Lawyers at work

Explanatory notes:

libel matter – дело, содержащее клевету через печать

Amnesty International – организация «Международная амнис

тия»

Legal Aid Board – Совет по оказанию правовой помощи

Lawyers with the same qualifications and professional title may be doing very different kinds of work. Most towns in the United States, for example, have small firms of who are in daily contact with ordinary people, giving advice and acting on matters such as consumer affairs, traffic accident disputes and for the sale of land. Some may also prepare for clients accused of crimes.

However, in both the United States and other industrialized countries, are becoming more and more specialized. Working in small firms, lawyers now tend to restrict themselves to certain kinds of work, and lawyers working in large law firms or in the law department of a large commercial enterprise work on highly specific areas of law. One lawyer may be employed by an oil company just to prepare for the supply of oil. Another may work for a newspaper advising the editors on libel matters. Another may be part of a Wall Street firm of over a hundred lawyers who specialize in advising stockbrokers on share transactions.

As well as the type of work, the working conditions and pay among members of the also vary greatly. For some people, the image of a lawyer is someone who leads a very wealthy and comfortable life. However, it should not be forgotten that there are also lawyers whose lives are not so secure. The Wall Street ---------- probably earns a high salary, but the small firm giving advice to members of the public on welfare rights or immigration -- may have to restrict salaries in order to stay in business.

There are lawyers in developing countries whose business with fee-paying clients subsidizes the work they agree to do for little or no payment for citizens’ rights groups. Lawyers involved in human rights may even find their profession is a dangerous one. Amnesty International research shows that more than 60 lawyers investigating cases against people accused of political crimes were murdered in 1990.

In countries where the government ensures that all people have access to a lawyer in an emergency, there are firms that specialize in dealing with people who would not be able to pay for out of their own pocket. For example, in England anyone facing criminal prosecution is entitled to choose a firm of lawyers to represent him. If his income is below a certain level he will not be asked to pay: the firm will keep a record of its costs and will apply to the government-funded Legal Aid Board for payment.

1. In what way are the lawyers becoming more and more specialized?

2. Profession of what lawyers is considered to be a dangerous one?

3. Who pays for legal services of people whose income is below a certain level?

Ex.20 Translate Text Einto Russian in writing. Use a dictionary.

Text E

Lawyers come from a variety of backgrounds and do a variety of work. As a profession they often appear rather remote and difficult to understand. Perhaps one reason for this is legalese – the strange and incomprehensible language so many lawyers seem to write and speak. This is not just a feature of English-speaking lawyers. People all over the world complain that they cannot understand court proceedings or legal documents.

Of course all professions have their own jargon. The use of some special words can be justified because they refer to matters which are important to a particular profession but not important to most people in everyday life. But sometimes it seems that jargon is a way of creating a mystery about a profession of distinguishing people on the inside (economists, doctors, teachers) from those on the outside.

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Ex.21 Translate Text Finto Russian in writing. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Text F

The different styles of training reflect the different worlds that the two kinds of lawyers live in, and also the different skills that they develop. Solicitors have to deal with the realities of the everyday world and its problems. Most of their work is done away from the courts. They often become experts in the details of particular areas of the law. Barristers, on the other hand, live a more rarefied existence. For one thing, they tend to come from the upper strata of society. Furthermore, their protection from everyday realities is increased by certain legal rules. For example, they are not supposed to talk to any of their clients, or to their client’s witnesses, except in the presence of the solicitor who has hired them. They are experts on general principles of the law rather than on details, and they acquire the special skill of eloquence in public speaking. When they present a case in court, they, like judges, put on the archaic gown and wig which, it is supposed, emphasize the impersonal majesty of the law.

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Ex.22 Render Text G into English.

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