How NOT to pass the QLTS?

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The next MCT session is 34 days away, and we all are focusing on how to pass the QLTS.

It’s time for a review of your knowledge and for an objective assessment of your chances of finally making it to the next step, the OSCE.

While PasstheQLTS – and many other resources, including the course providers – is mainly focused in dispensing tips on how to pass the QLTS, I thought it could be useful if we’d analyse for once what are the most common issues that prevent folks from doing so.

During the last 12 months or so I’ve had some informal discussions with folks who, despite all the effort and skills, did not pass the MCT part of the QLTS.

I’ve tried to come up with a list of the most common issues:

• TIME

Time is definitely an issue, but most particularly the management of it. Most of the fellow candidates I had a chat with recognized they didn’t manage the time they had properly, wasting too much time preparing (or over-studying) irrelevant topics.

Most of us are full-time workers preparing at night or during weekends. It is a lengthy process, and there’s nothing worse than realizing you’re wasting time two years down the road.

Plan ahead, use you calendar, set deadlines, give yourself targets, in short… MANAGE YOUR TIME.

• COMMON LAW Vs. CIVIL LAW 

I know it’s the whole point of qualifying in a different jurisdiction, but some of the underlying concepts of a Common Law jurisdiction aren’t exactly intuitive for most of the Civil Law lawyers.

That is even more true for more experienced lawyers, that will have to face a huge change in the way they approach law.

Make sure you read a lot of easy material at the beginning of your journey, i.e. books for  non-lawyers to get a flavor of what you are getting into.

• LANGUAGE

Language is inevitably another issue for many QLTS candidates.

The MCT is a hard test, and you are sitting it after months of study and sacrifice, after learning so much about a different legal system.

Imagine what it would mean to find out, on the day of your exam, that you don’t know what an “endowment” and that your success or failure could depend on the meaning you give to that word?

Try to find as many tests as possible to test your knowledge, but also to test your language capabilities. During the test you won’t have the time to think about words meaning.

You have to be sure that you do not waste precious time!

Well, I hope this helps and if you want to share your personal struggle, feel free to leave a comment!

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