Wednesday's Brief: Nemo dat quod
Midweek catch-up and a reminder that you cannot give what you don't have
Heyyy,
It's Wednesday already. The week is going by very quickly. How's it going for you?
I was thinking about the Latin maxims I learned as an undergrad and how many of them actually hold truths that can help us in our personal lives. Example, Nemo dat quod non habet – no one can give what they do not have.
It's a pretty straightforward statement, and so true. If you don't have it, you can't give it. You can't teach what you don't know, give help you don't have the ability to give, give excellence if you're not excellent. So think of what you want to give off or give out. Do you have it?
And if you do have it, do you attempt to give more than you have? I think it's important to keep refilling and refreshing so we can effortlessly give what we want. If you want to excel, especially as a Law student, you have to put in the work to fill yourself up with the elements that make up excellence – the base knowledge, the know-how for succeeding at exams, and other practical skills.
Keep this maxim in mind and don't promise to give what you don't have. And work to build yourself so you can give off what you want to give.
This Week's Legal Tip 💡
The Nemo dat quod non habet rule represents the common law position that a purchaser has no ownership title if they purchase a possession from someone who has no ownership right to it.
This rule will, however, not apply when –
The owner gives consent to sell, the purchaser buys due to the misleading conduct of the seller, the sale is by a mercantile agent, it is a sale under a special common law or statutory power of sale, the sale was done in a market overt, or it was under a voidable title.
Here's your weekly “strong reassurance that I'm rooting for you and I'll be in your inbox soon again.”