The digital age

A lawyer is a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law.

The role of the lawyer varies significantly across legal jurisdictions. In practice, legal jurisdictions exercise their sovereign right to determine who is recognized as a lawyer. As a result, the meaning of the term "lawyer" may vary from place to place. In Australia, the word "lawyer" is used to refer to both barristers and solicitors. In Britain, "lawyer" is used to refer to a broad variety of law-trained persons. It includes practitioners such as barristers, solicitors, legal executives.

In civil law countries legal professions consist of a large number of law-trained persons, known as jurists, of which only some are advocates who are licensed to practice in the courts. In England, Canada and Australia (common law jurisdiction) there is a divided legal profession where a lawyer is either a solicitor or a barrister.

The solicitor can be characterised as a general practitioner: a lawyer who deals with clients directly. He undertakes advocacy in the lower courts and instructs barristers (in England and Wales) or advocates ( in Scotland) to represent their clients in the higher courts. Solicitors are responsible for the preparatory stages of litigation such as the preparation of evidence, inter viewing witnesses, issuing writs and conducting interlocutor y proceedings. They also deal with some non-litigious matters such as drafting of wills, the supervision of trusts and settlements, the administration of estates and conveyances.

The historical difference between two professions is that a solicitor is an attorney of his client and may conduct litigation. A barrister is not an attorney and is forbidden, both by law and by professional rules, from conducting litigation. Professional barristers are competent to perform all advocacy for the prosecution or defence in criminal cases and for a plaintiff or defendant in a civil action. Barristers have a major role in trial preparation, including drafting pleadings and reviewing evidence.

The US legal system does not distinguish between lawyers who plead in court and those who do not. The attorney at law ( defense attorney, the defense counsel ( Am.)) is a person admitted to practice law in his respective state and authorized to perform both civil and criminal legal functions for clients. He drafts legal documents, gives legal advice, and represents them before courts, administrative agencies, boards.

The defence counsel role is to review the documents and other evidence the police have accumulated against the accused, and to interview or question the arresting officers and others involved in the case. The defence attorney may interview witnesses to the crime, and may even conduct an independent investigation.

At bail hearings and plea negotiations defence attorneys represent the accused. At trial defence attorneys question jurors, cross examine prosecution witnesses, call defence witnesses, represent the accused and help them to get the best possible sentences.

1. Find in the text the information on:

a) variety of the lawyer’s functions due to different jurisdictions;

b) types of legal profession in Great Britain;

c) professional duties of solicitors and barristers;

d) the functions of the US attorney.

2. Fill in the table with the words from text

3. Tell about the variety of legal professions in civil law and common law countries.

4. Explain the difference between the functions of a solicitor and a barrister.

5. Insert one of the following words into the text in an appropriate form.

solicitors, branches, practitioners, courts, wear, jurisdictions, employed, advisory

The traditional distinctions between the two …of the profession are breaking down nowadays. Barristers used to enjoy a monopoly on appearances before the higher courts, but in most countries this has now been abolished, and solicitor advocates can generally appear for clients at

….. Firms of solicitors are keeping even the most advanced … and litigation work in-house for economic and client relationship reasons. Similarly, the prohibition on barristers taking instructions directly from the public has also been widely abolished, but in practice, direct instruction is still a rarity in most …. In most countries, barristers operate as sole …, and are prohibited from forming partnerships (although in England and Wales the Clementi report has recommended the abolition of this restriction). However, barristers normally band together into “chambers”. Some barristers, on the other hand, are … by firms of solicitors, banks or corporations as in-house legal advisers.

In court, barristers are often visibly distinguished from …by their clothes. For example, in Ireland, England and Wales, barristers usually … a horsehair wig, stiff collar, bands and a gown. Beginning from January

2008 Solicitor advocates are also entitled to wear a wig, but a different gown.

1. ROLE–PL AY “ The International Association of L awyers’ Seminar”

The students are suggested to choose the roles of the registering clerks, representatives of mass media, lawyers of some certain countries and a presiding officer.

The registering clerks are to meet the guests ( lawyers from different countries), to communicate with them and give them registration cards.

The representatives of mass media are to interview the participants before the seminar. They get Questionnaires.

Write down questions (3-5) you will ask the lawyers of International association before their seminar. The topic of your inter view is the peculiarities of the lawyer’s profession in his or her country. Make notes, be ready to make a report of your results.

Ask about the main principles of the lawyer’s activity, membership organizations or associations, legal ethics and lawyer disciplinary agencies of their countries.

3. The role of a lawyer in modern society.

Notes:

+ necessary

- not necessary

Look through the notes, summarize the results of the meeting.

