giovedì 20 febbraio 2020

Lesson 2_2020

Revision Unit 1 A career in Law 

Legal Professionals - Who does what 

Language from reading 1
  • Adverb+adjective: intellectually stimulating
  • Verb+preposition: to lead to something; to decide on something; to get involved with something
  • Preposition+noun: in addition (to)
  • Verb+noun: to take a course/subject;to run a partnership; to offer a course; to offer assistance; to hire new recruits
  • Verb+verb: to go on to become something
  • Adjective+noun: future career; local community; day-to-day work; a good command (of English)
  • Noun+noun: work experience

Language from Reading 2:
From contract law: formation, interpretation, performance and enforcement of contracts, offer and acceptance, consideration.
From Tort Law: liability for intentional and negligently caused injures to person and property; strict liability; vicarious liability; ultra-hazardous activities; products liability; nuisance; invasion of privacy; defamation; damages; losses.
From Ciminal Law: crime against persons, property and public administration; the law of homicide
From Evidence: relevancy, hearsay, impeachment, cross-examination.
From Criminal Procedure: regulation of law enforcement, investigation of crimes, search and seizure, electronic surveillance, entrapment,
From Constitutional Law: judicial function, distribution under the constitution, immunities under the constitution.
From legal research & writing: to acquaint students with …; analyze judicial opinions; legal citation; techniques of writing memoranda and briefs.
Language:
What to study - core (compulsory) subjects and optional subjects:
  • criminal law, contract law, land law, equity and trusts, administrative law and constitutional law, family law, employment law and housing law,company law, commercial law, litigation and arbitration.
Where to work:
  • Partnership [general partnership (società in nome collettivo) limited partnership (società in accomandita)]
  • Large law practice/firm
  • Commercial practice
  • Sole practitioner
  • Law clinic
Collocations:
Legal writing, legal research, legal practice, legal assistance, legal community,
Law degree programme, law student, law practice, law clinic, law firm

Awkward words
- equity and trusts = affidamento fiduciario - Leggi "L'utilizzo del trust in Italia"
- - Podcast - What is equity?  + Material accompanyng the podcast
- equity vs common law 


Vocabulary Revision

  • performance and enforcement of contracts
  • offer - acceptance - consideration
  • breach of contract
  • liability
  • strict liability (responsabilità oggettiva: it is the legal responsibility of a company for damage or injury caused by its products or services, even though it did not intend to cause the damage or injury: The Consumer Protection Act imposes strict liability for a defective product on the producer.
  • vicariuos liability ( responsabilità indiretta: refers to a situation where someone is held responsible for the actions or omissions of another person. In a workplace context, an employer can be liable for the acts or omissions of its employees, provided it can be shown that they took place in the course of their employment.)
  • nuisance
  • evidence
  • hearsay
  • law enforcement
  • under the constitution
  • damages vs  damage 

damage: means “loss or injury to a person or property”. It is an uncountable singular noun and has no plural form.
E.g.: The cost of the damage to the US caused by Hurricane Ike was estimated at USD 18 billion.
Other words you could use instead of damage: loss, injury
Damages means “money claimed by, or ordered to be paid to, a person as compensation for loss or injury”. It is an uncountable plural noun and has no singular form.
E.g.: The Claimant wishes to sue Acme for damages as a result of a loss sustained by the Claimant after Acme’s failure to perform its obligations.
Other words you could use instead of damages: compensation, satisfaction
Pronunciation notes

ci·ta·tion [saɪˈteɪʃən]
lia·bil·ity [ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪtɪ]
neg·li·gent·ly [ˈnɛɡlɪdʒəntlɪ]
nui·sance [ˈnjuːsns]
prec·edent [ˈprɛsɪdənt]
pri·va·cy [ˈprɪvəsɪ  /ˈpraɪvəsi/]
sei·zure [ˈsiːʒəʳ]
statu·tory [ˈstætjʊtərɪ]
sur·veil·lance [sɜːˈveɪləns] (under surveillance)
vi·cari·ous [vɪˈkɛərɪəs]

Self Study 
  • Reading 1 pp18-19 ex 5-8 
  • Reading 2 p. 20 ex 9-10
  • Listening 2 p. 21 ex 19-20

giovedì 13 febbraio 2020

Lesson 1_2020

Friday 14th February at 9:00 am 

A warm welcome to all our new students :-)

Get to know my students:  Students have sat an entry test to find out their  level of English as well as to get familiar with what is expected from them in the exam. 

