Gt; When and how to apply

Apply by 31st July two years before the start of the training contract.

To apply online, please click on this link: http://www.barkerrose.co.uk

We will pay your full course fees for both the GDL and LPC, plus maintenance of £6,000 during your GDL and £7,000 through your LPC study year.²

> Further information

If you would like further information, please contact Graham Matthews, our Graduate Recruitment and Trainee Manager, on 0650 581 8967 or by email at graduate.recruitment® barkerrose.co.uk.

Barker Rose will be presenting its Graduate Recruitment Programme at the University of London Law Fair on 15 May at 2.30 p.m. in the John Adams lecture theatre.

B the UK, different-class degrees are awarded as follows: 1 (a first), 2.1 (a two-one), 2.2 (a two-two), : 3 rhird).

Ihe Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) is a conversion course allowing those holding non-law degrees in any subject to convert to a career in law. After completing the GDL, students who want to become barristers he Bar Vocational Course (BVC) before entering the profession as pupil barristers. Students who it to become solicitors take the Legal Practice Course (LPC) before becoming trainee solicitors.

Unit i A career in law

17 Read these four descriptions of students and decide if they would be suitable for
the Barker Rose Graduate Recruitment Programme. Give reasons for your answers.

Andrea

Andrea is most interested in criminal law and has helped advise defendants of their rights at her university law clinic. She is very studious and is aiming for a first-class law degree.

Sandip

Sandip founded his own e-commerce business following a disappointing 2.2 law degree. He is now in great demand as a gifted dotcom consultant, but would like to pursue a career in commercial law.

Meral

Meral is interested in company law and is very ambitious. Her aim is to become a partner in a law firm by the age of 30. She would like to begin her training contract next year in order to get ahead as soon as possible.

Oren

Oren is a business-studies student and would like to pursue a career advising companies on mergers and acquisitions. He had originally wanted to start his own business, but decided on a career in law during his second year.

18 Discuss these questions with a partner.

1 Would the Barker Rose Graduate Recruitment Programme be of interest to you? Why (not)?

2 If you had the chance to speak to someone about the programme, what questions would you ask?

Writing: Short email

19 The Barker Rose Graduate Recruitment programme gives an email address
where you can write for more information. Write a short email asking the
questions you discussed in Exercise 18, question 2. Use the opportunity
to give some information about yourself, your professional and academic
background and why you are interested in applying for the programme.

Listening 2: Graduate recruitment programme

20 ^$1.2 Barker Rose are presenting their Graduate Recruitment Programme at
the University of London Law Fair. Listen to the first part of the presentation
and decide whether these statements are true (T), false (F) or not clear (NC).

1 The students at the presentation have recently taken their mid-term exams.

2 The speaker is a law graduate.

3 Most of the speaker's lawyer friends are partners in law firms.

4 The speaker will take questions during and at the end of the talk.

5 There were over 60 lawyers working for Barker Rose in 1979.

6 New associates can work in an area of law that interests them.

21 ^ci.3 Listen to the second part of the presentation and answer these questions.

1 How much do graduate trainees earn during their second year at Barker Rose?

2 How are year-end bonuses awarded?

3 What other benefits are paid for by the firm?

4 How many hours are associates expected to bill per year?

5 After how many years are some associates considered for partnership?

22 Some words can have several meanings. Choose the best explanation (a or b)
for each of these words or phrases as they are used in the presentation.

1 a partner

a one of the owners of a partnership (e.g. a law firm) b someone's boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife

2 an associate

a a person whose position at work is slightly lower or less complete than the full official position described (e.g. an associate director)

b a person who is closely connected to another person as a companion, friend or business partner

3 a bonus

a a pleasant, additional thing

b an extra amount of money given as a reward in addition to the money you were expecting

4 benefits

a a helpful or good effect, or something intended to help b things such as medical insurance that employees receive in addition to money

5 to practise¹

a to do something regularly in order to become skilled at it

b to work in an important skilled job for which a lot of training is necessary

Text analysis: Structuring a presentation

In order to be effective, a presenter must make the audience understand why the topic is important to them. It is also important to make your points short, simple and clear. Remember to KISS (Keep It Short and Simple).

23 This outline gives a detailed summary of the main parts commonly found in
presentations. Find each of the points in the transcripts for audios 1.2 and 1.3
(page 125). Write down the line numbers at which each point can be found.

