Solicitor: Job description

Barristers

Barristers (in England and Wales) are specialists in advocacy, and represent individuals or organizations in court. They are independent sources of legal advice and can advise clients on their case. Generally, they are hired by solicitors to represent a case in court and only become involved once advocacy before a court is needed. They plead the case on behalf of the client and the client’s solicitor.

Barristers usually specialize in particular areas of law such as criminal law, chancery law (estates and trusts), commercial law, and common law, which includes family, housing and personal injury law.

Most barristers work on a self-employed basis, while others work in government departments or agencies such as the Crown Prosecution Service and the government legal service. An increasing number of employed barristers work in private and public organizations, such as charities.

Self-employed barristers work in offices called chambers, and may have their own office or share one with other barristers.

In Scotland, advocates have a comparable role and have rights of audience in all Scottish courts.

Typical work activities

Barristers are generally involved in the following range of work activities:

• taking instruction from clients and their solicitors;
• understanding and interpreting the law;
• mastering and managing legal briefs (cases);
• researching relevant points of law;
• writing opinions and advising solicitors and other professionals;
• preparing cases for court, including holding client conferences, preparing legal arguments, etc.;
• presenting arguments in court;
• examining and cross-examining witnesses;
• advising on matters of law and evidence;
• drafting legal documents;
• negotiating settlements.

The area of a barrister's practice will largely determine the balance and emphasis of these activities. For example:

ü the work of a criminal barrister is likely to involve a lot of advocacy in court;

ü a family law barrister may be representing clients in court in a contact dispute or divorce case, but may also be involved in mediation as a way of avoiding the need to go to court;

ü barristers practicing chancery/commercial law are generally in court far less than those in other practice areas and instead spend far more time undertaking drafting and advisory work.

Employed barristers undertake similar activities for one company or client. At more senior levels, they may also become involved with the development of legal policy and strategy.

Barristers also contribute to the collective running and management of chambers, particularly with respect to the recruitment of pupils and other tenants.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/barrister_job_description.htm

вариант № 2

Solicitor: Job description

Solicitors provide expert legal support and advice to clients. They take instructions from clients and advise on necessary courses of legal action. Clients can be individuals, groups, public sector organizations or private companies.

Depending on their area of expertise solicitors can advise on a range of issues, including:

· personal issues - buying and selling residential property, landlord and tenant agreements, wills and probate, matrimonial and family matters, personal injury claims and criminal litigation;

· commercial work - helping new enterprises get established, advising on complex corporate transactions and business-related disputes;

· protecting the rights of individuals.

Solicitors may also use some of their time to represent clients who are unable to pay for legal services themselves.

Typical work activities

Once qualified, solicitors can work in private practice, in-house for a commercial or industrial organization, in local or national government or in the court services. Specific work activities will vary depending on the setting. Activities will also depend on the solicitor’s area of specialism and the nature of the case. However, typical activities can include:

ü meeting and interviewing clients to establish the firm's suitability to provide the necessary advice and services, based on the firm’s specialism and likely cost;

ü taking a client’s instructions;

ü advising a client on the law and legal issues relating to their case;

ü drafting documents, letters and contracts tailored to the client’s individual needs;

ü negotiating with clients and other professionals to secure agreed objectives;

ü researching and analyzing documents;

ü supervising the implementation of agreements;

ü coordinating the work of all parties involved;

ü corresponding with clients and opposing solicitors;

ü attending meetings and negotiations with opposing parties;

ü acting on behalf of clients in disputes and representing them in court;

ü instructing barristers or specialist advocates to appear in court for the client in complex disputes;

ü preparing papers for court;

ü arranging and attending further client meetings where necessary to progress with the case and finalize documentation;

ü checking all documentation prior to signing and implementing;

ü calculating claims for damages, compensation, maintenance, etc.;

ü administrative duties, for example completing time sheets so that charges for work can be calculated, billing clients for work done on their behalf;

ü keeping up to date with changes and developments in the law by reading journals and law reports, etc.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/solicitor_job_description.htm

вариант № 3. Police officers

Police officers work in close collaboration with the communities they serve to maintain law and order, protect members of the public and their property, prevent crime, reduce the fear of crime and improve the quality of life for all citizens.

Police officers work in partnership with the public using a wide range of technology to protect individuals, identify the perpetrators of crime and ensure successful prosecutions against those who break the law.

Key priorities for the 53 police forces in the UK are maintaining public order through combating organized crime, acting against anti-social behaviour, and countering the threat of terrorism. Police officers work closely with members of the criminal justice system, social workers, schools, local businesses, health trusts, housing authorities, town planners and community groups of every kind to provide advice, education and assistance to those who wish to reduce crime or have been affected by crime.

The new crime strategy, Cutting Crime: A New Partnership 2008-2011, (England and Wales) delivers a fresh approach to tackling crime and identifies new areas for police focus, including greater flexibility for local forces to deliver local priorities.

In Scotland, priorities are decided by the Justice Department of the Scottish Government and local implementation is conducted by police forces taking into account local variables.