The digital age

A Match the captions (1-4) with the pictures (a-d).

1.In education, computers can make all the difference____________

2.Using a cashpoint, or ATM________________

3.The Internet in your pocket_____________

4.Controlling air traffic______________

B How are computers used in the situations above? In pairs, discuss your ideas.

C Computers are everywhere nowadays. Here is the text about some of their possible uses. Read the text and check your answers to B.

Text C. THE DIGITAL AGE

We are now living in what some people call the digital age, meaning that computers have become an essential part of our lives. Young people who have grown up with PCs and mobile phones are often called the digital generation. Computers help students to perform mathematical operations and improve their maths skills. They are used to access the Internet, to do basic research and to communicate with other students around the world.

Teachers use projectors and interactive whiteboards to give presentations and teach sciences, history or language courses. PCs are also used for administrative purposes – schools use word processors to write letters, and databases to keep records of students and teachers. A school website allows teachers to publish exercises for students to complete online.

Students can also enrol for courses via the website and parents can download official reports.

Mobiles let you make voice calls, send texts, email people and download logos, ringtones or games. With a built-in camera you can send pictures and make video calls in face-to-face mode. New smartphones combine a telephone with web access, video, a games console, an MP3 player, a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a GPS navigation system, all in one.

In banks, computers store information about the money held by each customer and enable staff to access large databases and to carry out financial transactions at high speed. They also control the cashpoints, or ATMs (automatic teller machines), which dispense money to customers by the use of a PIN-protected card. People use a Chip and PIN card to pay for goods and services. Instead of using a signature to verify payments, customers are asked to enter a four-digit personal identification number (PIN), the same number used at cashpoints; this system makes transactions more secure. With online banking, clients can easily pay bills and transfer money from the comfort of their homes.

Airline pilots use computers to help them control the plane. For example, monitors display data about fuel consumption and weather conditions. In airport control towers, computers are used to manage radar systems and regulate air traffic. On the ground, airlines are connected to travel agencies by computer.

Travel agents use computers to find out about the availability of flights, prices, times, stopovers and many other details.

D When you read a text, you will often see a new word that you don't recognize. If you can identify what type of word it is (noun, verb, adjective, etc.) it can help you guess the meaning.

Find the words (1-10) in the text above. Can you guess the meaning from context? Are they nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs? Write n, v, adj or adv next to each word.

E Match the words in D (1 -10) with the correct meanings (a-j).

F Now find the words in the text and match them with the meanings below.

G In pairs, discuss these questions.

1.How are/were computers used in your school?

2.How do you think computers will be used in school in the future?

3. Language work: Articles (revisions)

Study these nouns.

a supermarket technology a computer money

Supermarket and computer are countable nouns.

We say a supermarket and supermarkets. Technology and money are uncountable nouns. They have no plural and you cannot use them with a or an.

Study this paragraph.

Computers have many uses. In shops a computer scans the price of each item. Then the computer calculates the total cost of all the items.

We use a plural noun with no article, or an uncountable noun, when we talk about things in general.

Computers have many uses.

Information technology is popular.

We use a/an when we mention a countable noun for the first time.

In shops a computer scans the price of each item.

When we mention the same noun again, we use the.

The computer calculates the total cost.

We use the with countable and uncountable nouns to refer to specific things.

The price of each item.

The total cost of all the items.

The speed of this computer.

A Here are some common nouns in computing. With the help of the dictionary divide them into countable and uncountable nouns. In most dictionaries nouns are marked C for countable and U for uncountable.

1. capacity 2. memory 3. drive 4. data 5. monitor 6. speed 7. device 8. mouse 9. port 10. disk 11. software 12. modem

B Complete these texts with a/an, the (or nothing at all) as necessary.

The Walsh family have (1) ______ computer at home. Their son uses (2) ______ computer to help with (3) ______ homework and to play (4) ______ computer games. Their student daughter uses (5) ______ computer for (6) ______ projects and for (7) ______ email. All (8) ______ family use it to get (9) ______ information from (10) ______ Internet.

I use (1)______ computers to find information for (2)______ people. Readers come in with a lot of queries and I use either our own database or (3)______ national database that we’re connected to to find what they want. They might want to know (4) ______ name and address of (5) ______ particular society, or last year’s accounts of a company and we can find that out for them. Or they might want to find (6)______ particular newspaper article but they don’t know (7) ______exact date it was published so we can find it for them by checking on our online database for anything they can remember: (8) ______ name or the general topic. And we use (9) ______ computers to catalogue (10) ______ books in (11) ______ library and to record (12) ______ books that (13) ______ readers borrow.

