АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК В ПРАВОВЕДЕНИИ

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МОСКОВСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ЮРИДИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ ИМЕНИ

О. Е. КУТАФИНА

А.И. КОНТАНИСТОВА, И.А. МАРТЫНЕНКО,

O.С. КОВРИГИНА, В.С. КРЕУЗОВА

АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК В ПРАВОВЕДЕНИИ

УЧЕБНИК ДЛЯ МАГИСТРАНТОВ

Москва

KUTAFIN MOSCOW STATE LAW UNIVERSITY

A. KONTANISTOVA, I. MARTYNENKO,

O. KOVRIGINA, V. KREUZOVA

LEGAL ENGLISH

FOR MASTER’S PROGRAMME

Moscow

Введение

Настоящее пособие предназначено для обучения студентов-магистрантов юридических специальностей всех форм обучения, изучающих английский язык по программе «Иностранный язык в правоведении».

Курс рассчитан на 72 академических часа основной образовательной программы (ООП) магистратуры, 12 часов из которых проводятся в аудитории под руководством преподавателя, а 60 часов отпущены на самостоятельную работу студентов.

Каждая глава (Unit) обособлена тематически и рассчитана на тщательный разбор материала в аудитории вместе с преподавателем и закрепление его затем во время самостоятельной работы при помощи упражнений. Пособие содержит приложение (Supplement) с дополнительными текстами и упражнениями для расширения профессионального кругозора студентов, а также ключи к этим упражнениям для улучшения самоконтроля. По завершении курса в качестве экзаменационного зачета предполагается защита проекта «Электронное портфолио достижений магистранта для трудоустройства» в форме презентации, а также составление договора на английском языке.

Курс носит практический характер и направлен на развитие как коммуникативных компетенций студентов (построение беседы с клиентом, телефонный разговор), так и на обучение магистрантов составлению договоров на английском языке, чтению англоязычной прессы и составлению рабочего и демонстрационного портфолио.

Учебник подготовлен преподавателями Кафедры английского языка №2 Московского государственного юридического университета имени О.Е. Кутафина – Контанистовой А.И., Мартыненко И.А., Ковригиной О.С., Креузовой В.С. Ответственные редакторы – доцент Кафедры англ. яз. №2 Ратникова Е.В., кандидат филологических наук, доцент, зав. Кафедрой англ. яз. №2 Ильина Н.Ю.

CONTENTS

UNIT 1. INITIAL INTERVIEW WITH A CLIENT

UNIT 2. SKILLS OF EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION

UNIT 3. TELEPHONING

UNIT4. CONTRACTS

UNIT 5. READING NEWSPAPERS

UNIT 6. PORTFOLIO

SUPPLEMENT

KEYS TO SUPPLEMENT EXERCISES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 1

Lead-in

Before reading the text please answer the following questions.

· Why is the first interview so important? What are lawyer’s purposes? What are client’s goals?

· Which stages of an interview are considered to be essential?

· What techniques may a lawyer employ to keep the conversation going?

· What questions may a lawyer ask? What are their purposes?

· What does initial advising include?

EXERCISES

Exercise 1.

Read 2 lawyer-client interviews. Which techniques do lawyers use to establish a contact with a client and keep the conversation going? Study the checklist which is supposed to help a lawyer to prepare for and structure the first client interview. Which recommendations mentioned in the checklist do the lawyers follow? Support your ideas with the examples from the dialogues. Which points from the checklist have not been covered? What would you add to improve the dialogues?

Dialogue 1

Lawyer: Hello, Mr. Berger?

Client: That’s right.

Lawyer: I hope you’ve managed to find us alright?

Client: Yeah, no problem. Sorry I’m a bit late, by the way. I’ve got caught up in a bit of traffic by the railway station.

Lawyer: Yes, it’s terrible round there, isn’t it? They’ve been digging up the road for I don’t know how long – at least a year I guess. Putting in new gas pipes I’m told. But traffic’s a nightmare there at the best of times.

Client: Well, I’ll know for next time anyway.

Lawyer: Anyway, come on through. How can I help you?

Client: (looking at his watch): Right, well I’m a bit pushed, so I’ll get down to business, if you don’t mind.

Lawyer: Of course.

Client: Right. I’m the CEO of a local construction firm, Maynards, as you probably know, and I’m after some advice on employment issues, particularly on unfair dismissal. Basically, the problem I’ve encountered recently is that I discovered that one of my managers, Brian Turner, who came to us a year ago from a rival firm – had previously done time. He hadn’t disclosed the fact to us. Now I’ll tell you straight up, I’m strict on that sort of thing – I expect complete frankness from my people, and they know they’ll get the same from me in return. So I took the view this was a serious breach of trust and decided he had to quit.

Lawyer: Sorry to interrupt, but on what date did this happen?

Client (takes out a diary): Just a moment... Right, here it is – exactly four weeks ago.

