The study of law

The study of law differs from country to country, but most law degree programmes include core (compulsory) subjects which all students must take. Which core courses are typical in your country? How long does it take to complete a law degree?

Reading 1: A career in law

1. Read the text and answer these questions.

1. Which courses do law students in the UK have to take?

2. Which optional courses might a student who wants to work in a big law firm take?

The study of law is intellectually stimulating and challenging and can lead to a variety of interesting careers.

In the UK and the USA, law degree programmes usually take three years to complete. In the UK, these programmes typically include core subjects such as criminal law, contract law, tort law, land law, equity and trusts, administrative law and constitutional law. In addition, students are often required to take courses covering such as legal writing and legal research.

Here is also a variety of optional (elective) courses available. Since many law students go on to become lawyers, students often take courses that will be useful to them during their future careers. Someone wishing to run a small partnership or to work alone as a sole practitioner in a small town may decide to take subjects such as family law, employment law and housing law. Those wishing to work in a large law practice will consider subjects such as company law, commercial law and litigation and arbitration.

Many universities also offer courses on legal practice. Courses like this give students the opportunity to experience the work of a lawyer before deciding on a career in the law. Another way of finding out more about law in practice is to get involved with a voluntary advice centre or law clinic. These law clinics offer free legal assistance to the local community and provide a useful introduction to some of the day-to-day work of a lawyer.

For students wishing to work in a commercial practice, knowledge of foreign language is essential. When law firms hire new recruits, they generally look at four things: education, personality, work experience and language ability. Since English is the language of the international legal community, law firms increasingly expect graduates to have a good command of English.

2. Read the text again and decide whether these statements are true or false. If the statement is false correct it.

1. A course in family law is usually included among the core subjects at law schools in the UK.

2. Some law degree programmes offer courses in some of the most important skills that lawyers need in order to do their work, such as legal writing or legal English.

3. Law clinics give law students the opportunity to learn about the legal problems of the medical profession.

4. Today, commercial law firms expect recruits to be completely fluent in English.

3. When you record vocabulary, you should try to write down as many collocations as you can, and not only single words. How many collocations with words legal (e.g. legal writing) and law (e.g. law firm) can you find in the text?

4. Match the following expressions with their Ukrainian equivalents.

1. to go beyond the law	a. анулювати, опротестувати закон
2. to keep within the law	b. оголосити закон неконституційним
3. to lay down the law	c. прийняти закон
4. to administer / apply / enforce a law	d. формулювати закон
5. to annul / repeal / revoke a law	e. підкорятися закону, дотримуватися закону
6. to break / flout / violate a law	f. вчинити протизаконну дію
7. to adopt / enact / pass a law	g. тлумачити закон
8. to cite a law	h. розправитися без суду
9. to declare a law unconstitutional	i. застосовувати закон
10. to draft a law	j. дотримуватися закону
11. to interpret a law	k. готувати законопроект
12. to obey / observe a law	l. цитувати закон
13. to promulgate a law	m. порушити закон
14. to take the law into one’s own hands	n. оприлюднити закон, опублікувати закон

Use the expressions above to make sentences of your own.

5. Match the following expressions with their Ukrainian equivalents.

1. legal activities	a. законні права
2. legal address	b. законний власник
3. legal advice	c. який має законну силу
4. legal age	d. використовувати своє законне право
5. legal costs	e. історія права
6. legal decision	f. консультація юриста
7. legal document	g. правовий захист
8. legal entity	h. правовий документ
9. legal ethics	i. правовий статус
10. legal expert	j. правомірна, законна діяльність
11. legal history	k. професійна етика юриста
12. legal language	l. рішення суду
13. legal owner	m. повноліття
14. legal procedure	n. стати юристом
15. legal protection	o. судові витрати
16. legal rights	p. судочинство
17. legal status	q. юридична термінологія
18. of legal force	r. юридична адреса
19. to enjoy one’s legal rights	s. юридична особа
20. to enter the legal profession	t. юрисконсульт, юридичний радник

Use the expressions above to make sentences of your own.

