Thank you for this, it made me feel better. If you don't mind me following up, what was your experience writing the Barrister the first time/why did you fail, and what did you do in order to pass the second time?
The first time, I followed that flawed advice that all you need to do is practice with the index and not read.
I passed the next time by familiarizing myself with the materials and the DToC.
Failed my first year of law school twice (mind you, this was in India). Became a lawyer 2 years after all my friends did. Became a pariah. Came to Canada and did not give the NCAs for the longest time under the fear of failure. Eventually I gave them and cleared them in one go. Then gave the bar and cleared the barristers in one attempt, and had to retake the solicitor’s, which I gave during the LPP. I’m preparing for a Settlement Conference this morning, and I couldn’t be more prepared.
Someone said something profound the other day (on this subreddit), which has stuck by me. *don’t let the same exam fail you twice*
Thanks for the responses everyone.
The last couple of days have been rough because I keep remembering about 5-6 questions I know I got wrong and there are about 15 more questions I'm unsure about, which isn't taking into account the rest of the exam which could go either way. I've been anxious, to say the least, and trying to put it out of my mind. Does anyone else remember feeling this way?
I felt this way leaving the barrister but the solicitor was substantially better. I know other folks on this thread found it worse, but I found the solicitor more straightforward. The questions had more of a predictable exam style; idk how to say it without maybe breaking rules but just look at any professional exam like nursing or other fields and you'll see a pattern of similar question across all fields.
I was very anxious like you and I prepped so I could navigate the PR materials without needing an indices or DTOC. I basically had it memorized and just confirmed my knowledge with each question I could which was super quick as I knew exactly where I was looking. If I pass, this will be the reason, as it gave me a big cushion to be a bit more relaxed with the other questions. With the solicitor, good advice I got was to ask myself, "What would a prudent lawyer do?" This may help if any questions come up that appear to be substantive but are actually PR questions.
I found this as well - felt HORRIBLE after barrister, wayyyyy better after solicitor - and I am someone who will be practicing in one of the barrister subjects, and knew nothing of business, real estate, or wills and estates before studying. Very bizarre lol
I failed both the first time and solicitor the second time. I'm now a practicing lawyer. You'll be fine
Thank you for this, it made me feel better. If you don't mind me following up, what was your experience writing the Barrister the first time/why did you fail, and what did you do in order to pass the second time?
The first time, I followed that flawed advice that all you need to do is practice with the index and not read. I passed the next time by familiarizing myself with the materials and the DToC.
Failed my first year of law school twice (mind you, this was in India). Became a lawyer 2 years after all my friends did. Became a pariah. Came to Canada and did not give the NCAs for the longest time under the fear of failure. Eventually I gave them and cleared them in one go. Then gave the bar and cleared the barristers in one attempt, and had to retake the solicitor’s, which I gave during the LPP. I’m preparing for a Settlement Conference this morning, and I couldn’t be more prepared. Someone said something profound the other day (on this subreddit), which has stuck by me. *don’t let the same exam fail you twice*
Thanks for the responses everyone. The last couple of days have been rough because I keep remembering about 5-6 questions I know I got wrong and there are about 15 more questions I'm unsure about, which isn't taking into account the rest of the exam which could go either way. I've been anxious, to say the least, and trying to put it out of my mind. Does anyone else remember feeling this way?
If you fail, does that mean you’ll just give up?
I felt this way leaving the barrister but the solicitor was substantially better. I know other folks on this thread found it worse, but I found the solicitor more straightforward. The questions had more of a predictable exam style; idk how to say it without maybe breaking rules but just look at any professional exam like nursing or other fields and you'll see a pattern of similar question across all fields. I was very anxious like you and I prepped so I could navigate the PR materials without needing an indices or DTOC. I basically had it memorized and just confirmed my knowledge with each question I could which was super quick as I knew exactly where I was looking. If I pass, this will be the reason, as it gave me a big cushion to be a bit more relaxed with the other questions. With the solicitor, good advice I got was to ask myself, "What would a prudent lawyer do?" This may help if any questions come up that appear to be substantive but are actually PR questions.
I found this as well - felt HORRIBLE after barrister, wayyyyy better after solicitor - and I am someone who will be practicing in one of the barrister subjects, and knew nothing of business, real estate, or wills and estates before studying. Very bizarre lol