The Legal Profession Flashcards
(43 cards)
What does the term legal profession mean?
Someone who develop, apply and advise a lay client on the law . Their activities are governed by regulatory bodies
In England and Wales the legal profession is split into?
Solicitors and barristers( counsel)
Which other professional is becoming increasingly important in legal work?
Chartered Legal Executives( can call themselves Fellows)
Which Act sets out that certain legal services can only be provided by prescribed persons?
The Legal Services Act 2007
Who are ‘ authorised persons’ found in schedule 4 of the Legal Services Act?
The law society- right if audience exercise, conduct litigation, reserved instrument activities, probate,administration of oaths
The General Council of the Bar- as above
The master of the faculties
The institute of chartered legal execs
The council for licenses conveyancers
The chartered institute of patent attorneys
And more in notes!
What does it mean to have ‘ a right of audience’?
It means the right to appear before and address the court, including the right to call and examine witnesses.
What does it mean by conducting litigation?
Issuing proceedings before any court in England and Wales
Commencement, prosecution, and defence of proceedings
Performance of ancillary functions e.g. Entering appearances to actions.
What is the solicitors role?
General day to day running of the case
Conducting correspondence in negotiations and gathering evidence
Paperwork- conveyancing, drawing up contracts,probate work and legal advice.
Provide advocacy services in magistrates court and county court, but not generally in high court.
What did the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
Access to Justice Act 1999 allow?
It gave solicitors equal rights to audience alongside barristers if they completed additional training.
Those without additional training could appear in chambers matters in the high court( judge sits in office rather than court)
Where do solicitors work?
Private practice or in house solicitors.
What percentage of barristers are self employed?
82 %
What is a barristers office called?
Chambers- a group of barristers working from the same office. They work in sets
Members of the set of barristers are known as tenants..
Who can act as a business manager in a chamber?
The clerk- barristers contribute to the running of the chambers and the clerks salary.
They are responsible for allocating work to the individual barrister and negotiation of fees.
Where do barristers receive the majority of their work?
From solicitors- the work is known as briefs and is accepted under the cab rank rule( they have to accept it as long as they are free to do so and it is their speciality and fees are reasonable.
What did the Public Access Rules 2004 do?
It allowed members of the public to instruct a barrister personally- and not through solicitor.
What does pro bono publico mean?
For the good of the people
What are the challenges of barristers day to day work?
Demanding long days of preparation
Travelling to courts around the country
The uncertainties of being self employed such as receiving the next brief and payment.
What can a barrister and solicitor become after 10 years of professional practice?
Queens Counsel( QC) referred to as silks.
Mostly barristers that become QCs
Those barristers that do not become QC are known as juniors who assist QCs in large cases.
What year have solicitors been eligible for appointment as QC?
1995
How are QCs appointed?
Since 2003, the appointments are the responsibility of the Bar Council and the Law Society.
It’s an open application process based on merit with references from judges, lawyers and clients.
Who challenged the system of QC?
The Office of Fair Trading in 2001.
They claimed that it was elitist and should be abolished. The Bar council argued that the system was important for providing specialist, experienced barristers.
What are Chartered Legal Executives?
They do similar work to solicitors but could be called paralegals.They are under the supervision of their employers.
They are cost effective and have lower salaries than solicitors- but could become a partner( alternative business structure)
The regulatory body is the chartered institute of Legal Executives.
Can a legal executive become a judge?
Yes, under the Legal Services Act 2007, they can conduct litigation and become judges.
They can also do extra study to become a solicitor.
What are licences conveyancers?
Provide services to the legal transfer of land.
The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 stopped the solicitors monopoly on conveyancing