6. Match the words with their definitions.

1. compulsory	a. a legal title to property held by one party for the benefit of another
2. equity	b. to present for acceptance or rejection
3. trust	c. required by regulations or laws; obligatory
4. arbitration	d. the act or process of bringing or contesting a legal action in court
5. litigation	e. to get the use of by paying money; to give (someone) the use of in exchange for money
6. research	f. justice applied in circumstances covered by law yet influenced by principles of ethics and fairness
7. to offer	g. systematic investigation to establish facts or principles or to collect information on a subject
8. to hire	h. the hearing and determination of a dispute, esp an industrial dispute, by an impartial referee selected or agreed upon by the parties concerned

7. Speaking. Discuss these questions with a partner. Look at the sample responses.

1. What type of law firm do you think you would like to work in?

I’d like to work as a sole practitioner, as I’d prefer to be my own boss.

I think a big law firm would be exciting.

2. Which compulsory / optional courses are you taking?

This semester, I’m taking an elective course in environmental law.

Reading 2: Course descriptions

Pre-reading task. Read the words. Mind the stress. A):

΄negligently fa΄miliarize con,side΄ration

΄hazardous vi΄carious ,lia΄bility

΄nuisance in΄vasion ,defor΄mation

΄homicide in΄surance ,ratio΄nale

΄relevancy con΄fession in,vesti΄gation

΄hearsay sur΄veillance distri΄bution

B) Complete the word building table.

Noun/Verb Adjective/Adverb	Verb Noun
to familiarise	to familiarise
liability	invasion
vicarious	deformation
negligently	insurance
hazardous	investigation
homicide	seizure
rationale	confession
relevancy	distribution

C) Look through the following words to make sure that you know them, learn those you don’t.

to familiarise (with) [] to familiarize oneself with smth	познайомити, ознайомити; познайомитися, ознайомитися
consideration [] executed consideration concurrent consideration	відшкодування, компенсація, винагорода; виконане зустрічне компенсація одночасне зустрічне компенсація
breach [bri:t∫] breach of contract breach of covenant	порушення; порушення контракту; порушення угоди
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)	Єдиний торгівельний кодекс (ЄТК) (кодекс стандартних законів у галузі комерційного права)
liability []	відповідальність;обов'язок або необхідність;
negligently []	1. з необережності, з недогляду; 2. недбало, абияк
to cause []	бути причиною, бути приводом; викликати, спричиняти; заподіювати
vicarious []	1. що заміщає; діючий за уповноваженням (когось); діючий замість іншого; 2. діючий на благо інших; страждаючий за інших
hazardous [] hazardous to smb’s health	ризикований, небезпечний; небезпечний для здоров’я
nuisance [](= public nuisance) absolute nuisance common nuisance	1. порушення громадського порядку; 2. досада, прикрість, неприємність; 3.шкода; абсолютна шкода (відповідальність за яку наступає в незалежності від наявності вини) джерело небезпеки для оточуючих
invasion [] invasion of privacy	1. напад, навала; 2. вторгнення, втручання; вторгнення в житло; втручання в особисте життя
deformation []	нівечення, спотворювання, калічення, псування; потворність, каліцтво;
insurance [] comprehensive insurance	1. страхування; 2. страхова премія; страховий внесок; сума страхування; страховий поліс; договір страхування; повне страхування
homicide []	убийство
rationale [] constitutional rationale	1. логічне обґрунтування; розумне пояснення; 2. основна причина; раціональна основа, підґрунтя (чого-небудь); конституційне обґрунтування
relevancy [] / relevance []	правомірність; значущість; істотність; важливість
hearsay [] hearsay testimony hearsay rule	заснований на чутках; відомий з чуток; показання свідків з чужих слів; принцип неприйнятності показань або доказів, заснованих на чутках
investigation [] criminal investigation impartial investigation police investigation	розслідування; слідство; розгляд (справ); кримінальне розслідування; неупереджене розслідування; поліцейське розслідування
search [] unreasonable search	обшук; необґрунтований, незаконний обшук
seizure [] seizure of property	конфіскація; опис (майна), накладення арешту; конфіскація майна
confession [] to obtain confession	визнання, усвідомлення (своєї провини); визнання (права, вимоги); зізнання; добитися зізнання
surveillance [] covert surveillance	нагляд, спостереження (за підозрюваним); стеження; таємний нагляд
entrapment []	провокування на кримінально караний вчинок
distribution []	поширення, розповсюдження, розміщення, розташування
clause []	стаття, пункт, умова; застереження, клаузула (договору, контракту)

1. Reading texts in a foreign language often means encountering unfamiliar words. Discuss these questions with a partner.

