B. Listen to the second part of the interview with the solicitor and fill in the blanks.

I: Hm. Could you say a little bit about the differences between being a 1)… and a 2)…?

S: Well, as you know, they are two different areas of the 3)… …. Having qualified – having obtained a 4)… … – you then either go down the avenue towards becoming a barrister or train to 5)… … …. The solicitor is the one who has personal contact with the public. If you have a 6)… … problem you go into the High Street where you find a 7)… … and you approach him as one would an ordinary family 8)….

I: Rather than go to a specialist …

S: Exactly. A solicitor's practice deals with all aspects of the 10)… on a general basis, whereas the barrister is a sort of 11)…. At the present time, a solicitor only 12)… … in the lower 13)…. When it comes to Crown Court or High Court cases, the barristers have almost a monopoly. They are the people who appear in front of the 14)…. Solicitors do not.

I: Almost a monopoly?

S: Yes, there are now advocate solicitors – a relatively 15)… … – who have the right to appear in Crown 16)… or High Court 17)….

I: And more changes are on the way, aren't they?

S: Yes. It's generally accepted that there will soon be more 18)… whereby solicitors will be allowed to appear in 19)… ….

I: So, as things stand at the moment, if a member of the public – a layman – wants to contact a barrister directly 20)...

S: He can't. 21)… cannot as yet be approached by the general public. So you go to a 22)… and then, if you need representation in a 23)… …, you normally go to barrister's chambers accompanied by 24)… …. Of course, a solicitor can contact a barrister directly for, for example, a written opinion on some complex question of 25)…. But for the general public, it's rather like going to a 26)… after seeing your G.P. (i.e. general practitioner) However, this system is gradually breaking down and, with the 27)… …, things will 28)… considerably.

I: Don't barristers see this 29)… … as a threat?

S: Well, yes, many barristers certainly do. But, as a 30)…, I'm bound to say that I think it's a move in the 31)… ….

I: And how will this affect you and your 32)…?

S: Well, as I said, we're a small practice. But we're looking to expand. And one way of doing so is in the fusion of the 33)… …. The small practices – especially the one-man solicitor outfits – are disappearing. Practices are becoming multi-disciplined; when you go into a 34)… …, there is a specialist in each individual 35)…. And eventually we will have barristers within the practice as specialists in their own field.

I: How, in fact, is a barrister's training 36)… … a solicitor's?

S: Well, like a solicitor, you would sit professional 37)… and then enter pupillage, the barrister's equivalent to articled clerkship, except that it only lasts for a 38)…. You would be attached to a barrister's chambers under a master and there you learn your trade with him.

I: When is a barrister called to the Bar?

S: Oh, this happens before the term of pupillage.

I: So, being called to the Bar doesn't mean setting up as a 39)….

S: No, no. You are called to the Bar by one of the Inns of Court when you 40)… … …. Then, after your year's pupillage, you hope to get tenancy which means, literally, being given an office in the chambers where you have been a 41)…. It's when you get tenancy that you become a 42)….

I: And are there, shall we say, grades of barrister?

S: Well, there are Q.C.s – Queen's Counsels – who, in order to become this, have to 'take silk'.

I: Which means?

S: Well, it means in effect that they are promoted. But it's their own 43)…. It's not 44)… that they have earned in any way. They decide to 'take silk' themselves. The gown that Q.C.s wear 45)… … is made of silk, hence the expression.

I: And what's the difference between a Q.C. and an ordinary 46)…?

S: Well, as Q.C.s they concentrate completely on 47)….

I: You mean they don't do anything else except 48)… … in 49)…?

S: Basically, 50)…. All the preparatory 51)… is done by their seconds. And being a Q.C. is often a stop on the way to becoming a 52)….

I: And have you ever had any 53)… to become a 54)…?

S: Oh, good heavens 55)…. If I’d any ambition in that direction, I’d have become a 56)…. No, in the present system, I think, I’ve chosen the right direction. I have direct 57)… with 58)… … and I get enormous satisfaction from giving them the 59)… … I can provide as their solicitor.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-31