The Legal Profession

Look at these sentences. They contain some important legal collocations. Complete the sentences with the correct collocation from the four choices on the next page.

a Solicitors are allowed to clients in court.

b I am afraid I can’t help you. I am a commercial lawyer and this is a criminal .

c What are the for your case?

d I will my final law exams in June of next year.

e My client is a new factory and he needs advice about the relevant health and safety regulations.

Complete these sentences with the correct preposition.

a The judge awarded my client £20,000indamages.

b Suing someone is a more informal way of saying d Stephen works for a law firmagainstManhattan.

e When you areindispute with someone you can start a claim in the civil court.

starting proceedingssomeone.

c A small claim is a claimfor/toa maximum of £10,000.

f Could I take a lookatyour employment contract?

Using the knowledge that you have about collocations and prepositions correct the language below.

‘My name is Luigi and I am a lawyer (a) at Milan. I work (b) into a big law firm. Today I am very busy. I am (c) writing a contract (d) to a new client. This afternoon I am (e) speaking for a different client in court. It is a (f) disrespect of contract case. I think we will win the case because our (g) reasons are very strong.’

‘My name is Luigi and I am a lawyer (a)Milan. I work (b)a big law firm. Today I am very busy. I am (c)a contract (d)a new client. This afternoon I am (e)a different client in court. It is a (f)of contract case. I think we will win the case because our (g)are very strong.’

Diana Williams is a lawyer. Today she is going to visit a school in her town to talk to the students about a career in law. Here are some of Diana’s notes for her talk. In this section she is talking about the two separate professions that exist in England, solicitors and barristers. Fill in the gaps in the text with the correct word from the box below.

My notes for careers talk at Chatsworth Hill School In England we have two different types of lawyer. One is known as a (a)and the other is a barrister. Both are called ‘lawyers’. This can be a little confusing because in the USA every lawyer is usually known as an (b). An English law student has to decide at some time during their university studies which type of lawyer they would like to (c)as.

Most English law students decide to become a solicitor. These are the lawyers that a (d), the person who pays for the services of a lawyer, will usually meet first. Often the solicitor can help the client without the need for a barrister.

Most solicitors work in small private businesses, known as (e), in what are called ‘High Street firms’. This phrase ‘High Street firm’ refers to a typical, small group of solicitors working together in the type of offices that you can find on the major streets of any English town or city. Many law firms are set up as (f). A new lawyer will usually work first as an (g)of the firm and gain some experience while being paid a fixed salary before being offered the opportunity to become a (h). A typical High Street solicitor usually specialises in a particular area of law, such as family, employment or commercial law. Many people believe that solicitors cannot act for their clients in (i)but this is untrue. Thousands of solicitors appear in court every day, especially in the County Courts where most claims are (j).

The second type of lawyer found in England is known as a barrister. Barristers are usually specialists in a very particular area of law. They give advice and opinions to solicitors and their clients. Barristers have the right of (k)(the right to be heard by a judge) in all of the courts in the land. Barristers often share offices, known by the traditional name of ‘chambers’, although they usually work alone as individuals rather than in partnerships.

After several years of experience, members of either profession may apply to preside over cases and sit as a (I). Within the English legal system a law student cannot take an exam to be a judge but has to wait to be appointed after some years of experience as a lawyer.

Collocation bank

‘They are known as barristers.’

‘Tom specialises in commercial litigation.’

‘She qualified as a lawyer two years ago.’

‘He works in a law firm but she works for a bank.’

‘He is going to go into partnership with his brother.’

‘The insurance case has started and Judge Mortimer is presiding over it.’

Look at the solicitor’s advertisements on the next page. Give the name and the telephone number of the firm of solicitors that I should call if I have the following legal problems.

a I have reached the age of 50 and I am thinking about what I want to happen to my property after my death.

b I want to begin a business importing electrical goods from one European Union country into another and I want to know what the rules are.

c I am a woman who is angry that a man doing the same job in the factory where I work is paid more than I am.

d I am a visitor to England from the USA. I came to work in London 18 months ago, with the permission of the British authorities. However, I only had permission to be here for a year and now I am afraid because I have broken the law.

Firm of solicitors Telephone number

1. a
2. b
3. c
4. d

Find a word in the advertisements that matches the following definitions.

a Not taking enough care over something that you d An organisation that exists in order to collect are responsible for with the result that mistakes are made or someone is hurt.

money, food or goods and give them to people who need them.

The word is The word is b The process of legally transferring the ownership of e The state of a business not having enough money land or buildings from one person to another.

to pay what it owes.

