Tuesday 31 March 2009

Another Win!!!!!


Last night myself and my most glorious super lovely partner progressed past the third round of the OUP and are now in the Quarter Finals!!

It was much less intense than mooting in front of Mr Myerson QC, in fact I wasn't asked a single question!

Nor did I have the opportunity to say "Yes m'lord Top Grade Pigs!" which my partner now suggests that I put into every moot speech!

According to the Judge it was close, my lecturer on the other hand said differently.
I think that had the judge not been travelling around 4 different cities that day he might have been less tired and more interested in what I was saying.

In fact I actually caught him NOT paying attention to my learned self. He was flicking through the bundle in a despondent manner as I was reading out a passage from a case I had cited. I proceeded to politely remind his Lordship at which Tab and page we were at to which he was grateful for.

So Yay! We are through to the Quarter Finals!! If only it was the same competition as Bar or Bust then there could have been an epic battle of the bloggers but alas no, different competitions!
I am so determined to get through to the Semi Final's and then the finals!! I was told that I would have made the Finals of my own internal competition if not for having been up all night and had not been shaking from too many red bulls!!

I doubt any moot will top what happened in Leeds though.. but we will have to see..

Sunday 29 March 2009

Advice # 3


Sometimes dear Bloggers, Blaggers and Blawgers,

I feel as if my entire life is a continuous repeat of trial and error. Though more occasionally, I feel there are less trials and certainly more errors. Advice # 3 is based on this.

Always know who you are dealing with at all times. Someone whom I recently mooted in front of was not a junior but was actually made a QC back in February.

I am most noticeably annoyed that the serial stalking of him on Chambers website did not turn up this very crucial piece of information!!

Of course unless you see the Barrister who has taken the rich and equally more swishhy Silk (or perhaps it does not swish like Junior Counsel's robes but glides or floats above the ground as if by magic) how the devil are you supposed to know WHO(or is that whom) you are talking to?

Lost has been very confused lately by solicitor advocate robes as well, as they look quite similar to a QC's robes, or so he thinks. This inability to tell the difference between the Bigger Boys who demand vast sums of money and the junior ones who will get you off a Robbery Conviction for a £5 has left him feeling very puzzled indeed.

Lost is glad that he did not make the mistake of being terribly drunk in front of one of the Queen's Counsel and that he suitably sucked up.. I mean "networked" (I HATE networking) afterwards.

But a lesson to always be learnt is always treat people with the same respect and kindness that you would want to be treated with, for with people at the Bar I gather reputation of being a bastard will surely spread on your circuit very quickly.

With remembering what I have just said I shall hereby also make a promise to NEVER take advantage of the free wine/champers/beer at any social event ever again. For as one lecturer recently remarked when I was trying to be polite but eventually dug myself a HUGE cataclysmic hole "I think he's had too much to drink", which taken with the previous "there is a word for people like you.. a swot" I generally take that as I am not considered good company to keep?

The Shame.

Wednesday 25 March 2009

Moot Hell


I have a moot on Monday and the skeleton is in for tomorrow.
Despite my usual competitiveness, it is the end of term and I have lost all drive to complete my skeleton which will be unusually complex as all the case law is against us.

The moot is on Williams v Roffey, and whether Dave can bind Company X to a promise, which effectively had no consideration. Williams v Roffey says - yes there is a practical benefit that amounts to consideration. However with the part payment of debt and Re SelectMove that says no Williams v Roffey is not compatible with Foakes v Beer..

I'll come up with a decent argument turn up on Monday and hopefully I won't have to use notes.. so this is not a promise. I just want this moot over so I can actually get on with some revision or is that learning?

Thursday 12 March 2009

Tricked, no Irish Cream at the Old Bailey


Yesterday I and some other hardcore aspirant Barristers had the privilege(as did the rest of the public) to sit in on a case at the Old Bailey.

We witnessed the Jury being sworn in and the opening of the prosecution case, which as we discussed latterly made us all rethink a career in criminal law. For if every day was similar to what we witnessed we would rather opt to do something more exciting. We gathered that the pace of the speech was due to everything being said having to be translated, R v Mizra comes to mind here. Further reflecting on the case we concluded that it would probably be a lot more interesting if we were involved.

Currently I trying not to think of my next external moot or the last few weeks as an undegrad!! Lost does not want to grow up and refuses to believe that there are work days that consist of 9-5, rather than 2-4. I'm applying for a rather expensive M.phil at a certain prestigious university so *fingers crossed* I'll get in, if not then I don't really feel ready for the BVC and would prefer to do something else before wasting a year of my life and then spending the year after, unlearning newly learnt skills.

Hope all is well with the fellow bloggers!