VOCABULARY TO THE THEME
LEGAL PROFESSIONS
1. a background for practice- ()
2. a will-
3. an applicant-
4. brief- ; ; , a
5. chambers-
6. civil action-
7. clerk for the court-
8. commercial enterprise
9. complaint-
10. consumer affairs-
11. county court
12. Crown court-
13. divorce-
14. evidence-
15. follow the pattern- (, , )
16. guilt-
17. higher courts -
18. innocence-
19. Inns of Court- judge- ( )
20. legal proceedings-
21. lower courts-
22. Magistrate court-
23. magistrate-
24. mandatory-
25. matrimonial matters-
26. motion-
27. petty crimes-
28. professional training-
29. reading comprehension-
30. reasoning-,
31. recovering some debts-
32. the accused/ the suspect-/
33. to argue a case-
34. to be legally qualified-
35. to deal with
36. to decide questions of fact/law- /
37. to find guilty-
38. to guide on points of law-
39. to obtain a University law degree- ( )
40. to pass a sentence-
41. to prosecute-
42. to represent client
43. to return a verdict-
44. to serve an apprenticeship- ,
45. trial-
46. witness for the defence and prosecution-
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1.
To return , to pass , to guide on , to be legally , to decide questions , to argue, witnesses for, to deal with, to represent , a background , to serve , to obtain a University , consumer.
2.
| 1. | A. clerk for the court |
| 2. | B. to argue a case |
| 3. | C. innocence |
| 4. | D. witnesses for the prosecution |
| 5. | E. to obtain a University law degree |
| 6. | F. the suspect- |
| 7. | G. civil action |
| 8. | H. trial- |
| 9. | I. professional training- |
| 10. | J. guilt |
3. .
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| 1.petty crimes | A. |
| 2. evidence | B. |
| 3. higher courts | C. |
| 4. recovering some debts | D. |
| 5. matrimonial matters | E. |
| 6. to serve an apprenticeship | F. |
| 7. Inns of Court | G. |
| 8. divorce | H. |
| 9. legal proceedings | I. , |
| 10. complaints- | G. |
4. .
| 1.matrimonial matters | |
| 2.professional training | |
| 3.a background for practice | |
| 4.legal proceedings | |
| 5.lerk for the court | |
| 6.to pass a sentence | |
| 7.to be legally qualified | |
| 8.to find guilty | |
| 9.magistrate court | |
| 10.mandatory |
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Who is Who in the Law?
If you are prosecuted for a crime in Britain, you may meet the following people during your process through the courts:
JUDGES. Judges are trained lawyers nearly always ex-barristers, who sit in the Crown Court and Appeal Court. The judge rules on points of law, and makes sure that the trial is conducted properly. He/she does not decide on the guilt or innocence of the accused that is the jury's job. However, if the jury find the accused guilty, then the judge will pass a sentence.
MAGISTRATES. Magistrates are unpaid judges, usually chosen from wellrespected people in the local community. They are not legally qualified. They are guided on points of law by an official, the Clerk.
JURORS. A jury consists of twelve men and women from the local community. They sit in the Crown Court, with a judge, and listen to witnesses for the defence and prosecution before deciding whether the accused is guilty or innocent. They decide questions of fact and return a verdict.
SOLICITORS. After the suspect was arrested, the first person he/ she needs to see is a solicitor. Solicitors are qualified lawyers who advise the person and help prepare the defence case.
ARRISTERS. In more serious cases, or where there are special difficulties, it is usual for the solicitor to hire a barrister to defend the accused. The barrister is trained in the law and in the skills required to argue a case in court.
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1 2 .
1. -What legal professions are there in the UK and the USA?
2. -Are legal professions in the UK and the USA alike?
3. -What are two basic patterns to become a solicitor?
4. -What must an applicant obtain to get into a US law school?
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1 2 .
1. -Who are court-room lawyers and office lawyers?
2. -How many solicitors are there in Great Britain?
3. -What lawyers do a consultancy in the UK?
4. -What lawyers are experts in the interpretation of the law in the UK?
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5. -What kinds of lawyers are members of one of the Inns of Court?
6. -What is LSAT?
7. -What are the most prestigious legal schools in the USA?
8. -How many percentiles should you score on the LSAT to study at Harvard?
9. -How many pages should students read and analyze to be ready for a lecture?
10. -What is the Socratic Method?
11. -What is IRAC format?
12. -What could the professor change after the preliminary grades are assigned?
TEXT 1
LAWYERS IN THE UK.
Solicitors and Barristers
The most striking feature of the English legal profession is its division into two separate sub-professions- barristers and solicitors. Barristers are different from solicitors. Barristers are court- room lawyers and solicitors are office-lawyers.
If a person has a legal problem, he goes to see a solicitor. Almost every town has at least one. In fact, there are about 60,000 solicitors in Britain. Many problems are dealt with exclusively by a solicitor. For instance, the solicitor deals with petty crimes. He may represent his client in the lower courts and some matrimonial matters in magistrates courts. He prepares the case and the evidence: interview client s and witnesses. In a civil action, he can speak in the county court, when the case is one of divorce or recovering some debts. Besides, a solicitor deals with other matters. He does the legal work involved in buying a house; he writes legal letters for you, he helps you to make a will, etc.
