Иностранный язык в сфере юриспруденции. Учебно-методическое пособие по английскому языку

5. Match the words on the left with the correct definition on the right.

6. A) Read the following sentences with link words and fill the table.

1.Our legal system is influenced by our society’s traditional ideas of right and wrong. For example, laws against murder reflect the moral belief that killing another person is wrong.

2.Most people would condemn murder regardless of what the law said. However, not everything that is immoral is also illegal.

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3.As values changes, so can laws.

4.It is an American social value that all students are provided with free public education through high school. Consequently, all states have laws providing such education.

B) Find more sentences with link words in the text. Then try to make your own sentences.

7. Prepare the retelling of the text, paying attention to the main concepts of the text and their definitions.

Text 4

Lawyers, solicitors, barristers… Who are they? (Jobs and Duties)

1. Find out the meaning of the following words.

Do advocacy, draft legal documents, appear in court, conveyance, draw up contracts and wills, form partnerships.

2. Read and translate the text.

Legal practitioners

Lawyers in the United Kingdom jurisdictions generally practice as solicitors in private firms, as legal advisers in corporations, government departments, and advice agencies, or as barristers. They can each do advocacy, draft legal documents and give written advice, but solicitors, unlike barristers, cannot appear in every court.

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Traditionally, solicitors undertake work such as conveyancing, and drawing up contracts and wills. Barristers spend more time in court and have a right of audience in the higher courts. Unlike solicitors, barristers cannot usually be employed directly by clients, but are instructed by solicitors. Solicitors normally form partnerships with other solicitors and work in offices with support staff. The qualification and practice of solicitors are regulated by the Law Society.

A company commercial lawyer

Sophie Brettle is talking about her work at Melton Deans.

‘I’m a partner in a medium-sized regional law firm, working, within the Company Commercial Department. I head up a team of eight, comprising lawyers and two paralegals — legal researchers — undertaking projects work for Public Sector clients. Our main client is a Government Department. We’re instructed by them to advise and act on Private Finance Initiative Projects, also known as the PFI. This involves negotiating with a number of other parties comprising the funders, the building contractors, and facilities management and ensuring that the client’s aims and objectives are met and their best interests protected.

A significant proportion of my time is spent in all parties meetings. As these transportations are complex, and the meetings are attended by all sides and their legal advisers, I have to make sure comprehensive notes are taken by an assistant solicitor. Following a meeting, documents reflecting the terms agreed are prepared and circulated for approval.

Within the practice, I’m a member of the Executive Committee and have responsibility for aspects of financial management within the department. I also deal with recruitment, training, and development within the department. During a working day as a fee earner, I have to combine my chargeable work for clients with administrative duties.’

3. Find the equivalents for the following words and expressions in the text.

Правосудие, заниматься адвокатской деятельностью, составлять юридические документы, передача документов, составление контрактов и завещаний, нанимать напрямую (непосредствен-

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но), партнерство, возглавлять команду, помощник юриста, вести переговоры, встречи сторон, исчерпывающие доводы, одобрение, набор персонала, совмещать работу с клиентами и административные обязанности.

4. Read the text again and answer the questions.

1. What positions can lawyers in the UK jurisdictions apply for? 2. What duties do solicitors have?

3. What are barrister’s duties?

4. Who is a paralegal?

5. What is a company commercial lawyer responsible for?

5. Use the information from the text to complete the table. Then speak about each job.

a solicitor

a legal adviser

a barrister

a commercial lawyer

a paralegal

Text 5

Consumer Law

(Main Concepts)

1. Find out the meaning of the following words.

A consumer, a seller, to order, a purchase, goods, services, poor-quality products, to mislead, to increase sales.

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2. Read and translate the text.

Have you ever bought a meal in a restaurant or a pair of sneakers at a sporting goods store? Have you ever ridden a bus to work or had your car repaired at a service station? If you did any of these things you were a consumer. A consumer is a person who buys goods and services for personal or household purchases from a seller.