The word is The word is c A situation where someone has to leave their f A person or company which pays rent to another job because they are no longer needed by their employer.

person to allow them to live in or use land or buildings.

The word is The word is

Say whether the following statements about the advertisements are true or false.

a If I invent a new type of water heater that I don’t want anyone else to be able to copy, I should call 0771 777 5454.

b If I want to study law, I should call McCarthy Kyle & Co. c Matthew Morrison will always accept any client on a no win no fee basis. d The 1st Call Accident Centre specialises in the law of tort. e Matthew Morrison deals with complaints about other solicitors. Collocation bank

‘She imported her car from Belgium.’

‘Please take care over/with that document because it is very important.’

‘She imported her car into England.’

‘Could you please deal with Mr Jones for me as I am busy this morning?’

Look at the words in the box and decide if they come from civil law or criminal law.

c partnership criminal civil g business criminal civil

Look at the categories of civil law and match them with the simple definitions provided below.

Maritime lawIT law The law of tortIntellectual property law Business and company lawFamily law Contract lawEmployment/labour law The law of equity & trustsThe law of real property/conveyancing a The law that deals with the protection of the rights of inventors (who might invent a new drug or machine) or artistes (who might write a book or a song).

b The law that deals with situations where someone has control of property for a period of time and must look after it for the benefit of someone else.

c The law that deals with events such as divorce and the custody of (the right to look after) children.

d The law that deals with everything connected with information and how it is passed between people, especially by means of the Internet.

e The law that deals with land, including transferring the ownership of buildings or land from one person to another.

f The law that deals with private agreements between people or companies and tries to make sure that no one suffers a loss if an agreement is broken.

g The law that deals with every citizen’s responsibility not to harm other people in any way, even if it is not a contractual or criminal situation.

h The law that deals with people’s rights, pay or conditions in the workplace.

i The law that deals with the way businesses are set up (created) and run (operated) and how they must work in relation to each other and the general public.

j The law that deals with everything connected with the sea or ships.

Look at the situations below and decide which area of civil law is relevant.

a Anna agreed to pay Paul £4000 to landscape the e Bill has been married to Ruth for 14 years.

garden at her new house. Paul has now finished the work but Anna says she is not satisfied with it and she has refused to pay him.

However, he now wishes to leave Ruth and live with Jane. Bill and Ruth cannot decide how to share their property between them.

The area of law isThe area of law isb Caroline and Susan want to start a business f Phillip has received an offer to buy his house, but together. They need a solicitor to draft an agreement for them about how they will share all the responsibilities of the business.

there is a problem with the exact position of the boundary. The buyer’s solicitor must check this before the contract is signed.

The area of law isThe area of law isc Daniel wants his two-year old grandson, Wayne, g Elisabeth’s company transports goods from South to have his house when he dies. However, if Daniel dies before Wayne is 21 years old Daniel wants his friend, Harry, to look after the house until Wayne reaches 21 years old.

America to England by ship. However, there was a bad storm at sea last week and the ship carrying the goods sank off the coast of France.

The area of law isThe area of law ish David has been using the Internet to send a lot of d Emily has been in hospital and has been very ill private emails at work and his boss says that this is an abuse of the time for which he is paid. David has been sent home from work on full pay because his boss is investigating the situation.

after an operation. She thinks that the doctor was negligent and that he has made her illness worse by his actions. She wants to claim damages.

The area of law isThe area of law isCollocation bank

• to pass information between two people or

among a group of people ‘Once the confidential information had passed between the two of them, it was known among the whole group in the office in just a few days.’

‘She has been married to Peter for seven years.’

‘The company suspended him from work on full pay.’

Diana Williams has received this letter from a student at the school where she gave her talk. The words that have been underlined are too informal. Complete the same letter on the next page by choosing a better word or phrase from those in the blue box.

6 The Gate Chatsworth

Listen to this trainee lawyer speaking about his experience of working for a major law firm in London. Some words are missing from the text. Listen carefully and write the missing words in the box below.

‘My name is Rob Jones and I’m a trainee with a law firm. I’ve always wanted to be a (a) and I can’t imagine doing any other job. I started working here at Taylor Wallis a year ago. Taylor Wallis is a global law firm with its headquarters in the City of London. I studied law at Manchester University but I wanted to do my training contract in London because I’m interested in (b) law and banking and I think the best positions with the top law firms are here. I think my parents were disappointed that I didn’t become a (c) and work in chambers and wear a wig in court, but I wasn’t interested in that at all!

