This web page started out as a place where I posted just the Microsoft Excel indexes that I made because they were different to the standard indexes that others used. Since then it has grown as I have posted answers to questions I was repeatedly asked over email, and as I have posted things that people have sent me.
Hopefully you will find the information posted here useful, but obviously you use all the material on this site 100% at your own risk, regardless of whether it was produced by me or anyone else.
Thanks to those people who have sent me stuff (especially Chris York who has sent much of it), and if anyone else wants to send me updated material I will be happy to post it - send an email to the email address listed on my homepage.
How to approach the readings
A number of people emailed me to ask how I approached the readings and prepared for exams e.g. Did I do all the readings? Did I focus on what was covered in class etc? This is a copy of the email reply I sent to one of them.
Exam tips:
This is a guide to exam tips written on March 21, 2006 by Julie C. D'Avignon.
Exam Answer guides:
This is a copy of the practice exam they provide for part 1, but it has references to where the answers can be found in the materials added to it.
This is a copy of the practice exam they provide for part 2, but it has references to where the answers can be found in the materials added to it.
Objections:
Probably only the keener litigator types will be interested, but this is a list of possible objections that you may want to have handy during the civil trial.
Indexes
For indexes, there are two options:
Option 1:
Typically most students use a modified set of indexes which have evolved over previous years. These need to be modified to ensure that the page references to the practice materials match your practice materials i.e. as the practice materials are modified for each PLTC session, some of the page references get mixed up. Also, as the syllabus changes, some indexed stuff becomes irrelevant, and the index becomes incomplete to the extent new stuff is added. In the session I attended (May - June 2006), a group of students updated this set of indexes to match our practice materials. I did not use these indexes and cannot vouch for their accuracy. However, these are the indexes used by most students, especially those who did not do all the readings themselves. The "tried and tested" method is to just modify these to suit your practice materials
This is a set of indexes sent to me by a student who attended the April 2007 session.
This is a set of indexes sent to me in July 2007.
This is a set of indexes sent to me in December 2007.
Option 2:
If you are even vaguely excel able, and you want to look at a different way of organizing the index, which I used, check out this excel file. Unlike the indexes in Option 1, this is just a single file for both the solicitor and barrister exams. People who have never used excel may not dig it, although they should. Not surprisingly, I think my organization is better (else I would not have used it), although one of the main reasons for my organizing like I did was b/c I plan to use the index in the future and so do not want artificial divisions along PLTC categories. With mine, you have to get familiar with the lists on the "Categories" tab, and then you look up whatever you want in a set of alphabetized tabs. Then I printed out the index and put it in a binder with alphabetized tabs. Without getting into a debate about which indexing system is better, mine is good for when you cannot remember which set of practice materials the issue was discussed in. For example, civil litigation procedure is discussed in the Civil Litigation materials (obviously), but other aspects of civil litigation are discussed only in the Family and/or Creditors Remedies materials. So with mine you just go to the relevant civil litigation topic and it will have references to the Civil Litigation, Family and Creditors Remedies practice materials according to where that topic was actually discussed.