When sellers agree to provide and consumers agree to pay for goods or services, the parties have entered into a legal agreement. The agreement is called a contract. Every time you order a meal in a restaurant, you promise to pay for it, and the restaurant promises to give you a meal that is fit to eat. If the consumer and the seller have a dispute they can’t settle themselves, the law may help determine the outcome.

For many years, consumer law was characterized by the legal expression caveat emptor. This means “let the buyer beware”. In the other words, consumers had to look out for unfair and misleading sales practices before buying or else be prepared to suffer the consequences. Once consumers bought something, they were stuck with the purchase, even if they got less than they bargained for, such as unsafe or poor-quality products.

Today the law is more balanced. Consumers now have a right to be correctly informed of important information, such as quality, price and credit terms. Sellers must avoid sales and advertising practices that mislead, deceive, or are otherwise unfair to consumers. This increased concern for consumers is based on the fact that sellers are usually better informed about the products or services being offered and are usually in control of the sales transaction.

Even though the law has changed, the best protection is still a careful purchase. Learning about products and services, shopping carefully, and knowing your legal rights and how to enforce them are the best ways to avoid a problem.

You should also recognize that if you receive poor-quality merchandise or fall victim to a deceptive practice, all is not lost. You can often solve the problem yourself. And when you can’t the law may provide a remedy. This chapter will help you become a better consumer — able to recognize, avoid, and, when necessary, resolve consumer problems.

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While consumers have many rights, they also have responsibilities. For example, they have a responsibility to sellers to be fair and honest. A consumer who buys an item of clothing, wears it once to a party, and then returns it is not being fair and honest. When this happens, a seller’s costs go up, and everyone winds up paying higher prices.

Influences on Consumers

Smart consumers understand the factors that influence their shopping habits. They think about whether they need the product, whether they can afford it, and how they can purchase it carefully. They also know the difference between wanting and needing a product. Of course, sometimes all consumers splurge and buy things they really don’t need. But smart shoppers don’t spend so much on things they want that they can’t afford what they really need.

Consumers often buy things in response to advertising. A great deal of television, radio, newspaper, and magazine advertising is geared toward specific groups of people. For example, sellers know that teenagers are an extremely important market for their goods audience. Advertising to teens has been stepped up as studies have shown that today’s parents make fewer buying decisions for their children. The ads, which are often purchased for shows or publications that particularly appeal to teens, are designed to increase sales of the products advertised. Many ads provide useful information about products or announce the start of a sale. However, ads may also attempt to influence you to purchase a product that you do not need or want or that you cannot afford.

3. Find the equivalents for the following words and expressions in the text.

Соглашение, определить исход, страдать от последствий, товары низкого качества, условия кредита, вводить в заблуждение, стать жертвой, избежать проблемы, в ответ на рекламу, быть нацеленным на..., увеличить объем продаж, пытаться повлиять, средство судебной защиты, «пусть покупатель будет бдителен» (покупатель действует на свой риск), пускать пыль в глаза.

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4. Answer the questions.

1.Define the term consumer.

2.How was consumer law characterized for many years?

3.What did it mean?

4.Why is the law more balanced today?

5.What is the best protection for consumers? Why?

6.How can you avoid problems?

7.Do consumers have responsibilities? Give your examples.

8.What factors influence smart consumers shopping habits? Are you a smart consumer?

9.How does advertising influence consumers?

5. Use the information from the text and your own ideas to fill the scheme.

parties

6. Give definitions to the concepts a consumer, a seller, a contract, a price, a purchase, consumer law. Then retell the text.

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Text 6

How Laws Protect the Consumer

(Modal Verbs can (be able to), have to, must, should)

1. Find out the meaning of the following words.

Federal law, state law, local law, prohibit unfair trade practice, set standards, label list ingredients, nutrition information.

2. Read and translate the text.

The federal, state and local governments all have laws that protect the consumer. As you read this section, and whenever you think about consumer protection problems, ask yourself: What are my rights under federal law? under state law? under local law?

