Word Practice

Ex. 1. Read the words and guess their meaning. Mind the stress.

'legal	'system	pro'fession	,characte'ristic
'type	'function	so'licitor	,speciali'zation
'form	'problem	ca'reer	,proble'matic
'plan	'action	ex'treme
'clerk	'practice	spe'cific
'office	'advocate	prac'titioner
'status	'business	tra'ditional
'expert	'structure	for'malities
'client	'barrister	pro'cedure
'document	'argument

Ex. 2. Complete the list of derivatives. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Verb noun (agent) noun (concept)

to judge

to prosecute

to train

to practise

to advocate advocate advocacy

to specialize

to convey

to apply

to accuse

to interpretе

to prosecute

Ex. 3. Pair the words in column B with the ones from column A.

A	substantional	B	barrister
	appearing		degree
	senior		course
	vocational		documents
	law		exam
	extreme		advocate
	accused		matters
	professional		advice
	necessary		structure
	civil		action
	day-to-day		person
	variety (of)		interview
	personal		formalities
	general		practitioner
	career		changes
	legal		lesser cases

Ex. 4. Decide which verbs you would use with the noun phrases you have identified in Ex. 3.

to legislate; to organise; to complete; to argue; to seek; to separate; to be; to have; to deal with; to prepare; to plan; to pass; to appoint; to defend; to obtain; to proceed.

Ex. 5. Add nouns to the following adjectives to form noun phrases.

legal; general; criminal; civil; matrimonial; petty; junior; vocational; senior; successful; important.

Ex. 6. Match the pairs of synonyms.

A	В
affair / matter	charge / protest
eliminate	realize / fulfill
various	case
complain	vague / obscure
reason	attempt / endeavor
implement	different / diverse
loophole	evasion / trick
effort	exclude / remove
ambiguous	define / classify
distinguish	cause

Ex. 7. Look through the list of the derivatives of the word "law" and supply them in the sentences below.

a law, lawful, lawfully, lawless, lawlessness, lawyer

1. We cannot tolerate such ... behaviour.

2. Many doctors want to see ... banning all tobacco advertisements.

3. The widespread atmosphere of... has caused chaos and insecurity.

4. Judge Keenan concluded that the surveillance had been ... .

5. Jake Coker, ... for a number of those detained, said yesterday that she would be making applications for habeas corpus.

6. Such a policy could not... be adopted.

Ex. 8. Match the words with their definitions.

prosecutor, judge, barrister, solicitor, legalese, painstaking, eventuality, loophole, ambiguous, litigate

1. a lawyer in Britain, Australia, etc. who is qualified to argue a case in higher and lower law courts;

2. having or expressing more than one possible meaning, sometimes intentionally;

3. a person who is in charge of a trial in a court and decides how a person who is guilty of a crime should be punished, or who makes decisions on legal matters;

4. a legal representative who officially accuses someone of committing a crime, esp. in a court of law;

5. formal language which is similar to the language in which legal documents are written and is difficult to understand;

6. the cause (an argument) to be discussed in a law court so that a judgement can be made which must be accepted by both sides;

7. extremely careful and correct, and using a lot of effort;

8. a chance to avoid doing something or to do something because of a mistake in the way rules or laws have been written;

9. a type of lawyer in Britain and Australia who is trained to give advice about the law and sometimes to represent people in court;

10. something unpleasant or unexpected that might happen or exist in the future;

Ex. 9 How are the following ideas expressed in the text?

1. a lawyer who has the right of speaking and arguing in the higher courts of law;

2. a kind of lawyer who gives advice, appears in lower courts;

3. allowed or made by law;

4. a room or building in which law cases can be heard and judged;

5. questions to be decided in a court of law;

6. a rule that is supported by the power of government and that governs the behaviour of members of a society;

7. a person whose business is to advise people about laws and to represent them in court;

8. a person who speaks in defence of or in favour of another person;

9. a lawyer who prepares an official paper by which the right to ownership of one’s property is given by one person to another;

10. a person who pays a professional person for help and advice;

11. a public official who has the power to decide questions brought before a court of law.

Ex. 10. Match English and Russian equivalents.

to accept the rules	быть профессиональным адвокатом
council for the defence	защищать обвиняемого
to appear in the court	незначительные преступления
legal executive	составлять завещание
to conduct the case	искать юридического совета
to hire a barrister	толкование закона
to advice	иметь дело с составлением нотариальных актов
matrimonial matters	возврат долгов
petty crimes	брачные (супружеские) вопросы
recovery of debts	вести уголовное дело
to make a will	обращаться в суд
to deal with conveyancing	получить диплом юриста
to seek legal advice	гражданское дело
to apply to the court	юрист широкого профиля
a civil action	консультировать
a general practitioner	вести дело
the interpretation of the law	нанимать адвоката
to defend the accused person	законные исполнители
to be a professional advocate	принимать правила
to obtain a law degree	защитник обвиняемого
to prosecute in a criminal case	выступать в суде

Ex. 11. Choose the best alternative to complete the following sentences.

1. In the prosecution / trial duties he had to interview people of all classes.

2. Judges / solicitors determine controversies between parties based upon evidence and legal agreement present.

3. Everyone stood up as the judge / witness entered the courtroom. Judge / clerk Butler gave the defendant a six-month jail sentence.

4. The chief prosecutor / barrister told the court that Johnson was guilty of a horrible crime and asked for the maximum sentence. A special prosecutor / investigator was appointed to deal with that particular case.

5. He pays very little tax because of some loophole / espionage in income tax legislation. Some countries have found a loophole / treason in the laws protecting whales by claiming that they use the whales in research.

6. After years of painstaking research / leave we finally come up with the right formula.

7. The government will never legalize / ban drugs like hashish or cocaine.

8. The results of the experiments were ambiguous / distinct and they will have to be done again.

9. His solicitor / public prosecutor assembles the materials necessary for presentation to the court and settles cases out of court, so barrister doesn’t prepare the case from the start.

10. We must be prepared for any eventuality /traditionally.

11. England is almost unique / ordinary in having two / three different kinds of lawyers, with separate / the same jobs in the legal system.

12. Solicitors / managing clerks prepare a case for a barrister / a judge.

13. In a civil / criminal action solicitors have the right to speak in the lowest / highest courts.

14. The law Society / the Bar is a governing body of solicitors.

15. It is a mistake to regard / to point a barrister entirely as an advocate / prosecutor.

16. Barristers are experts in the interpretation / examining of the Law.

17. Judges are usually chosen / appointed from the most senior / junior barristers.

18. The Queen’s Counsel / the Lord Chancellor is expected to appear only in the most important / trivial cases.

19. A number of lawyers is rapidly increasing / cutting down in England and Wales.

20. A lot of work in solicitors’/barristers’ offices is undertaken by legal executives / students.