This could potentially be my last post here. I started this blog 4 years ago during my A-Level Law years; it was meant to be some kind of a journal to record my experience as a law student. Though, to be honest, I haven't been consistent in blogging, particularly during my final year of LLB. I really couldn't find the time, what with my job and study. I didn't think I had that many regular readers anyway until I actually met some fellow law students in the 2011 University of Cambridge revision class who told me that they have been following my blog. So, sorry to dissapoint this year!

I shall bid farewell to my blog and my LLB days with one great final news: what else, my result, of course. It came out on July 18th, 2011, and much to my surprise, I have been awarded a First Class Honours Degree! I still can't stop grinning! All those hard work and sleepless nights finally paid off. What's next, you asked? I will be taking my LLM with University College London.

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Omg! I can't believe it's been almost 6 months since I last wrote something on my blog! At this rate, I really shouldn't be keeping one!

Anyway... (here we go again)... my winter in a nutshell:

1. It was freezing and snowing and I feel as if I was living in Alaska... (no, really!)... but it was beautiful!! Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park was amazing. Winter sale was heaven! I got myself 2 Marc Jacobs bags from Harrods and they are oh so worth it!!

2. Darling was in Paris for Christmas. I stayed in London and spent Christmas Eve with one of my best girl friend watching Wicked (I love going to the theater!!) and dine in a nice and cozy mediterranean restaurant. Boxing day was shopping and drinking day with another best girl friend of mine... totally fab!

3. University of London sent me a letter informing me that I am a UK/Europe student with one of the best marks in the May/June 2010 exam. They even gave me a monetary award. That came as a surprise! A pleasant surprise and it motivates me to study even harder! :p

4. I've decided to drop the large scale dissertation project and take a smaller scale dissertation project instead as well as an additional subject of Intellectual Property. So, I'm now taking Jurisprudence, EU Law, Company Law, IP and mini dissertation. It's January and I haven't actually cover much... got to stop procrastinating!

5. I'm planning my long awaited/postponed wedding reception (finally... after 18 months of our civil ceremony!)... just couldn't find the right time! Euh. Anyway, it's definitely going to happen this year. We've narrowed down the possible venues and we'll decide by end of the month. I hope I can stay focus for my exam and not get distracted with all the planning. :p

6. New Year's Eve was spent with friends at a nice Spanish restaurant and we ended the night watching fireworks at the London Eye. New Year's day lunch was at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's. It was divine!!

I guess that's all for now. Who knows when would be my next update, but hopefully soon! :D

Again... it's been a while since I last updated my blog. Kinda makes me wonder why I even bother to keep one, but oh, just in case there's a faithful follower out there who might just enjoy reading my blurbs... ;) So here's another summer of my life in a nutshell!

1. I've moved to London for a couple of months now. Figure it'll be cheaper than going back and forth from Paris every month for my classes.

2. Found a job at Starbucks. And to those who really know me, you'd probably think "of course"! Right, because I practically grew up with Starbucks! I visited them everyday, few times a day... gosh, I even had to drop by Starbucks before my exam each time to calm my nerves. So, yeah, it was a perfect job for me.

3. I said "was a perfect job" because I decided to leave. You see, I turned down an internship with a reputable London city law firm for Starbucks, yet they still want me and despite the fact that I'm still a law student, they're willing to train me to be a solicitor. So, it's career vs pleasure, tough decision, but I just had to choose the former. In the end though, I think I made the right choice! ;)

4. So, yes, the law firm specialises in criminal defense and I'll be starting with them soon.

5. My second year LLB exam result came out last month (I sat for them in May 2010). Now, words can't really describe how I feel. I've got a very strong Second Class Upper (2:1) grade with 2 very high First Class grade for the Law of Evidence and the Law of Trusts. That, coupled with the First Class grade I received for my Criminal Law paper in my first year of law school is probably one of the reason the firm decided to hire me. :)

6. I'll be starting my final year LLB this September and already (as always), University of London is draining my bank account. The subjects that I'm planning to take will be Jurisprudence, EU Law, Company Law and a Dissertation paper on uh... lets see... IP, Privacy Law and Cyber Crime. Interesting don't you think? :p

I guess that's all for now. Till next time!

