Solicitor or barrister?

The solicitor is the first point of contact with the law for a client in the UK. The solicitor 1) __________ (listen) carefully to the client, making sure their needs 2) ________ clearly _______ (understand) and then 3) ________ (explain) the legal position and 4) ________ (tender) advice. By contrast, barristers 5) ________ only ________ (see) the client in the company of a briefing solicitor. The barrister 6) _______ (be) the specialist with particular skills in advocacy, a consultant who 7) _________ (examine) the case and

8) ________ (decide) what line to take in court. There 9) ______ (be) only a few solicitors who 10) _______ (allow) to present cases in the higher courts. Many more solicitors 11) _________ (work) in their litigation departments and 12) ________ (spend) much of their time 13) ________ (prepare) briefs for counsel. Barristers 14) ________ (be) self-employed in the independent Bar. Solicitors 15)______ (be) normally salaried and may 16) _________ (offer) a share in the profits of the practice if they are successful.

C Choose the best explanation for each of these words or phrases from the exercise B.

1 tenders advice 2 briefing solicitor

a) offers advice a) lawyer who works quickly

b) bids for advice b) lawyer who writes a letter

c) refuses advice c) lawyer who prepares a case for

court

3 advocacy 4 line

a) speaking or pleading in the court a) queue

b) lawyers b) time to allocate

c) rich and famous people c) position

5 salaried

a) with postgraduate degrees

b) receiving regular pay

c) independent

Vocabulary tasks

A Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following key words

and expressions.

1 юридические услуги

2 адвокатская деятельность

3 группа независимых экспертов

4 палаты барристеров

5 специалист широкого профиля

6 вести дело в суде

7 представлять интересы клиентов в суде

8 решать семейные споры

9 вести гражданские иски о возмещении ущерба.

B Put the right word for these definitions.

1 … is a lawyer who gives advice to his clients and prepares documents.

2 … is a lawyer who specialized in presenting cases in front of a judge and has

the right of audience.

3 … is a lawyer who employs barristers to argue a case.

4 … is a lawyer who is not directly paid by a client.

C Fill each gap with the appropriate preposition from the box. Some

prepositions can be used more than once. Translate the sentences into

Russian in writing.

away with of between in by to

1 These days in the United Kingdom the strict separation _______ the duties of a solicitor and a barrister has been partially broken down, and solicitors frequently appear not only ______ the lower courts but increasingly ________ the higher courts too.

2 Barristers in turn can now be directly instructed _______ certain organizations such as trade unions.

3 In the next few years it is expected that the government will press the Bar Council to allow barristers to deal ______ the public directly.

4 Solicitors are increasingly taking advantage ______ their increased rights and so it is hoped that the old system will be swept _______ in the coming years.

5 Still in the view of many people the existing split _______ barristers and solicitors actually operates ______ the advantage of the users of the English legal system.

Over to you

Imagine you are a family solicitor. Give advice to someone who asks your professional opinion about a financial matter. Your client has asked you whether she should invest money she has inherited in the stock market or place it in the bank. Explain that you feel she should consult a financial expert first. Invite her to discuss any tax implications with her tax adviser.