Exercise 3

Work with your partner. Each of you reads your text and prepares to ask the partner questions listed below the text.

Student A

Solicitors provide advice to clients of all types about specific areas of law and they also represent their clients if disputes arise. Solicitors may be responsible for instructing barristers to act for their clients. These specific areas of law include property, taxation, finance, employment, and competition. Solicitors advise and represent large and small businesses and the type of work taken on varies from case to case.

The responsibilities of a typical solicitor include:

• Meeting with clients to advise them on legal matters

• Creating documents and drawing up contracts relevant to the specific case

• Researching previous cases that may provide information relevant to the current case

• Supervising and overseeing official agreements between parties

• Researching a thorough case history of each case

• Attending court hearings

• Instructing advocates and barristers

• Negotiating with those attending a court hearing

• Reading law journals and attending frequent legal courses

Where does a barrister work?

What areas of law does he/she specialize in?

Is litigation in court the barrister’s only responsibility?

How does he/she prepare for case hearing?

How does he/she you represent your client in court?

Student B

Barristers, who work in chambers on a self-employed basis, present cases in court and specialize in one of several areas. These areas include criminal law, commercial law, and common law. They will be expected to provide expert advice to individuals including solicitors. Some barristers spend a lot of time in court working with clients’ cases.

The responsibilities of a typical solicitor include:

• Deciding which cases to take on

• Looking at previous cases to see how points of law have been treated in the past

• Interpreting legislation with regards to specific cases

• Giving general legal advice

• Bringing an action

• Preparing cases and writing legal opinions

• Making sure arguments are fit for court

• Representing clients in the court environment

• Cross-examining witnesses in court

• Holding regular meetings with clients to advise them on progress

• Performing mediations

What does a solicitor advise his/her clients on?

Who are his clients?

Does he/she work with documents?

How does he/she handle cases?

How does he/she cooperate with barristers?

Development Exercise 4

Read the schedule of an attorney’s day. Then do the tasks below.

A Day in the Life: Attorney (Helen Redford)

7:45 a.m.: Arrive at office; check e-mail, voice mail and a few faxes.

8:00 a.m.: Look through the latest case papers and draft a claim against the construction firm.

8:15 a.m.: Prepare to attend the hearing regarding the client’s case that concerns defective product bought from a supermarket. Call the expert to confirm that the hearing is held at 1:30 p.m.

9:30 a.m.: Attend a hearing on road accident as a defendant counsel. Unfortunately, we lose the case. The judge awards a substantial sum of damages to the plaintiff.

11:00 a.m.: Meet with the senior associate of our firm to discuss how to prepare a motion to dismiss a nuisance claim made against our client. Finally we draft the motion and file it to the judge.

11:30 a.m.: Brief an important discrimination case. Make a research to find some court rules as precedents.

12:30 p.m.: Review documents to prepare to attend the hearing where the expert witness is giving evidence.

1:00 p.m.: Lunch!

1:30 p.m.: Attend the hearing on negligence case. My expert witness is great! It looks that we are going to win the case. The presiding judge sees the point and I think will give a good fair judgment.

4:00 p.m.: Work with documents.

5:00 p.m.: Conference with a new client. Explain that I’ll bring the action only after I have studied all the details. Tell her what it takes to plead a defamation case in court. Offer her to think if it’s possible to try to mediate the case.

7:00 p.m.: Meet with senior associate to discuss the case concerning discrimination at work.

7:30 p.m.: Leave office and head home.

A) Find out which statements are TRUE and which are FALSE

1. Ms. Redford deals both with tort and crime cases.

2. She has been working on 4 cases and 1 claim.

3. Helen represented a plaintiff at the traffic accident court hearing.

4. She is sure her client is not liable for nuisance and the court hearing is not necessary.

5. Ms. Redford has invited an expert witness to give evidence in the defamation case.

6. The discrimination case appears to be rather difficult.

7. Helen spent about 12 hours at work.

B) Speak about Helen Redford’s day. (Past Simple tense)