1 Welcome the audience

2 Introduce yourself

3 Introduce the topic

4 Tell the audience why they should be interested in the topic

5 Tell a short personal anecdote

6 Give an overview of the talk

7 Main point 1

8 Main point 2

9 Main point 3

10 Main point 4

11 Summary

12 Final 'bang' - leave the audience with a strong final impression

JS) to practice

Unit i A career in law

24 4 z 1.2,1.3 Listen again to the whole presentation and complete this table of useful phrases.

How formal was the style of the presentation? Support your answer with examples from the table above.

Speaking 3: Presentation

26 Prepare a short presentation on one of these subjects. Use the guidelines above to help you.

O What your university has to offer potential new undergraduates C What your law firm has to offer graduate recruits

Language Focus

Vocabulary: types of law firmMatch the halves of these sentences about the different types of law firm mentioned in Reading 1.

1A commercial practice-\ ais managed by partners who share profits and

responsibility equally.

works on his or her own, has no partners and
3 A law clinicusually handles smaller cases.

advises clients on corporate and commercial

matters and may also negotiate transactions
6A sole practitioner_{and so)ve} business problems.

dcan have 50 or more lawyers working on complex matters for large organisations.

egives students an opportunity to deal with real clients and to develop their legal skills.

2 Vocabulary: law vs legal Complete these sentences by inserting either law or legal.

1 Instruction in........ legai....... English is becoming compulsory in a growing number

of law faculties all over the world.

2 After university, my work as a trainee solicitor gave me useful experience in commercial litigation, and I was offered a good position in a large.......................................................................... firm.

3 During my studies, I volunteered at a local......................... clinic, where I provided

free...................... assistance to people who could not afford to pay for a lawyer.

4 Some of the most important courses a student completes during his or her

studies of the law are skills courses, such as courses in............................ writing

and...................... research.

3 PrepositionsComplete these phrases from the lawyer's talk in Listening 2 with the
prepositions in the box.

about about about at fey by for for from of on to to to with

aFirst, I'll start.......... by...... giving you a little information.......................... Barker Rose.

bOur Graduate Recruitment Programme includes an excellent set..........................

benefits...................... students prepared to commit themselves fully.

cI'll then go......................... to outline what we have to offer.......................... new

associates.

dOK, let me just start......................... introducing myself.

eFinally, I'll also talk a little........................... what we expect....................... our

potential graduate recruits.

fHello, everyone, and thanks........................ coming along.

gFinally, I'd like to remind you........................ what I said........................ the beginning

of my talk today.

h So, to start......................... , who are Barker Rose?

iThis brings me....................... my next point: what benefits can successful

applicants....................... our Graduate Recruitment Programme expect?

4 OrderingNumber the statements in Exercise 3 in the order in which they most likely occurred. You may want to listen to the talk again to check if your answers are correct.

F ...

Contract law

THE STUDY OF LAWLead-in

It is difficult to imagine going very long before making some kind of agreement enforceable by law. Whenever we buy goods and services, we enter into a contractual relationship.

1 What kinds of contract have you entered into recently? Make a list of some of
the goods and services you have bought or used over the past 48 hours.
Compare your list with a partner. Is it always clear whether the above are goods
or services? How would you classify the electricity you consume every day?

Reading i: Contract law

This text deals with some of the main features of contract law.

2 Read the first paragraph. What is necessary for a valid contract to be formed?

3 Now read the whole text. Which two remedies following a breach of contract are mentioned? Are any other options available in your own jurisdiction?

4 Read the text again and decide whether these statements are true (T) or false (F).

1 In all legal systems, parties must give something of value in order for a contract to be formed.

2 An offer must be met with a counter-offer before a contract is agreed.

3 Oral contracts are not always valid.

4 If in breach, the court will always force the party to perform the contract.

5 Assignment occurs when one party gives its contractual rights to another party.

Contract law deals with promises which create legal rights. In most legal systems, a contract is formed when one partymakes an offer that is accepted by the other party. Some legal systems require more, for example that the parties give each other, or promise to give each other, something of value. In common-law systems, this promise is known as consideration.In those systems, a one-sided promise to do something (e.g. a promise to make a gift) does not lead to the formationof an enforceable contract, as it lacks consideration.

When the contract is negotiated, the offer and acceptance must match each other in order for the contract to be binding. This means that one party must accept exactly what the other party has offered. If the offer and acceptance do not match each other, then the law says that the second party has made a counter-offer(that is, a new offer to the first party which then may be accepted or rejected).

