Day 1 of BVC

... was brilliant :)

All of the other PT students that I got chatting to seemed down to earth, nice friendly decent people. All of them are working as well and all of them had personalities. Not a Law Zombie in sight. Given that my experience of other law students at university was quite a negative one, this was such a relief and I'm over the moon about how nice everybody was. A few people seemed absolutely insane, commuting in for the course from the far reaches of the globe (!), and given that so many of them have families and children as well as a full time job to juggle, I don't feel nearly so hard done by with my unclear employment situation.

The course itself is exciting me no end. The only bit today that seemed a bit dreary was Civil Lit which doesn't surprise me, I'm a Crime girl at the end of the day. But even that was exciting in the sense that everything is relevant, it is all about how you actually go about being a Barrister rather than the academic studying of the law itself. It almost made me giggle a bit at one point from sheer excitement. It just seems so surreal that all of a sudden, I've started the BVC. At one point at uni I never thought I'd make it, and with all of the bad luck I've been having with work and housing, I haven't had time to worry and be nervous about it beginning, I just kind of turned up to register and there I was, in the lecture theatre starting the course!

Multiple Choice

I got an email today from City Law school, inviting me to a BVC open day 2 days before the accept/reject emails are sent out.

This has thrown me slightly, as I can't figure out whether this is:

(a) a good thing, because surely it would be cruel of them to invite me to an open day unless they were planning on accepting me;

(b) a bad thing because as my second choice, they will have only gotten my application if BPP have decided to reject me (is this the way it works or have I made this up?);

(c) a test. If I don't apply to go, will they reject me. (Common sense tells me that this is not how it works, but all the same, I have a suspicious mind).

(d) none of the above. I should stop speculating and let life unfold as it pleases.

I has also set my mind spinning about whether or not I want to go to CLS. Aside from the fact that it is only one initial different from CLG (positive) their part time course is no where near as appealing as the part time course at BPP. They have week night sessions rather than weekends, and the whole reason I decided I would be able to do the part time thing was because of the weekend sessions, and yet I decided to put CLS as 2nd and College of Law 3rd.

I know why I did this, it was based on all the good things the Barristers in the pub had to say about CLS, and the lack of anything positive that I've heard about CoL. This could well be because the Barristers that drink in the pub all went to CLS, and are therefore biased, and I've only met LPC-ers from CoL, so who knows whether that was a good reason to base my choice on or not.

What I am absolutely clear on now though, is that it's BPP that I want. This goes against my initial instincts completely... I thought I would absolutely hate going to another institution that feels as corporate as LSE (which the Open Evening they had proved to me that it does), but they really do offer the best deal for part timers. Even if it is the most expensive, it just seems to offer the most flexibility and support for part timers like myself. Oddly, I also found the corporate feel quite comforting. I may have hated my university for most of the time I was there, but I know I managed to do well (enough) there, and it made me feel more comfortable! Plus the Law Zombies all went off to do the LPC. Surely they wont have infiltrated the BVC, and of those that do, surely they wont be part timers like myself?

So, fingers crossed, on the 2nd March I'll get the offer I'm after. But maybe I should register for that open day...

Free to the R to the U

In line with my aim to use this year out productively, I went to a FRU training session this weekend. I loved every minute of it, even when there seemed to be sleeping students all around the place because the last guy was labouring every point. I can't wait to finish the registering process (some test left to do - eek!) so I can get stuck in!

It was a bit weird being in a lecture theatre full of law students though. At first I assumed they would all be law zombies like they were at uni, but then I realised that they seemed to be pretty normal (as normal as law students get at least). So, I decided that this was either because they were decent people willing to give up their time to represent someone in a social security tribunal; or because the law zombies are losing their cult status now that the corporate world is in a mess and city law firms aren't so keen on harvesting souls as they were 12 months ago. It could be a bit of both... or it could be neither. I'm out of touch anyway, living as I do for the time being, in the non legal world of 9-5.30.

I really wanted to volunteer with FRU while I was at uni, but for some reason (I can't remember why) I was put off from applying. It had something to do with the wording of the email that was sent around the law department advertising it, and when I read it, it said "Common Law Girl Need Not Apply as she isn't in line for a first" or something like that.... so I didn't sign up. But I REALLY wanted to, and sulked when I realised that I didn't need a 1st, and in fact my friend who wasn't in line for a first either did sign up but now it was too late. But then again, the email hadn't said "friends of CLG shouldn't apply either" so that's probably why he wasn't put off. But wow, I was jealous! Thinking about it, I shouldn't have hesitated, but you live and learn.

Anyway, as it happens, I've signed up now, and it is even better timing, because I have a family member in need. Nothing makes you feel more grown up that being able to offer a member of your family some legal advice. (Well, I'm sure there are other things, like paying bills, or giving birth, but that's not the point). My Great-Uncle has had his Disability Living Allowance stopped after receiving it for over 10 years. His condition hasn't changed and he is confused and upset that its been taken away. Finally, I'll be able to put my legal knowledge to some use, and try and see if we can figure out what's going on and what can be done about it. Finally, I can do something to help.

Aside from the usefulness of being able to help a loved one, I am so eager to be able to go and volunteer and help people with their cases and put my degree to some good use already!

Best of all, my boss is really supportive of the whole thing, because it ties really well into the work that I do. The company I work for run programmes to help people get off benefits and into sustainable employment, so learning more about the ins and outs of the social security system is practically career development from her perspective. Plus, she's just a lovely woman who is supportive of everything anyway.

So the point is, FRU is brilliant and I can't wait. Plus one of the speakers was absolutely gorgeous! He used to be a GP and is now a pupil, and was so so attractive that I think my non lawyer friends would have enjoyed his talk on medical evidence as well.

I was so inspired I had the energy for a 6 hour long rave in Bristol on Saturday night. Bristol is amazing, and if anyone ever goes there, or indeed lives there, check out Mr Wolfe's.

All in all, a day well spent :)