I seemed to have blocked the nightmare of exam studying from my mind completely. But the other day, one of our new hires was taking the February bar exam. Someone asked where James was, and I responded, “taking the Bar.” Then my stomach flipped over. My body still remembers, even if my brain does not. Blarg!!!
JD, 2004
How was the dreaded Contracts exam Gleena?
Cunctator you’re a legend, thanks for thinking of me. 
I lived. I threw up twice before and once after, though.
I may have even passed.
First two questions were gifts - I was able to get my hands on some old exams and they were recycled. I’d answered them a couple of times while studying, only the names were changed. I should do well. The third one, I spotted the issues and in debriefing, I’m sure I nailed it. The fourth one, gah. A two parter, I should have done offer/acceptance analysis, but I waffled on about if there was a contract and if so was it breached. Bugger. The second part of that was pretty good, so that’s ok. The last one, I am just not at all sure about. The first part was ok - simple frustration, easy peasy, frustration of condition, Krell v Henry.* The last bit, exclusion clauses, I dunno. It was a case of concurrent liability, and my brain died. I knew I should be talking about Darlington Futures and Canada Steamship and Hedley Bern v Heller, and I did, but I just. couldn’t. get. to. the. point. So hopefully I score some marks in faffing about trying to get there.
Now I have 28 library hours until Tort on Monday, but I’m not worried as much about that. It has more…structure? I guess is what I mean to say. Plus the prof publishes his model answers instead of the waffling on some other profs do when they publish answer guides, and I can take those with me. Bonus.
*In the Krell v Henry case, a man rented room to watch the coronation parade of Edward VII. EVII got sick, so the parade was cancelled. Therefore the contract was frustrated. The people’s names in the problem question were Edward and Victoria. I’m a bit of a history fan, so I thought it was amusing, but I wonder how many people got it or took it as a hint.
Glad that is over with. It gets easier the more you do it.
I remember that! I was going to add a point about the Fertile Octagenarian being no match for the Fertile Zombie, but then saw others had already discussed zombie pregnancy in great detail.
This is why I went with criminal law. Simple and easy. 
Hope you’re very satisifed with your grades when you get them, Gleena! Finding the right balance of study, sleep and relaxation can be tough, I know. And I struggled in Contracts because I always thought there was a contract when there really wasn’t: “Well, he said he’d do it, so he should! His word should be his bond. So there’s a contract!” Um… no. Usually not.
JD, 1992.
I have to wait two months, so I’m trying not to endlessly dissect it until then.
That’s what killed me on the offer/acceptance analysis. He said he’d sell him the shoes! He shouldn’t have said it if he didn’t have them in the back room! He breached! He broke his word! GAH!
Bricker I am seriously considering criminal law…ask me again in three years.
I was a prosecutor for six years. PM me, or post here, if I may be of any help.
Good call. Fertile Zombies cause your receptionists to resign and leave gobbets of flesh on your conference room chairs. And the infertile ones are the same but are less interested in receptionists.
I don’t know what is scarier: zombies, or the Rule Against Perpetuities.
Maybe the latter. Zombies, I can run away from. The Rule Against Perpetuities is not so easy to escape, especially on a Property exam.
Good luck on all your exams, Gleena!
There’s a neat little summary of the common law links in the Commonwealth right there: An Oz law student, writing her contracts exam, cites an Aussie case (High Court), a Canuck case (JCPC, on appeal from the Supreme Court of Canada) and an English case (House of Lords).
Good luck for Torts. I bet you’ll be pleased when Monday lunchtime rolls around.
Where are the exams held? At Sydney uni?
Phew! What would our American friends say?
Word. My first exam of my first semester was contracts, and I was so paranoid about oversleeping and missing the 7:30am exam, that I slept in the library the night before. I just found a lecture hall, laid a sleeping bag out between seats, and had my study group make sure I was awake in the morning.
But by the last exam of my last semester, I was so relaxed about it that I didn’t even outline until two days before the test.
It really does get easier.
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Thanks, I’m writing like mad now. The stapler bit me and I bled all over my notes. FML.
Exams are at Wentworth race track for Sydney city, they are also in Parramatta, and all over rural and regional NSW. I know of venues in Broken Hill, Katoomba, Woolongong, etc.
Thanks all…I’m still at it. This is my second set of exams and I think the first set were the training wheel exams. I don’t remember them being this awful.
Scored another jackpot of old papers though. Whee…it’s the little things.
Also, I have had many, many cups of coffee. Many.
Whee…negligence, nusiance, intentional torts, indirect intentional torts, vicarious liability, damages, defences…yeah.
Yuck. That horrible place. It’s burnt into my memory as the scene of many actuarial exams. I don’t think I’d ever willingly return.
I got the highest grade in my class in first semester contracts. So flunk if you hate me!
Oh, sweetie, you needed two semesters to do contracts? We only need one.
In reality, a pass will get me a degree. Also, I’m pretty sure I did better than that, but I won’t know for a two months, so no sense worrying about it now.
He was in the Remedial Class, takes a bit longer when you’re ‘special’ like Rand.
Hey, congrats Gleena! Never did Law, but I remember the awful joints we were forced to do our exams in at Monash and Melb Uni. One year in particular was a Human Geography exam, June, coldest winter for yonks and we were in a sports stadium with no heating…it’s damned hard work writing when yer’ fingers are virtually frost-bitten, and that was WITH gloves on! 
But again, well done!!