Hello everyone and apologies in advance for the long message!
I am a foreign lawyer (Greek), coming from civil (not common law) jurisdiction and all but my LLM (in Maritime Law) studies were based on civil legal systems knowledge.
I want to start studying for the SRA exams and eventually pass it, but I would really need (and extremely appreciate) your assistance.
I work in a maritime company (full time, mother of two - one toddler one teenager) and have almost everyday dealing with English law matters (mostly contact matters) but I am always aided by our insurers' legal teams, who provide the English law consultancy. Therefore I am the least familiar in here with English law.
However, I would like to pass the SRA exams, as this shall be an opportunity to delve into English law, understand it more in practice and obviously elevate my skills as a legal professional. I do not aspire to engage actively in litigation, but I want to be able to give correct legal advise and be more knowledgeable to legal principles when dealing with my company's cases (I am currently depending on the few things I have learned during my LLM and what I have learned form other English legal professionals during the 12 years in maritime industry).
I am prepared to dedicate to the study. I have just finished my second Masters degree (MBA) and I always look ways to improve my self. I should have done this years ago but circumstances (and personal finances) were not favorable.
I would like to know if studying core legal concepts is mandatory, or if I can go through them during the preparation, which due to my work and family schedule, shall be around an academic year at least - I want to give it the proper time. If so, how can I have access to the books and which books should I buy.
Further, I am thinking of enrolling in a preparation course. Please suggest providers that worth the money and the time. Textbooks for the preparation are a must for me, as I have no idea how to deal with all this new information. Common law system is pretty different from Civil law system.
Any other advice is welcome, especially from those that face the same difficulties with me.
Thank you all in advance!
Katia