With this law firm the two-year training contract is divided into four periods. Each six-month period is called a ‘seat’. My first seat was in the (d) department. That really just means dealing with companies and businesses. I was involved in meeting clients, (e) documents and took part in some very high value deals. Of course, I had lots of support from the experienced people working on my team (we call them the principals) but I was surprised at how much responsibility they gave me.

My second seat was in the property department. This involved (f) for clients who were buying and selling domestic and commercial property, much of it office buildings here in London. I was able to get some experience of (g) as well as a little landlord and (h) law when we dealt with rentals.

Next I will be moving into the (i) property department. I’m really pleased about that as it covers quite a few different areas of law and can involve famous clients. At the moment the department is dealing with a breach of copyright case for a famous musician.

I hope to stay with Taylor Wallis when I (j) as a lawyer next year. In fact, I’m looking forward to being based in London for most of my legal career.’

a f b g c h d i e j

There is a word or phrase missing from the following sentences. For each sentence circle the word or phrase which best fits into the space from the options provided. Do not mark more than one answer for each sentence. There is an example at the beginning (*).

Example If a person loses his or her job for a reason that is not valid it is called unfair (*) .

1 Solicitors are allowed to (1) clients in court.

2 This is a criminal (2) , so I will have to refer you to a colleague who deals with criminal law.

3 I studied some landlord and (3) law when I was at university but I don’t remember it now.

4 It is legal in England and America for some lawyers to work on a no win no (4) basis.

5 I don’t think I will ever want to (5) as a judge because I enjoy my job as a solicitor.

6 I think it is fair that everyone gets (6) pay for doing the same job.

7 I have decided to specialise in land law so I expect to be doing a lot of (7) .

8 My law firm has a good reputation for handling (8) property cases, especially if computer software is copied without the designer’s permission.

9 If a lawyer is allowed to be heard in a particular court we say that he or she has right of (9) .

10 If you want the judge to award you damages from the defendant you will have to prove to the court that you have (10) a loss.

(10) A suffered B experienced C had D endured

Read the text below and think of the word that best fits each space. Use only one word in each space. Write your answers in the box below. There is an example at the beginning (*).

Barristers at work Life as a barrister is prestigious but it can also be extremely stressful. Julia de Burca is a barrister in London. The first difficulty Julia had was to (*)as a barrister at all. Only 1200 or so law students manage to pass the Bar Professional Training Course in England and Wales every year. Only around 500 are awarded tenancy. In an average year approximately 1,500 students begin the course, so many do not make it.

The Bar Professional Training Course is described as a bridge between the academic study of law and having to actually (1)law in the real world. Julia passed the course three years ago.

In a typical day Julia leaves her flat at 7.30am and arrives at (2), the special name for a barrister’s office, at 8.30am. Julia shares a building with 14 other barristers. However, they are not partners. Barristers are allowed to share office accommodation but they do not usually form (3). Most barristers are self-(4).

If she is representing a client that day Julia travels directly to court. Speaking on behalf of a client in court is called (5)a case. As a barrister, Julia has the right of audience in court at every level. She is a confident (6), which means that she is skilled at speaking in court. Julia is very successful in court, as she loves public speaking. She is also required to do a lot of research and a lot of (7), which means writing legal documents. On days when Julia is not in court she spends her time preparing cases and writing opinions. She usually leaves work at around 7.30pm, taking any work that is not finished with her. Julia often works long hours over the weekend.

Julia is a specialist in insolvency, so she advises clients who (8)money but for some reason they cannot pay. All of Julia’s clients are companies. When a company has financial problems, Julia will advise the company if it can legally continue trading. She sometimes has to defend clients in court when legal (9)have been issued against them. If her client loses the case and the judge awards (10)to the claimant then Julia will advise her client on what to do next.

Example (*) qualify (1) (6)

(2) (7)

(3) (8)

(4) (9)

(5) (10)

LISTENING

Listen to the conversation between a lawyer and some students. Answer the questions below.

1 How long has Helen Reay been working as a solicitor?

2 What is the subject of Helen Reay’s university degree?

3 How long a period of study is the Post-Graduate Diploma in Law?

4 What reason does Helen Reay give for law firms employing lawyers whose first degree is not in law?

5 What is the LLB?

6 What is advocacy?

7 When Helen Reay speaks about the Legal Practice Course she mentions four skills that are taught on the course. Two of the skills are drafting documents and advocacy. What are the other two?

8 One of the students names an area of study that she is not very good at. What is it?

9 Helen Reay says that getting a training contract with a law firm after university is a competitive business.

What reason does she give for that?

10 What is the roll of solicitors?