A lawyer is a person who writes a 10,000-word document and calls it a "brief."-- Franz Kafka
1. Lawyers in different countries do not hold the same titles or share the same role and status. Read the following text giving an outline of legal professions in civil law countries, England and the USA. In which country/countries do solicitors, barristers, attorneys, notaries or advocates work?
People roughly acquainted with the legal profession in civil law countries may be tempted to make an equation between the two main strands found there, i.e. notaries and advocates, and the two kinds of lawyers existing in England, i.e. barristers and solicitors, but this is not the case, the latter being of quite a different nature. It is true that English solicitors may draw up various legal documents and make them official as their civil law counterparts do but their scope of work is by far wider. The English solicitors also prepare cases for barristers defending those accused of crimes in courts and may also defend themselves such persons in lower courts. The very term “notary” does not denote a separate profession in England or the USA. There, you can come across the term “notary public” which denotes a professional who has authority to witness and draw up only certain documents and make them official. In England this is performed by solicitors but in the USA this may be done by people who have not qualified as lawyers, or attorneys, as they commonly referred to there. Otherwise, American attorneys are all-rounders doing all kinds of legal work. Regarding this variety of terms for denoting lawyers it is therefore safest, for the purposes of international legal English, to use neutral terms, e.g. lawyer with a kind of specification, such as lawyer for the defense, lawyer for the prosecution, conveyancing lawyer, etc.
However, as the international legal English naturally draws on the terminology of the Anglo-American legal system it is necessary to get to know with it.
Created by the team of authors.
2. Solicitors and barristers - Listening
You are going to hear about the differences between the work of solicitors and barristers. Student A listens and notes down details for solicitors, Student B for barristers.
lawyers in England / solicitors / barristersWhat do they do?
Where do they work?
Who pays them?
Do they have the right of audience?
Additional information
Based on: POWELL, Richard.Law today. 1st ed. Harlow: Longman, 1993, 128 s. ISBN 0582056357.
3. Qualifying for the profession
A. England
Fill in the letters to complete the words and describe similarities and differences in becoming a barrister and solicitor.
Barristers are mem _ _ _ _ of the Bar Council o _ England and Wales and they gener _ _ _ _ operate in sets of “chambers” bu _ are not emp _ _ _ _ _ by a law firm as such. To bec _ _ _ a barrister you mu _ _ first obt _ _ _ an undergr ______degree i _ law (LLB), or an undergraduate degree i _ any other subj _ _ _ followed b _ the conversion cour _ _. The sec _ _ _ step invol _ _ _ one-year Bar Professional Training Course. The la _ _ stage i _ completed by pupillage, i.e. one year spe _ _ as a pupil in barristers' cha _ _ _ _ _.
Solicitors are mem _ _ _ _ of the Law Society. T _ become a solicitor, you ne_ _ not be a law gra _ _ _ _ _, but i _ is t _ _ most straight forw _ _ _ route. Law graduates sta _ _ with one-year Legal Practice Course. Upon successful comple _ _ _ _, they underta _ _ practice-based trai _ _ _ _, kno_ _ _ as a training contr _ _ _. It i _ a two-ye _ _ contract dur_ _ _ which trainee solicitors gai _ experience of wor _ _ _ _ in a fir _ of solicitors. As pa _ _ of th_ training, trainee solicitors mu _ _ also success_ _ _ _ _ finish the Professional Skills Course.
Based on:
B. the USA
Read the text and translate the Czech words into English and compare becoming a judge in US and Czech Republic.
Prospective lawyers in the USA need to finish four years of college with good grades and _ _ _ _ (složit) the Law School Admission Test. Then they ______(navštěvují) a law school for 3 years to get law degree. However, in order to practice law in a particular state, they need to be ______(přijati) into the State Bar. This is done by passing the bar examination. Once they clear the bar examination they are officially ______(dovoleno) to practice law in that state.
Judges ______(předsedají) over local, state and federal courts and are either appointed or elected. The minimum educational requirement to be a judge in the United States is a bachelor's degree. State or federal judges need a juris doctorate at the minimum. The majority of judges have experience working as a lawyer. Most local and state judges are ______(voleni) in local elections. Some judges actively ______(vedou kampaň) for their position like congressmen. All federal judges are ______(jmenováni) by the president and serve a life term.
NOTE: LL.B. = Bachelor of Laws, LL.M. = the Master of Laws
juris doctorate = J.D.= U.S. professional doctorate
Based on:
.
C. the Czech Republic
The legal professions in the Czech Republic include judges, public prosecutors, attorneys, notaries and executors. Who are the following conditions necessary for?
having no criminal record
a master’s degree in law at a Czech university/a master’s degree in law/a university degree
being a Czech citizen
having passed a special examination
possessing the moral qualities that will guarantee they will exercise their function properly
at least 25 years old/at least 30 years old
having completed necessary practice
Based on: ,
4. Do you know the conditions for becoming a legal trainee in the Czech Republic? Below is an extract from the Czech act on legal profession, 1996. Translate the words in bold into Czech.
