M2-2.8 Learn vocabulary
Instructions
1. The previous audio you listened to entitled The Legal Profession – A Typical Day contained a lot of legal English vocabulary.
2..Learn the vocabulary using Quizlet.
3. Please note: If you click on “Choose a study mode” (bottom right) and select “Flashcards” from the dropdown, you will access an audio file with the correct pronunciation of each term.
4. Mark this as complete when you are finished.
Review the vocabulary here.
| Vocabulary | Definition | Example | Type |
| Adjourn | To delay, to put off or postpone especially a meeting or legal proceedings with the intention of resuming it later. | The hearing was adjourned because the defendant didn’t show up. | Verb |
| Bill | Bill can mean a printed statement requesting money. It also means a draft piece of legislation before it becomes law. | Sometimes clerks have to arrange paying the barrister’s bills. | Noun |
| Brief | Written instructions from a solicitor to a barrister relating to representing a client in legal proceedings. | Barristers’ clerks are responsible for filing and maintaining briefs. | Noun |
| Case law | In common law systems, case law refers to law made by the courts. ‘Precedent’ is a synonym. | When I prepare for a case I have to check case law. | Noun |
| Civil law system | The Civil law system is the most prominent legal system in the world. In this system codified statutes are the most important source of law. Around 150 countries around the world have this system, including Germany, France, China and Japan. | It could be said that the civil law system provides greater certainty than the common law system. | Noun |
| Common law system | A common law system is a legal system in which law can be made via statute and through the courts. Law made through the courts is of primary importance and follows the doctrine of judicial precedent which means that lower courts are bound by the decisions of higher courts. Approximately 80 countries around the world have common law systems including Australia, Canada, England and Wales, India, New Zealand and U.S.A. | It could be said that the common law system is more flexible than the civil law system. | Noun |
| Compliance | The state of acting or carrying out business in a way which meets rules, regulations, standards or laws. | I work in the corporate compliance department. | Noun |
| Conveyancer | In most Commonwealth countries, a conveyancer is a specialist lawyer who deals with conveyancing. Conveyancing is the legal aspects of buying and selling real property. A conveyancer can be a solicitor, licensed conveyancer, or a CILEx legal executive. | Conveyancers play an essential role in the transfer of property. | Noun |
| Court motion | The oral or written application sent to a judge requesting an order directing performance of some action in the applicants favour. This is an American term often used as a collocation ‘to file a motion’ and in the U.K. ‘to ask for a court order’ is the equivalent. | The clerk filed the court motion last week. | Noun |
| Instruct | To give information about legal proceedings which authorise the advocate to act. | The solicitor instructed the barrister on the case. | Verb |
| Listing meeting | A meeting held at court between a listing officer and barristers’ clerks where the dates for case hearings are set. | At the listing meeting the court dates were set. | Noun |
| Litigation | The process of taking legal action. | During litigation I represent my client in court. | Noun |
| Magistrates’ Court | The lower court in England and Wales which holds trials for summary offences and preliminary hearings for more serious ones. Almost all criminal trials start here. There are around 330 of these courts. | As a criminal barrister, I often go to the magistrates’ court. | Noun |
| Offence | A breach of a law or rule which constitutes an illegal act. | I represent clients in court who are being charged for a range of offences including theft. | Noun |
| Opinion | An opinion can mean many things, some of the most common: .1. Counsel’s opinion: Written advice given by counsel giving counsel’s conclusions or analysis about a legal matter. 2. Expert Witness Opinion: An opinion given by an expert on a particular topic as evidence in legal proceedings. | On days when I’m not in court I spend my time writing counsel’s opinions. | Noun |
| Pleading | A written statement, drafted by counsel, in which a party sets out its case for civil litigation, served by the party on its opponent. After the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 a pleading is known as a ‘statement of case’. | Paralegals draft court pleadings. | Noun |
| Precedent | In common law systems precedent refers to a legal decision made by a higher court which may or must be followed by lower courts in future similar cases. There are different types of precedent: Authoritative precedent; Persuasive precedent; Declaratory precedent; Original precedent. | The court followed the precedent. | Noun |
| Serve | To deliver documents for legal proceedings in the official way. Documents can include a claim served on the defendant’s solicitor, or evidence served at court. | Sometimes evidence is served at the last minute. | Verb |
| Shareholder agreement | An agreement between the shareholders setting out various terms such as how to transfer shares. | The shareholders signed the shareholder agreement. | Noun |
| Skeleton argument | An important document used in some court proceedings setting out in brief the legal arguments which the lawyer will argue in court. | The clerk lodged the skeleton argument at court. | Noun |
| Theft | The criminal offence of stealing. | I represent clients in court who are being charged for a range of offences including theft. | Noun |