Yr13 Law - T1 -Wk2 - Unit 1A - Legal Skills

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Yr13 Law - T1 -Wk2 - Unit 1A - Legal Skills

Learning objective

Legal skills

Legal skills

Legal skills include general skills that transferable to many careers. There are communication skills that lawyers, in particular, require to do their job. There are also specific skills that relate to finding law relevant to the problem that the client has posed to the lawyer – researching and referencing legal information.

Researching and referencing legal information

You will always be required to justify your arguments. In law this is done by stating the relevant law and where it comes from. This stated law can then be applied to the facts of the case or the point you are making by showing how it demonstrates the point.

Types of law

The law is found in cases and acts of Parliament bracket also known as statutes) and inform of delegated legislation.

Decided cases

The judgements made in previously decided cases form the president of your argument. These cases are found in law reports, which are discussed in more detail later in this unit.

Acts of Parliament

Acts of parliament are much easier to reference as they can be found on the government website. But it is not always easy to find the exact part you are looking for an act of Parliament creates a new law or changes an existing law. an active parliament is known by its title and then the relevant section number or numbers and subsection if appropriate.

This might appear as follows: Theft Act 1968 Section 1 subsections 1 and 2

1 Basic definition of theft

(1) a person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriate property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it, and thief and steel shall be construed accordingly.

(2) it is immaterial whether the appropriation is made with a view to gain, or is made for the thieves own benefit. This would be written as: Theft Act 1968 s1(1) and (2).

Methods of appropriate professional communication.

How important do you think it is to communicate well as a lawyer? What are the reasons for good communication? What might happen if communication is not good or is to the wrong person? Summarise your findings and share them with other groups.

As a lawyer you have to communicate with:

Clients,

Other lawyers and colleagues

The courts.

Clients

Before any communication starts, you need to remember that there is a total confidentiality between you and your client. Usually a lawyer will have to ask permission to carry on discussions with the client with somebody else present. This should be the case if you do work experience with a solicitor.]

Communication with your clients is a two-way process. The first things to do after listen and to read instructions and documents carefully. Remember that your client is likely to be in unfamiliar surroundings and might be anxious. Having listened and read, you need to ask relevant questions. At first, these questions might be quite general, but your knowledge and understanding of the general area of the law in question should allow you to collect more information. You are likely to have more questions when you have reflected on what you have learned and researched the specific areas of law Involved. This requires an eye for detail and precision in what you do.

When you communicate with clients, whether by talking to them or in writing, you need to use language that is appropriate. Your client may not understand legal terms, so you will have to be able to explain them clearly and accurately.

Solicitors and barristers communicate with each other often, and so communicate with each other in a way that recognises their professional status. However, barristers often meet or have to draft letters to the solicitors client, so they, too, will need to be aware of communication issues with the client.

Communications between solicitors and barristers.

A solicitor briefs or instruct a barrister (who is known as council). The barrister is sent instructions (when asked to give an opinion on a case) or a brief (if the barrister is to appear in court). Ructions are always headed with details of the court and parties followed by a heading showing what council is instructed to do. See figure 1.4. For an example. Examples of other communications can easily be found online.

The instructions or brief should include: who is instructing or briefing the barrister?

-On behalf of whom they are instructed or briefed

-Other parties to the case

-The background to the case,

-The nature of this dispute or case a list of relevant events, in date order

-Important dates and deadlines what the barrister is being asked to do – for example, give an opinion as to the law, draft some legal documents and appear at court

- of relevant documents such as court papers, correspondence, contracts or details of losses or injuries.

Barristers will reply with an opinion as requested or appear at court at the correct place and time

They might suggest a meeting with the client or the solicitor to discuss the case further. This is known as a conference with council .

Barrister do not discuss fees directly with the instructing solicitor or client. This is always done through their barrister Clark, who will deal with all such administrative matters.

Figure 1.4 (See next slide)

The courts communicating with the courts begins with the completion of the correct forms and paying a fee. When doing this in person, it is essential to be polite. Remember that you may need the help of the court staff at some later stage. For example, in urgently contacting a judge to obtain a court order or in getting a favourable time for a court hearing.

When appearing in court, you must be appropriately dressed for the type of hearing. This would include a barrister wearing a wig or a gown in certain circumstances. If a lawyer does not comply with this, traditionally, the judge would say, I cannot hear you Mr. This is not an invitation to speak more clearly or loudly (although speaking clearly and projecting your voice is important). It is an indication that the judge considers the lawyer to have broken the professional dress code and so the case cannot proceed until this is corrected.

You need to be respectful of the judge, magistrates and other court officials.

A lawyers regular appearance before a judge or magistrate often results in a good relationship between them, which may even be amusing, with the limits of the case and the surroundings.

Slide heading

Other lawyers

When you work with other lawyers, you may be dealing with another solicitor who is acting for the other party to the case (or other parties if there is more than one involved). Alternatively, you may deal with a barrister who will work on your case on behalf of your client.

In addition to the expectation that other lawyers will be familiar with legal terminology, there are some important things to be aware of when communicating with other lawyers.

Communications 'without prejudice'.

Such communications are usually made at the beginning of a document such as a letter or an email, but possibly at a meeting. To be without prejudice means the documents are not admissible in evidence, as they are aimed at settling a dispute.

Fig. 1.4

Pause point.

Make a list with a brief explanation of each method of dispute resolution start with a trial at court and then think of alternatives.

Which method seems to be promoted by the department of Justice today.? Why might they be promoting certain forms of dispute resolution,

Assessment practice 1.1 the prospects of online dispute resolution (ODR) is becoming a reality. Create a presentation showing the advantages and disadvantages of ODR for dealing with consumer complaints.

Choose a consumer dispute, such as a tablet computer that you have bought failing after one weeks use.

Compare ODR with existing methods of dispute resolution through the courts and other ADR methods.

Research and discuss in a small group the advantages and disadvantages of online resolution compared with the methods you have studied. Look for articles such as online dispute resolution platform now operational, 18 February 2016, at www.out-law.com/en/articles

Plan, Do, Review

Plan

What is the task? What is my research being asked to address?

Are there any areas of the task that I think I may struggle with? Do I need clarification on anything?

What resources do I need to complete the task? How can I get access to them?

Do

I need to spend time planning my approach to the task.

I need to make connections between what I am researching and the task and identify the important information. I need to identify when I have gone wrong and adjust my thinking to get myself back on course.

Review

I can explain what the task was and how I approached it. I can explain what skills I employed and which new ones I have developed. I can explain what I have learned about methods of dispute resolution and why it is important.