What do we mean by Legal English? 

What I consider the basic legal glossary Essential legal terms 

References: 
- Programma a.a. 2019-2020
- Entry Test
- Entry Test Keys
- Text book unit 1 and unit 2 

If you like you can also join my facebook group Legal English 


Self Study 
Please find above a copy of unit 1/2 from the textbook - You will need to study all the reading parts + exercises
Reading 1
Reading 2
Grammar: Comparative and superlative forms
Reading 3
Language Focus

giovedì 16 maggio 2019

Revision


Photocopiable worksheet 10.2 REVISION
Activity of placing one's wealth in a place out of reach from creditors, tax offices, etc.

a._ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The assets of the foundation are held on behalf of a ……….
b._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Rule of law that a person bringing a case must be free from unfair conduct in connection with that case
c._ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Words and phrases used at the beginning of a sentence to show the relationship between ideas

d._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _
System of courts that developed alongside law courts in England
e._ _ _ _ _
Word or phrase which looks similar to one in another language, but with an unexpected meaning
f._ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _
The defendant has the burden of proof to show that the claimant is not acting in……….  .
g._ _ _  _ _ _ _ _
The Anstalt is a………. between a company limited by shares and a foundation.

h._ _ _ _ _
The most widely used form of religious law
i._ _ _ _ _ _    _ _ _
Codified body of Roman law
j._ _ _ _ _ _ _    _ _ _ _
In the late Middle Ages in England, litigants could petition the……….  .
k._ _ _
US state which has a civil-law system
L._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Jurisdictions which have elements of both common and civil law
m._ _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _
This discourse marker is used for emphasising

n._ _ _ _ _ _
In a common-law system, the legislature can………. case law through new legislation.
o._ _ _ _ _ _ _
Decisions made in earlier cases
p._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Canadian state which has a civil-law system.
Q._ _ _ _ _
A formal way of saying decisions are made
r._ _ _ _ _ _ _
Doctrine in common law that compels lower courts to follow decisions of higher courts
s._ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _
An entity which holds assets for the benefit of certain beneficiaries
t._ _ _ _
An aspect of comparative law associated with HCC and UNIDROIT

u._ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _
Common law is used in the………. majority of English-speaking countries.
v._ _ _
Collective term for common-law and civil-law systems.
W._ _ _ _ _ _     _ _ _    
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Jurisdiction with low or zero rate of taxation

_ _ x   _ _ _ _ _
Doctrine that prevents one party from withdrawing from a promise made to another party if the other party has relied on it and acted upon it to his detriment
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ y
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Country with a mixed common/civil-law system, based on South African law
z._ _ _ _ _ _ _

Lesson 11_2019



Vocabulary revision - structure
  advise on     advises                  advising on   draft   drafting         joined           litigate          negotiate      representing           resolving          undertaking  1  Michael   …….the firm four years ago and now …….. a wide range of clients on information technology, communications, privacy, spam and intellectual property law, ………. them in contentious matters in court.2  He’s currently ……. a Master’s of e-Law at Monash University.3    I … .. legal issues relating to information technology, ………and ………agreements, and I …….. cases in court.4    It’s an extremely wide range of work, from …  …. software licence agreements to … …privacy and spam law to ……….disputes about copyright ownership.  
Photocopiable worksheet 10.1 PREPOSITIONS

1 Civil law may be defined………. that legal tradition which has its origin …….... Roman law, ………. codified………. the Corpus Juris Civilis (the Justinian Code), and………. subsequently developed ………. continental Europe and………. the world.
           around            as           as          as         in         in        in                                              

2 Civil law relies ……….declarations ……….broad, general principles. Common law's principles appear ……….
the most part ………. reported judgments, usually……….the higher courts.  ………. relation………specific situations arising……….disputes that the courts have adjudicated.
              For      in     in      in      of       of        on       to                                                             

3 A major difference………. common-law and civil-law systems is the heavy reliance………. case law ………. common-law systems. ……….such cases, the courts interpret statute law ………. the development ……….of case law.
   between        In               in                 on    through                                                                   

4………. the doctrine ………. stare decisis, lower courts are compelled to follow decisions rendered .......... higher courts. Thus, precedent is………. the core ……….common-law legli systems.
        at                  in               of              of           Under                                                       

giovedì 2 maggio 2019

Exam Sample Paper


A_1  Read the text below. Use the word given in the brackets to form new words which are appropriate to the text   [10 marks]
_____________________________________________________
Tort, Crime and Contract
The law of Tort and Criminal law are two clearly separate areas. Both amount to wrongdoing, the major differences are in the purpose each area of law has and in which court the case will be [1] ________ (hearing).
Both Criminal law and the Law of Tort give rise to [2] ________ (liable) for the person who has done something wrong. The key difference between the two types of liability is that a crime is an act against society and a tort is a wrong against a particular individual.
Therefore it is correct to say that the main function of criminal law is to protect the  interests of the public and the main function of the law of Tort is to [3] _______ (provision)  a harmed person with redress for the loss they have sustained.
Whereas any crime is [4] ___________ (punishment)  by the state and cases are heard in the criminal courts, Tort is a civil action. The procedures are quite [5] ________ (differ). As opposed to prison, the purpose of Tort is to obtain damages for the loss [6] _______ (suffering) by the claimant.
The relationship between Tort and Contract law is somewhat [7] ________ (close) than this. The recent trend in some UK Universities has been to speak of a general “law of obligations” where an injured party can seek a remedy from the civil courts for [8] ________ (harmful) done, either because of a breach of contract or because of a general failure of the defendant to take proper care. It has been established for many years that the existence of a contract between the parties does not prevent an action in Tort.
Major differences do still exist between actions in Contract and Tort. These are mostly [9] ________ (connect]  with different rules on limitation periods for the commencement of a civil action, different rules on the quantum of damages and different rules on how closely linked the action of the defendant must be to the loss suffered by the [10] ______ (claim).
In cases where there is both contractual and tortuous liability, the  plaintiff  can often opt for the most advantageous form of action.



A_2 Match the beginning of each sentence (1-5) with an ending (a-e). [mark 5]

1. The last two rights clearly apply
a. control if the directors fail to protect their interests?
2. The supervisory board is made
b. up of outside experts.
3. Can shareholders exercise
c. of their shares
4. They can either get rid
d. benefits as a group.
5. Shareholders accrue
e. to shareholders.






A_3 Read the article and decide what is the best answer a, b or c [14 marks]

Employment lawyers will soon experience a major boom in work after the European Commission last month [1] a) had been publishing    b) published             c) has published  plans to outlaw discrimination in the workplace on the basis of age, religion and sexual orientation. At present, UK domestic legislation only [2] a) allows for                b) allows on                   c)allows with claims against employers on the grounds of race, sex and disability. The proposed directive would also [3] a)be cover            b)have covered   c) cover, inter alia, discrimination based on age and religion.
Further directives are also planned. A second one would deal with [4] a)outlaw               b) outlawing        c) outlawed discrimination on the grounds of race and ethnicity more generally, while a third envisages a "programme of action" [5] a) provided                   b) providing         c) provides practical support and funding for education on race-discrimination issues and for groups which target race discrimination.
Once passed, the directives would place a deadline on transposition [6]  a) in                       b) into                  c) on the national laws of the member states and might allow people to bring claims against governments and other state employers, such as local councils.
The directives would add a large number of other European measures already enshrined in  UK law, such as those covering maximum [7]  a) work                b) working           c) workable  hours and entitlement to parental leave, which were enacted last year, and have led to a huge growth in work for employment practitioners. It is only since the Amsterdam Treaty was passed last summer that European law-makers [8]  a) have           b) will have           c) have had the ability to introduce anti-discrimination legislation on any basis other than sex.
David Cockburn, the former chairman of the Law Society's Employment Law committee, said: "the whole discrimination industry will [9] a) take off   b) take in        c) take up in the next four or five years because of so much legislation in the pipeline", he said advising employers on how to avoid claims and increased awareness amongst the public of their rights would give rise [10] a) to            b) in            c) for more work for solicitors. Mr Cockburn added that the scope of discrimination would also be opened up by a broader definition of indirect discrimination in the directive which would "remove any artificial hurdles claimants currently have to cross".
Elizabeth Adams, chair of the Employment Lawyers Association's international committee, said the directives would mean "more legislation for employers [11]  a) tackling b) for to tackle              c)  to tackle, more claims and more work for lawyers" as well as a " simpler route for claimants".

