Mark these statements T (true) or F (false), according to the information in
the text. Find the part of the text that gives the correct information.
1 If you have any kind of legal question the first person you consult is a barrister.
2 A barrister and a solicitor are both qualified lawyers in the UK.
3 ‘Preparing a brief for counsel’ means a solicitor writes a detailed description of a case so as to inform the expert (the barrister) of all the facts and main legal points.
4 A solicitor cannot speak in a higher court.
5 A barrister in the UK is an independent qualified lawyer.
6 If you want to work for a law firm and receive a regular salary, you should become a solicitor.
7 There are more solicitors than barristers.
8 Barristers often specialize in particular areas of the law, like property or contracts.
9 Barristers are only liable to clients out of court.
C Legal professionals
Every legal system needs professionals to provide legal services. These
systems are organized in many different ways. In England this work is
carried out by two groups of professionals – solicitors and barristers.
Below is a list of tasks carried out by solicitors and barristers. Classify them
into the appropriate column.
| advising clients on general legal issues
advising clients on specialist legal issues
advising on litigation advising on tax matters
|
| Solicitors | Barristers |
| advocacy in the lower courts | advocacy in all courts |
Language focus
A Translate into Russian paying attention to the Passive.
1 People at law are called lawyers.
2 Barristers are heard in courts.
3 They are not paid by clients.
4 They are employed by solicitors.
5 They are chosen from barristers.
6 A case which is settled out of court.
7 The distinction should be eliminated.
8 Barristers are employed by solicitors to argue a case.
B Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
Solicitor or barrister?
The solicitor is the first point of contact with the law for a client in the UK. The solicitor 1) __________ (listen) carefully to the client, making sure their needs 2) ________ clearly _______ (understand) and then 3) ________ (explain) the legal position and 4) ________ (tender) advice. By contrast, barristers 5) ________ only ________ (see) the client in the company of a briefing solicitor. The barrister 6) _______ (be) the specialist with particular skills in advocacy, a consultant who 7) _________ (examine) the case and
8) ________ (decide) what line to take in court. There 9) ______ (be) only a few solicitors who 10) _______ (allow) to present cases in the higher courts. Many more solicitors 11) _________ (work) in their litigation departments and 12) ________ (spend) much of their time 13) ________ (prepare) briefs for counsel. Barristers 14) ________ (be) self-employed in the independent Bar. Solicitors 15) ______ (be) normally salaried and may 16) _________ (offer) a share in the profits of the practice if they are successful.
C Choose the best explanation for each of these words or phrases from the exercise B.
1 tenders advice2 briefing solicitor
a) offers advice a) lawyer who works quickly
b) bids for advice b) lawyer who writes a letter
c) refuses advice c) lawyer who prepares a case for
court
Advocacy 4 line
a) speaking or pleading in the court a) queue
b) lawyers b) time to allocate
c) rich and famous people c) position
Salaried
a) with postgraduate degrees
b) receiving regular pay
c) independent
Vocabulary tasks
A Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following key words
and expressions.
1 юридические услуги
2 адвокатская деятельность
3 группа независимых экспертов
4 палаты барристеров
5 специалист широкого профиля
6 вести дело в суде
7 представлять интересы клиентов в суде
8 решать семейные споры
9 вести гражданские иски о возмещении ущерба.
B Put the right word for these definitions.
1 … is a lawyer who gives advice to his clients and prepares documents.
2 … is a lawyer who specialized in presenting cases in front of a judge and has
the right of audience.
3 … is a lawyer who employs barristers to argue a case.
4 … is a lawyer who is not directly paid by a client.
C Fill each gap with the appropriate preposition from the box. Some
prepositions can be used more than once. Translate the sentences into
Russian in writing.
| away with of between in by to |
1 These days in the United Kingdom the strict separation _______ the duties of a solicitor and a barrister has been partially broken down, and solicitors frequently appear not only ______ the lower courts but increasingly ________ the higher courts too.
2 Barristers in turn can now be directly instructed _______ certain organizations such as trade unions.
3 In the next few years it is expected that the government will press the Bar Council to allow barristers to deal ______ the public directly.
4 Solicitors are increasingly taking advantage ______ their increased rights and so it is hoped that the old system will be swept _______ in the coming years.
5 Still in the view of many people the existing split _______ barristers and solicitors actually operates ______ the advantage of the users of the English legal system.
Over to you
Imagine you are a family solicitor. Give advice to someone who asks your professional opinion about a financial matter. Your client has asked you whether she should invest money she has inherited in the stock market or place it in the bank. Explain that you feel she should consult a financial expert first. Invite her to discuss any tax implications with her tax adviser.
Text B
Judges in Great Britain
In Britain, the vast majority of judges (that is, the people who decide what should be done with people who commit crimes) are unpaid. They are called “Magistrates”, or “Justices of the Peace” (JPs). They are ordinary citizens who are selected not because they have any legal training but because they have “sound common sense” and understand their fellow human beings. They give up time voluntarily.
A small proportion of judges are not Magistrates. They are called “High Court Judges” and they deal with the most serious crimes, such as those for which the criminal might be sent to prison for more than a year. High Court Judges, unlike Magistrates, are paid salaries by the State and have considerable legal training. There is no separate training for judges. They are trained as barristers. Judges cannot work as barristers once they are appointed. A barrister who is a part-time judge is known as a Recorder.
Reading tasks
Answer these questions.
1 How do we call an officer acting as a judge in the lower courts?
2 What kind of people are Magistrates?
3 Why are they selected?
4 Who would judge a person who had committed a crime like murder?
5 How are judges trained?
6 Who is called a Recorder?
Vocabulary tasks
Court personnel
A Below are 10 people (or groups of people) who work in the different courts.
Can you find them in the word square below?
| C | J | U | G | U | I | O | P | P | P | P | O | M | T |
| H | N | O | E | U | Z | V | U | P | L | F | T | N | P |
| G | L | O | M | C | V | U | Q | J | B | L | R | E | R |
| N | A | S | A | D | R | T | J | U | D | G | E | N | O |
| C | H | I | G | E | T | Y | T | R | B | O | C | P | S |
 J
| U | D | I | C | I | A | R | Y | A | S | O | Y | E |
| P | L | E | S | F | L | E | S | F | T | A | R | Y | C |
| M | O | L | T | A | X | R | T | E | V | B | D | A | U |
| A | B | A | R | R | I | S | T | E | R | G | E | L | T |
| T | E | R | A | A | T | H | I | L | K | G | R | G | O |
| A | N | O | T | H | E | T | M | P | L | O | X | C | R |
| A | C | L | E | R | K | M | L | O | I | R | T | U | K |
| C | H | Y | H | A | N | B | C | T | P | O | L | T | Z |
| X | P | L | E | P | R | E | S | I | D | E | N | T | A |
B Now complete the following text choosing from the words in the square.
The 1) judiciary are perhaps the most prominent amongst those involved in running the court. The largest group of 2) ________ are 3) ________, ordinary citizens who are not legal professionals but are appointed to ensure that the local community is involved in the running of the legal system. They sit as a group of three (as a 4) ‘ _________’). Magistrates sit with a legally qualified
5) ________, who can advise on points of law. A case is presented by the 6) _________, who takes over the case from the police who have already charged the defendant (or accused) with specified crimes.
In the upper courts, the judges are almost all former 7) ________. But many cases are also heard by 8) ________ – part-time barristers from private practice. The Crown Court 9) _________ consists of 12 persons, aged 18 to 70.