ТЕМА 14. Моя профессия

Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply the law. A lawyer (also known as an attorney) is a licensed professional who advises and represents individuals, businesses and government agencies on legal issues and disputes.

It is difficult to generalize about the structure of the legal profession, because there are two major legal systems: a civil-law (Romano-Germanic) system and a common-law (Anglo-Saxon) system. Each of these systems has its own peculiarities. While in civil-law countries there are usually clearly defined career paths in law, such as a judge, a prosecutor, a notary, etc., in common-law states there is one legal profession, which includes two main types of lawyers: barristers and solicitors. Barristers are legal professionals who represent their clients in court, whereas solicitors perform the majority of their legal work in a law firm or in an office.

People who study, organize, teach, and also create the law, often working at universities, are called jurists. In civil-law countries, their role is greater than in common-law systems because they draft codes – major laws that govern whole areas of law. In common law countries the creation and interpretation of the law has traditionally been the responsibility of judges.

Lawyers can choose their occupation from a number of possible ones. They can work in court, at the Prosecutor’s Office, at the Bar, at a notary’s office. They can choose such place of work as an enterprise or a private firm. They can also serve in law-enforcement agencies.

Different types of lawyers possess distinct skill sets and have different responsibilities.

Prosecutors ­are the lawyers who prosecute the accused on behalf of the state, i.e. prove his/her guilt by evidence;

Advocates defend the accused, i.e. prove his/her innocence by evidence;

Judges administer justice in court: conduct the trial, sum up the evidence, pass a sentence;

Notaries at the Notary’s Office witness the signing of official documents, verify the identity of the participants, handle various legal documents such as contracts, loan documents and wills, etc.;

Operatives (or detectives) reveal economic crimes, suppress and combat other crimes; identify, locate and apprehend criminal suspects, conduct surveillance and perform undercover operations;

Investigators investigate and solve crimes: initiate preliminary investigation, collect and analyze evidence, interview witnesses and interrogate suspects, draft detailed investigative reports and present evidence to a prosecutor;

Forensic experts document crime scenes, collect and preserve potential evidence (physical evidence, documents, photographs, etc.) and send them to a crime lab;

Correctional officers work in detention centers, prisons and other correctional institutions. Their job is to oversee, secure and control arrested individuals awaiting trial or those who are convicted and incarcerated. They maintain order, prevent disturbances, riots and escapes, and ensure the safety of other institutional employees and visitors.

Crime prevention is the major responsibility of juvenile, divisional, road and patrol officers.

Good lawyers never stop learning. No matter where a lawyer works he should be highly skilled. Strong knowledge of the law is a key skill for lawyers. To be a good lawyer, a person must also have good decision-making skills, research and analytical skills, communication, public speaking and listening skills, leadership and logical thinking skills. A professional lawyer should be competent not only in his special field but also in such spheres as human psychology, human behaviour, human understanding. In some cases it is impossible to administer justice without all that as a lawyer may deal with different types of people. One of the most important personal qualities of a good lawyer is the commitment to helping people to the best of his/her ability.

A

Exercise 1. Give the English for:

    суд, прокуратура, нотариальная контора, адвокат, защищать обвиняемого, доказывать, невиновность, доказательства, прокурор, применение закона, соблюдение закона, обвиняемый, доказать вину, судья, осуществлять правосудие, судебный процесс, выносить приговор, справедливый приговор, нотариус, следователь, раскрыть преступление, профессиональный юрист, изучать.

Exercise 2. Match English and Russian equivalents:

1) to administer justice	а) обвиняемый
2) to solve crime	б) следователь
3) to deal with	в) прокурор
4) an investigator	г) иметь дело с
5) an accused	д) осуществлять правосудие
6) a judge	е) раскрыть преступление
7) to pass sentence	ж) нотариальная контора
8) to prove guilt	з) выносить приговор
9) notary office	и) доказать вину
10) public prosecutor	к) судья

Exercise 3. Complete the sentences:

    1) A barrister at the Bar should ... . 2) A prosecutor and his assistant should supervise ... . 3) A judge at the court should ... . 4) A notary at the Notary’s Office should ... . 5) An investigator should ... . 6) A professional lawyer should be competent not only in his special field but also in such fields as ... . 7) We should study law well and remember that all of us must ... .