THE LEGAL TRAINEESection 36
A legal trainee shall be the person whose name has been entered in the Register of Legal Trainees maintained by the Bar.
Section 37
(1) The Bar shall enter in the Register of Legal Trainees the name of every person who
a) has full capacity to enter into legal relations (full legal capacity),
b) has obtained a university education within a Master’s programme in legal studies at a higher education institution in the Czech Republic, or has obtained legal education at a higher education institution abroad if so provided by an international treaty binding on the Czech Republic, or such education has been recognised under special legislation,
c) has no records of criminal convictions,
d) has not had imposed upon him the disciplinary measure of the striking his name off the Register of Legal Trainees, or is deemed not to have had imposed upon him such a measure, and
e) has been employed by a lawyer or Company for the set weekly working hours under special legislation. / ______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
5. Language Practice
5.1 Match the terms to the definitions
- lawyer
- attorney
- counsel
- prosecutor
- solicitor
- barrister
- judge
- notary public
- paralegal
- trainee
- a person legally allowed to act on behalf of clients
- a person learned in law
- a person acting for one of the parties in legal proceedings
- a lawyer (England) arguing cases at the court
- a person conducting criminal proceedings
- a lawyer (England) with a certificate to practice law
- a lawyer licensed to act in legal affairs (witnessing and drawing up documents)
- a person presiding over a court
- a person undergoing professional training at a law firm
- a legal assistant
Created by the team of authors.
5.2 Fill in the gaps with the following phrases, use each phrase only once:
have the right of audience
represent clients
take statements
instruct a barrister
a) Our solicitors will ______from claimants and any witnesses to an accident.
b) Should lawyers ______they know are guilty?
c) We need to ______to attend the Tribunal on behalf of our client's son.
d) A US lawyer does not automatically ______in a Canadian court.
Created by the team of authors.
5.3 Create as many meaningful 2-word collocations from the following words as you can:
example: local judge
………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………….
Created by the team of authors.
6. Speaking
A) Which profession and in which country do you find attractive? Why? Which profession do you find difficult to qualify for? Why?
Created by the team of authors.
B) Groups of 3 - Who are you? Make sentences using the information from the table below, the other two will guess the profession. Sometimes, there can be more activities associated with one profession, and the same activity can be associated with more professions.
Example: I’m a person who sits at court and decides cases.-> judge
judge
attorney
prosecutor
solicitor
barrister
executor
paralegal
trainee
pupil
corporate in-house counsel
notary
place / activityin the office
at court
in a law firm
in England and Wales
in the USA
in the CR / draw up wills
represent people
advise clients
decide cases
go through an apprenticeship to become a barrister
sentence criminals
charge suspects with crimes
do research
assist lawyers
confirm the authenticity of the documents
prepare contracts
represent the state in criminal proceedings
be a member of the Bar
enforce executions
provide specialists advice
work within a company to deal with their legal matters
undergo professional training
have the right of audience
...
Created by the team of authors.
II. Legal Language: Legalese and Plain English
Judge: The charge here is theft of frozen chickens. Are you the defendant?
Defendant: No, sir, I'm the guy who stole the chickens.
1. Pre-reading: You have already come across several texts on legal topics. How would you describe legal language? What are its typical features? Name some examples of legal vocabulary or phrases. Complete the mind-map below with features and examples of legal English.
here are some examples of legal English: action, stare decisis, a lawsuit, tort, damages, defendant, nuisance, I do solemnly swear, aforesaid, reasonable, The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truthBased on:Gillian Brown and Jill Northcott, Edinburgh, Legal English Teacher Training Course. 2002
2. Read Text 1 and explain the key terms - legalese, plain language movement, principle of accessibility.
Text 1:
They say that lawyers have a language all of their own. The language lawyers use when speaking and writing contains many words, phrases and writing styles which are specific to the profession. These words are known as ‘legalese’. Legalese often confuses people who are non-lawyers because they simply are not familiar with the language. In some cases, lawyers, judges and the courts have even found it difficult to understand the real meaning of words or documents because of legalese. Clients of law firms also have problems figuring out whether a legal advice or a contract is actually helpful to them because they cannot really understand the contents.
In many English speaking jurisdictions like the United States and Australia, this problem was recognized about twenty years ago. Lawyers, various bar associations and governments agreed that a change was needed. This gave rise to what is known as the Plain Language Movement. This is a philosophy that believes that documents of all kinds (including legal documents) should be written in a way so that a person can understand them easily the first time they read them. This means eliminating legal expressions which have a plain English equivalent, avoiding Latin expressions and archaisms, using short sentences and headings. People are entitled to understand the documents that bind them or state their rights. This is known as the principle of accessibility.
Based on text by Martin Udall
Your explanation:
legalese …......
plain language movement ………………………………..
principle of accessibility ……………………………………..
Created by the team of authors.
