The legal profession

The profession of a lawyer appears to be booming as never before, expanding its work in new directions, growing rapidly in size.

Lawyers act as an invaluable resourse for clients, steering them through their difficulties, mitigating the rigour of the law, mediating, fixing, negotiating, taking up the cudgels where cudgels are needed, but reaching compromises in disputes where that seems the wiser course. A good lawyer is not simply facilitator, counsellor, advocate and general adviser. He may see ways of doing things and opportunities that would not have occured to the client. His role includes a constructive and creative function.

In the English legal system a pracrising lawyer must hold one of two professional qualifications: a solicitor or a barrister.

The barrister is usually thought of primarily as an advocate, since this is the work in which he is most often engaged. He has the exclusive right of audience as an advocate before all the superior courts, and he can also take cases in the inferior courts if he wishes to do so.

The solicitor can be an advocate in the inferior courts but he is more familiar to the public in his role as a general legal adviser.

A significant difference between the two professions is that members of the public are able to call at a solicitor’s office and seek his advice in a personal interview, whereas a barrister can only be consulted indirectly through a solicitor. There is a possible analogy to the medical profession, with the solicitor being regarded as a general practitioner and the barrister as a consultant- professor.

Apart from the barristers and solicitors who are involved in the private practice of the law there are a lot of professionally qualified lawyers employed in central and local government, in commerce, industry and education.

Ex.1 Complete the following sentences:

1. Lawyers act as….

2. The solicitor can be…

3. A significant difference between the two professions…

4. A pracrising lawyer must hold…

5. The profession of a lawyer appears…

6. A good lawyer is not simply…

7. The barriser has the exclusive right of…

Ex.2 Answer the following questions:

How can you characterize the profession of a lawyer nowadays?

What is a good lawyer like?

What is the role of a lawyer?

What professional qualifications must a practicing lawyer hold?

What are the functions of a barrister?

What is a solicitor?

What is the difference between the profession of a barrister and solicitor?

Ex.3 Make up word combinations with the following pairs of words using Possessive case of nouns as in the example:

e.g. Work barrister - barrister’s work

Profession lawyer

Clients resourse

Qualifications lawyer

Rights citizens

Ex. 4 Speak on the topic “My future profession”

Unit 2

Topic for Discussion: The Odessa Natinal Academy of Law

Grammar: The Numeral (cardinal, ordinal).

Pre-reading activity:

Ex. 1 Practice reading the following words. Learn them and make the sentences of your own.

Law право, закон

The Cabinet of Ministers Decree постанова Кабінету міністрів

To establish засновувати, встановлювати

Objective necessity об’єктивна потреба

To improve вдосконалити

Law education правова освіта

To train specialists готувати спеціалістів

Ministry of Justice міністерство юстиції

Prosecutor General’s Office Генральна прокуратура

Customs Service Митна служба

Authority bodies органи влади

extramural education заочне навчання

postgraduate education післядипломна освіта

Prosecution прокуратура

Investigation слідство

Premises приміщення

To maintain foreign relations підтримувати відносини

To extend activity розширювати діяльність

To acknowledge визнавати

An institution of higher learning ВУЗ

The teaching staff викладацький склад

Bachelor бакалавр

Master магістр

Matrimonial (Family) law сімейне право

Labour (relations) law трудове право

Judicial and law-enforcing bodies судово-правоохоронні органи

Forensic medicine (Medical Jurisprudence) судова медицина

Forensic (legal) psychiatry судова психіатрія

Procurator’s supervision прокурорський нагляд

Ex. 2 Make up the sentences of your own using the words and word-combinatins above.

Ex. 3 Read the following text and translate it into Ukrainian: