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B. Listen to the second part of the interview with the solicitor and fill in the blanks.

I: Hm. Could you say a little bit about the differences between being a 1)… and a 2)…?

S: Well, as you know, they are two different areas of the 3)… …. Having qualified – having obtained a 4)… … – you then either go down the avenue towards becoming a barrister or train to 5)… … … . The solicitor is the one who has personal contact with the public. If you have a 6)… … problem you go into the High Street where you find a 7)… … and you approach him as one would an ordinary family 8)….

I: Rather than go to a specialist …

S: Exactly. A solicitor's practice deals with all aspects of the 10)… on a general basis, whereas the barrister is a sort of 11)…. At the present time, a solicitor only 12)… … in the lower 13)…. When it comes to Crown Court or High Court cases, the barristers have almost a monopoly. They are the people who appear in front of the 14)… . Solicitors do not.

I: Almost a monopoly?

S: Yes, there are now advocate solicitors – a relatively 15)… … – who have the right to appear in Crown 16)… or High Court 17)… .

I: And more changes are on the way, aren't they?

S: Yes. It's generally accepted that there will soon be more 18)… whereby solicitors will be allowed to appear in 19)… … .

I: So, as things stand at the moment, if a member of the public – a layman – wants to contact a barrister directly 20)...

S: He can't. 21)… cannot as yet be approached by the general public. So you go to a 22)… and then, if you need representation in a 23)… …, you normally go to barrister's chambers accompanied by 24)… … . Of course, a solicitor can contact a barrister directly for, for example, a written opinion on some complex question of 25)…. But for the general public, it's rather like going to a 26)… after seeing your G.P. (i.e. general practitioner) However, this system is gradually breaking down and, with the 27)… …, things will 28)… considerably.

I: Don't barristers see this 29)… … as a threat?

S: Well, yes, many barristers certainly do. But, as a 30)…, I'm bound to say that I think it's a move in the 31)… ….

I: And how will this affect you and your 32)…?

S: Well, as I said, we're a small practice. But we're looking to expand. And one way of doing so is in the fusion of the 33)… …. The small practices – especially the one-man solicitor outfits – are disappearing. Practices are becoming multi-disciplined; when you go into a 34)… …, there is a specialist in each individual 35)…. And eventually we will have barristers within the practice as specialists in their own field.

I: How, in fact, is a barrister's training 36)… … a solicitor's?

S: Well, like a solicitor, you would sit professional 37)… and then enter pupillage, the barrister's equivalent to articled clerkship, except that it only lasts for a 38)…. You would be attached to a barrister's chambers under a master and there you learn your trade with him.

I: When is a barrister called to the Bar?

S: Oh, this happens before the term of pupillage.

I: So, being called to the Bar doesn't mean setting up as a 39)….



S: No, no. You are called to the Bar by one of the Inns of Court when you 40)… … … . Then, after your year's pupillage, you hope to get tenancy which means, literally, being given an office in the chambers where you have been a 41)… . It's when you get tenancy that you become a 42)… .

I: And are there, shall we say, grades of barrister?

S: Well, there are Q.C.s – Queen's Counsels – who, in order to become this, have to 'take silk'.

I: Which means?

S: Well, it means in effect that they are promoted. But it's their own 43)… . It's not 44)… that they have earned in any way. They decide to 'take silk' themselves. The gown that Q.C.s wear 45)… … is made of silk, hence the expression.

I: And what's the difference between a Q.C. and an ordinary 46)…?

S: Well, as Q.C.s they concentrate completely on 47)… .

I: You mean they don't do anything else except 48)… … in 49)…?

S: Basically, 50)… . All the preparatory 51)… is done by their seconds. And being a Q.C. is often a stop on the way to becoming a 52)….

I:And have you ever had any 53)… to become a 54)…?

S: Oh, good heavens 55)…. If I’d any ambition in that direction, I’d have become a 56)…. No, in the present system, I think, I’ve chosen the right direction. I have direct 57)… with 58)… … and I get enormous satisfaction from giving them the 59)… … I can provide as their solicitor.

 


Date: 2015-12-24; view: 656


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A. Pre-listening activities | B. Listen to the interview with Janet Stephenson, the new Bar Chairman and fill in the blanks.
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