For there to be a valid contract, the parties must agree on the essential terms.These include the price and the subject matter of the contract.

Contracts may be made in writing or by spoken words. If the parties make a contract by spoken words, it is called an oral contract.In some jurisdictions, certain special types of contracts must be in writing or they are not valid (e.g. the sale of land).

Contracts give both parties rightsand obligations.Rights are something positive which a party wants to get from a contract (e.g. the right to payment of money). Obligations are something which a party has to do or give up to get those rights (e.g. the obligation to do work).

When a party does not do what it is required to do under a contract, that party is said to have breached the contract. The other party may file a lawsuit against the breaching partyfor breach of contract.The non-breaching party(sometimes called the injured party)may try to get a court to award damages for the breach. Damagesrefers to money which the court orders the breaching party to pay to the non-breaching party in compensation. Other remedies include specific performance,where a court orders the breaching party to perform the contract (that is, to do what it promised to do).

A party may want to transfer its rights under a contract to another party. This is called an assignment.When a party assigns ('gives') its rights under the contract to another party, the assigning party is called the assignorand the party who gets the rights is called the assignee.

5 Complete these sentences using the words in the box.

breach counter-offer damages formation obligations oral contract terms

1 Usually, contract................................. occurs when an offer is accepted.

2 A new offer made by one party to another party is called a

3 The price and the subject matter of a contract are the essential of a contract.

4 A contract which is not in written form but has been expressed in spoken words is called an

5 Under a contract, a party has................................... (that is, certain things

it has to do).

6 When a party does not do what it has promised to do under a contract, it can be sued for of contract.

7 A court can award.................................. to the non-breaching party.

6 Match the verbs in the box with the nouns they go with in the text.

accept award breach enforce file form make negotiate perform reject

1 an offer

2 a contract ——^_

3 damages

4 a lawsuit

7 Which other verb-noun collocations are possible with the words in Exercise 6?

Unit 2 Contract law

8 With a partner, take turns to look at each of the verbs in the box in Exercise 6
and discuss whether the following subjects can carry out the action in question:

1 a party 2 the parties 3 the court 4 a lawyer

example: Well, a party accepts an offer, and a Lawyer can accept an offer, too. But I don't think: yow can say that a court accepts an offer.

Reading 2: Remedies for breach of contract

9 Read this excerpt from a law textbook. What does the word remedy in the text
mean?

Remedies for breach of contract

If a contract is broken, the injured party might be expected to demand any of the following:

• to have what they gave returned to them (•restitution')

• compensation for their loss ('damages')

• the other party to be forced to perform the contract ('specific performance')

In the common-law tradition, damages is the usual remedy that a court awards for a broken contract. Restitution and specific performance are available only in certain circumstances.

10 According to the text, what is the most common remedy for breach of contract
in the legal systems of English-speaking countries? What is the most common
remedy in your jurisdiction?

Listening 1: Asking for clarification and giving explanations

11 ^62.1 Listen to the first part of a short conversation between two law students, who are discussing the law textbook excerpt in Exercise 9. What is the first student confused about?

12 ^2.1 Listen again and tick (/) the expressions the student uses to ask for clarification.

1 What does that mean? □

2 Sorry, I don't follow you. □

3 I don't understand that. □

4 I don't know what that word means. Q

5 That doesn't make sense to me. O

6 I don't get it. □

13 How would you explain to the student what the term damages means and how it differs from the word damage? Discuss this with a partner.

14 4 J 2.2 Listen to the second part of the dialogue and compare your answer with what the second student in the dialogue says.

15 ^$2.2 Listen again and tick (/) the expressions the second student uses for
giving an explanation.

1 Well, it's quite straightforward. □

2 Allow me to clarify. □

3 Let me explain. □

4 What this word means is ... □

5 It's like this. □

6 In other words, ... □

16 Which of the expressions in Exercise 15 is the most formal? When would you
use this more formal way of giving an explanation?

Speaking i: Terminology

17 With a partner, take turns choosing and explaining one of these terms in your
own words. Can you guess which word your partner is defining?

C damages C specific performance 0 restitution

C assignor C assignee C the breaching party

0 the non-breaching party ^ the injured party 0 remedy

Listening 2: Contract law lecture

18 <iz2.3 Listen to the beginning of a lecture on contract law. What is the general subject of the lecture?