Lawyer: (makes notes): Thank you. Please carry on.

Client: Yes. So the issue we’re facing now is that he’s threatening to take us to the employment tribunal for unfair dismissal.

Lawyer: OK, I see the problem. Do you happen to know what Mr. Turner was sent to prison for – what offence – and how long ago was this?

Client: No, I don’t. Are those relevant issues?

Lawyer: They are, yes. To put the thing in a nutshell, the whole issue essentially hinges on whether the conviction which led to Mr. Turner being sent to prison could be classified as a ‘spent conviction’ at the time he was dismissed. If it was a spent conviction, then the law says that dismissal is automatically unfair. If not, the question of whether it was unfair or not depends on a number of criteria that are really to do with Mr. Turner’s general conduct and capacity to do the work, but perhaps we can leave those issues to one side for a moment...

Client: I’m sorry but what does this ‘spent conviction’ thing actually mean?

Lawyer: Right, sorry. It comes from a bit of legislation called the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. The general idea is that if you’re convicted of an offence – unless it’s extremely serious – and you’re sent down for less than 2.5 years, then your conviction will eventually be ‘spent’ if you’re not convicted again of another offence during a specified period. This is called the rehabilitation period. Generally speaking, the more severe a penalty is, the longer the rehabilitation period.

Client: OK, I get the point. So where do we go from here?

Lawyer: Well, I’d need to know (1) what offence Mr. Turner was convicted of, and (2) how long ago this was, and (3) whether he was convicted of any other offences in the rehabilitation period, in order to work out whether the conviction was spent at the time he was dismissed.

Dialogue 2

Client: Hello, Mr. Langston and thanks once again that you managed to fit me in at such short notice.

Lawyer: Not at all, Mr. Hall. I think the quicker we can work out a response to this matter the better. Now, let me see. I have here a copy of the original contract between Pixeltechnik and Digital Work and I also have a copy of the correspondence which was exchanged between the two companies. But can I start by asking you to describe what happened?

Client: Well, in June I was contacted by my production manager. He informed me that our random sampling was showing inconsistencies in every screen and that we were going to shut the production down.

Lawyer: Hmm…and what happened next?

Client: I joined him in the production area and we arranged a series of checks to find out what the problem was. It turned out to be a minor error in chemical processing. It meant that the screens were not consistently as bright as they should have been.

Lawyer: Could you explain to me what you mean by ‘not consistently’?

Client: Well, the screens might still have conformed to the agreed product specification, but they didn’t pass our stringent tests. And that’s what matters. You see, the whole process is patented. It means that our digital display screens can be seen perfectly – even in bright sunshine and…

Lawyer: Yes, but let me take you back to the question of these defects. Are you saying that the screens were not defective as defined in Annex 1 to the contract?

Client: I think as far as the contractual specifications are concerned the screens were probably still OK. But we knew there was a processing error. The screens might have developed malfunctions at a later stage. We just thought it was better for the reputation of Pixeltechnik not to take any risk.

Lawyer: Ok. Can you explain why you had to recall so many screens? 5, 000 wasn’t it?

Client: At first, we thought only one batch – 500 units – were affected. But when we checked it became clear that we had had the error for about ten days.

Lawyer: So, if I understand you correctly, you are saying that your production manager only found the production error ten days after it started.

Client: I’m afraid, that’s right. For ten days the test results showed slight inconsistencies in screen brightness but it seems that our technicians misinterpreted the results and thought the screens were fine.

Lawyer: What did your company do then?

Client: We contacted Digital Work immediately and informed them about the product recall.

Lawyer: And how did they react?

Client: They were not very pleased but we agreed on a schedule for delivery of 5, 000 screens and Pixeltechnik accepted the full financial consequences of late delivery.

Lawyer: This would be clause 1.4 …er… ‘for every week or part thereof by which the delivery date is exceeded, the purchaser can reduce the agreed price for the order by 2%.

Client: Quite a lot of money, I might add.

Lawyer: Have you calculated precisely how much?

Client: I haven’t got the exact figures from our Finance Manager yet, but it’s somewhere about 15, 000 euros.

Lawyer: So, reasonable compensation for any inconveniences, I suppose.

Client: Indeed.

Lawyer: Did you deliver the 5, 000 screens according to the agreed schedule?

Client: Yes, we did. And the product quality was 100 % as well. That’s why I was so shocked to receive this letter yesterday. I mean, they can’t just terminate the contract with 21 days’ notice, can they? Surely this is breach of contract.

Lawyer: Well, they are invoking clause 8.1, which refers to unsatisfactory performance. That could be a slight problem for us. Was this the first time you had had the quality problems?

Client: Yes, it was. In my view, it’s completely unfair. We did a lot of development work on our product – just for Digital Work – and we won’t begin to make a profit on this deal until after two years of production. So, if we get thrown out of this contract now, we’ll suffer an enormous loss.

Lawyer: I suppose that’s why the contract was to run for a minimum of two years.

