Text 2. The Legal Profession

I. Read and translate the following text.

In Britain, there are two kinds of lawyers: solicitors and barristers. Nowadays, the division between solicitors and barristers is quite vague, but generally their functions in law are supposed to be different.

Solicitors give legal advice on matters which do not necessarily come to court, such as buying a home, renting out one's property, renting a home, making a will, getting a divorce, resolving problems at work, setting up a business. They also prepare cases for barristers to conduct in court.

Barristers specialise in advocacy - the art of presenting cases in court. They work mainly in courts and tribunals. Their work includes presenting evidence, representing parties in criminal trials, handling domestic disputes in Family Courts, dealing with civil claims for damages and compensation.

Solicitors give initial legal advice, while barristers represent clients in court in both civil and criminal cases.

Solicitors specialise in different areas of law. It can be said that they know a little about all. Barristers, on the contrary, know much about a certain aspect of law, in other words, they give specialist advice on detailed legal issues.

The relationship between solicitors and barristers is very much like the relationship between family doctors and specialist consultants in medicine. The solicitor can always choose for his client the best qualified barrister in a specialist area.

Unlike solicitors, barristers do not practice in partnerships. They may share offices (which they call Chambers) with other barristers, but it is a sharing of expenses only, not of income.

The number of barristers practicing in England and Wales is 14,000, while the number of solicitors is 92,753.

In the American legal profession, there is no division into solicitors and barristers. An American lawyer is both a counselor and an advocate for his client. A lawyer in the United States is often called an " attorney " which may be referred to a judge, a prosecuting counsel and a defence counsel, so its meaning in each particular case is revealed from the context. Usually, lawyers concentrate on a certain practice area, e.g., taxation, intellectual property, protection of the environment, etc.

In the United States, careers in Law Enforcement, such as Private and Criminal Detectives, FBI agents, Police officers and Customs officers are possible after obtaining a Criminal Justice degree.

As can be seen from the text, there are many words in the English language which may denote a lawyer: an advocate, an attorney, a barrister, a solicitor. In different countries or at a different time, these words may have different meanings. For example, formerly, the word " attorney " was used in England to denote solicitors. In the United States, the word " solicitor " denotes a door-to-door salesman. A special notice "No solicitors" with a crossed circle in the middle can be seen there to discourage door-to-door salesmen. Anyway, it will be good to remember that there is more than one word to denote a lawyer in English, and that the general meaning of the word " lawyer " throughout the world is someone who has legal knowledge or who is engaged in the practice of law.

Vocabulary

the legal profession barrister   solicitor   to give initial legal advice   to make a will to rent out to rent a home to set up a business advocacy tribunal counselor advocate attorney formerly door-to-door salesman     to discourage career law enforcement private detective criminal detective FBI agent customs officer a Criminal Justice degree

профессия юриста барристер, адвокат высшего ранга, имеющий право выступать в суде солиситор, адвокат, дающий советы клиенту и подготавливающий дела для барристера давать юридическую консультацию на начальном этапе составить завещание сдавать в аренду брать в аренду жильё начать дело защита суд специальной юрисдикции консультант адвокат, защитник амер. адвокат ранее коммивояжёр; представитель торговой фирмы, обходящий квартиры или офисы с предложением товара не поощрять профессия система охраны правопорядка частный детектив детектив уголовной полиции агент ФБР таможенник диплом специалиста в области уголовной юстиции

II. Answer the following questions.

1. What are the 2 branches of the legal profession in Great Britain?

2. What are the functions of solicitors?

3. What do barristers specialise in?

4. Is there a division into solicitors and barristers in the American legal profession?

5. What is a lawyer often called in the United States?

6. What degree is necessary for law enforcement careers in the USA?

7. Do the words denoting a lawyer have the same or different meanings in different countries?

8. What is the general meaning of the word " lawyer " throughout the world?

III. Choose the correct variant.

1. The functions of solicitors and barristers are
a) alike b) different

2. Initial legal advice is given by
a) solicitors b) barristers

3. Solicitors specialise in
a) a particular sphere of law b) in different areas of law

4. Barristers are like
a) family doctors b) specialist consultants in medicine

5. The legal profession in the United States

a) is similar to that in the UK b) has no division of lawyers into solicitors

and barristers

6. The word " attorney " in the US means
a) a lawyer b) a solicitor

7. The word "solicitor " in the US is
a) a legal title b) related to the commercial sphere

Text 3. A letter from Steve

I. Read the letter and do the tasks following it.

Hi, Alex,

Thanks for the letter with all your news. I enjoyed the photos of your family, your country house and the views of your city.

By the way, you are the very picture of your father, who really looks young for his age. And the views of the Kremlin with its ancient walls and towers are simply superb. How beautiful they are! I wish I could see them with my own eyes. In return, I’m sending you the photos of our farm and the countryside around.

Alex, could you write a few lines about your Academy? When my friends and our teacher of Russian learnt about you, they wanted to hear more about your place and the academy you are studying at now. You know, Russian is my third foreign language, the first two being German and French.

I’m looking forward to your answer.

Yours ever,

Steve.

II. Find the word combinations in the text that have the same meaning:

Найдите в тексте письма выражения, синонимичные следующим:

1. Alex’s father is youthful in appearance.

2. Alex looks like his father.

3. Steve is learning Russian, apart from German and French.

4. It will be pleasant for Steve to get an answer to his letter.

5. Steve liked the photos Alex had sent him.

III. Match the following.