The Legal Profession

Unit 1A / Foundation
THE LEGAL PROFESSION

Unit 1A / Foundation
WORKING IN LAW
Exercise 1
Look at this list of legal occupations. All of these people work in law. We call all of the people who work
in these jobs, ‘the legal profession’. Match the jobs with one of the descriptions.

 Solicitor  Attorney  Barrister  Lawyer

a This person is a lawyer who gives legal advice and opinions to solicitors. He or she passed the
exams of the Bar Council of England & Wales at the end of his or her studies.

b This person is a lawyer who gives legal advice to individuals and companies. He or she passed his
or her exams in the USA at the end of his or her studies and is usually a member of the American
Bar Association.

c This person is a lawyer who gives legal advice to individuals and companies. He or she passed the
exams of the Law Society of England & Wales at the end of his or her studies.

d This the general job title that we use for people who work as a solicitor, barrister or attorney.

Exercise 2
Read this text about working in law. The most important words are in the key vocabulary below. Decide if
the statements on the next page are true or false.

Key vocabulary
l lawyer l practise l barristers l law firm
l attorney l judge l training contract l acting for
l qualified l legal practice l partnership l represent
l litigation l advocacy l pleading a case l specialise
l right of audience l appear l solicitors l clients

There are two types of lawyer who practise in who work together. Solicitors practise in many areas
England. They are called barristers and solicitors. of law, although each solicitor usually chooses to
In the USA and most other countries, lawyers don’t specialise in one particular area. They represent their
make this division – a lawyer is simply known as an clients both in and out of court. We often describe
attorney at law, or an attorney. this as acting for a client. The process of making a
claim in the civil court is called litigation.
In both England and the USA, it is not possible to
take a special exam to be a judge. If you decide Barristers are self-employed lawyers and don’t work
that you want to be a judge, you must get a lot of in partnerships in the way that solicitors do. They
experience as a lawyer first, then apply to be a are specialists in advocacy, which is the skill of
judge and wait to see if you are chosen. speaking for someone in court. We call this
pleading a case. They also give opinions on areas
Most law students in England become solicitors.
of law to solicitors and the solicitors’ clients. It is
When they finish their university studies they do a one
not just barristers who have the right of audience
year legal practice course and then a two-year
in court – solicitors are also allowed to represent
training contract with a law firm. After that, they are
their clients in court and many solicitors appear in
qualified solicitors. Many solicitors work for a legal
court every day. It is not true to say that a client
practice, which is usually a partnership of solicitors
always needs a barrister in court.
© Catherine Mason & Rosemary Atkins 2007 9
Unit 1A / Foundation

a There are two types of lawyer practising in England.  True  False

b Last year I finished my training contract and I started working for a  True  False
large international law firm. I am now a qualified lawyer.

c Only barristers can speak on behalf of clients in court.  True  False

d Many solicitors work together in partnerships but barristers don’t.  True  False

e In the USA and England lawyers can take a special exam to be a judge.  True  False

MAKING A CLAIM IN THE CIVIL COURT

In the English and American legal systems we divide the law into two main areas. These are criminal law
and civil law.
This means that everything that is not a criminal matter is a civil matter.

Exercise 1
Look at these situations and decide if the person needs a criminal lawyer or a civil lawyer.
In other words, is it a criminal matter or a civil matter?

a Mr Bellerby is opening a new factory. He d Mr Flynn owns a restaurant. He has a

needs to visit a lawyer to get a contract for contract with a company to deliver fruit and
all of his employees to sign. vegetables to his restaurant. The company
didn’t deliver them on the agreed date, so
 criminal  civil
Mr Flynn lost money because he could not
b Mrs Robson is thinking about what she wants open his restaurant that day. Mr Flynn needs
to happen to her house and possessions after to see a lawyer about asking the delivery
her death. She needs to visit a lawyer to get company to give him the money he lost.
the correct document, which is called a ‘will’.
 criminal  civil
 criminal  civil
e Mr Allen is a bank manager. The bank is
c The police are taking Mr Dean to the police saying that some money is missing. Mr Allen
station because they say he stole a car. He has a new car and expensive clothes. The
needs a lawyer to come and visit him there police are coming to ask Mr Allen some
to tell him what to do. questions. He needs a lawyer immediately.
 criminal  civil  criminal  civil

Help desk

What do these words mean?

criminal law – the law that punishes acts a matter – a subject or situation, e.g. a criminal
against a person or against property that people matter, a civil matter.
consider to be harmful to the whole community.
a will – a legal document in which a person gives
The state prosecutes criminals.
details of what they want to happen to their
civil law – the law concerning the rights and property after their death.
duties of private individuals and companies
to steal (stole) – to take something that belongs
rather than criminal matters.
to someone else with the intention of keeping it.

10 © Catherine Mason & Rosemary Atkins 2007

 Unit 1A / Foundation
Exercise 2
Read the information below. It is about starting a claim in the civil court. Decide if the statements under it
are true or false.

Starting a claim in the civil court Why might a claimant start a claim? There are a lot
When you are in dispute with another person of reasons, for example:
sometimes it is necessary to start a claim in the
l someone refuses to pay you money that they
civil court. We sometimes call this process ‘filing a
owe to you
claim’ or ‘issuing a claim’. Lawyers also say,
‘starting proceedings’. We do not use the verb ‘to l someone does a job for you, but they do it
prosecute’ in civil law because that verb is only badly – we call this bad workmanship
used in criminal law. In England most civil claims l something that you paid for is not supplied to you
are filed in the County Court. There are over 200
l something that you bought is not working properly.
County Courts in England and Wales. Most cities
and large towns have a County Court.
The claimant has to pay a sum of money, called a
The person who starts the claim is called the court fee, for the court to issue proceedings. In the
claimant in the UK. This person was called the claim form, the claimant must state the amount of
plaintiff until 1999, when there were new court his or her claim and request the defendant to pay
rules in England to make everything easier for all of the legal costs of the case.
people to understand. However, in the USA the
Sometimes people talk about ‘the small claims
claimant is still called the plaintiff. In both England
court’. They really mean the special procedure that
and the USA the other party is called the defendant.
exists at the County Court for small claims. A small
A claim form is the document that a claimant uses claim is a claim for a maximum amount of £5000.
to start legal action against the defendant.

a Starting a claim means the same as starting proceedings.  True  False

b You can ‘prosecute’ someone in the civil court.  True  False

c There are more than 200 County Courts in England and Wales.  True  False

d The word ‘plaintiff’ is not used in England any more but it is used  True  False
in the USA.

e It is free to start a claim in the County Court.  True  False

f There is a special court in a separate building for making small claims.  True  False

Help desk

What do these words mean?

to be in dispute – to have a serious legal costs – the court fees and payment for the
disagreement with another person. lawyer who is acting for you.

a party to a court case – the claimant or the a procedure – a decided way of doing
defendant. something.

to owe money to someone – to have to pay to prosecute – to take legal action against
someone for something that they have done for someone in the criminal court.
you or given to you.

© Catherine Mason & Rosemary Atkins 2007 11

Unit 1A / Foundation

Exercise 3
Here are some important expressions which lawyers use when they talk about starting a claim in the civil
court. Complete the sentences by matching the first half of each sentence with the correct ending.

(*) To issue a claim means to… …confirm that you have received the claim and
to say what you will do next.
a To pay a fee means to… …start a claim in the civil court.

…listen to the details of the claim and listen to

b To serve a claim upon someone means to… what the claimant and the defendant say about
their dispute.
c To respond to a claim means to… …pay the court an amount of money for issuing
the claim.
d To hear a case means to… …can legally take a person’s property when that
person does not pay money that he or she owes.
e To find in favour of someone means to… …officially announce the result of the case. The
judge may give the reasons for the decision.
f To give a judgment means to… …send the claim to the defendant’s address
and make sure that he or she receives it.
g To make an order means to… …decide that this person has won the case.

…officially state what someone has to do, and

h A bailiff is a person who… how and when he or she must do it.

Exercise 4
Here are the steps in which a claim goes through the County Court. Fill the gaps with a word from Exercise 3.

a The claimant _______________ a claim in the County Court.

b The claimant will have to pay a _______________. The amount depends on the amount of money that
the claimant is claiming.

c The court or the claimant’s solicitor _______________ the claim upon the defendant. This means that
they send it to the defendant’s address and make sure that the defendant receives it.

d The defendant has 14 days from the day he or she receives the claim to _______________ to it. The
defendant can admit the claim, which means to agree that the claim is right, and pay the money that
the claimant wants, or the defendant can defend the claim.

e If the defendant decides to defend the claim, a judge will _______________ the case in the County Court.

f The judge will give his or her judgment. The judge will _______________ in favour of the claimant or
the defendant.

g The parties must follow the terms of the _______________ that the judge makes and they must make
sure that they obey any instructions about time limits.

h If the order says that the defendant must pay money to the claimant then the claimant can use the
services of a _______________ to collect that money if the defendant does not pay.

12 © Catherine Mason & Rosemary Atkins 2007

AREAS OF LAW

Unit 1A / Foundation
Exercise 1
In England and the USA there is an area of law called ‘the law of tort’. It is the law of civil responsibility.
It is an area of civil law.

Read this text about the law of tort. The most important words are in the key vocabulary below. Answer the
questions that follow, using a full sentence.

Key vocabulary
l law of tort l carelessness l tort l damages
l injured person l committed l to sue l grounds
l allegations l negligence l no win-no fee l breach

The law of tort says that everyone has a civil duty Negligence means that someone was not careful
to be careful and not to hurt or harm another enough and this person’s carelessness hurt
person. Lawyers call this civil duty, ‘the duty of another person as a result. The person who is hurt
care’. Sometimes people breach this duty of care. is called the injured person.
To breach means to break. Very often they breach
When someone hurts you as a result of his or her
the duty of care by accident but sometimes they do
actions, you need to consult a lawyer who
it deliberately. If someone hurts or harms another
specialises in the right area of tort. The lawyer will
person because of a breach, we call this harmful
try to get you money from the careless person. This
action a tort. This means that some things that
money is called ‘compensation’ or, more correctly,
might be criminal in your legal system are a tort in
‘damages’. Sometimes the lawyers can’t agree on
England and the USA.
the amount of damages. When this happens, the
Look at the list of harmful actions below. In England injured person may decide to sue the person who
and the USA they are usually torts. has hurt them. Suing someone is a more informal
way of saying starting proceedings against
l leaving the floor of a shop in a dangerous
someone. The claim form will state the claimant’s
condition so that a customer falls and hurts
allegations against the defendant. An allegation is
her leg
like an accusation – the claimant is stating that
l saying something that is bad about someone, something happened, but the defendant has the
which isn’t true opportunity to say this is not true. The reasons for
l writing a story in a newspaper about someone, going to court are called ‘the grounds’. The
which isn’t true grounds for an action in tort are that the defendant
committed a tort.
l playing loud music late every night, which
disturbs your neighbours Sometimes a lawyer who specialises in the tort of
negligence makes an agreement with a client. The
This area of law is easier to understand by thinking agreement is that if the client does not win the case
of a tort as being a type of civil wrong. Each of the then he or she does not have to pay for the lawyer’s
torts listed above has a special name. The tort that services. This is called a ‘no win-no fee’
happens most often is called negligence. arrangement. It is allowed in the UK and the USA.

Example question: What is the duty of care?

Example answer: The duty of care is the obligation to be careful and not to hurt anyone.
a How do lawyers say to ‘break’ a duty of care?
Answer:

b In England and the USA, is the law of tort an area of criminal or civil law?
Answer:

© Catherine Mason & Rosemary Atkins 2007 13

 c There are different types of tort. In general, what is a tort?
Unit 1A / Foundation

Answer:

d What is the name of the tort that a person commits because he or she is careless and hurts someone
else as a result of this carelessness?
Answer:

e What does suing mean?

Answer:

f What is the correct name for the money that an injured person gets from the defendant in a successful
action in tort?
Answer:

g What is the correct name for an arrangement where a client does not have to pay his or her lawyer if
the client loses his or her action in tort?
Answer:

Exercise 2
Put a word from the key vocabulary in Exercise 1 into the following sentences.

a I am the owner of the shop because there was water on the floor and I fell and
hurt my back.

b I am a lawyer who specialises in the tort of . People are just not careful enough!
At the moment I am acting for the injured person in more than 20 different cases.

c The machines in the clothing factory were old and dangerous and one of the employees injured his
hand. The employee sued the factory owners and got £5000 in .

d In your claim form you accuse us of breaching our duty of care. We do not accept that your
are true and we will defend your claim in court.

e Do you have a good reason for suing the owner of the hotel? What exactly are your for
starting legal action?

