The American legal profession

The American legal profession, like American law, has it roots in England, but with significant differences. In England, the legal profession is divided between office lawyers, known as solicitors, and courtroom lawyers, known as barristers.

In the United States, there is no division of the profession, and a lawyer frequently does both office work and courtroom work. There is, however, a great deal of variety in the types of f work done by lawyers.

Attorney

Depending upon the circumstances and the needs of the client, the lawyer may be a counselor, a negotiator, and/or a litigator. In each of these roles, the lawyer will need to engage in factual investigation.

With respect to each of these roles, the lawyer will do the following:

Counselor: Attorney will help advise the client how to order the client's affairs.

Negotiator: Lawyer will work with opposing counsel to try to get a fa­vorable resolution for the client. The art of negotiation involves many tech­niques individual to particular attorneys and the circumstances. The client always retains the right to accept or reject a settlement negotiated or of­fered by the opposing party.

Litigator: In litigating, the attorney will help pick a jury and participate in pre-trial motions.

Fact Investigator: All of the lawyer's roles require the investigation of relevant facts, including locating and interviewing witnesses.

A lawyer is to be a zealous advocate of the client, in this respect the lawyer must advocate on the client's behalf and avoid conflicts of interest. The lawyer is also an officer of the court and is required to deal fairly and honestly with the court and with its other officers, including the lawyer's opponents.

Judge

The judge is the final arbiter of the law. The judge is charged with the duty to state, as a positive matter, what the law is. In addition, the judge is to maintain order in the courtroom.

Judges in federal courts are appointed by the President with the "advice and consent" of the Senate. Many state court judges are elected by popular vote.

 

Jury

The jury, a group of local citizens, is the fact-finder in most trials. The jury will receive instructions from the judge as to the law, and its members will assess the facts as they perceive them in light of the law, as instructed, to return a verdict.

Notes

1. attorney – поверенный

2. counselor – адвокат (США)

3. negotiator – посредник

4. litigator – сторона в судебном процессе

5. to engage in factual investigation – заниматься фактическим расследованием

6. to order the client's affairs — приводить в порядок дела клиента

7. to get a favorable resolution — добиться благоприятного решения

8. the art of negotiation — искусство ведения переговоров

9. to retain the right — сохранять право

10. to accept — принимать

11. to reject — отклонять

12. motion — ходатайство

13. to locate — устанавливать местонахождение

14. to be charged with the duty – иметь обязательства

15. to maintain order — поддерживать порядок

16. to assess the facts — оценивать факты

17. to perceive — понимать, осознавать

18. in the light of the law — в свете закона

19. to return a verdict — вынести вердикт

Exercises to the text

Form the nouns from the following verbs and translate them.

to negotiate, to litigate, to engage, to oppose, to assess, to advise

Fill in the gaps with the nouns or verbs from exercise 1 and translate the sentences.

1. The treaty was the result of long...............

2. The contract is still under...........................

3. There is a strong.............. to new taxes.

4. The lawyers............... against singing the contract.

5. He gave me some good..............................

6. What's your............ of her chances of winning?

7. It's too early........... the effects of the new legislation.

8. The president............. giving military aid to the country.

9. Politicians shouldn't........... in business affairs that may affect their political judgment.

Answer the questions.

1. What is the main difference between the American legal profession and the English one?

2. What are the main roles of a lawyer? What are the functions of a lawyer in each of these roles?

3. What does the art of negotiation involve?

4. What is a judge? What are his/her duties?

5. Who are the judges in federal courts appointed by?

6. What are the main functions of the jury?

Text 2

TYPES OF LEGAL PROFESSIONS IN RUSSIA

Lawyers in private practice in Russia work mostly within colleges of ad­vocates - self-managed cooperative-type organizations. There are about nineteen thousand advocates in more than one hundred colleges. The highest body of advocates' self-management is the general meeting of a college. The presidium headed by the chairperson is the executive board of each college. The presidium is elected by the general meeting for a term of three years.

Colleges of advocates are formed in accordance with territorial subdivi­sions - in the cities, regions (oblasts), republics or autonomous entities. In its territory any college is represented by law firms or legal aid offices, which render all regular legal assistance to citizens: advocates counsel people, draft legal documents, represent plaintiffs or defendants in civil litigation, and provide defense in criminal proceedings.

There are now more and more American-type law firms in Russia functioning separately from colleges of advocates and especially involved in representing private businesses.

Many lawyers are employed by the law offices of enterprises, ministries and agencies as in-house counsel (jurisconsult). These lawyers have all powers of an attorney, but they represent their single and permanent "client" - their respective organization. There are about twenty thousand of them in Russia, and in view of the economic reform this body is growing.

Of course, many in the legal profession teach or do academic research work. In Russia there are forty institutions of higher education in law (either a law school attached to a university or a separate entity called a "juridical institute"). New private law schools are popping up. There are also separate research centers in law, the most prominent of which is the Institute of State and Law under the Academy of Sciences of Russia.

