Legal Personnel Flashcards
Barristers Role
- Specialise in specific areas.
- They are collectively known as the Bar.
- Examples may include: criminal law, family law, commercial law, personal injury Give advice – meet with clients to assist with legal issues
- Hold case conferences – meet with clients and any other relevant parties involved
- Draft documents for use in court – ensure necessary documentation is produced Accept and undertake work through Public Access (unless publicly funded)
- They often work in the CPS, local businesses and the Civil Service.
• Where appropriate they negotiate settlements
• Undertake legal research
• Write Counsel’s opinion – producing a written opinion on a case or an aspect of a case
• They prepare cases for court - Advocacy – representing clients in court. This may include presenting arguments, examining and cross-examining witnesses and summing up the case.
- All practising barristers must be a member of an Inn - Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple, Middle Temple and Gray’s Inn.
- Barristers are mainly self-employed and work from chambers.
- They have full rights of audience.
- Advocacy is carried out in both the civil and criminal courts.
- Direct access - professionals in other areas can approach a barrister directly to avoid them having to go through a solicitor first.
• Cab rank rule - They are unable to turn down a case.
• KC – Kings Counsel. 10% of barristers are KCs.
Barristers Regulation
- Bar Standards Board – sets training and entry standards but also regulates the profession.
- There is a Code of Conduct set that Barristers must comply with.
- The Board investigate any alleged breaches.
- They can discipline a barrister who is in breach or they can pass the matter to the Disciplinary Tribunal arranged by an Independent Bar Tribunals and Adjudication service.
The Tribunal can:
- Reprimand the barrister
- Make them complete further professional training
- Order them to pay a fine
- Suspend them for up to 3 years
- Potential disbarring
If the claimant is unhappy at the outcome then they can complain to the Legal Ombudsman. A barrister is liable for negligence through the Direct Access scheme.
Solicitors Role
- There are over 149,000 solicitors in England and Wales
- The Law Society are their regulatory body.
- They can work in civil or criminal practice.
- 75% work in private practice the remainder work in local government, the Civil Service and the CPS.
- The majority of solicitors will work in private practice these vary from high street solicitor firms to large multi-national corporate firms with office all over the world. They may also be employed in legal departments for large corporations or in local government.
- All solicitors have advocacy rights in the lower courts – Magistrates and County courts. If they wish to train to work in higher courts they have to complete advocacy qualifications. Once completed they can go to become KCs and Judges.
Solicitors Regulation
- Regulated by the SRA – Solicitors Regulation Authority
- They will investigate the complaint and if there is serious misconduct it can bring the case to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
- If the Tribunal upholds the complaint they can fine, reprimand or they can suspend the Solicitor from Roll.
- They can in extreme cases strike off the Solicitor so they can no longer practice.
- Solicitors enter into contracts with clients and can be sued for both a breach of contract and negligence.
- They can be sued if they do not complete the agreed work.
- If the client loses out due to poor quality of work – research Hall v Simons (2000)
- Solicitors can be liable in negligence to those affected by their negligent work - research White v Jones.
Legal Executives Role
- Most legal executives work for a firm of solicitors in private practice.
- There work is charged at an hourly rate.
- They can also work in local government, legal departments and the CPS.
- The have to be a registered fellow of CILEX (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives)
- They must have 3 years supervised work experience in their chosen specialist area.
Legal Executives Regulation
- All are members of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx).
- CILEx provide all training , education and development.
- They publish a code of conduct however the regulation is completed by the CILEx Regulation Board as they investigate complaints against legal executives.
- Once an investigation is completed a summary of the matter is submitted to the Professional Conduct Panel for consideration.
- If the panel find misconduct they may reprimand or warn a member about their conduct.
- Serious matters are referred to the Disciplinary Tribunal.
- They can exclude a person from membership, reprimand or warn the member, order the legal executive to pay a fine and costs.
Superior Judges
• They are appointed from those who hold high judicial office.
• For example Court of Appeal Judges or those who have held senior court duties for 15 years or more.
• Judges can be appointed from devolved areas in the UK also.
• They hear final appeals in the Sp Ct.
Superior Judges - Lords Justices of Appeal
• They must have been a qualified solicitor or barrister – 7 years minimum practice experience.
• Or a previous High Court Judge.
• They are appointed by the King.
• They sit in the Civil Division of the High Court hearing appeals from the County or High Court.
• Criminal Division hear appeals from the Crown Court
Superior Judges - High Court Judges
• 7 Years post qualification before they can be appointed.
• Or have been a Circuit Judge for at least 2 years.
• The majority are appointed
from barristers who have been in practice for 20-30 years .
• They are appointed by the King.
• They work in the divisions - KBD, Chancery
and Family.
• They also hear appeals in the Court of Appeal – the appeals link to their respective area of expertise
Inferior Judges - Circuit Judges
• Rights of audience must be held for at least 10 years.
• Generally, most will have served as lower- level judges, either as a Recorder for criminal cases or full-time as District Judges.
• They will hear civil and criminal cases
Inferior Judges - Recorder Judges
• This is part time role, and they hear less serious cases than Circuit Judges.
• They must have at least 7 years post qualification experience
Inferior Judges - District Judges
• This is a full-time position.
• Thye must be post qualification for 5 years before they can be appointed as a Deputy District Judge.
• The vast majority of DJs are former solicitors.
• CILEx graduates are now eligible to apply for
judicial roles.
• They hear both civil and criminal cases.
• Civil claims of low value e.g. the small claims cases.
• Criminal - Magistrates courts they can sit alone to hear summary and TEW offences, they can also impose sentences on offenders
Role of Judges in Civil Courts
• To ensure the hearing is carried out fairly
• To preside over the court
• Familiarise themselves with the case papers and details
• Decide questions of law
• Case manage - disclosure, number of witnesses
• Allocate the track
• Hold preliminary hearings to clarify issues when required
• Ensure case proceeds quickly and efficiently – set time limits
• In cases such as defamation, where a jury is used, advise the jury on law and sum up the case
• When sat alone, at the end of the case using the facts and applying the relevant law, deliver judgment
• If relevant, decide the amount of damages or appropriate remedy
Role of Judges in Criminal Cases
• prepare for trials by reading papers submitted by legal teams
• Hear evidence in criminal cases
• listen to evidence from witnesses, defendants and
victims
• advise juries and legal teams on points of law
• pass sentences on conviction and impose other penalties
• take expert opinion, for instance from coroners
• hear appeals and review decisions of lower courts • write reports, giving reasons for rulings
• keep up to date with legal developments
Judicial Independence
• Superior levels judges cannot be dismissed by the government.
• Their jobs are protected by tenure - inferior judges are not afforded the same level of protection.
• They can only be dismissed by the monarch following a petition presented by both Houses of Parliament.
• When carrying out their judicial function they must be free of any improper influence.
• Such influence could come from any number of sources.
• It could arise from improper pressure by the executive or the legislature, by individual litigants, particular pressure groups, the media, self-interest or other judges, in particular more senior judges
• Judges are not involved in the law-making functions of Parliament.
• Part time judges may also be MPs however full time judges are not allowed.
• Their salaries are separated from the Government and Parliaments authorisation is not necessary for their pay to be granted.
• They can demonstrate their independence from executive using Judicial Review
