Barristers

Barristers appear before judges in High Courts and defend or prosecute cases. Barristers cannot form a business partnership or a company with barristers. They work from a “chamber”¹. A clerk negotiates work and money with solicitors. All barristers in England and Wales belong to one of the Inns of Court in London, established in the late 13^th century. Students may take their degrees elsewhere but they must pass Inn examinations and attend twenty-four dinners there before they are “called to the bar”. This sets the exclusive social nature of the legal system: barristers are seen as gentlemen and ladies who never look for work and money. They belong to a small group from which all Queen’s Counsels and Judges are chosen. Barristers wear a black gown and a small white wig from the 18^th century fashion.

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¹chamber - палата

Task 19. Read the information below and speak on different types of legal professions in Russia.

An advocate is a lawyer who renders legal help to his client, represents his client's interests in a court, defends the accused and tries to prove his innocence by evidence; works at the Bar.

A prosecutor is a lawyer who brings charges against somebody or tries to prove in a trial that they are guilty; works at the Prosecutor’s Office. This office is charged with the duty to see that the laws of its jurisdiction are properly executed and enforced.

A judge is a lawyer who conducts the trial, decides how the law should be applied to people, how criminals should be punished; works at a court.

A legal adviser is a lawyer who advises people on problems in law; works at an enterprise or at a legal advice office.

A notary/notary public¹ (pl. notaries public) is a lawyer who has legal authority to carry out notarial acts, i.e. to witness and draw up certain documents and to make them legally valid; works at a notary office.

A state arbitrator is a lawyer who settles disputes between enterprises; works at a state arbitration.

An investigator is a lawyer who tries to find out all the facts about the crime, to inquire about the reasons for committing the crime, about the people involved, in order to solve the crime quickly and accurately; works at a militia agency or at a Public Prosecutor’s Office.

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¹notary public /'nqVtqri 'pAblIk/– государственный нотариус

Task 20. You are going to be lawyers. Answer the questions and find out whether you are fit for the job. Summarize your answers in the following way:

I don’t mind …, but I do mind … . Do You Mind Doing These Things?

• Meeting different people every day?

• Listening to people for many hours?

• Reading documents all day long?

• Staying in the office after office hours?

• Working at odd hours¹?

• Working on your own²?

• Putting your job before your personal life?

• Doing dull³ routine work?

• Correcting other people’s mistakes?

• Telling people what to do?

• Looking after people?

• Doing paper work?

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¹odd hours /"Pd'aVqz/ - часы досуга

²on one’s own /Pn"wAnz'qVn/ – самостоятельно

³dull /dAl/ – скучный

Task 21. Read and translate the text.