A_3.1 Read the whole text again and decide whether these statements are true or false

  1. Elizabeth Adams thinks that the directives will make it easier for employees to file a complaint against an employer
  2. David Cockburn thinks the discrimination industry will expand over the next few years because so many new laws have been passed
  3. A directive concerning entitlement to parental leave will soon be made into law in the UK


A_4 Grammar Choose the best answer a, b or c  [5 marks]

1) In the past ten years, the attorneys in our firm _________a large number of landlord/tenant disputes
a) handled              b) have handled      c) had handled
2) The client has  not yet decided what type of company he ______ to form
a) wanted               b) wants                 c) is wanting
3) The benefit  of  a contract is an enforceable right ______________ the other party.
a) under                 b) against               c) of
4) The  duties ______ by directors to company can be classified into two groups
a) are owed            b) will be owed       c) owed
5) According to the statutes, the chairperson ______ preside at the EGM
a) must                  b) must to              c) might



A5 Below is a letter of a lawyer to inform Mr Martinez of the matters she has discussed with their mutual client. The sentences have been mixed up. Put them into the correct order. [6 marks] 1__2__3__4__......... 5__ 6 __

Dear Mr Martinez,

A) I also informed Mr Watson about the steps involved in the process, from the initial drawing up of a power of attorney, to setting up a bank account and arranging financing, through to the final signing of documents . Mr Watson now knows what to expect.
B) I had a meeting with Mr Watson This morning, and I would like to inform you of the matters we discussed in connection with the sale.
C) First of all, Mr Watson stated that he would gladly make use of your services for the transaction, and has agreed to the flat fee of  € 1,000  you have requested.
D) Thank you very much for your email of 17 May, in which you offer to provide your services in assisting my client, Mr Edward Watson, in purchasing a house in the Costa del Sol region of Spain.
E) Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance. Thank you for your efforts on Mr Watson’s behalf.
F) I have one request: could you please provide me with copies of all documents you draw up in connection with the house purchase? 

Yours sincerely
Teresa Blackwell.









A_6  Complete the clauses about a tenancy agreement using the words provided below [10 marks]

a)   harmless   b)   premises    c)    herein       d)   thereon    e)   liable               
f)    lessee    g)   quietly    h)   reasonable       i)     deemed  j)     rules               

INSPECTION OF PREMISES. Lessor and  Lessor’ s agents shall have the right at all [1] _______ time during the term of this Agreement to enter the [2] _________ for the purpose of inspecting the Premises and all buildings and improvements [3] __________ and also for the purpose of making any repairs, additions or alterations as may be [4] _________ appropriate by Lessor for the preservation of the Premises or the building.

2.  IDEMNIFICATION. Lessor shall not be  [5] __________ for any damage or injury of or to the Lessee, Lessee’ s family , guests, invitees, agents or employees or to any person entering the Premises or the building of which the Premises are a part or to goods or equipment, or in the structure or equipment of the structure of which the Premises are a part, and [6] _________ hereby agrees to indemnify, defend and hold Lessor [7] _________ from any and all claims or assertions of every kind and nature.

3. QUIET ENJOYMENT.  LESSEE, upon payment of all of the sums referred to  [8] _________ as being payable by Lessee and Lessee’s  performance of all Lessee’s agreements contained herein and Lessee’s observance of all  [9] ___________ and regulations, shall and may peacefully and [10] _____________ have, hold and enjoy said Premises for the term hereof.



A_7  Fill in the gaps with the correct preposition [10 marks]

  1. Notice of any change must be __________ writing.
  2. __________ the Sale if Goods Act 1979, goods must be of merchantable quality
  3. The case arose __________ a poorly drawn up contract.
  4. We are bound __________ the terms of the contract.
  5. The smoking ban came_________ force on July 1.