TIPS ON ANSWERING LAW QUESTION- part one

An examination is not a test of brilliance but a test of intelligence. It is not enough to know what to write, you need to know how to write. What you write may be 100% accurate and yet you get a D for lack of proper organization.

Law questions could be basically classified into two types:

1. Problem questions, and

2. Essay question.

PROBLEM QUESTION

Law problem questions comes in form of a scenario, it test the student's ability to identify the area of law, deduce the material facts and correctly apply the applicable law and draw out a conclusion from a scenario. In answering problem question an acronym is suggested; IRAC- Identification and issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion. 

IDENTIFICATION 

The first step in answering a problem question is to identify what area of law the given scenario is, to do this you have to read the whole scenario and consider which facts are material. Material facts are those facts that are relevant in order for you to arrive at a valid conclusion. Let's take this scenerio for example; Mr. Ade advertised in a daily newspaper on June 28, 2015, offering to pay the sum of $50 to anyone who finds and returns his 

mummies sing Cassio gold wristwatch. Mrs. Biola finds the watch and returns it and claims the price which Mr. Ade refused to pay claiming that there was no contract between them since he had intended to make an offer to the whole world which was impossible and she did communicate her intention to accept the offer, if ever it were possible.

You should note that not all the facts are material. For instance, the date of the publication, color or brand of the wristwatch is immaterial. It would make no difference if it were a D&G silver watch. You can Infer that the indentification for the scenerio is UNILATERAL CONTRACTS if you have offered law of contract(usually taken in the 2nd year).

2. ISSUE: this refers to the subject of contention. The question of law to be determined. It usually begins with 'whether'. Using our above scenerio, we can deduce these issues:

A) whether an offer can be made to the whole world

B) whether communication of acceptance is required in unilateral contract.

3. RULE: these is a general proposition of law applicable to the issue. It should be gotten from statute or case law. On the first issue, in the above scenerio the general rule laid down in Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. Is that an offer can be made to the whole world. 

4. APPLICATION: This involves applying the general rule to the issue up for determination. You state briefly the material facts and apply the general rule to it. Support your application with relevant authority(cases and statutes as well as opinion of notable scholars and jurist). 

5. CONCLUSION: Draw a valid conclusion from your premise (application). You may be asked to advice the parties. Your advice may go thus: 'I advise Mr. Ade to honor the contract as he may not succeed in an action to set it aside'. 

THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAW DOES NO MORE THAN MYSTIFY THE LAY MAN- How do you react to this assertion?

If a lawyer wants to wish you a happy new year, rather than say the words 'HAPPY NEW YEAR' you might hear something like this 'without acceptance of any liability on my part, please take note ab initio that this is binding in honor alone. Having said the aforementioned, I wish you a happy new year'.

Lawyers are known to use words in a special way. There is a language of a lawyer, even when he uses English Language, words are given a meaning other than it literal meaning as used in everyday communication. When a lawyer uses the word 'damage' he doesn't refer to 'to spoil' or 'to destroy' rather it refers to a legal remedy at common law, usually measured in monetary terms. words like 'ownership', 'company', 'law', 'legal personality', 'contract' are legal concepts used in a different sense from its ordinary meaning as used in everyday communication. For instance, the word 'contract' may refer to 'mere agreement' to a lay man, but to a lawyer it entails; an offer, acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations, capacity to contract.

Lawyers also make use of Latin expression such as; ab initio, audi alterem patem, nemo judex in casua sua, consensus ad idem. As well as the use of jargon or slang, such as 'my brief has not been perfected' to refer to the fact that he has not been paid his professional fees. They also make use of archaic words such as; hereinafter, aforementioned, aforesaid, herein-before.

Of note are law registers such as; plaintiff, accused, jurisdiction, plea, confessional statement, testimony, exhibit, conviction, acquit, remand, warrant, cause, solicit et cetera.

The question however is, what is the relevance of this words and expression to the advancement of the Nigerian Legal System? It has been argued that the legal language do no more than mystify the lay man. How true this ascertion is, is yet to be ascertained. The rationale behind this is that if the layman can completely understand the lawyer's job, there would be no need for lawyers. Countries like Britain our colonial masters has moved away from compulsory use of latinised words.

It is my submission that although the use of these concepts and words helps a lawyer to write more concisely and help to overcome the problem of multiplicity of meaning given to English Words. They however do little to contribute to the development of law in Nigeria. The continued usage of these words is a significant milestone in the road to the development of the legal profession in Nigeria.

WELCOME TO THE FACULTY OF LAW

The legal profession is a very prestigious profession, little wonder why most kids love to join the profession. The ultimate question remains this; 'Do you have what it takes to succeed in the profession'. Lawyers are looked upon with great respect, so the first ultimate fear of a new intake is whether he would be able to live up to the expectation of friends, family and relatives. A lawyer is expected to know everything or at least be better informed than his counterpart in other fields. The truth is that the moment you join the faculty of law, you have joined the faculty of war, and you have to keep up with certain standard of life; in dressing, speech, writing and etiquette. Here are some little tips that can help you be at ease in your new faculty.

1. RELAX:
It is natural that you will be enthusiastic about your choice of career, and you might be a little jumpy, willing to join every group, be in company of new friends and take new roles; but it helps a lot if you would just relax and take things slow. take your time to know your environment, friends and how the faculty works, the right combination of courses to take. what you do in your first weeks of resumption go a long way to determine your progress in the faculty.

2. TAKE ADVICE:
You might want to assume that being in the faculty automatically makes you a genius and independent of advice from anyone. Nothing kills a new intake faster than a leap in the dark. It is always very helpful to take advice from senior colleagues, who have walked the path that you now walk.

3. CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS: The kind of company you keep goes a long way in determining where you would end up at the end of your journey in the faculty. keep friends whose goal are similar to yours. create small study groups and study law material before hand.

4. GATHER LAW MATERIAL AND PAST QUESTIONS: Nothing helps more than reading before hand and solving past questions long before test or examinations begins. Law materials are usually voluminous with a lot of cases and sections to memorize. Early reading would aid easy recollection.

5. LEARN TO USE THE LAW LIBRARY: The law library is an indispensable tool to law students. learning how to use the law library from your 100level days is a good way to start your journey in the faculty of law. learn how to use the law reports which are richly available in the law library as well as well insightful cases.

You should participate in all activities in the law faculty as well as the law dinner as it is designed to prepare for law school and the legal profession. You should be weary of joining groups, and you are advised to stay away from faculty politics in your first year.