A Critical Analysis of The Legal Professions

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A Critical Analysis of The Legal Professions

1.0 Introduction

The English legal profession, which applies in England and Wales, is

separated into two different types of lawyer: the solicitor and the

barrister. There are similarities and areas of overlap in both jobs. A

solicitor deals with a whole spectrum of legal issues whereas a

barrister usually specialises in one area and advises solicitors when

asked. Solicitors are usually employed in a partnership as part of a

solicitor's firm and their governing body is The Law Society.

Barrister's are usually self-employed and specialise in advocacy.

After fifteen to twenty years a barrister can progress to the Queens

Counsel (QC's) by application. The Queen on the advice of the Lord

Chancellor appoints QC's. QC's 'represent the top ten percent of

barristers' (Keenan, 2002) and due to this many applications are

turned down and barristers may have to apply many times. The governing

body for barristers is The BAR Council.

The following report aims to critically analyse the legal profession.

2.0 Training

Training in the professions is a long and intensive course. Firstly to

become a solicitor or a barrister an individual would need to get

their BA in law or if a different degree level course is studied they

would have to take a conversion course that lasts a year in which

tuition fees apply. From this stage the individual may have already

got them self into owing a large debt as the average postgraduate for

2004 tops £10,000 (Average Student Debt,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1939528.stm, BBC.co.uk 2004,

[Accessed: 28/05/2004]). Then the individual would have to pay

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...en met;

(b) whether the customer received an inducement to agree to the term,

or in accepting it had an opportunity of entering into a similar

contract with other persons, but without having to accept a similar

term;

(c) whether the customer knew or ought reasonably to have known of the

existence and extent of the term (having regard, among other things,

to any custom of the trade and any previous course of dealing between

the parties);

(d) where the term excludes or restricts any relevant liability if

some condition is not complied with, whether it was reasonable at the

time of the contract to expect that compliance with that condition

would be practicable;

(e) whether the goods were manufactured, processed or adapted to the

special order of the customer

Taken From: Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977

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