Hear me out...
16 years of working in the legal space as a law clerk and a 3-time college drop out...
After 17 years of being a mother...
2 years of education and 1 month of placement...
Graduation and exam prep...
Then after 6 gruelling weeks of waiting for results...
I open up my email and I see it:
I cried, like I've never cried before. This was the moment I was waiting for. The young teenage girl in me was so proud. I never thought I would see the day where I am shining so bright and falling into a greater purpose to serve my community.
These past few months have been a whirlwind. Not only did I receive a passing P1 examination grade, I was taking it a step further and heading to law school. Being the first in my family - breaking generational curses are important to me. A young Black legal professional, I am proud.
I remember my yearbook picture when I was 14 years old, under my photo saying - I am going to be a lawyer." Well - after many setbacks turning into triumphs - that is exactly where I am headed.
My journey in becoming a licensed paralegal was not a conventional one. I struggled and I fought to be seen, and with a large shift in my life - these efforts have now become effortless, because it is where I am meant to be.
I buckled down during the study period and created great study methods that worked for me and I was successful in my results.
I thought about the ways I can support my fellow colleagues while studying and I documented it all along the way. It took a lot of planning and discipline, this definitely wasn't impossible even though I was playing a balancing act in parenting, my career, fun and peace.
I know that many of my fellow P1 licensees, put their fun on hold and put their "eyes on the prize" in becoming so familiar with their materials.
I was definitely part of that group and had tunnel vision and saying to myself - " I am only taking this exam once!" Here I am, a new graduate, about to head to law school and having a full-time job about to write an exam that may potentially change my life.
After I passed - I asked myself, how can I help my peers?
Now - I would like to speak to the P1 licensees preparing for the upcoming sittings and share some tips!
How did I prepare?
First - Your mind needs to stay positive, if you are exuding negative thoughts - it will become reality. Think positive and be realistic.
Second - I started by creating a timeline and a schedule on how I would be approaching each section. The recommendation by the law society indicates that reading through the material 3 times, is beneficial. Like many of you, I did not have that much time, so I did what worked for me - I broke it down into parts and used some guided methods on how to prepare.
Here are my top 3 tips in helping you prepare for your P1 exam - Study Mode
Read through the full materials at least once. It is important that you know what is infront of you. You may develop resources that will route you to the correct answers that you may not be familiar with in the materials, such as an index, or terminology, but what good are the resources if you have not looked through the material. Get familiar, tab or highlight, do what you need to in order to flag the topics that are less familiar during the exam.
2. Separate all of your sections to allow easier referencing. I don't know about you, but when I did my first prep-test - I was flipping through one binder - yea..I think not. Take my advice, separate the sections of your materials including your resources. I brought 10 items in total (photo to the left). Always check in with the LSO pre-exam information to review what is allowed and what isn't into the exam area. Keep the binding simple!
3. Last but not least, utlilise a time sheet! I know my biggest fear was running out of time, so creating a time sheet that showed how much time I have for each question and the amount of time I had in total kept me on track. Use the tools that you are given. You know how many questions will be tested, how much time you have and the recommended amount of time you have for each answer. Unfortunately, you will need to put your math hat on - but it's worth it.
I know what your feeling - this whole licensing thing is overwhelming - but there is light at the end of the tunnel. You have come this far..so prep well and reap the rewards.
Good luck to the candidates and congrats to the newly licensed paralegals...We did it!
BONUS:
I love movies! On every last Friday of the month, I will be sharing well known, favourite court/legal dilemma scenes and will pose a legal question to gain insight on what legal professionals have to say!
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Until next time - may justice guide your journey both on and off the record.
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