The Legal Careers in Russia

Many people consider the profession of a lawyer to be one of the most popular professions in our country.

Training lawyers is the task of different higher schools and the Ural State Law Academy is one of them.

Graduates from higher legal schools are said to have a lot of options where to apply their knowledge. The choice is very wide. Lawyers with the same qualification and professional title may be doing very different kinds of work. The working conditions and pay among members of the legal profession also vary greatly.

Our graduates can work at the Bar, in the organs of the Prosecutor’s Office, in different courts, in notary offices, legal advice offices, in organs of police as well as in different companies, banks, and enterprises. They can work as advocates, judges, notaries, investigators, prosecutors, in-house lawyers, customs officers, and other workers of law enforcement agencies.

Some lawyers may work as judges. Judges preside in the courtroom, conduct legal proceedings, resolve disputes and pass judgments.

As an advocate, a lawyer acts for the client in court and out of court. The advocate’s work can include defending those accused of committing a crime.

A lawyer can work at the Prosecutor’s Office as a prosecutor or a prosecutor’s assistant. He / she should supervise the correct application and observance of the law.

He / she can also be a notary at the notary office and should be able to perform notary actions such as checking the legality of all the documents before notarizing them.

A lawyer can be appointed as an arbitrator at the Commercial court. He / she should be able to settle disputes between legal persons.

Nowadays there are many careers in law enforcement at the Police and the Investigative Committee. The main task of law enforcement is to prevent, investigate and solve crimes.

Some lawyers serve as in-house lawyers and work for companies and enterprises. They inform clients about legal matters, draft contracts and other documents, mediate and negotiate settlements.

Exercise 7

Find in the text all the derivatives from the words below and translate them into Russian:

to train, to defend, to investigate, to check, to prosecute, to notarize, to enforce, to judge

Exercise 8

Find modals in the text and translate the sentences with them.

Exercise 9

a) Choose the correct answer.

1. What is the main idea of the text “The Legal Profession in Russia”?

a) The Ural State Law Academy trains lawyers.

b) Graduates of Russian law schools have a wide choice of career opportunities.

c) Our graduates can work at the Prosecutor’s office.

d) Lawyers inform clients about legal matters and draft contracts.

2. Which statement corresponds to the text “The Legal Profession in Russia” ?

a) Any lawyer in our country has the right to represent a person in court.

b) The profession of a lawyer is the most popular profession nowadays.

c) Our graduates have the right to work only at law enforcement agencies.

d) . The work environment and salary are different in various types of legal profession

b) Complete the sentences according to the text “The Legal Profession in Russia”.

1. Judges preside in the courtroom, … .

   1. and supervise the correct application and observance of the law.

   2. conduct legal proceedings, resolve disputes and pass judgments.

   3. and defend those accused of committing a crime

   4. mediate and negotiate settlements.

2. Advocates act for the client in court and out of court, …….

   1. conduct legal proceedings, resolve disputes and pass judgments.

   2. and supervise the correct application and observance of the law.

   3. mediate and negotiate settlements.

   4. and defend those accused of committing a crime.

3. Prosecutors and prosecutor’s assistants work at the Prosecutor’s office

   1. conduct legal proceedings, resolve disputes and pass judgments.

   2. and defend those accused of committing a crime.

   3. and supervise the correct application and observance of the law.

   4. mediate and negotiate settlements.

4. In-house lawyers inform clients about legal matters, draft contracts and other documents,…

   1. conduct legal proceedings, resolve disputes and pass judgments.

   2. and defend those accused of committing a crime

   3. and supervise the correct application and observance of the law.

   4. mediate and negotiate settlements.

5. Notaries work at the notary offices and ……

   1. perform notary actions.

   2. defend those accused of committing a crime.

c. supervise the correct application and observance of the law.

d. mediate and negotiate settlements.

6. Commercial court judges work at different levels of Commercial courts and

   1. perform notary actions.

   2. defend those accused of committing a crime.

c. supervise the correct application and observance of the law.

d. settle disputes between legal entities

7. The main task of law enforcement is to prevent, investigate and

   1. defend those accused of committing a crime.

   2. supervise the correct application and observance of the law.

   3. solve crimes.

d. settle disputes between legal entities

Exercise 10

a) Read the words describing the qualities required for the legal profession and translate them into Russian. Use a dictionary.

experienced, accurate, flexible, honest, irreproachable, tolerant, diligent, calm, good at problem-solving, decisive, courageous, wise, independent, unbiased, highly-disciplined, laconic, strong-willed

b) What qualities do you personally have or would like to have?

Exercise 11

a) Fill in the table with the information from the above text and the words from exercise 10.

Legal career	Functions	Qualities required for the profession
an advocate
		unbiased, decisive, wise, good at problem-solving
a prosecutor
an arbitrator
	to settle disputes between legal entities
an in-house lawyer

b) Speaking. What is your future legal career? What qualities do you need for your profession?

Exercise 12

Use the expressions from exercise 14 “How to make a presentation” (Unit 1 “Court system of the Russian Federation”) and prepare a short presentation on the following topics:

1. The choice of places of work and occupation for a lawyer.

2. The duties of an advocate, a prosecutor, an arbitrator, an in-house lawyer, a judge, a notary.

3. Your choice of a legal career.