A Law Tutor's Blog | London Law Tutors | Stoke Newington Chambers

Can’t Make It In England, So Go To New York?

March 15, 2010

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that New York Bar courses are the latest UK legal education money-spinner? CLT and BPP allude to the “benefit” of a dual US/UK qualification and hey, maybe they’re right – but now the College of Law is going that step further: Nigel Savage, Chief Executive of The College of [...]

Tagged as: NY Bar

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Graduate Advice

March 11, 2010

A second-year LL.B. student asked me the other day if it was, “too early” to start making summer placement and training contract applications. Absolutely not. I’ll let the legend that is Dr Menski explain.

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Let’s Talk About Essay Writing

March 7, 2010

If you want to write a great essay, you must have an introduction. It sounds simple enough, but students struggle with the concept of stating their conclusion in their introduction. When my lecturer suggested I write a “formal” introduction and conclusion, I thought he was nuts. It seemed like an utter waste of time and [...]

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Constitutional Law for the Perplexed: Equal Protection and Marriage

February 27, 2010

I like to deal with common misunderstandings on Day One of Public law, and, being a bit of a pedant, I like to clarify that the UK is a constitutional monarchy and the US is not a “democracy”: It’s a constitutional republic. Democracies, as far as I’m concerned, are mob rule. The United States’ Declaration [...]

Tagged as: Civil Marriage, Civil Partnerships, Constitution, Gay Marriage, Public law, SCOTUS

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Saudi Lady Advocates

February 21, 2010

Breaking news from Al Jazeera: Saudi Arabia could soon allow women lawyers to appear in court to argue cases for the first time. I was excited – and then slightly underwhelmed to read, as the article goes on to note: “The female lawyers would be able to represent women in marriage, divorce, custody and other family cases”. [...]

Tagged as: Advocacy, Women

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Advice From Your Law Tutor: Do Pro Bono

February 11, 2010

If I had to do it all over again, I’d definitely get involved with pro bono work during my LL.B., rather than waiting to after qualification. There’s is no better way to learn client care and how to apply the law to real life situations. Pro Bono’s a great way to make a positive contribution [...]

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Revision v Re-learning: One Day, One Week, One Month

February 1, 2010

The best revision advice I’d ever received came, not from a law tutor, but from a recent graduate of the Metropolitan Police’s training school in Hendon. It’s the, “One day, one week, one month” approach to memory and study. Here’s how it works - if you learn about Mrs Carlill, her smoke-ball and unilateral contracts [...]

Tagged as: Revision, Study tips

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s18 OAPA, Self-Defence & an Englishman’s Home

January 21, 2010

It’s hard not to feel sorry for Munir Hussain (left) and his brother Tokeer. But put your emotions to one side and see if you can find Munir and Tokeer a defence in law. “Mr Hussain’s nightmare began on September 3 last year when he, his wife, 18-year-old daughter and two sons aged 18 and [...]

Tagged as: Munir Hussain, s18 OAPA, Self Defence

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Ireland’s Equal Opportunity Blasphemy Law

January 2, 2010

Ahhh, the memories. Blasphemy used to be a English law exam and essay topic favourite. It had everything. Blasphemy was especially fun to research and write about as you could chart English legal history from canon to common law, all the way down and through to Mary Whitehouse’s private prosecution of Denis Lemon for his [...]

Tagged as: Article 10, Blasphemy, ECHR, free speech, Public law

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US Constitution: Originalism v Stare decisis

December 30, 2009

As an Anglo-American lecturer in English Criminal and Public (constitutional and administrative) law, I am bemused by the myriad of approaches to US Constitutional interpretation. So here’s a question: Is Miranda v Arizona “unconstitutional”? How do you approach the Sixth Amendment right “to have the assistance of counsel”? The Sixth Amendment states: “In all criminal [...]

Tagged as: Constitution, Counsel, Miranda Rights, Originalism, SCOTUS, stare decisis, Supreme Court

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