Legal professions

Legal practice varies from country to country. In the United Kingdom the legal profession has two branches. Litigation lawyers are called barristers and those who deal with out-of-court work are called solicitors. A person who needs legal advice, for example, when buying a house, usually goes to see a solicitor. Solicitors may represent their clients in Magistrates’ courts and, since 1994, in the higher courts. However, solicitors often use barristers to represent their clients in higher courts. Barristers are not allowed to deal directly with the public and can only talk to their client if a solicitor is present. Barristers are called advocates in Scotland, and a solicitor or barrister representing a client in the English or Welsh courts is now often referred to as an advocate.

After many years in the court barristers may be appointed as judges. They are highly paid and are sometimes accused of being remote from the rest of society.

The divided system still exists in some Australian states, although in other parts of Australia and in Canada and New Zealand, where it was originally used, the two parts of the profession have now come together, or “fused”.

In the United States there is a single profession. Lawyers are usually known as attorneys¹ and they often specialize in limited areas of law such as criminal, divorce, etc., though many are involved in general practice. People who want to be lawyers go to law school after graduating from college. On completing their studies they must pass the examinations of the bar association in the state in which they wish to work before they can practise law. Most American judges, although not all, are practicing attorneys at the time they assume the bench². Most courts have only one judge, but some higher courts have several. The United States has more lawyers than any other country.

The legal profession in every country has its own governing body, which regulates the conduct of its members and governs their training and qualifications. In the United States every state has its bar association. Bar associations at the local, state and national levels help unify the legal professions in the United States. Bar associations often govern the conduct of the lawyers within the state; otherwise, a state commission or court will consider grievances against lawyers.

In Great Britain barristers must be members of one of the four Inns of Court and solicitors must belong to the Law Society. Complaints systems against solicitors and barristers are backed up by the Legal Services Ombudsman³ for England and Wales, who conducts investigations into the way the professional bodies handle these complaints. There is a separate Ombudsman for Scotland.

Many lawyers do not practise privately but work in the legal department of a large company or other association, or are in government service.

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¹attorney /q'tE:ni/ - атторней (прокурор), должностное лицо в системе судебной власти США, представляет сторону федеральных властей или властей штата или округа при рассмотрении судебных дел, а также является главным юридическим советником местного исполнительного органа власти

² to assume the bench /q'sjHm/ - занять должность судьи

³ombudsman /'PmbVdzmqn/ – омбудсман (чиновник, рассматривающий претензии граждан к правительственным служащим)

Task 16. Find the English equivalents for the following word combinations; memorize them.

1) нуждаться в юридической консультации, совете

2) представлять клиента в суде

3) быть назначенным на должность судьи

4) специализироваться в узкой области права

5) заниматься общей практикой

6) рассматривать жалобы на работу юристов

7) проводить расследование

8) заниматься частной практикой

Task 17. Fill the gaps with prepositions; read and translate the text.

There is a total … 650 judges … Great Britain, although their duties vary … the different legal systems … England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Only about 3 per cent … judges are women. The majority are upper class, white males with an average age … 60, often educated … public schools and Oxford or Cambridge University. The Lord Chancellor, the highest judge … the land, who is also the head … the House of Lords, chooses new judges … the advice … other judges and important barristers, but nobody knows exactly how the process works or why decisions are taken.

Judges are usually men who have been barristers … at least ten years.

Task 18. Look through the text; render its contents in Russian.