Language work: collocations 1

C Look at the HELP BOX and then match the verbs (1-5) with the nouns (a-e) to make collocations from the text on pages 2-3.

D Use collocations from A and the HELP BOX to complete these sentences.

1. Thanks to Wi-Fi, it's now easy to __________________ from cafes, hotels, parks and many other public places.

2. Online banking lets you __________________between your accounts easily and securely.

3. Skype is a technology that enables users to __________________ over the Internet for free.

4. In many universities, students are encouraged to __________________ using PowerPoint in order to make their talks more visually attractive.

5. The Web has revolutionized the way people __________________ with sites such as Google and Wikipedia, you can find the information you need in seconds.

6. Cookies allow a website to __________________ on a user's machine and later retrieve it; when you visit the website again, it remembers your preferences.

7. With the latest mobile phones, you can __________________ with multimedia attachments – pictures, audio, even video.

Language work: Past Simple – Present Perfect (revision)

E The artist is being interviewed. Make questions to match his answers. Use the correct form of the Past simple or Present perfect, whichever is correct. For example:

Question: What did you do yesterday'?

Answer: Worked on the computer.

F Put the tenses in this dialogue in the correct form: Past simple or Present perfect.

A What (do) today?

B I (work) on my project. I (search) the Web for sites on digital cameras.

A (find) any good ones?

B I (find) several company sites - Sony, Canon,... but I (want) one which (compare) all the models.

A Which search engine (use)?

B Dogpile mostly, (ever use) it?

A Yes, I (try) it but I (have) more luck with Ask Jeeves. Why don't you try it?

B I (have) enough for one night. I (spend) hours on that project.

A I (not start) on mine yet.

B Yeh? I bet you (do) it all.

4. Computers at work

A Listen to four people talking about how they use computers at work. Write each speaker's job in the table.

electrical engineer secretary librarian composer

B Listen again and write what each speaker uses their computer for.

5. Computer Users

A How do you think these professions might use computers? Compare answers with others in your group.

Architects, interior designers, farmers, landscape gardeners, musicians, rally drivers, sales people

B Work in pairs. Find out this information from your partner. Make sure you use the correct tense in your questions. For example:

download music from the Internet [what site]

A Have you ever downloaded music from the Internet?

B What site did you use?

1.send a video email attachment [who to, when]

2.fit an expansion card [which type]

3.replace a hard disk [what model]

4.fix a printer fault [what kind]

5.make your own website [how]

6.have a virus [which virus]

7.watched TV on the Internet [which station]

8.write a program [which language]

C Describe how you use computers in your study and in your free time.

6. Other applications

A In small groups, choose one of the areas in the diagram below and discuss what you can do with computers in that area. Look at the Useful language box below to help you.

USEFUL LANGUAGE:

Formula 1 cars: design and build the car, test virtual models, control electronic components, monitor engine speed, store (vital) information, display data, analyse and communicate data

Entertainment: download music, burn CDs, play games, take photos, edit photos, make video clips, watch movies on a DVD player, watch TV on the computer, listen to MP3s, listen to the radio via the Web

Factories and industrial processes: design products, do calculations, control industrial robots, control assembly lines, keep record of stocks (materials and equipment)

School/University: access the Internet, enrol online, search the Web, prepare exams, write documents, complete exercises online, do research, prepare presentations

Computers are used to...

A PC can also be used for...

People use computers to ...

B Write a short presentation summarizing your discussion. Then ask one person from your group to give a summary of the group's ideas to the rest of the class.

C. Write a list of as many uses of the computer, or computer applications, as you can think of.

D Now read the text below and underline any applications that are not in your list.

What can computers do?

Computers and microchips have become part of our everyday lives: we visit shops and offices which have been designed with the help of computers, we read magazines which have been produced on computer, we pay bills prepared by computers. Just picking up a telephone and dialing a number involves the use of a sophisticated computer system, as does making a flight reservation or bank transaction.

We encounter daily many computers that spring to life the instant they’re switched on (e.g. calculators, the car’s electronic ignition, the timer in the microwave, or the programmer inside the TV set), all of which use chip technology.

What makes your computer such a miraculous device? Each time you turn it on, it is a tabula rasa that, with appropriate hardware and software, is capable of doing anything you ask. It is a calculating machine that speeds up financial calculations. It is an electronic filing cabinet which manages large collections of data such as customers’ lists, accounts, or inventories. It is a magical typewriter that allows you to type and print any kind of document – letters, memos or legal documents. It is a personal communicator that enables you to interact with other computers and with people around the world. If you like gadgets and electronic entertainment, you can even use your PC to relax with computer games.

Date: 2014-12-28; view: 4141