Transcript Contracts Revision Tutorial 2

Contracts Revision Session 2
LSS Revision Tutorial Friday 4 Nov 2011 @ 10am
Don’t panic…
• You can fit a lot on 4 pages
• You will be surprised how much you
remember
• Contract law is logical - if you work
through a problem logically it will be
much easier.
Issue spotting
• If you’ve read the cases you are more likely to be
able to spot similarities in facts that will trigger what
kinds of issues might be involved.
• This is a skill that needs to be practiced. Go through
as many past exams as you can and issue-spot:
1. Go through the life-cycle of the contract in a linear
fashion and see if any of the issues apply to the facts.
2. There may well be more than one issue - don’t just
jump on the first one that you see and stop looking
for others.
3. Compare the issues you found with friends.
Reading Time - Step 1 (Read)
• You will be nervous so just read it the
first time - don’t expect to take much in.
• Read it again - this time
underlining/highlighting key facts, noting
questions etc.
Reading Time - Step 2 (Think)
• Does it sound like any cases you remember?
• Go through your summary in order (is there a
contract? Are there any issues with what the
terms are? Was the contract performed?
Breached? Frustrated? Are there any vitiating
factors?) List things that might need to be
dealt with.
Reading Time - Step 3 (Plan)
• Focus on the question itself (not just the scenario).
Exactly what does it ask you? Who are you advising
(one party? Both?)?
• Make a list of the issues you will need to address to
answer the question. What order do you need to
address them in? (this is usually in order of the lifecycle - but there might be parallel issues - eg. a
couple of terms that need analysis or multiple vitiating
factors).
• If you have time, work out what headings you will use
and start making HIRAC notes for each issue
Writing Time
• If you didn’t get a chance to finish planning in reading
time don’t just start writing in a panic - sketch out a
rough plan.
• Don’t forget an introduction - your reader needs one,
and it’s useful to be able to start writing with a clear
idea of where you are going:
In order for X to be able to get her deposit back she will
need to be able to demonstrate that…
X will only be able to claim damages if Y has breached
the contract. Y will only have breached the contract
if…
Writing time (cont…)
• Don’t forget about Formation. It might not be
at issue, but you should say so (in intro or in a
brief little section - up to you)
• Make good use of subheadings to move you
logically and sequentially through the
problem. Don’t forget if you have headings
then subheadings under them you have to
make this clear in some way to the reader
(numbers, letters etc)
Writing time (cont…)
• Don’t forget about HIRAC in the stress of the
moment. It’s not only about structure for your reader,
it’s a reasoning tool for you. If you go through each
step you are less likely to miss things and more likely
to communicate clearly.
• RULE: If you can’t remember an authority leave it
blank and come back to it. If at the end you still can’t
remember put down what you do remember (the one
where the guy sells the fruit shop…)
Writing time (cont…)
• APPLICATION: A better answer will not
only apply the rule to the facts but will
use cases to strengthen the argument
where possible (in a very similar
situation this happened… this happened
in this case but it is different from the
facts of this scenario because… This
might affect…)
Writing time (cont…)
• CONCLUSION: have one (for each subissue, issue and for the whole problem) even
if it is ‘if X then Y, but if A then B’. don’t just
stop analysing and leave the reader to make
up their own mind.
• Make sure the conclusion to the whole
problem answers the question a) that was
asked and b) that you set up in your
introduction. You might need to go back and
change a bit of your introduction if your
analysis made your realise there was more
going on.
Exam time-management
• Have a watch
• Set time goals (how much time will you spend
on which problem) and keep track of where
you are in relation to them in case time is
running out and you need to start dot-pointing
to get it down.
• Try to leave yourself time to read over the
problem and fill in missing authorities, clarify
a word etc.
Try to avoid…
• Panicking. If the problem just doesn’t make
sense to you, go through each of the possible
issues on your summary one at a time and
see if any of them look like they might apply.
• Writing an answer then panicking. While your
first instincts may not always be right, the
impulse to second-guess and change
everything at the last moment probably isn’t
either. If you think you’ve gotten something
wrong: breathe, re-read the section of the
problem, re-read your notes/answer then
make an informed decision.
Also try to avoid
• Dissecting the exam in ridiculous detail
afterwards. There is often more than
one way to approach a problem. You
may have done something very different
to your friend but this isn’t automatically
a cause for alarm. Just relax, be glad
it’s over, and collect the exam when you
can so you know what you might need
to work on if it comes up again.