ABOUT THE PAUL KENT LEGAL TRAINING OLQE 2023 COURSE
INTRODUCTION
Paul Kent Legal Training (‘PKLT’) provides tuition in all Heads of the Overseas Lawyers Qualification Examination (‘OLQE’), an annual examination administered by the Law Society of Hong Kong (‘LSHK’).
The examination comprises 6 ‘Heads’ as follows:
Head I (Conveyancing);
Head II (Civil and Criminal Procedure);
Head III (Commercial and Company Law);
Head IV (Accounts and Professional Conduct);
Head V (Principles of Common Law) *
Head VI (Hong Kong Constitutional Law).
[ * Please note that candidates admitted in a common law jurisdiction are not required to take Head V. Candidates admitted in a non-common law jurisdiction who are interested in tuition for Head V should send an email to psk@pskent.com for further information].
MODES OF STUDY
The Paul Kent Legal Training OLQE 2023 Course offers candidates a wide choice of study options as follows:
1. The Virtual Learning Mode for Head I (Conveyancing) and/or Head VI (Hong Kong Constitutional Law) (‘VLP’)
Candidates who wish to follow this mode of study should complete the VLP Registration Form.
Each subject consists of 14 x 2 hours of live online tutorials (28 hours).
Classes are held in the evenings from Monday to Friday from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm Hong Kong time (with extension of time as necessary), commencing on Tuesday May 30, 2023. See VLP Schedule for the timetable of classes.
Any person who registers for the VLP may:
(a) participate by raising questions and/or engaging in discussion, and/or download audio recordings of the live sessions;
(b) join the live online sessions in the Revision Package at no extra charge.
2. The E-Learning Mode for Heads I, II, III, IV, and VI (‘ELP’)
Candidates who wish to follow this mode of study ONLY should complete the ELP Registration Form.
The ELP is a form of remote learning but it is important to stress that it is NOT self-study, in the sense that candidates are left to study entirely on their own.
ELP candidates receive 1 to 1 tuition through unlimited email contact and, where time permits, through participation in live online tutorials arranged by appointment with Paul Kent Legal Training.
Any person who registers for the E-Learning Mode may join the live online sessions in the Revision Package at no extra charge.
The ELP is the most popular mode of study for busy lawyers. It enables them to choose how and when they study and to raise questions at any time right up to the eve of the examination.
3. The Revision Mode for Heads I, II, III, IV, and VI (‘RP’)
The RP provides 6 x 2 hours of live online revision in each of the 5 subjects tested by written examinations (12 hours in total).
Candidates who wish to attend revision classes ONLY should complete the RP Registration Form.
Classes will be held in the evenings from Monday to Friday from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm Hong Kong time (with extension of time as necessary), commencing in September 2023. See RP Schedule for the timetable of classes.
By doubling the time previously allocated to the RP, we aim to help candidates to hone their writing skills leading up to the exams. In all of the sessions we will work through the kinds of problems that arise in the OLQE, and consider recent developments that might generate questions in the exam.
As with the VLP, any person who joins a live online RP session may participate by raising questions and/or engaging in discussion, and/or download audio recordings of each live session.
4. Combined Study Mode
PKLT recognises that there is ‘no one size fits all’ when it comes to legal study. For this reason we allow candidates to combine the VLP mode for Head I and/or Head 6 + ELP mode for Head II, and/ or Head III and/or Head IV
Candidates who wish to combine the VLP with subjects covered in the ELP mode should complete the VLP + ELP Registration Form.
5. Tailormade Packages
Please send an email to psk@pskent.com if none of the above fits your requirements.
Please contact us for registration forms, which contain information on fees.
PAUL KENT LEGAL TRAINING’S PROBLEM-SOLVING’ APPROACH TO LEARNING
Paul Kent’s teaching is aimed at showing students/lawyers how to solve the kinds of problems that law examiners typically set, and which may arise in practice. He has been using this approach for 48 years.
The approach is implemented by examining and practising the following key skills:
• analysing the narratives that are the basis of every problem,
• identifying the general issue(s) arising from those narratives,
• analysing the law,
• identifying specific legal issues generated by applying that law to the narratives,
• recognising alternative possible outcomes to the issues; and
• writing appropriate written responses to the questions set.
