Qualifications are required for careers as a paralegal, solicitor or barrister. But legal exams can be daunting. Here are a few pointers.
Reading the question
It cannot be emphasised enough how important it is to read the question very carefully as there may be several elements to it, and quite often you will read the first part and completely ignore any other element to the question that comes later. This is disastrous as it may mean losing a number of marks before you have even begun.
An example may be:
‘Mrs Jones consults you about making a Will but cannot understand why there is so much fuss over this. Why can’t she just write her intentions on a piece of paper as she wishes to do? Explain to her what the requirements are to make a Will valid and the various gifts that could be included in her Will and how they may fail.’ 20 marks
A learner may just latch onto the first two parts of the question about the requirements that make a Will legally valid and what the various gifts are but may disregard the last part about how the gifts may fail. Five marks may be lost immediately for not attempting to answer the last part of the question.
Being afraid to commit to a particular answer
When answering a legal question, you are quite often asked to state what you believe would happen in this scenario. This is difficult as you may think to yourself: ‘what if I get it wrong?’
In a court of law, especially in civil actions, there is usually no single correct answer at the start of proceedings. That is why it has reached court and has not been settled beforehand. The party that wins the case will be the party that has the best argument. This will include presenting the facts, mentioning case law precedent to back up your side’s argument or arguing about interpreting the wording in a Statute. It could also be about the validity of evidence and the credibility of witnesses. The Judge will have the final say based on the balance of probabilities i.e. which party he believes has the weightier evidence and argument. Therefore, any conclusion included in your answer will be valid provided you have presented the argument for it.
In a criminal court, it is slightly different as an accused person is either guilty of having committed an offence or not and the burden of proof is much higher. So, if there is a question relating to Criminal Law, the same applies although facts and evidence have a vital part to play. You should state the law as it stands and then discuss any relevant cases before concluding.
Open Book Assignments
The stress of entering an examinations hall and sitting down to complete an exam with a number of other people, without the ability to have documents to refer to can be quite overwhelming.
Arguably being successful in such circumstances depends mostly on the learners’ ability to memorise facts, cases and statutes and there could be an adverse effect on someone who finds this particular skill more challenging.
The reality is, that in practice, when a client comes to you for advice, you would not be able to say categorically what the law is chapter and verse, as this would only be relevant once it gets to court. What you would be able to do is to suggest that from the facts given you believe there is a case and once taken on, you would research the law.
On the other hand, open book assignments have their own challenges. The assumption is that since the learner has the workbook or other texts by their side for reference while completing the assignment, it makes it far easier to pass. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many learners fall foul by copying word for word from the text thereby committing plagiarism (the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as your own without citing the source). Alternatively, having recognised the area of law, learners write all about the topic with gusto without actually answering the question.
Exams and assessments of any kind are stressful, but they can be made much easier, and improve your chances of success if you bear the points above in mind when answering.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Hamilton is the Patron of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP), a non-profit membership body and the only paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England). Through its Centres around the country, accredited and recognised professional paralegal qualifications are offered for those looking for a career as a paralegal professional.
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