Let’s look in more detail at this monologue. In the first part, the speaker introduced herself and gave an overview BLANK 1 of 17 her work. Let’s look at the vocabulary. She said, I am a qualified solicitor. So this means she is not a BLANK 2 of 17 solicitor, but instead she has already carried out her training and passed all the relevant exams and is now a real practising solicitor.
If you remember, solicitors in England and Wales mainly deal with matters outside of court, unlike BLANK 3 of 17, the other type of lawyer, who mainly practise BLANK 4 of 17 in court. Our speaker also said, I specialise in family law. The phrase I specialise BLANK 5 of 17 is the most common way to say what your area of expertise is.
There are other ways that you can say this. For example, I am a specialist in family law. I am an expert in family law. Or, I have expertise in family law. If you’re a student, a different phrase is more appropriate: You could say, I’m a law student, and my specialism is corporate law. Or you could also say, I’m studying a Master’s of Law specialising in Corporate Law. So, what do you specialise in? After the beep, say out loud what your job role is, or what you’re studying, and what you specialise in.
Our speaker went on to talk about some of the issues which arise in her mediation sessions with divorcing couples. What two things does she mention? Let’s listen again to that whole first part and see if you can answer that. I am a qualified solicitor and I specialise in family law. As you can imagine, a lot of the work I deal with is related BLANK 6 of 17 the breakdown of relationships.
Many clients come to me because they are going through a complicated divorce, where there is disagreement over certain aspects, such as the responsibility of children and the distribution of the BLANK 7 of 17.
So she talked about the responsibility of children and the distribution of assets. Let’s look a little bit at those two phrases. First of all, responsibility of children. This is related to who cares for the children, who the children will live with, for example. And in the past, the phrase child custody would have been used.
But this term was replaced with the phrase BLANK 8 of 17 responsibility by the Children Act in 1989. The word BLANK 9 of 17, we often hear that in legal dramas, it is still used in England and Wales nowadays to refer to being imprisoned or confined in some way.
To distribute assets, another phrase that our speaker used, means to allocate items of value. And this can happen following divorce proceedings, as the speaker mentioned, but also in many other situations. For example, in corporate law, if a company is facing insolvency, assets can be distributed to the BLANK 10 of 17. And, in wills and probate law, when someone dies, the BLANK 11 of 17 of an estate manages the estate assets and distributes them to people or organisations named in the will. The BLANK 12 of 17 is the document which states what somebody wants to happen to their assets after they die.
Next, our speaker went on to talk about an initial mediation information assessment meeting. She mentioned that this is a compulsory meeting for couples who are BLANK 13 of 17 dispute over their divorce, in order to try to settle such disputes outside of court.
After this meeting, they may still decide to start proceedings in court. This phrase, to BLANK 14 of 17 proceedings, is a common phrase we use when talking about civil litigation. For example, the wife started proceedings against her husband. Other ways to say this are the wife brought a BLANK 15 of 17 against her husband, or the wife brought a case against her husband, or the wife sued her husband. All of those phrases are perfectly valid to talk about starting proceedings in court.
Let’s listen again to this next section.
In these cases, firstly, the couple must attend a compulsory initial mediation information assessment meeting to ascertain whether or not mediation is right for them. This compulsory meeting was introduced by Section 10 of the Children and Families Act 2014 in an attempt to reduce the number of family cases going to court and instead to promote mediation as an alternative form of dispute resolution.
In this initial meeting, I explain BLANK 16 of 17 the couple what mediation is, how many sessions they might need, and how much it would cost. It lasts about an hour. After that, it’s up to them whether to start proceedings in court, or go ahead with mediation. If they choose mediation, we arrange the first session. At this meeting, I sit down with the couple and establish some rules.
For example, only one person can talk at a time. I then listen to each person and respond using techniques to guide the conversation so that we can find out how each person feels, what the conflict is, and how this can be resolved.
Later, the speaker talks about what happens in cases where the situation is very tense between parties. She uses the phrase shuttle mediation. What does this mean? Let’s listen to this part again.