Paris is getting warmer! Well, not that warm actually, but at least, the sun is showing its face more and more everyday. It seems that spring has finally sprung. What could be better than spending the day outdoor? And so, hubby and I spent our morning drowning in vintage at Les Puces de Saint-Ouen. That's the official name for the most famous flea market in Paris. The one at Porte de Clignancourt. It is also the largest antiques market in the world. Most of the shops were close (easter!), but it was still great. I found a winner - vintage labels!! There was a beautiful pair of Louis Vuitton shoe for 240 euros!! That's a steal, don't you think?!?! The problem is, it's not in my size!! But the lady who owns the shop told me that her daughter works for Chanel, and so she can get Chanel for cheaper!! *grin* Now I know where to go for that bargained Chanel!! :D A word of advise if you plan to go to the market: go in the morning!! The crowd started pouring in by noon, it was getting really stuffy.

Lunch was with Emaan at Starbucks, Bercy Village. It was her 24th birthday. I met her randomly in Paris and she's fast becoming my new BFF. I guess it's because we both studied law in England for a start. We both love Starbucks (now that's important!). And we both speak English. Believe me, when you are an anglophone living in Paris and you found an English speaking friend, you bond straight away (like we did)!

So anyway, the afternoon was spent in Foire du Trone - the largest fun fair in France that originated from when merchants met with farmers and producers to trade in 957! That's right, it has an over 1000 year history! I couldn't believe it at first when hubby told me, but I googled it and it turns out he's right! The modern day event incorporates a huge amusement park with arcades (hubby won a really cute Hello Kitty for me in one of these) and rollercoasters as well as more traditional attractions such as a large Ferris Wheel and carousel rides.

C'était super today, really!!

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device.

Land Law
Unregistered and registered conveyancing
Settlements and trusts
Law of leases
Licences and proprietary estoppel
Easements and profits a prendre
Freehold covenants
Mortgages
Adverse possession


Law of Trusts
Express trusts
Proving declarations of trust
Effecting dispositions of a beneficiary's interest under a trust
Secret trusts
Promises to create trusts
Protective trusts
Private purpose trusts
Public purpose trusts
Rights held by unincorporated associations
Resulting trusts
Constructive trusts
Powers and duties of trustees
Appointment, retirement, and removal of trustees
Variation of trusts
Breach of trusts
Breach of fiduciary duty

Tort Law
Negligence: infliction of personal injuries
Negligence: infliction of psychiatric injuries
Negligence: infliction of other physical damage and of economic loss
Negligence: negligent misstatements
Occupiers' liability
Liability of employers
Product liability
Liability under statutory duties and powers
Intentional injuries to persons
Nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher
Liability for animals
Interference with economic interests (deceit, inducing breach of contract, intimidation, conspiracy)
Defamation
Vicarious liability
Effect of death on liability
Assessment of damages
Defences

Law of Evidence
Basic concepts of relevance, admissibility and weight
Nature and classification of various types of evidence
Competence and compellability of witnesses
The course of testimony
Burden and standard of proof
The rule against hearsay
Judicial warnings to the jury
Identification evidence
Confessions and improperly obtained evidence
Character evidence
Opinion evidence
Privilege and public interest immunity

Criminal Law
Introduction of criminal liability
Homicide and special defences
Non-fatal offences against the person
Sexual offences and the issue of consent
Offences contrary to Theft Acts 1968 and 1978
Offences contrary to the Criminal Damage Act 1971 and specific defences
Secondary liability
Defences

Public Law 
Characteristics of the UK constitution
Sources of the constitution
The separation of powers
The rule of law
The royal prerogative
Parliamentary sovereignty
The structure of government
The House of Commons
The House of Lords
Electoral law
Parliamentary privilege and standards
The EU and the EC
Sources of EC law and interaction between EC and domestic law
The Human Rights Act 1998
Civil liberties and public order law
State security
Judicial review of administrative action
Commisioners for Administration

Elements of the Law of Contract 
The formation of a contract
The content of a contract and regulation of terms
The capacity to contract
Vitiating factors (mistake, misrepresentation, duress and undue influence)
Illegality and public policy (exluding gaming and wagering)
Contracts in restraint of trade
Privity of contract (excluding agency and assignment)
The discharge of a contract (performance, breach and the doctrine of frustration)
Remedies (damages and equitable remedies)

Common Law Reasoning and Institutions
The nature of the common law tradition
Sources of law and principles of legal research
Conduct of legal research and retrieval of legal information
The role and operation of courts
Judicial reasoning in relation to cases and statutes
The judiciary and magistracy
The criminal justice process and the role of rights in the process
The civil justice process
Legal services and access to justice

The things I have to go through yesterday to shop!! It's unbeliveable!! It all started in the early afternoon when I saw this skirt (which I totally adore) in Pimkie Creteil. Of course they didn't have my size... it's just Murphy's law, isn't it? "No big deal", says my husband. "There's quite a few Pimkie in Paris, we'll just go to another one some other day." But... some other day? Are you kidding me? I can't wait that long. And why should I when there's a Pimkie in Saint Michel, which is just 4 stations away from where I live... a mere 15 minutes away! And so, off I went.

