack-luster post last week; tonight we will be analysing the Evidence coursework. its almost due so we best get this done. Oh the title?... yeah its not very relevant. I just really wanted to say that. Anyway moving on. This question is set out pretty nicely. It's in bullet points in pretty much the structure you want it to be; so lets leave that till last shall we. For now; lets focus on the examiner

The target audience is Tariq. And if you've been paying attention; he wants information laid out in front of him in a specific way. Yes, the coursework concerns the Law of Evidence; but its also a criminal trial. This means that on your opening paragraph, you should dedicate a sentence or two to discuss what the charges are. A non-fatal offence (at least assault but it could be more) and an inchoate offence of kidnapping. Now we all did criminal Law so you should be aware of the main cases for these crimes.... so throw them in there! Also mention what court this would likely be held in and maybe even the possible sentences for such crimes.

Now we move on to the meat of the coursework. I started with who normally has the legal burden of proof then move on to the witnesses. The fact that the first 3 witnesses are  for the prosecution is very important. With regards to competence and compelability; the rules vary on which side you're on. Lastly, keep an eye on the witnesses special characteristics which should be referred to due to it's significance. Pat (Spouse of accused), Bart (Under-aged), Scott (Not in the scene of the crime: Hearsay) and Denise (Spouse of the accused, for the defence, reluctant, not in the scene of the crime: Character)

Paul G,
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Putting the Pro In Procrastination

It seems I'm getting a little bit too cocky. Due to the fact that I breezed through my first coursework this year; I cant seem to bring myself to do my other coursework early. Even right now as I'm writing this blog; I have a video about JazzPunk on the window next to this one. Disclaimer: I am NOT endorsing procrastination in any way; I'm just writing about how my week went.

This week; I aimed to complete my evidence coursework. I spend 3 days so far for this task. But thanks to hours upon hours of procrastination; I was only able to do just over 1000 words. That's less than half! Ive been watching videos, watching TV, playing Skyrim.......Skyrim..... umm... be right back...

...
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So yeah; as I was saying, I havent been very productive this week. I urge you to avoid doing what I'm doing. As some of you may be able to tell; even this blog isnt very...meaty..... yeah; meaty is the right word. The important thing when you are procrastinating is to be fully aware that you are and then proceed to getting out of the loop. And if that fails; you should at least make sure that you are doing productive stuff whilst procrastinating. So clean your room! lol

Paul G,
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The Rough Road Ahead

Due to recent Law reforms; this career path is about to become really hard. Competition for job will get very competitive. As such; if you are currently studying Law, plan ahead! Apply for as many different placements, scholarships, training contracts, pupillage and everything else in between. My lecturer keeps stating that 100 applications will get you 6 interviews... and 6 interviews will get you 1 job. This career path is fierce!

I applied for the Law Commission this week. THE Law Commission. The 16 placements available are offered to the world at large. This means that they should receive stacks upon stacks of applications and they will do ANYTHING to decrease that pile. Spend as much time as possible on each of your applications. I had to read the instructions VERY carefully and follow everything to the letter. On an online application; if they ask you to label a document as "LawCom <your name>" and you mistakenly label it as "Lawcom <your name>"; you risk your application getting rejected on the get go. So be very careful; dont give them an excuse to not read your full application... if you do; they will use it.

Paul G,
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Choosing Universities

Today, the topic for discussion are the events leading up to choosing a University. Statistics with regards to which University is best for your course varies with each course. However, there is generally one thing that remains constant. Students either (a) attempts to get as far away as possible from where they've been studying previously, or (b) they attempt to be as close as possible... both choices are for personal reasons. Regardless; attending open-days is a great idea.

Now if you're secondary school was a good one, there should have been trips for your whole year to attend some of these. If your primary school did the same thing; there is a slight difference in concept. In primary school; it would have been for touring purposes but for secondary school onwards; it should be for the purposes of scouting what University is good for you.

I only ever attended an open day for two Universities. Twice to the University of Hertfordshire and once to the University of Bedfordshire. The first time at Hertfordshire was with my secondary school. It was pretty standard. There was a mock trial, showed off the lecture theatres and I rolled around in the grass (I always wanted to roll around in University grass). The second visit was less fun as I didnt have the company of my school mates... it as a bunch of other strangers for the same open day and they showed off the same features.

The open day in the University of Bedfordshire was a little different. Whereas the previous location conducted a mock trial in a normal classroom; Bedfordshire showed off their fancy moot court which was impressive.... but oddly enough; they didn't use it to demonstrate a moot. (But since I've been in Bedfordshire; I have since taken part in a moot to demonstrate the room for 6th formers during their open day... so I guess that issue is fixed now). What both Universities failed to draw attention to is location, location, location.