Sometimes sessions are really emotional. Parties can get very upset. Sometimes they can’t even speak. Sometimes things are so tense that the couple can’t meet face to face. In this situation, we use what is known as shuttle mediation, where I see each person separately and act as a go between, relaying messages between the couple.
Did you get what shuttle mediation means? Yes. So shuttle mediation is where the mediator must speak BLANK 17 of 17 each party separately and go back and forth between the parties giving messages just like a shuttle bus that goes back and forth between an airport to the city. And finally, the mediator gives her own opinion about mediation.
What is it? Does she think it is a positive form of alternative dispute resolution? Let’s listen to her closing comments. I think this process is a really effective way to help couples end their relationship. It is far better for everyone involved in the family than fighting things out in court. So. Yes, she thinks mediation is effective.
Let’s look in more detail at this monologue. In the first part, the speaker introduced herself and gave an overview Fill in the blank 1 of 17 Fill in the blank 2 of 17
If you remember, solicitors in England and Wales mainly deal with matters outside of court, unlike Fill in the blank 3 of 17 Fill in the blank 4 of 17 Fill in the blank 5 of 17
There are other ways that you can say this. For example, I am a specialist in family law. I am an expert in family law. Or, I have expertise in family law. If you’re a student, a different phrase is more appropriate: You could say, I’m a law student, and my specialism is corporate law. Or you could also say, I’m studying a Master’s of Law specialising in Corporate Law. So, what do you specialise in? After the beep, say out loud what your job role is, or what you’re studying, and what you specialise in.
Our speaker went on to talk about some of the issues which arise in her mediation sessions with divorcing couples. What two things does she mention? Let’s listen again to that whole first part and see if you can answer that. I am a qualified solicitor and I specialise in family law. As you can imagine, a lot of the work I deal with is related Fill in the blank 6 of 17
Many clients come to me because they are going through a complicated divorce, where there is disagreement over certain aspects, such as the responsibility of children and the distribution of the Fill in the blank 7 of 17
So she talked about the responsibility of children and the distribution of assets. Let’s look a little bit at those two phrases. First of all, responsibility of children. This is related to who cares for the children, who the children will live with, for example. And in the past, the phrase child custody would have been used.
But this term was replaced with the phrase Fill in the blank 8 of 17 Fill in the blank 9 of 17
To distribute assets, another phrase that our speaker used, means to allocate items of value. And this can happen following divorce proceedings, as the speaker mentioned, but also in many other situations. For example, in corporate law, if a company is facing insolvency, assets can be distributed to the Fill in the blank 10 of 17 Fill in the blank 11 of 17 Fill in the blank 12 of 17
Next, our speaker went on to talk about an initial mediation information assessment meeting. She mentioned that this is a compulsory meeting for couples who are Fill in the blank 13 of 17
After this meeting, they may still decide to start proceedings in court. This phrase, to Fill in the blank 14 of 17 Fill in the blank 15 of 17
Let’s listen again to this next section.
In these cases, firstly, the couple must attend a compulsory initial mediation information assessment meeting to ascertain whether or not mediation is right for them. This compulsory meeting was introduced by Section 10 of the Children and Families Act 2014 in an attempt to reduce the number of family cases going to court and instead to promote mediation as an alternative form of dispute resolution.
In this initial meeting, I explain Fill in the blank 16 of 17
For example, only one person can talk at a time. I then listen to each person and respond using techniques to guide the conversation so that we can find out how each person feels, what the conflict is, and how this can be resolved.
Later, the speaker talks about what happens in cases where the situation is very tense between parties. She uses the phrase shuttle mediation. What does this mean? Let’s listen to this part again.
Sometimes sessions are really emotional. Parties can get very upset. Sometimes they can’t even speak. Sometimes things are so tense that the couple can’t meet face to face. In this situation, we use what is known as shuttle mediation, where I see each person separately and act as a go between, relaying messages between the couple.
Did you get what shuttle mediation means? Yes. So shuttle mediation is where the mediator must speak Fill in the blank 17 of 17
What is it? Does she think it is a positive form of alternative dispute resolution? Let’s listen to her closing comments. I think this process is a really effective way to help couples end their relationship. It is far better for everyone involved in the family than fighting things out in court. So. Yes, she thinks mediation is effective.