LegalGirl's blog

Young Bar Conference 2008

LegalGirl — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 22:58:09 +0100

The Young Bar Conference will be held at the Hotel Russell, Russell Square, London on Saturday 4th October 2008.

Talks include: "What Makes A Successful Advocate?", "Developing Your Expertise" and "Planning For Your Future"

Prices: Barristers under 10 years Call: £40, Pupils/BVC Students £30

Places are allocated on a first-come, first serve basis

For Enquiries Contact:
Gillian Dollamore
Secretary, Young Barristers Committee
The General Council of the Bar
289-293 High Holborn
London WC1V 7HZ
Telephone: 020 7242 0082

Inn's Open Day 23rd September 2008

LegalGirl — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:13:35 +0100

The Inns of Court are holding student opening days for those commencing the Bar Vocational Course at the BPP Law School, the College of Law and City Law School in London in September 2008.

Middle Temple's opening day is on Tuesday 23rd September 20008 starting at 5.00 pm in Middle Temple Hall.

These events count as one of your qualifying sessions and are free of charge. So get a ticket from your Inns Treasury Office either by phone or in person.

Court Dress

LegalGirl — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:09:05 +0100

The Lord Chief Justice has endorsed Bar Council guidance on court dress. In County Courts, business suits will be worn except during trials and also in the Commercial, Admiralty and Technology Courts.

There will be no changes to court dress in cases before the House of Lords, the Privy Council, and the Court of Appeal.

FRU Training Day Announcements October 2008

LegalGirl — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:28:12 +0100

This came into my inbox and thought I would pass it on.

Date: 09 Sep 2008, 05:20:15 PM
Subject: [FRU] Training Days Announced

-------------------------------------------------------

You can now book a place on the following FRU Training days:

Employment - Saturday 4th October 2008
Social Security - Saturday 11th October 2008

If you wish to attend the training day, please also ensure that you are available to attend one of the proceeding test dates.

Tuesday 14th October @ 6.30pm
Wednesday 22nd October @ 4.30pm
Thursday 30th October @ 6.30pm

Please visit our website to process your application through our on-line form.

To be eligible for the Employment Induction day: You must have started a CPE/GDL, LLM or be on the BVC or LPC.

To be eligible for the Social Security: You must be in the final year of an LLB, Started a CPE/GDL or on the LLM.

read more

First FRU Case

LegalGirl — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Today I received a thank you card from the client of my first Fru case. Although the outcome of my clients case was not a positive one she still took the time to thank me for representing her.

Nothing can take away the disappointment of losing a case, but client recognition and appreciation makes it a slightly less bitter pill to swallow.

FRU Induction Day

LegalGirl — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:23:28 +0100

The Induction day was held at City University and started at 10:00am. Overall all I found the day really informative. We were given a booklet which contained handouts and materails on Social Security law, how FRU works and the type of things involved in being a FRU rep.

The majority of Social Security cases referred to FRU concerns either disability living allowance(DLA), attendance allowance (AA)or incapacity benefits (ICB). And as a beginner the majorty of my case's will either invilve DLA or ICB.

The next FRU qualifying step is undertaking a test involving a case secrnario and statutory interpretation.

OLPAS Results

LegalGirl — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:33:31 +0100

At the beginning of the week I had one pupillage rejection under my belt and by the end of the week I had six.

Impressively one of the chambers took the time to construct and send out a physical rejection letter. The rest came via email through the OLPAS email confirmation system. Some of which were very apologetic and sincere, wishing me future success whilst others where more straight to the point.

My next step is to contact the chambers I have already heard from asking for any specific reasons for being rejected.

Edit: 28/08/2008 After talking to people in similar situations many reported back that a lot of chambers due to the sheer number of applications they received could not offer any specific reasons for rejections.

However I still strongly recommend that applicants get in touch with chambers concerning reasons for rejection as any feedback could provide valued insight into the pupillage selection process and help to establish any weaknesses in their OLPAS application forms.

read more

Legal Links

LegalGirl — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:23:03 +0100

Here are a few websites that I've found invaluable through the years.

www.prospects.ac.uk

www.lcan.org.uk

www.lgcareers.com

www.ilex.org.uk

www.solicitors-online.com

www.pupillages.com

www.lawsociety.org.uk

www.barcouncil.org.uk

www.thelawyer.com

OLPAS Deadline Summer 2008

LegalGirl — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:19:01 +0100

As you can probably guess today was the deadline date for applications for pupillages through the OLPAS system. You will be delighted to know that I submitted my completed form in good time and in my opinion to a high standard. A big thank you to those who offered advice, support and chocolates you know who you are. And congrats to all my competition out there who also submitted their forms :).

P.S. I will be writing an article about both the Target Open day and the OLPAS system, however if anyone else would like to add their own experiences or opinions on either events please let me know and I will arrange it.

FRU Induction Day Announcement! 2008

LegalGirl — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:17:03 +0100

I received this today and can’t wait to get started.

Date: 29 Apr 2008, 10:18:19 AM
Subject: [FRU] Induction Days Announced

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear All,

I am writing to inform you that the induction days have been announced as
below:

Employment Induction Day - Saturday 31st May 2008

Social Security Induction Day - Saturday 14th June 2008

I’ve booked myself onto the "Social Security" Induction day as that’s the one I am currently qualified to do. It cost £20 to book a place but if you’re committed to joining FRU it's well worth the money and they are a charity after all.

N.B. By 'qualified' I mean that I have passed my LLB law degree.