Hertfordshire is a fair distance away from the town centre making your choice of activities during your little one hour breaks very limited. Bedfordshire on the other hand was right in the middle of town. In addition to that, There are courts and law firms dotted everywhere.... and I mean everywhere! this is a big plus. Maybe they should mention this from now on dont you think? ;)

Paul G,
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Missing Deadlines

As you can probably see; I missed the Friday post. But don't worry; in addition to this one, there will be another post this Friday. Hopefully I don’t do the same thing for my coursework. Speaking of which; I got an A-for my first 3rd year assessment. It helps to make sure that your dissertation is something you enjoy.

My dissertation is about video-gaming! This means that I can just chill around watching youtube videos that I would normally watch anyway; and then I manage to pick-up something for this dissertation. Then I just pull-up my notes and write down what I’ve learnt

The Equity & Trusts coursework deadline is coming up and its time to look over what I’ve already written. Before you hand-in your coursework; its a very good idea to re-read it. As for me; I finished the coursework a few weeks back and looking-over the work can bring about new ideas which I may have missed.

Nothing much else happened really. It was a pretty uneventful week. As I said before; blogs will still be posted on Friday so stay-tuned.

Paul G,

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Bite-sized

With the first week back; Students have to get back into the normal course of things. This may seem scary as you have to change gear completely from relax mode to work mode; but all is not bad news. Just like you; the lecturers are going through the same shift too. This means that the workshops or seminars are going to be easier than normal (and in some cases; it might not even be on that week). You can use this as an opportunity to ease yourself slowly into the student life again.

So long as you keep an eye on deadlines; you can complete your coursework in a peace-meal fashion. Just work at it every now and then and divide the work based on the weeks you have. You will find that you still have plenty of time. If you check BREO; you should be able to find the coursework outline. Obviously the most important bit is the question. But if you keep an eye out; you can find a section where the lecturer practically tells you what they expect. Your job is to break this down into several bite-size pieces.

For example; just above the equity & trusts course-study case-list, you can find this little gem:

“The candidate must show an awareness of the context of the case. Thus the case study should outline and analyse the state of the law prior to the case. This should include all policy reasons and values underlying the particular area of the law. Then the study should identify what if any deficiencies there were in this area of law which gave rise to this case. The case should be viewed as an attempt to resolve a particular problem and the candidate must assess how successful this solution was. The latter might involve a treatment of how the case has been dealt with in later decisions. The student should look to identify any remaining difficulties and offer some suggestions on how they might be resolved by looking at academic suggestions.”

You need to develop the skill to turn THAT into:

l Context of the case

l What was the Law BEFORE the case?

l What policies did the judges consider?

l What problem were they attempting to solve?

l Impact of the Judgment

l Remaining difficulties

l Reform based on academic suggestions

These points should pretty much form the basis for your answer. Mastering how to break down the work in this way can prove to be very useful with EVERY coursework.

Paul G,

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Showtime

Its 2014. And with that marks the end of our Christmas break. It's time to gear up and get back to the standard swing of things. Keep an eye on those deadlines. Write them down somewhere if you have to... and most importantly; confirm with others that the dates you have written are correct. The handbooks you may have been given for your units MAY have inaccurate dates (I speculate that it might be due to the lecturers using template handbooks from previous years). So a good way to have the accurate dates for coursework is to look on BREO itself and access TurnItIn. From that page; you should be able to spot when the hand-in dead-line are.

A quick skim over your notes can work wonders to refresh your memory. And I mean QUICK. If you've been paying attention in class, chances are; it should all just come back to you with relative ease. After you've done that; its a pretty safe bet that the topics that came up in your coursework will not be assessed in the mid-year exams. But occasionally, lecturers are known to throw a curve-ball just to mess with you so there is a chance that it could come up again.

For this second term; some of the stuff you will be learning might be the ones that will be contained in the exams. So watch out for any topics that you feel the lecturers are putting significantly more importance than others. If you are unsure; just straight-up ask them. It may sound stupid when you ask: "are you giving us hints right now as to what will come up?".... but what's the worse that can happen? If you are wrong then the lecturer will just tell you no. But if you're right; then the information you will gain is an invaluable asset. Your course-mates will thank you for asking the question..... Well, they probably wont (because they're lawyers-in-training); but trust me... they're thanking you on the inside.

So that's it for today.

Paul G,
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