Comprehension check

Ex. 1. The following sentences were in the text. Decide which sentence goes in each of the numbered gaps in the text:

1. They also think that we have too many lawyers.

2. The hypocrisy of the legal profession in this respect is a fraud on the public.

3. A solicitor's letter is usually taken seriously and therefore the problem may well be solved at this stage.

4. You can consult a solicitor for advice.

Ex. 2. Translate paragraphs 1, 3 in writing.

Ex. 3. Put 8-10 questions on the text so that they will cover its content.

Ex. 4. Say whether the following statements are true or false:

1. We go to a lawyer when we have a problem.

2. Your problem will be solved more quickly if the solicitor helps you.

3. Visiting lawyers and courts is very cheap.

4. Some people abroad think that their countries don't have enough lawyers.

5. The legal writer Ian Cooper thinks that lawyers charge too much.

6. He also thinks that much of legal service in Great Britain is done by unqualified people.

7. According to the writer, lawyers are always honest with their clients.

Text 2. Forms of crime

1. One type of crime that has been of particular interest to sociologists is white-collar crime – crime committed by persons of affluence¹, often in the course of their business activities. Most common in white-collar crimes are corporate crime, embezzlement², corruption, bribery³, tax fraud⁴ or stock⁵ manipulation, misrepresentation⁶ in advertising, restraint⁷ of trade, and infringements⁸ of patents. Fraud and theft in the retail⁹ industry increases the cost of many items by at least 15 per cent. The cost of public instruction is increased between 10 and 50 per cent by kickbacks¹⁰, and payoffs¹¹ resulting in overcharges¹² to taxpayers of more than $2 billion annually. Insurance¹³ crimes are common. In fact, the biggest theft in American history was not the robbery of a bank or an armoured car, but the $1 billion Equity Funding fraud masterminded¹⁴ by executives of a Los Angeles-based insurance conglomerate in the late 1970s.

2. The American criminal justice system is not equipped to deal with white-collar crime. Unlike a robbery, a stock or insurance fraud is complex and difficult to unravel¹⁵. Local law enforcement officials commonly lack the skills and resources necessary to tackle¹⁸ crimes outside the sphere of crime. Federal agencies will handle only the more serious white-collar crimes. And the handful¹⁹ of white-collar criminals who are prosecuted and convicted are given a slap on the wrist. Street criminals who steel $100 may find their way to prison, while the dishonest executive who embezzles $1 million may receive a suspended sentence and a relatively small fine. Federal statistics indicate that embezzlers at banks steel nine times more than bank robbers. Yet whereas only 17 per cent of the embezzlers go to jail, 91 per cent of bank robbers end in jail.

3. Organised crime refers to large-scale organizations that provide illegal goods and services in public demand. The President's commission on Organised Crime estimated that it reaped²⁰ about $100 billion in the United States in 1986. Organised crime is likely to arise when the state criminalizes certain activities- prostitution, drugs, pornography, gambling²¹, and loan sharking²² – that large numbers citizens desire and are willing to pay for.

4. Since the beginning of the 20^th century organized crimes have largely been conducted by a syndicate variously termed the Mafia or the Cosa Nostra. So much has been written about this group that it is difficult to separate myth from fact. However, it seems to be a loose network²³ or confederation of regional syndicates coordinated by a commission composed of the heads of the most powerful crime "families." The Mafia operates a vast system of political corruption and employs violence and intimidation²⁴ against its victims, rivals, and "renegades." Having piled up²⁵ enormous profits from drug dealing and gambling, the Mafia has diversified into entertainment, labour unions, construction, trucking, vending machines²⁶, toxic waste disposal²⁷, banking, stock fraud, and insurance.

5. The media often depict organized crime as an Italian monopoly. However, Irish and Jewish crime figures have long cooperated with Mafia. In New York and Philadelphia, black groups and the Mafia run gambling and narcotics operations. In San Francisco, Chinese gangs shake down merchants and are involved in gambling, robberies, and prostitution; the self-proclaimed Israeli Mafia extorts money in Los Angeles, and Colombian and Cuban drug rings have flooded Florida with their products.

Notes: 1) изобилие, богатство; 2) незаконное присвоение; 3) взятка, подкуп; 4) мошенничество; 5) биржа; 6) представление неверных сведений; 7) сдерживание; 8) нарушение, посягательство; 9) розничный; 10) возвращение части полученных денег под нажимом; 11) выплата, вручение взятки; 12) завышенная цена; 13) страхование; 14) руководить; 15) распутывать, разгадывать; 16) взяться за; 17) горсть; 18) пожинать плоды; 19) азартные игры; 20) выбивание долгов; 21) широкая сеть; 22) запугивание, страх; 23) накопленный; 24) автоматы по продаже; 25) захоронение ядовитых отходов.