Reading

Read the text and answer the questions:

1. What subjects do you study at the Law Faculty?

2. The profession of a lawyer is quite diversified, isn't it?

3. Where can one work after graduating from the Law Faculty?

4. What problems do lawyers have to solve?

5. What are lawyer's duties?

6. On what principles is justice exercised in our country?

7. What's the main court's mission?

8. What do you know about court proceeding?

My future profession

I’m a second year student of the Altai Academy of Economics and Law. I study at the Law Faculty. I’ll become a professional lawyer.

To become a good lawyer one must know much. So at the Academy we study various general and special subjects: Roman Law, Labour Law, Family Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law. But my favorite branches of law are Civil Law, Criminal Law and Law of Procedure.

The graduates of our faculty can work in different state and private organizations, such as Prosecutor’s office, courts, Police, Customs service, Tax inspectorate, Legal Aid Offices, state administration of different levels. My groupmates will work as investigators, prosecutors, judges, defence counsels, legal consultants and notaries.

I think that now the profession of a lawyer is one of the most important in the law-governed state. Lawyers solve many legal problems. The lawyers protect the rights and legal interests of citizens and legal entities. The duty of lawyers is not only to investigate offenses and punish people for various crimes. They must do their best to prevent crimes. They should help those people who committed an error to find the right road in their life.

As for me, I want to become a defence counsel. It’s a special kind of lawyers. A defence counsel is licensed to prepare and either prosecute or defend a court action as an agent for a lay person. He also gives advice on legal matters that may or may not require court action. The defence counsel applies the law to specific cases. He investigates the facts and the evidence. Then he prepares and files the pleadings in court. But the most interesting work is in the court. At the trial he introduces evidence, interrogates witnesses and argues questions of law and fact. It’s so challenging. If the defence counsel does not win the case, he may apply to an appellate court. In many cases, the lawyer can bring about the settlement of a case without trial through negotiation.