Exercise  4. Agree or disagree:

    1) I can work at the Court or at the Office of Public Prosecutor, or at the Bar, or at the Notary’s Office. 2) A barrister at the Bar should defend the accused. 3) A prosecutor and his assistant should conduct the trial, sum up the evidence, pass the just sentence. 4) A judge at the court should administer justice. 5) A notary at the Notary’s Office should investigate and solve crimes. 6) An investigator should perform notary actions. 7) A professional lawyer should be competent not only in his special field but also in such fields as human psychology, human behaviour, human understanding.

Exercise  5. Answer the questions:

1) What spheres are lawyers widely engaged in?

2) Who should defend the accused?

3) Who should supervise the correct application and observance of the law?

4) Who should conduct the trial, sum up the evidence, pass the just sentence?

5) Who should investigate and solve crimes?

6) Why is it very important to know human psychology?

7) What is necessary to become a good lawyer?

8) How can you characterize the profession of a lawyer?

B

Exercise 1. Translate the sentences paying attention to the use of the Perfect Tenses:

    1) The investigator has collected evidence on the case of burglary. 2) He became a good investigator after many serious crimes had been examined by him. 3) The convicted was taken to prison to serve his sentence after his appeal had been rejected by the higher court. 4) The hearing of the case had been completed by the end of the previous week. 5) The offender has just been arrested by the police officer. 6) Everybody agreed that the jury had given the right verdict.

Exercise 2. Read and translate the sentences paying attention to the use of Participle I:

    1) The number of cases coming to the police attention is increasing. 2) A civil trial in the High Court is before a single judge generally sitting without a jury. 3) The judge presides over the process deciding whether the evidence offered by each side can be admitted or rejected. 4) Jurors are ordinary citizens undertaking an important duty of deciding upon guilt or innocence. 5) We expected to see witnesses for both sides giving evidence under oath in accordance with rules of evidence.

Exercise 3. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the functions of Participle II:

    1) The policeman informed the arrested offender of his right to defence. 2) The apprehended person was kept in prison. 3) The act committed by the juvenile was defined as a crime. 4) Look at that window broken during the act of burglary. 5) The case of burglary considered by the magistrates last week was very complicated.

C

Exercise 1. Read and translate the text:

Notary Service

    There are many notary offices in our country. Their task is to check the legality of all transactions or documents they witness and to give legal advice and to render assistance to institutions, enterprises, organizations and individuals in protecting their legitimate interests. In doing so, notary offices establish identity, legal capacity and legal ability of the parties concerned, and the authenticity of their documents. The notaries and the entire staff of the notary offices are bound to keep all the matters they handle or come across in performing their duties, professional secret.

    Their duty also consists in helping applicants to make wills, in drawing deeds of gift, conveyance, purchase and sale. They attest wills, deeds and writings; verify copies of documents; certify translations of documents into foreign and native languages.

    Besides, they make measures to guarantee the safety of the property left by deceased persons, and they issue certificates granting the right to inherit this property.

Exercise 2. Read and translate the text:

Barristers and Solicitors

    1. Most barristers are professional advocates earning their living by the presentation of civil and criminal cases in court. A barrister must be capable of prosecuting in a criminal case one day, and defending an accused person the next, or of preparing the pleadings and taking the case for a plaintiff in a civil action one day, and doing the same for a defendant toe next. Barristers are experts in the interpretation of the law. They are called in to advise on really difficult points.

    2. A would-be barrister must first register as a student member of one of the four Inns of Court . A student must pass a group of examinations to obtain a law degree and then proceed to a vocational course, the passing of which will result in his being called to the Bar.

    3. All practicing barristers are junior counsels unless they have been designated Queen's Counsels (Q C). Q С is expected to appear only in the most important cases.

    4. If a person has a legal problem he will go and see a solicitor. There is no end to the variety of matters which a solicitor deals with. He does a legal work involved in buying house, he writes legal letters for you and carries legal arguments outside Court, he prepares the case and the evidence. If you want to make a will the best man to advise you is a solicitor.

    5.In a civil action solicitors have a right to speak in the County Court, when the case is one of divorce or recovering some debts, and they deal with petty crimes and some matrimonial matters in Magistrates Courts, the lowest Courts.

    6. To become a solicitor a young man joins a solicitor as a «clerk» and

works for him while studying part time for the Law Society5 exams. When you have passed all the necessary exams, you may apply to the Law Society to be «admitted». After that you can practise, which means you can start business on your own.