19 4 J2.4 Listen to the whole lecture and answer these questions.

1 Which of these terms does the speaker mention? agreement Q counter-offer □ consideration O acceptance O negotiation □ remedy Q offer □

2 What topic will the lecturer talk about next time?

20 4z2.4 Listen again and complete this excerpt from a student's lecture notes by
writing one word in each space.

Introductory Icctufrz on Contract Formation

■ Three requirements for formation:

D .........................

X) ..................................

3) intention to create..................................... relations

■ Agreement: wnen H)................................. become a settled deal

■ wken an offer is made and 5)........................................ , there is agreement.

• ojwzstions about offers: ca,. tuk) makes an offer in an auction? Is a 6) list an offer? Is an advertisement an offer? ...

• Questions about a.cc&piojnc&: does acceptance Wave to be

7).................................. ? Accept by g)..................................... ?

• Consideration basically means tWc 1) .................................... If t'nere is no

consideration, tne contract is not legally 10)...........................................

• Next week's lecture will cover rules of 11)........................................

Speaking 2: Summarising the lecture

21 A fellow student missed the introductory lecture on contract formation and has asked you to explain the most important points to him. Taking turns with a partner, explain in your own words what the lecturer said about the following topics. If you don't understand something, ask for clarification. When your partner has finished explaining, say whether your partner has left something out or whether you understand it differently.

O agreement: what it is and when it occurs 0 questions about acceptance

C questions about offers 0 consideration: what it is

LAW IN PRACTICELead-in

Lawyers are often consulted by clients who need advice in contract disputes. What kinds of things could lead to such disputes?

When meeting with a client to discuss a dispute, a lawyer will generally explain how the law relates to the contract in question. This may mean helping the client to understand technical terms and important legal concepts. It will often be necessary to examine a particular clause, or section of the contract, carefully.

Reading 3: Contract clause

22 Read the clause from a contract and answer these questions.

1 Which word means ship or boat?

2 What does the clause deal with?

3 What words are used to refer to each party to the contract?

4 What do you think probable readiness means?

5 What does the word shall mean in the context of this clause?

2 a The buyer shall nominate the date of shipment. The buyer shall give the seller at least two

weeks' notice of probable readiness of vessel(s) and of the approximate quantity to be loaded. b Upon notification of probable readiness of vessel(s). the seller shall

nominate a port for the loading of goods. c Shipment is required no later than 22 May 2008.

23 Complete these lists of obligations using your own words. How are the obligations expressed in the
actual contract clause?

Buyer must:

1.................................................................................................................................

2 ................................................................................................................................

3 ................................................................................................................................

Seller must:

4 ................................................................................................................................

24 Discuss with a partner what can go wrong in connection with a clause like the one in
Exercise 22. What might the consequences be?

Listening 3: Conditions and warranties

25 ^c2.5 You are going to hear a conversation between a lawyer (Mr Dawe) and

his client (Mr McKendrick, Director of Export Threads, the seller referred to in the contract extract in Exercise 22). Listen to them discussing the case and answer these questions.

1 What is the name of the buyer in this dispute?

2 Why does Export Threads want to terminate the contract?

3 Does a breach of contract automatically allow one party to terminate the agreement?

4 Does the lawyer think that Export Threads has a strong case?

5 What legal grounds might Export Threads have for terminating the contract?

26 Read the audio transcript of the dialogue on pages 125-126. Underline the phrases which mean / don't understand and those used for giving an explanation.

27 aIn the dialogue, the lawyer says that his client relied on the seller to notify

him of the date of shipment. The term reliancerefers to depending on someone's promises. Read these definitions of reliance (1-3) and match each with its source (a-c).

Reliance

1The act of relying on someone or something; trust.

2 The condition of being reliant or dependent.

3 A person or thing which relies on another.

reliancen. the act of relying; taking action as a result of another person's promises or assurances. Compensation may be available for losses incurred by a claimant resulting from such reliance (reliance damages).

reliance/n'laians/ noun [U] when you depend on or trust in something or someone: The region's relianceon tourism is unwise. You place too much relianceon her ideas and expertise.

aThe Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

b an online legal dictionary

cThe Wiktionary (an online dictionary created by its users)

b Which of the dictionaries did you find most useful? Why?

cWhat role do you think reliance plays in this contract?

Unit 2 Contract law

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 5332