Typical work activities

The work of a police officer is both challenging and diverse. On entry, and during initial training, activities are likely to include:

ü providing a visible presence to deter crime;

ü conducting patrol duties on foot, by car and bicycle;

ü developing community knowledge to identify individuals and locations at risk of being involved in crime;

ü responding to calls and requests from the public to assist at incidents;

ü keeping the peace at public meetings, social events, processions, trade disputes or strikes;

ü diffusing potentially volatile situations with due regard to the safety of all involved;

ü acting with sensitivity when dealing with situations such as delivering news of a sudden death to a family or when dealing with sexual crimes;

ü conducting initial investigations, gathering evidence, taking statements and complying with relevant legal requirements;

ü interviewing suspects, victims and witnesses;

ü conducting arrests;

ü preparing crime reports and presenting case files to senior officers;

ü attending and giving evidence in court and at other hearings;

ü completing administrative procedures;

ü submitting internal crime reports and criminal intelligence reports;

ü investigating and taking action on criminal information received from members of the public;

ü gathering, recording and analyzing intelligence to achieve community safety and crime reduction and providing crime prevention;

ü enforcing road traffic legislation and issuing fixed penalties;

ü dealing with lost or found property, etc.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/police_officer_job_description.htm

вариант № 4

Licensed conveyancers

Licensed conveyancers are specialist property lawyers who work on behalf of clients buying or selling property (houses, flats, business premises or land). They deal with all the legal matters, paperwork and queries involved in a property transaction.

Conveyancers process and agree contracts, transfers, mortgages and leases and draw up all the documents that sellers and purchasers must sign in the course of a transaction. They advise clients on the technical content of the documents and their financial implications. They may act on behalf of the vendor or the purchaser, and in certain circumstances for both in the same transaction.

Typical work activities

Specific tasks involved include:

ü taking instructions from clients;

ü sending terms of engagement and estimates of fees and disbursements;

ü obtaining or checking Land Registry documents or title deeds (if the land is unregistered);

ü drafting or checking sales contracts and agreeing terms with the lawyer acting for the other party to the transaction;

ü collating and sending or checking supporting documents;

ü exchanging contracts and completing the transaction;

ü dealing with all financial aspects of a transaction;

ü if the property is leasehold, obtaining the landlord’s agreement to the sale or the change of mortgage and dealing with apportionments of rent and service charges.

Specific tasks for purchase transactions include:

Ø carrying out and checking pre-contract searches by checking whether the property is affected by local authority proposals, leases, easements or covenants, mortgages, land tax, susceptibility to flooding or subsidence, or liability for unsound building structures and repairs;

Ø receiving and checking mortgage instructions from lenders and undertaking specific tasks required;

Ø preparing transfer and mortgage deeds;

Ø receiving mortgage funds;

Ø paying Stamp Duty and Land Tax and dealing with the registration of client and lender with the Land Registry.

Overall, conveyancers spend most of their time researching information, communicating with clients and others in person, on the phone, by letter or by email, completing forms and drafting documents. They seek to protect their clients’ interests at all times, while taking precautions against potential fraud and money laundering.

More and more conveyancing tasks are now being done online and most firms use a computerized case management system.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/licensed_conveyancer_job_description.htm

вариант № 5

Private investigators

A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI), private detective or (informally) private eye, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services.

Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims. Before the advent of no-fault divorce, many private investigators were hired to search out evidence of adultery or other conduct within marriage to establish grounds for a divorce. Despite the lack of legal necessity for such evidence in many jurisdictions, according to press reports collecting evidence of adultery or other "bad behaviour" by spouses and partners is still one of the most profitable activities investigators undertake, as the stakes being fought over now are child custody, alimony, or marital property disputes.

Private investigators can also be used to perform due diligence for an investor who may be considering investing money with a investment group, fund manager or other high risk business or investment venture.

Many jurisdictions require PIs to be licensed, and they may or may not carry firearms depending on local laws. Some are ex-police officers, some are former law enforcement agents, some are ex-spies and some are ex-military, some used to work in a private military company, some are former bodyguards and security guards, although many are not. While PIs may investigate criminal matters, most do not have police powers, and as such they cannot arrest or detain suspects. They are expected to keep detailed notes and to be prepared to testify in court regarding any of their observations on behalf of their clients. Great care is required to remain within the scope of the law, otherwise the investigator may face criminal charges. Irregular hours may also be required when performing surveillance work.

PIs also engage in a large variety of work that is not usually associated with the industry in the mind of the public. For example, many PIs are involved in process serving, the personal delivery of summons, subpoenas and other legal documents to parties in a legal case. The tracing of absconding debtors can also form a large part of a PI's work load. Many agencies specialize in a particular field of expertise. For example, some PI agencies deal only in tracing. Others may specialize in technical surveillance counter-measures (TSCM), sometimes called electronic counter measures (ECM), which is the locating and dealing with unwanted forms of electronic surveillance (for example, a bugged boardroom for industrial espionage purposes). Other PIs, also known as Corporate Investigators, specialize in corporate matters, including anti-fraud work, the protection of intellectual property and trade secrets, anti-piracy, copyright infringement investigations, due diligence investigations and computer forensics work.

Increasingly, modern PIs prefer to be known as "professional investigators" or Licensed Private Investigators (LPI's) rather than "private investigators" or "private detectives". This is a response to the image that is sometimes attributed to the profession and an effort to establish and demonstrate the industry to be a proper and respectable profession. However, in 2009 a Toronto Star journalist obtained a private investigator's license in Ontario with no training, and reported that other Ontarians had done the same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_investigator