1. What is the best way to deal with unfamiliar words in a text?

2. Read the following list of strategies and discuss how useful they are. What factors might affect the strategy you use?

• Try to understand the new words with the help of surrounding words.

• Look up every unknown word in a dictionary.

• Ignore the unknown word and read on.

• Look up some new words, ignore others.

• Analyse the unknown word: ask what part of speech it is (a noun or an adjective, for example); if it has a root or a prefix (Latin or French, for example) that may help you understand it; if it has a positive or negative meaning, etc.

Keep these strategies in mind when reading the text below.

2. Quickly read the law course descriptions taken from a university website. Ignore the gaps for now. Do you think this university is in the UK? Why (not)?

First-year course descriptions

Introduction to Law: This course aims to familiarize the students with the study of law; to begin the development of certain basic skills, such as reading, analysis and synthesis of legal decisions, and interpretation of statutes; to discuss fundamental aspects of the legal process, e.g. how courts ‘make law’ and the function of the courts with respect to statutory law.

1. _______________: This course covers the fundamental principles governing the formation, interpretation, performance, and enforcement of contracts. In addition, special attention is given to the requirements of offer and acceptance, consideration, formal requirements, public policy, and the problems of choosing a remedy in case of a breach. Some attention will also be given to the Uniform Commercial Code.

2. _______________: Topics covered include liability for intentional and negligently caused injuries to person and property; strict liability; vicarious liability; ultra-hazardous activities; products liability; nuisance; invasion of privacy; deformation; the impact of insurance and risk distribution upon liability; accident compensation plans; damages; losses.

3. _______________: This course presents the basic concepts of criminal law. Crimes against persons, property, and public administration are covered, with special emphasis placed upon the law of homicide.

Second-year course descriptions

Evidence: This course will explore the rules of evidence and their rationale, including relevancy, hearsay, impeachment, cross-examination, opinions and experts, documents, and privileges.

Criminal Procedure: This course will cover regulation of law enforcement conduct during the investigations of crimes, with special emphasis on constitutional and statutory limitations. Topics include search and seizure, confessions and incriminating statements, electronic surveillance, entrapment, identification procedures, and remedies for improper police conduct.

4. _______________: This course covers the general principles of federal constitutional law, including government authority and its distribution under the constitution; the judicial function in constitutional cases; powers delegated to the national government and the reserved powers of the states in areas of federal authority; intergovernmental relations; rights, privileges, and immunities under the constitution; national citizenship; the contract clause; the federal constitution and the amendments thereto.

5. _______________: This course is designed to acquaint students with the nature of legal research. Students will analyze judicial opinions; apply legal concepts and rules; and learn correct legal citation and use of correct precedent. Special attention is given to the mechanics of legal research, the techniques of writing memoranda, and briefs.

3. Choose the correct title for each course in the catalogue excerpt.

A. Criminal law / Crime law

B. Law of the Constitution / Constitutional law

C. Contract law / Contracting law

D. Legal research and writing / Legal investigation and writing

E. Liability law / Tort law

4. Read the excerpts again and answer these questions.

1. Which course covers basic skills that students will need during their studies?

2. Which course deals with research and writing skills needed in professional life?

3. Which course teaches students how to cross-examine a witness?

5. Underline three words you don’t know. Try to guess their meaning by looking at surrounding words and analysing the words.

6. Match the words with their definitions.

1. entrapment	a. a broad legal concept including anything that disturbs the reasonable use of your property or endangers life and health or is offensive
2. surveillance	b. the taking possession of something by legal process
3. confession	c. the killing of a human being by another person
4. seizure	d. close observation or supervision maintained over a person, group, etc., esp one in custody or under suspicion
5. search	e. involving risk or danger;
6. hearsay	f. a change for the worse; alteration in the shape or dimensions of an object as a result of the application of stress to it
7. homicide	g. a defence that claims the defendant would not have broken the law if not tricked into doing it by law enforcement officials
8. deformation	h. heard through another rather than directly
9. liability	i. suffered, undergone, or done as the substitute for another; delegated; taking the place of another
10. nuisance	j. an acknowledgment or declaration, esp of one’s faults, misdeeds, or crimes
11. hazardous	k. the state of being legally obliged and responsible
12. vicarious	l. examination, looking for e.g. stolen goods

7. A: Fill in the appropriate word from the list below.