Topic Development
Exercise 4.
Law firm structure
Law firms are partnerships and are managed by partners. The firm consists of practice groups, every group deals in a particular area and is headed by a partner or an associate. The firm administration (finance, marketing, human resources) can include managers or directors like in a company.
The chart below represents an organizational management chart.
Get ready to speak about the law firm structure.
Phrases to be used are:
- be headed by
- be in charge of
- be responsible for
- report to
Exercise 5
Finish the following sentences
The law firm is run by two teams Management and
The firm is headed by ……. and all …….. report to her/him.
Each …… is in charge of a particular group.
Corporate group Partner is responsible for ……. matters
Litigation group Partner ……….
Property group Partner …….
Tax group Partner ………
Banking group Partner ……
Intellectual Property group Partner …….
In each group there are ……..
Administration is headed by …..
Administration includes …….. who report to ……
Administration staff includes ……….
Research Skills
Exercise 6
Law Firm website.
If you visit any law firm’s website you will see the welcome information (as in advertisements above) and a number of links. Clicking on these links you will get certain information.
The typical links are:
About us |
Practice areas /Services/ |
Attorneys /Attorneys profiles/ |
News |
Publications |
Employment /Careers/ |
Contact us |
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Task
Decide what information you can find under each link.
Exercise 7
Internet Research
Every web address of a certain law firm is followed by a task. Do this research work and then prepare a presentation
1) http://www.roselawfirm.com/default.asp
Find out the information to complete the chart of links above.
How old is the firm?
2) http://www.stradley.com/home.php
Click the link About Us, then click Firm Management. Speak about the organization structure of the firm.
Find out the location of the offices throughout the States. Find out if they deal with any kind of torts or crimes and represent clients in court.
3) http://www.chapman.com/about.php
What is the focus area of the Chapman & Cutler law firm?
What kind of services they render in this area?
Where are their offices located?
4) http://www.darbys.co.uk/
This is a solicitor’s law firm in the UK. Introduce the firm using the Introduction page (don’t use “we” and “our”).
What is under Glossary (sitemap), Careers – Internship links?
5) cornerstonebarristers.com
The firm Cornerstone Barristers is a firm of barristers in the UK. Find out what areas they provide advice and representation in. How is the structure different from the previous firms? How do the provide pupillage?
Exercise 8
Read the text to find the answers to the following questions.
Who does the junior associate work with?
What are his/her duties before the meetings?
3. What is the associate’s role during and after the meetings with clients?
4. What is the video conferencing arranged for? Who with? What is discussed?
5. What are other types of assignments besides client meetings?
6. Why is it necessary to stay late at the office?
7. What are the benefits of this long, hard work?
A Day In The Life Of A First Year Associate
Joining a law firm can involve exacting work; provide the opportunity for growth, experience and above all - a great salary. We will now look at the typical day in the life of a junior associate in the average law firm.
The day starts at around 9:30, and no later than 10:00. Work begins with the checking of emails, sending off any pending mails, organising work for the day and preparing a meeting work schedule for the partner you are working with. At around 10:30 the partner calls you in, and the next half hour is spent briefing him on any unfinished business, upcoming meetings and the day’s schedule.
At 11:00 the client meetings begin, to which you will accompany the partner wearing your best suit. During the meeting you are not expected to make your presence felt unless specifically called upon by the partner. After the clients leave, there is a follow up session with the partner where the entire meeting is reviewed. After the meetings, which could take upto two hours depending on the number of meetings and the type of client, you head back to the office to prepare a report of the meeting, and speak to other clients to fix further meetings.
Lunch is at 13:30. The entire office gathers together and makes this single hour truly enjoyable. The best thing about this period is that the office hierarchy, which is so rigid during other parts of the day, does not exist then. But at times, this fun time can be taken away when you have to meet a client on a lunch meeting.
At 15:00 most of the post lunch meetings begin. Many of these are conducted through video conferencing or a conference call, to enable easy communication with clients in the UK, bankers in Hong Kong and their lawyers based in some other part of the world. New transactions are discussed and strategies for collaboration are devised.
At 17:00 you meet with another partner to brief him on some other pending issue, or provide a research opinion on a foreign investment transaction. All the relevant research material must be handy and after the meeting you return to the office to incorporate all the material into the office files.
At 19:30 you conduct another conference call with a new client in the US and listen to their brief about their transaction, as this is a first time interaction. They want to set up a financial services company in India, and you commit to sending them a detailed written report on this in a few days, which contains legal advice on how to set up shop in India.
You stay after 21:00 drafting of a Construction Agreement. Following time would be spent in finishing all the other work that the partner has engaged on your behalf apart from planning for the next day.
By 00:00 you are done, and after mailing the work to the client or partner for review you head back home in the office taxi.
As you can see, the work in Law Firms is long, hard and demanding, but the reward at the end of it are considerable. You get to do a lot of high profile work, meet with the biggest names in the corporate world, be part of cutting edge legal processes and finally gain a lot of respect from the people around you. The starting pay ranges from 40k – 70k per month, and can rise sharply according to the firm. The position is one of great responsibility and excellence is amply rewarded.
Exercise 9
Company Legal Department
The staff members of Legal department work on protection of company's interests and creation of conditions for robust business development. Typically staff members of Legal department are qualified lawyers and their assistants. They are subordinated to Department Manager (or General Counsel) who represents the department, manages activities of legal staff and keeps control over departmental workflow.
Legal Advisers play one of the most important roles in Legal department. They give advice on product development, marketing and promotions. For example, before marketing a new product, marketing manager often needs to talk with Legal department to discuss potential legal issues. In order to give exhaustive legal advice, Department Manager charges lawyers with duties of examining legal issues and checking legislation points. Lawyers also provide advice in the filed of discrimination in hiring practices, sexual harassment and employment.
Law department is responsible for providing legal services and advice to the company, its divisions and employees. The department office faces a great number of different legal matters. These matters include: business development, contract management, real estate transactions, customer claims against the company for product damages and defects, litigation, employment law, sales and leases matters, debt collection, bankruptcy, case prosecution, and much more. All these activities create the workflow of Legal department. If to look at the workflow in whole, the following main functions of the legal department are:
Providing legal advice and guidance
Prosecution of cases in courts and litigation management
Documentation preparation and drafting
Let's briefly consider each of these functions.