This means that, while it is essential to provide a good set of notes setting out key legal principles and authorities, that is not enough. In the PKLT problem solving approach, knowledge of the law is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
Exam practice
Exam Practice is a fundamental feature of PKLT’s problem-solving approach to legal training. For hundreds of years law teachers have presented problems to help students learn the law and solve legal problems. Carefully prepared expository lectures are useful but they can never be enough because law exams test more than knowledge. It is only by working on the kinds of problems that arise, both in practice and in law school, that candidates can acquire a deep understanding of the subjects and can learn how to apply the law in solving those problems.
This is precisely the approach PKLT adopts. Candidates work on many different kinds of problems and in the process practise the key legal skills outlined above. In this way, they are already looking for key issues, and relating the core law long before they enter the exam hall.
1 to 1 tuition
Valuable as group learning is, regular 1 to 1 contact with a tutor is rated very highly by students, especially since people respond in different ways to the challenge of legal study.
Paul Kent Legal Training provides 1 to 1 tuition by offering unlimited email contact with Paul Kent. Everyone who enrols on a course with PKLT can contact Paul directly by email at any time, and Paul aims to respond to all inquiries within 24 hours. Candidates who have taken advantage of this resource from the moment they started studying have done very well in the exams.
In addition, live online sessions may be arranged with individual students where time permits.
CORE STUDY RESOURCES
In each subject, registrants receive:
(i) A File which sets out core principles and authorities in each subject, including relevant cases and legislation.
(ii) A File containing Q & As.
(iii) Pre-recorded lectures available on downloadable audio files.
(iv) Casebooks for each subject, setting out summaries of relevant judicial decisions.
(v) A specially prepared mock examination in each subject.
(vi) Feedback on the mock exam, including individual comments on answers to mock exams.
(vii) Updates.
(viii) Unlimited email contact.
REGISTRATION
To register for any or all of the packages, please contact us for the Registration Form or Forms you would like to see. Completed registration forms should be signed and sent by email to psk@pskent.com.
FEES
Please see the Registration Forms for information on fees.
Substantial discounts are offered to candidates who register with Paul Kent Legal Training for more than 1 subject, or for 2 or more persons register for the Paul Kent Legal Training OLQE 2023 Course (i.e. “group discounts”).
START READING EARLY
We strongly advise candidates for the OLQE to start reading as soon as possible. The syllabuses are large, and the exams are tough. Candidates must be very familiar with Hong Kong Law to pass any subject in the OLQE.
Furthermore, candidates may not find out if they are eligible to sit the OLQE until shortly before the date of the first examination. It is not advisable to wait until then before you start studying. This applies to all candidates. Candidates who register for the OLP or the CLP should not wait until the live online classes start before commencing their studies.
REFUND POLICY
If you register with us, and you start studying the written Heads before your application for the current OLQE is submitted to the Law Society of Hong Kong (‘LSHK’), or before your application has been determined by the LSHK, Paul Kent Legal Training will offer you a full refund of the fee you have paid to PKLT if the LSHK decides that you are not eligible to sit the OLQE, unless the reason for the decision is that you have not provided all the required documents in support of your application, either at all or in time, or that you have not otherwise satisfied the eligibility requirements.
If the LSHK decides that you are eligible to sit the OLQE, and that you are exempt from a written Head, PKLT will offer you a full refund of any payment you may have made to receive tuition for that Head.
In any other case, you should send an email to Paul Kent at psk@pskent.com for consideration on a case-by-case basis.
For the avoidance of doubt, the above policies do not apply to Head V (the oral examination for non-common lawyers). This is because no fee is payable for Head V unless, and until, the LSHK confirms that a candidate is eligible to sit the Head V exam.
ADVICE ON APPLYING TO SIT THE OLQE
Please email psk@pskent.com if you would like advice on applying to sit the OLQE.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you need any further information to decide whether to register for The Paul Kent Legal Training OLQE 2023 Course, please do not hesitate to contact us by sending an email to Paul Kent at psk@pskent.com
If you have not already done so, please visit our website at www.pskent.com and read the testimonials.
Paul Kent
For and on behalf of Paul Kent Legal Training