3. Comprehension check:
a). Why does legalese cause misunderstanding?
b) Who can have problems with understanding legalese?
c) Who initiated the Plain Language Movement?
d) Which changes are included in the Plain Language Movement?
Created by the team of authors.
4. What is your opinion: What was expected from the Plain Language Movement? Were the expectations fulfilled? Was the Plain Language Movement successful? Were there any unexpected results?
Have you considered any of the issues from the table below? Do you think that the statements are true or false?
expectations – after having adopted plain language... / true/false - guess / true/false - textlaw firms will lose their profits because of plain language
plain language will not create binding documents
using plain language will make legal documents less authoritative
plain language will save time
plain language will be taught at universities
documents in plain language will be less precise
plain language will become compulsory
legalese will disappear from legal documents
Created by the team of authors.
5. Read Text 2 and check your answers from the table above.
Text 2:
Initially, there were fears that the Plain Language Movement may make legal documents less authoritative or less legally binding. In fact, the opposite has been true. Surveys of lawyers, judges and clients revealed that the adoption of plain language was welcome and long over-due. Large law firms even found that the use of plain language resulted in greater profits. This is because clients were happy to pay for legal services that were in plain English. Time was also saved because the lawyers writing contracts, advice or court submissions could write them much faster. In a time conscious economy, people prefer to be able to read and understand a document in one reading.
The Plain Language Movement has become binding policy of governments of Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. In these jurisdictions, all official documents must be written in a style which is easy to read and must avoid legalese where possible to ensure maximum accessibility. Similarly, the use of plain language is taught and encouraged at university law schools. Many universities have classes teaching plain language.
The Plain Language Movement has not replaced legalese altogether. Lawyers are conscious of the accuracy, certainty and precision of traditional legal language. However, it is important to realize that plain language does not involve abandoning legal terms and replacing them with colloquial expressions. Research has shown that legalese only forms a small percentage of a document – typically around 2%. This leaves 98% of the document available for improvement.
Based on text by Martin Udall
6. Comprehension check:
a) What were people afraid of before introducing plain English into legal documents?
b) Describe examples how plain English increases law firms profits.
c) Which strategies have been implemented to support the Plain English Movement?
d) How is accuracy and precision preserved in plain English texts?
Created by the team of authors.
7. There are many instances of plain language replacing legalese with no change to meaning. Match the following expressions from plain language to their legalese synonyms in the table:
then
above
of
with/attached
below
from now on
among other things
Legalese / Plain Languagehereinunder
aforementioned
hitherto
thereof
thereupon
inter alia
Henceforth
Based on:
8. Plain English means reducing the number of unnecessary words, rewrite the following phrases in plain English, the first is done as an example:
example: for the reason that... because/for
the applicant bears the burden on proving....
at that moment in time...
in combination with …
it is possible that she will be able to …
it is a requirement to establish sufficient evidence to show ….
in the absence of...
acquire knowledge …
as a consequence of...
it is apparent that...
Based on:
Plain English also eliminates doublets and triplets typical for legal English.
9. Language Practice: Do you know the verbs from Text 1 and Text 2?
a) Arrange the letters into the right order to create the verbs for the definitions (all the verbs appeared in the mentioned texts):
give (someone) a legal right T L E N I E T
keep away from I A O D V
exclude T E I L E I M A N
make certain that (something) will occur N E S E U R
make something known to others V A E L E R
provide a substitute for P L R E A E C
Created by the team of authors.
b) Complete the sentences with suitable verbs from part a):
James didn’t want to go to court, so the solicitor advised him what to do to ______the trial.
The court ruled in favor of the claimants; they were ______to a remedy.
The prosecutor was successful in proving the guilt; his evidence ______that the defendant had been involved in the robbery.
Sarah is looking for a lawyer; her defense counsel needs to be ______because of his illness.
Created by the team of authors.
10. The texts below show "before" and "after" versions (‘legalese’ versus ‘plain English’) of a Citibank loan form. Find examples of legalese in the text “before”.
-before-
1 In the event of default in the payment of this or any other obligation
2 or the performance or observance of any term or covenant contained
3 herein or in any note or any other contract or agreement evidencing or
4 relating to any obligation or any collateral on the borrower's part to be
5 performed or observed; or the undersigned borrower shall die; or any
6 of the undersigned become insolvent or make assignment for the
7 benefit of creditors; or a petition shall be filed by or against any of the
8 undersigned under any provision of the Bankruptcy Act; or any
9 money, securities or property of the undersigned now or hereafter on
10 deposit with or in the possession or under the control of the Bank
11 shall be attached or become subject to distraint proceedings or any
12 order or process of any court; or the Bank shall deem itself to be
13 insecure, then and in any such event, the Bank shall have a right (at its
14 option), without demand or notice of any kind, to declare all or any
15 part of the obligations to be immediately due and payable, whereupon
16 such obligations shall become and be immediately due and payable,
17 and the Bank shall have the right to exercise all the rights and