As the train moved away from Paris Austerlitz (Saint Michel being the next station then), it stopped. The conductor announced something through the speaker, but given my very 'fluent' french, I had to go to the RATP website to find out what happened (God bless my Blackberry), and there it's written "en raison d'un accident grave de voyageur à Saint Michel, le trafic est perturbé sur la ligne" - due to a severe accident involving a traveller at Saint Michel, traffic is disrupted along the line. Great! Just great!! It was getting late and I remember thinking, Pimkie is going to close and I'm never going to get my skirt! I kept saying, "Come on train, move!!" Well it did, 2 hours later!! Luckily though, I didn't miss Pimkie. But then of course, the whole line was a mess. I had to take another train (which stops at practically every stations in Paris) and a bus to get home. Eew and eeks but I was happy. :) And I guess, when you live in Paris, getting stuck underground or being informed that there is no train heading your way is a norm. C'est la vie à Paris!!

Here are some of my interesting experience with the Parisian metro and train this year:

22 January 2010

Stuck in Le Peletier for 15 minutes due to some technical problem with the metro.

23 January 2010

Took the first train to catch our Thalys in Gare du Nord for Brussels. The train stopped at Paris Austerlitz and the conductor announced that it's not going any further! (Yes, they can do that without prior warning)! We hopped on the train next to ours and as the door closed, it moved in the opposite direction with destination Juvisy direct!! Fortunately, it stopped at the next station and we didn't miss our Thalys.

12 February 2010

Again, took the first train to catch our Eurostar in Gare du Nord for London. The train was supposed to stop in Saint Michel (that's where we have to change to another line for Gare du Nord), but as it left Paris Austerlitz, all the lights were turned off and it zoomed past Saint Michel without any announcement. Pure horror!! Though again, fortunately, it stopped at the next station and we could take another train back to Saint Michel.

15 February 2010

Came back from London, Saint Michel is close! "Take another line", the guard says. Ok, if only we could go through the ticket check point, which was totally blocked. Well, it left us no choice but to jumped over and guess what? The train was moving fine!! So, why is the station close?

22 March 2010 

That Pimkie story!!

23 March 2010

There's a strike today with 45% disruption on the line. I am so not going anywhere!!

Edit:
What I did in the train yesterday! At least, I was being productive.

They say law students are such a bore and that we have not a single concern about anything outside the law. The truth is, we just get a lousy deal. We spend less time sleeping than any reasonable person does and we are no couch potato - we don't sit in front of the tv forming a serious relationship with it or with any gaming consoles for that matter. And a night out partying? That would be a rare treat. Competition in law school (and beyond) is fierce. Aside from having to manage the massive amount of work given by the University, securing work placements with law firms are essential from as early as year 1 (and the pressure increases from year 2 onwards). Oh, and all thay hype about grades, it's true. Try getting a job without one! Law students mostly struggle through such demanding degree with the awareness that getting a training contract could be many painful and expensive years away. Many take out loans they can't afford, though the high street banks usually welcome us with open arms because they see us as a great investment - a professional who should be able to earn enough money to pay them back. With the top firms now paying 100,000 british pounds a year for a newly qualified lawyer, they may be right. Still, the LPC and BVC is a qualification that is expensive (standing at around 15,000 british pounds at the time of writing) and emotionally traumatic. Just in case you are wondering, the LPC is the Legal Practitioner Course, taken by those who aspired to be a solicitor, and the BVC is the Bar Vocational Course, taken by those who aspired to be a barrister. Yes that's right, our law degree is practically useless without us taking up any one of these courses (as if the 3 years spent in law school is not daunting enough)! Then what? We still have to go through a 2 years training contract (for trainee solicitor) or a 1 year pupillage (for trainee barrister) before we can actually practise the law. If we are lucky, we get one before we embark on the LPC or BVC. Otherwise, we wait for that elusive training contract or pupillage to turn up. By then of course, we'd probably have another thing on our mind - the bank loan! All these and for what? It's so that we can finally call ourselves a worthy member of the most despised profession on earth. Still want a career in law? Yeah, of course we do!!