Exercise 3
Here is a list of some important areas of law. Read what the lawyers say on the next page. They are talking
about the work they do. Match the lawyer with the correct area of law.

a law of contract f employment law

b company law g family law

c land law h immigration law

d law of tort i intellectual property law

e law of equity and trusts j criminal law

14 © Catherine Mason & Rosemary Atkins 2007

David ‘I work in New York. I deal with clients from other countries who want to come and live here. I help

Unit 1A / Foundation
them to get permission from the government to make their dream of living in the USA a reality.’
Tom ‘I am with a law firm in Manchester. I am now in the second year of my training contract.
At the moment I deal with clients who are buying or selling their house. It’s my job to make
sure everything is correct and that the sale is valid and legal.’
Jennifer ‘I work in a very exciting area of law here in Los Angeles. I meet a lot of writers and musicians
and sometimes even people from movie studios! I protect their rights and make sure that
no-one can copy their work and make money from it without their permission.’
Alistair ‘When I write the story of my life I will call my book, "Robbers, Murderers and other Friends of
mine!" I work in Edinburgh, which is in Scotland. I defend people who are in trouble with the
police. They may even go to prison! It is my job to help them.’
Sunitta ‘I work in Sydney, Australia. I give advice to people who are unhappy living together and they
want a divorce. Sometimes people argue about money or the care of the children. It’s a difficult
area of law and I feel very sympathetic towards my clients.’
Cory ‘I work in Chicago. I am quite famous on TV here in the USA. That’s because Channel 10 show
my advertisement five times every day! I ask people to call me if they were hurt or were in an
accident because somebody else wasn’t careful enough. If people are not careful, then I’m
afraid they will have to pay damages!’
Kayleigh ‘I work in Christchurch, New Zealand. Most of my clients have problems at work. I saw a lady
this morning who is going to have a baby. When she told her boss that she is pregnant, he fired
her from her job. That is not legal in New Zealand and I will help her to do something about it.’
Michael ‘I work for a very big London law firm. Our clients are banks and other big businesses. Today
I am working on a merger agreement, which means that two companies are joining together to
become one. Yesterday I advised a new client who wants to start an internet company on the
different ways he can do it.’
Mary ‘I am based in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. I see people or companies who want to make a
legal agreement with another person or company. Today I am dealing with an agreement to
deliver goods from Ireland to the USA. I have to check every word very carefully!’
Polly ‘I work in a very old and interesting area of law. Today I met a client who is 70 years old and
has no family. When she dies, she wants to put all of her money into a special fund. Her two
friends will use this money to help pay for a training school for actors and actresses from her
home city here in Liverpool. I explained to her how to do that and I will draft the necessary legal
documents for her.’

Help desk
What do these words mean?
to deal with someone or something – to do a divorce – the legal ending of a marriage.
business with someone or to take the correct
to merge – (in company law) when two
action in an area of work.
companies join together to form one.
legal – allowed by the law.
to be based somewhere – to be established
valid – legally correct and acceptable. somewhere as the main place where you work
or live.
to draft a document - to write a document.
goods – things that are produced so that they
to have a right – (in intellectual property law) to
can be sold.
have a legal interest in something; it is yours.
fund – an amount of money that a person or
robber – a person who steals money or property
organisation keeps to pay for something
using or threatening to use violence.
in particular.

© Catherine Mason & Rosemary Atkins 2007 15

Unit 1A / Foundation

Exercise 4
Choose a word or phrase from the box to complete the sentences.

l drafting l criminal law l goods l the law of tort

l the law of equity l valid l intellectual l family law
and trusts property law
l based in l merged

a A lawyer who deals with clients who are in trouble with the police is a specialist in .

b Last year my bank with a big German bank and they are now called EuropBank.
I think they are the biggest bank in Europe now!

c A lawyer who deals with clients who create new inventions such as medicines or machines, or new
artistic works such as books or music, is a specialist in .

d I spent three hours this morning a contract for my new client. I think the contract is
ready for him to read and sign now.

e I want to put some of my money into a fund for the benefit of my grandchildren, which they will have
when they reach the age of 18. I need to see a lawyer who is a specialist in .

f Well, I am from London but I am Amsterdam at the moment because I’m working
for a Dutch company.

g A lawyer who deals with clients who are divorcing or who have problems over the care of their
children is a specialist in .

h The company delivers all over the United States by rail and by truck.

i A lawyer who deals with people who breach their civil duty of care is a specialist in .

j That contract is not because your client hasn’t signed it.

Exercise 5
Look at the words and phrases in the box. All of the words are connected with specific areas of law. Match
each of the words with the correct definition.

l unfair dismissal l landlord l capital l redundancy

l lease of land and l maternity leave l sick pay l partnership
buildings l discriminate l insolvent l merger
l formation of a l tenant l conveyancing l real estate
business

a To be ________________________ means not having enough money to pay your debts.

b A ________________________ is the joining together of two or more things, such as companies, to

form one single thing or company.

c A ________________________ is a person who pays rent to the owner of a house, a flat or an office in
return for living there, or for using the building for business purposes.