Barristers are experts in the interpretation of the law. They advise on really difficult points, and conduct legal proceedings in the higher courts. Barristers are rather remote figures. A barristers client can come to him only via a solicitor. They are not paid directly by clients but are employed by solicitors. Barristers do not have public offices in any street. They work in chambers, often in London. There are about 6,000 barristers in England. Usually only barristers can become judges in English courts.
How to become a lawyer in Great Britain
There are two basic patterns for becoming a solicitor. The first is for the student to obtain a University law degree (which requires three years of undergraduate education, then to serve an apprenticeship with an established solicitor for two - and one- half years.) The second is to attend a specialized College of Law (a course of study which emphasizes practical aspects of the solicitors practice) for a few months in order to prepare for his exams and for years of apprenticeship. A student following this course need not attend University at all. Candidates follow both patterns, although the University approach is increasing in popularity. A candidate with a University education, although it was concentrated on the study of law, has a broader background for practice.
Every barrister is a member of the four Inns of Court. The Inns jointly conduct the bar exams. They separately call to the bar, or admit to practice, individuals who have passed the exams.
Those who dont want to become lawyers can go on to do anything, such as working for business, commerce, industry or government. If you want to become a barrister or a solicitor, you have to do further professional training: 2 years to be a barrister and 3 years to be a solicitor.
TEXT 2
LAWYERS IN THE USA.
Unlike the UK there are neither barristers nor solicitors in the United States. In this country lawyers are called attorneys. They do different kinds of work. Most towns in the US have small firms of attorneys who are in daily contact with ordinary people, giving advice and acting on matters such as consumer affairs, traffic accident disputes and contract for the sale of land. Some may also prepare defences for clients accused of crimes.
Lawyers working in large law firms or employed in the law department of large commercial enterprise work on highly specific areas of law.
How to become a lawyer in the USA.
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The systems of higher legal education in the US and Russia could not be more different.
Getting In:
In order to get into a US law school, an applicant must first obtain a bachelors degree from a university or college (takes about 4 years on average to complete). Then, the applicant has to take a Law School Admission Test (LSAT). It is a four-hour written exam that combines testing on reading comprehension, logic, and reasoning the skills believed to be necessary for a successful lawyer. The LSAT score will determine in which law school you could possibly be accepted. For example, the Ivy League schools(the most prestigious) like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton will look at your application only if you scored at the 95-100 percentiles on the LSAT, i.e., if there were 100 questions, you could only get 5 wrong. Less prestigious schools require at least 70 percentile, and the third-tiered schools will accept you if you got at least half of the questions correctly.
Once an applicant has the LSAT score, he or she will start assembling other application materials. They usually include a personal statement and a few additional essays, recommendation letters, and transcripts from college. The applicants can send the materials to as many law schools as they wish. They will be notified of the admission commission decision via email or by a letter.
First Year in Law School
Once accepted, the student begins his or her law school career by taking a set of predetermined mandatory core classes, that include such courses as constitutional law, civil law and procedure, criminal law and procedure, contracts, and the whole year of legal writing where the students are taught how to properly write complaints, briefs, motions, contracts, legal correspondence and other legal documents. The students are also encouraged to participate in various student organizations and volunteer for a non-profit or a governmental organization.
Lectures: the first year courses are taught only as lectures. Each class meets 2, 3 or 4 times a week for about 2 hours. The students are expected to read, analyze and understand about between 20 and 50 pages of new material which will be discussed during the class. A professor teaches the class in a form of a discussion called the Socratic Method. The professor calls on someone with a question from the assigned material and the student is expected to be able to discuss intelligently the issue. Students could also ask specific questions but only if they have read the material and did not understand a certain part. Often, a professor would pose a question from the student to the entire class to see if anyone else can answer it.
Exams: All exams are written. Normally, a professor gives two or three fact patterns and the students are expected to write essays in response in an IRAC format Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion. It means that the students must be able to spot the issues raised by the hypothetical fact patterns, state the applicable rules of law, apply them to the given facts, and then state a conclusion. The issue spotting is the most important part that earns most of the points.
Sometimes professors also test by creating a multiple choice exam where the possible answer choices are so confusing or so similar that you keep wondering which to pick. The multiple choice tests are equally as difficult as the essay-type exams.
Grading: All exams are graded unanimously. Professors than submit a preliminary grade that corresponds to a particular number assigned to the student by the registrars office. This office then matches the numbers to the students names. After the preliminary grades are assigned, the professors could change them (but dont have to) by half a point up or down, for instance, from A- down to B+ or from C+ up to B-. The factors like poor attendance, or lack of participation, constant tardiness, or failure to complete an assignment could cause a drop in the grade. To the contrary, active participation during lectures and other accomplishments during the course could bring the grade up half a point. Other than that, the course grade normally depends entirely on the final exam result.
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