Federal Law

Congress has passed many consumer protection laws. These laws protect consumers in several ways. First, they prohibit unfair or misleading trade practices, such as false advertising, unfair pricing, and mislabeling. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the federal agency primarily concerned with unfair or deceptive trade practices.

Second, federal laws set standards for the quality, safety, and reliability of many goods and services. Failure to meet these standards can result in legal action against the seller. For example, the Consumer Product Safety Act allows the government to ban, seize or prevent the sale of harmful products.

Third, the federal government has established many agencies that enforce consumer laws and help consumers. For example, as already mentioned, the Federal Trade Commission has the power to prohibit unfair or deceptive trade practice (such as false advertising) and can take legal action to stop such practices.

Fourth, Congress passes laws and agencies issue rules to improve the operation of the marketplace. In many instances, these laws and rules are designed to give consumers better information about products. For example, in 1992, Congress passed the Nutrition Labelling and Education Act. This law requires that all food product labels list

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ingredients and nutritional information in a form that most people will be able to understand. With this information, consumers will be able to make smarter choices.

Fifth, a new federal law, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), protects consumers against discrimination on the basis of disability. Under the ADA, consumers who are disabled must have equal access to goods and services. Consumers who are disabled include but are not limited to persons who are blind, are deaf, or have a physical disability requiring them to use a wheelchair. The ADA covers all establishments that are generally open to the public. These include grocery, clothing, and hardware stores, as well as Laundromats, hair salons, and gas stations.

What does it mean to say that consumers with disabilities must have equal access? It means that businesses must make reasonable accommodations to ensure that their goods and services are available to persons who are disabled. One accommodation you may have noticed is a ramp that would allow persons using wheelchairs to enter a restaurant that has several steps leading to the entrance. The ADA requires businesses to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities as long as the accommodation is readily achievable. This means that business persons must undertake accommodations that are easy to do and not excessively expensive.

State Law

States also have consumer protection laws and agencies. Many of these laws prohibit unfair and deceptive trade practices. Such laws are often similar to the Federal Trade Commission Act. State laws allow consumers to bring complaints into state court and before state agencies. They also enable agencies, such as the state attorney general’s office or the state office of consumer affairs, to sue on behalf of consumers in order to halt illegal practices. In some cases, consumers can join together to bring class actions, which allow one or more persons to bring suit on behalf of a larger group.

Likefederalconsumerprotectionlaws,statelawsgivethegovernment power not only to stop unfair and deceptive trade practices but also to provide consumers with a variety of remedies. A remedy makes up

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for harm that has been done. Remedies include cease and desist orders, by which an agency can require a business to stop a forbidden practice; consent decrees, which are voluntary agreements to end a practice that is claimed to be illegal; and restitution, which is an order to refund or repay any money illegally obtained.

Local Law

Cities and counties may also have consumer protection laws. These laws have been passed to deal with specific consumer issues that have arisen at a local level. For example, some cities have “truth-in- menus” laws. Under these laws, if the menu reads “fresh swordfish”, the restaurant cannot serve swordfish that has been frozen.

3. Find the equivalents for the following words and expressions in the text.

Защищать потребителя, запретить нечестную торговлю, неправильная маркировка, установить стандарты, продажа вредных для здоровья товаров, дать потребителю информацию о товаре, список ингредиентов и информация о калорийности, инвалиды, иметь равный доступ, преследовать по суду от имени покупателя, остановить незаконную практику, предъявить иск от имени больших групп, приказ о прекращении деятельности, обоюдное согласие, возмещение убытков, на местном уровне, закон

оправдивом меню.

4.Answer the questions.

1.How do laws protect consumers?

2.What special commission is concerned with unfair or deceptive trade practices?

3.Why is it necessary to know the ingredients and nutrition of products?

4.What information should consumers have about the goods before deciding whether or not to buy them?

5.How are the rights of disabled people protected? Is it the same in Russia? Give your examples.

6.How does state law protect consumers?

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