16 © Catherine Mason & Rosemary Atkins 2007

d ________________________ is the legal process involved in transferring the ownership of a house or land

Unit 1A / Foundation
from the seller to the buyer.

e To ________________________ against someone means to behave differently towards that person,

usually in the workplace, because of their age, sex or the colour of their skin.

f ________________________ is a situation where someone loses his or her job for a reason that is not valid.

g ________________________ is money that an employer must pay to an employee when that employee
is ill and cannot work.

h A ________________________ is an agreement to allow someone to use land or buildings for a fixed

period of time in return for a payment of rent.

i The ________________________ is the establishment of a new business in a specific way.

j A ________________________ is a business which a minimum of two people own and control.

k ________________________ is the time period when a woman is not at work before and after the birth
of her baby. Her employer usually pays her for part or all of the time that she is away.

l ________________________ is the total amount of money, property and other assets that a business has.

m ________________________ is a situation where someone loses his or her job because an employer no
longer needs so many employees.

n A ________________________ is a person who owns a house, a flat or office and receives rent from
someone for allowing them to live there, or use the building for business purposes.

o ________________________ is a more formal way of saying land and houses.

Help desk
What do these words mean?
ownership – to have ownership of a property rent – the money that someone pays, usually
means that the property belongs to you. You are every month, to use a flat, a house or an office
the owner of the property. that belongs to someone else.
assets – things that a person or company owns. fixed – something that is fixed is certain and
debts – sums of money that you owe. cannot be changed.

Exercise 6
All of the words and phrases in Exercise 5 belong to either employment law, business law or land law. Put
each word or phrase under the correct area of law.

Employment law Business law Land law

© Catherine Mason & Rosemary Atkins 2007 17

Unit 1A / Foundation

Exercise 7
Complete the following sentences by using the words from the employment law section .

a My baby will arrive at the end of March so I will take six months’ ________________ starting on 1 March.

b He sued his employer on the grounds of ________________ because the reason his employer gave for
firing him was not valid.

c If you are ill and not able to work you should look at your contract to see if you can get ________________.

d It is against the law in England for an employer to ________________ against an employee because of
his or her age.

e Many employees are worried about ________________ because a lot of businesses are closing in this
area at the moment.

Exercise 8
Complete the following sentences by using the words from the business law section.

a The ________________ is the formal way of saying the way in which a new business is created.

b The total ________________ of the business is valued at approximately £32 million.

c The business does not have enough money to pay its debts and is ________________.

d There will be a ________________ next year between two major British chemical companies.

e My friend and I want to start a cleaning business together and we decided that the best thing to do is to
create a ________________.

Exercise 9
Complete the following sentences by using the words from the land law section.

a He is a very good ________________. He always pays the rent on time!

b My sister works in the Property department of her law firm. She acts for people who are buying and
selling houses. She is a specialist in ________________.

c We don’t own our house; we rent it. The ________________ ends in three months so we will have to find
somewhere else to live.

d He is the ________________ of five houses in this area. He makes a lot of money every month from the rent.

e The price of ________________ in this part of the country increased a lot last year. It is very expensive to
buy a house.

18 © Catherine Mason & Rosemary Atkins 2007

UNIT 1A VOCABULARY CHECK land law

Unit 1A / Foundation
landlord
These are the important words that you have law firm
studied in Unit 1A. You should make sure that the law of contract
you know these words before you go on to the law of equity and trusts
Unit 1B. the law of tort
lawyer
act for
lease
advocacy
legal
allegation
legal costs
appear
legal practice
attorney
litigation
bailiff
maternity leave
barrister
matter
to be based somewhere
merge
breach
negligence
capital
no win-no fee
carelessness
obligation
case
owe
civil law
to have ownership
claimant
client partnership
company law party
conveyancing plaintiff
criminal law plead a case
practise
damages
procedure
deal with
proceedings
debt
defendant to be qualified
discriminate real estate
dispute redundancy
divorce represent
draft respond
employment law to have a right
right of audience
family law
formation of a business serve
sick pay
goods
solicitor
grounds
specialise
harm
sue
hear
tenant
immigration law
tort
injured person
training contract
insolvent
unfair dismissal
intellectual property law
issue valid
judgment will

© Catherine Mason & Rosemary Atkins 2007 19