Notes

1. college of advocates – коллегия адвокатов

2. self-managed cooperative type organization – независимая обще­ственная организация

3. executive board — исполнительный комитет

4. legal aid offices — юридическая консультация

5. to render — предоставлять

6. in-house counsel — юрисконсульт

7. plaintiff — истец

8. defendant — ответчик

9. juridical — юридический

Exercises to the text

Match the columns.

1. обеспечивать защиту 2. составлять юридические документы 3. предоставлять юридическую помощь 4. представлять истца в суде 5. давать рекомендации

a. to draft legal documents b. to represent a plaintiff c. to counsel people d. to provide defense e. to render legal assistance

 

Form the nouns from the following verbs and translate them.

to employ, to involve, to represent, to execute, to elect, to provide, to manage

Fill in the gaps with the nouns from exercise 2 and translate the sentences.

1. This will give......... to more men.

2. The idea was never put into... …..

3. Trade union representatives are chosen by …….

4.The police are investigating his possible ………. in the crime.

5. The number of people in......... has fallen.

6.The................ of a new library has been of great benefit to the students.

7. "No taxation without....... " means that if people pay taxes they should be in a parliament.

8. The company's failure was mainly due to bad …….

Answer the questions.

1. How is the college of advocates organized?

2. What does the work of an advocate involve?

3. What are the functions of in-house counsels? Why has the number of in-house counsels increased lately?

4.Why is the legal profession gaining popularity in Russia?

5.What research centers in law can you name?

 

Text 3

ENTERING THE PROFESSION

Read the text. Then agree or disagree with the statement: "It's very difficult to become a lawyer."

How does someone become a lawyer?

In some countries in order to practise as a lawyer it is necessary to get a university degree in law. However, in others, a degree may be insufficient; professional examinations must be passed. In Britain, it is not in fact nec­essary to have a degree, although nowadays most people entering the pro­fession do. The main requirement is to pass the Bar Final examination* (for barristers) or the Law Society Final examination* (for solicitors). Someone with university degree in a subject other than law needs first to take a pre­paratory course. Someone without a degree at all may also prepare for the final examination, but this will take several years. In most countries, law­yers will tell you that the time they spent studying for their law finals was one of the worst periods of their life! This is because an enormous number of procedural rules covering a wide area of law must be memorized. In Japan, where there are relatively few lawyers, the examinations are sup­posed to be particularly hard: less than 5 percent of candidates pass. Even after passing the examination, though, a lawyer is not necessarily qualified A solicitor in England, for example, must then spend two years as an arti­cled clerk, during this time his work is closely supervised by an experienced lawyer, and he must take further courses. A barrister must spend a similar year as a pupil.

The rate at which the legal profession grows is terrific. In the 21^st cen­tury the number of lawyers will probably outpace the rate of population growth.

Why is the career in law so popular? In the USA the average salary оf experienced lawyers in private practice is more than $100,000.

Lawyers' salaries are substantially greater than those of many other professionals. The glamour of legal practice strengthens the attraction of its financial rewards..

* the Bar Final examination — экзамен, который сдают при поступлении в Коллегию адвокатов

* the Law Society Final examination — экзамен, дающий право быть членом Общества юристов (профессионального союза солиситоров)

Notes

1. degree — знание, степень

2. insufficient — недостаточный

3. to pass exams — сдавать экзамены

4. requirement — требование

5. to take a course — пройти учебный курс

6. finals — выпускные экзамены

7. articled clerk — клерк-стажёр (без жалования)

8. to supervise — наблюдать (за кем-то), руководить (кем-то)

9. to outpace — опережать, превышать

10. salary — заработная плата, получаемая ежемесячно

11. to strengthen — усиливать, укреплять

Exercises

1. Give English equivalents to the following Russian words and word-combinations:

стать юристом, получить университетскую степень, недостаточный, сдавать экзамены, пройти подготовительный курс, основное требование, выпускные экзамены в области юриспруденции, пять процентов кандидатов, за его работой наблюдают, средняя заработная плата, опережать рост населения, клерк-стажёр.

2. Choose the correct definition of the term "an articled clerk":

a) an inexperienced lawyer;

b) a lawyer who failed his final exam;

c) a post which a solicitor in England has for two years after passing
Law Society Final exam.

3. Circle a); b) or с) to complete the sentence.

1) The British lawyers are required____.

a) to pass professional exams;

b) to work as a clerk for 5 years after graduating from a university;

c) wear black suits

2) The requirements for barristers and solicitors are__.

a) identical;

b) partially identical;

c) different

3) In Japan the professional law exams are____.

a) difficult to pass;

b) not practised;

c) easy to pass

4) A barrister must work for a year as ___.

a) an articled clerk;

b) a pupil;

c) an attorney

5) The average salary of an experienced lawyer is__.

a) very low;

b) ridiculous;

c) much higher than those of other professionals.