Client: Exactly. And our patented product really gave Digital Work the edge over its competitors.

Lawyer: I must say, it does seem unfair. It’s possible that Digital Work could be using this production problem as an excuse to get out of the contract that it no longer wants for strategic reasons.

Client: But is there anything we can do about it?

Lawyer: Well, as I see it, Digital Work’s conduct goes against the whole spirit of your agreement. In view of this, our best option would be to refer to a dispute resolution clause in your contract and then start to prepare for legal action. I will ask you to provide me with the following documents: …

CHECKLIST Opening · Greet the client and conduct a preliminary small talk; · Find out client’s concerns and goals; · Explain preliminary matters including fees, retainer, what can and cannot be done for the client, and the nature and proposed structure of the interview. Listening and questioning · Listen actively to the client and show understanding of it; · Use appropriate questioning techniques (open, closed and leading questions) where necessary to prompt, clarify, prevent deviation or probe. · Identify the aims of the client; · Give feedback. Summarizing · Summarize the client’s goals; · Identify the relevant facts; · Identify deficiencies in the facts available; · Avoid giving premature legal advice; · Seek further information from the client. Advising · Give a brief introduction to the advising process; · Give a brief outline of the relevant law; · Outline the available legal and non-legal options; · Discuss the available options with the client. Concluding · Describe clearly the follow-up action to be taken by you as a lawyer; · Describe clearly the follow-up action to be taken by the client; · Give clear time-frames for action and future meetings; · Confirm the follow-up procedures with the client;

Exercise 2.

Make questions using words and word combinations given below. Use the correct tense form of the main verb. Do not forget about an auxiliary verb where necessary. Which questions are open-ended, narrow, closed, leading? Explain your point of view.

1. You/to expect/as a result of this/to lose/your customer?

2. What/to be/ the price of the shares?

3. What/to happen/to the CEO/during the meeting?

4. What/to be/for you/an ideal outcome?

5. This point/to be mentioned/in the contract, to be it?

6. Why/not support you/your colleagues?

7. Try/you/to contact/anybody else?

8. The goods/to have/to be delivered/within 30 days/didn’t they?

9. How/can/exactly/help you/I?

10. Fulfil/the obligations/completely/you?

Exercise 3.

Exercise 4.

How do you understand the term “effective listening behaviour”? Why is it important for a lawyer to demonstrate it while speaking to a client? In small groups think of as many reasons as you can. Share your ideas with the rest of the group.

Exercise 5.

Exercise 6.

Choose a sphere of law you are good at or interested in. Think of possible problems that might bring a client to a lawyer. Choose one of the problems, describe it in detail and prepare for the initial interview with a client. While getting ready follow the checklist above.

UNIT 2

Lead-in

Introduction

Welcoming the audience

Good morning/afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Hello/hi everyone.

First of all, let me thank you all for coming here today.

It’s a pleasure to welcome you today.

I’m happy/delighted that so many of you could make it today.

It’s good to see you all here.

Introducing yourself

Let me introduce myself. I’m Maria Wales from…

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is…

Let me just start by introducing myself. My name is…

Introducing the topic

What I’d like to present to you today is…

I’m here today to present…

Today’s topic is…

The subject/topic of my presentation is…

In my presentation I would like to report on…

Today I’m going to speak about…/I’ll be speaking about…

Stating your purpose

The purpose/objective/aim of this presentation is to…

Our goal is to determine how/the best way to…

What I want to show you is…

My objective is to…

Today I’d like to give you an overview of…

Today I’ll be reporting on…

I’d like to update you on/inform you about…

During the next few hours/minutes we’ll be…

Structuring

I’ve divided my presentation into three (main) parts.

In my presentation I’ll focus on three major issues.

Sequencing

Point one deals with…, point two…, and point three…

First, I’ll be looking at…, second…, and third…

I’ll begin/start off by…. Then I’ll move on to…. Next/after that …

I’ll end/finish with…

Timing

My presentation will take about 15 minutes.

It will take about 20 minutes to cover all the issues.

This won’t take more than…

Handouts

Does everybody have a handout/brochure/copy of the report? Please take one and pass them on.

Don’t worry about taking notes. I’ve put all the important statistics on a handout for you.

I’ll be handing out copies of the slides at the end of my talk.

I can email the PowerPoint presentation to anybody who wants it.

Questions

There will be time for questions after my presentation.

We will have about 10 minutes for questions in the question and answer period.

If you have any questions, feel free to interrupt me at any time.

Feel free to ask questions at any time during my talk.

Effective openings

Rhetorical questions

What does any restructuring mean from a legal point of view?

Do we really need quality assurance from our clients?

Interesting facts

According to the article I’ve read recently…

Did you know that…?

I’d like to share an amazing fact/some statistics with you.

Stories and anecdotes

I remember when I attended a meeting in Berlin, …

At a conference in Berlin, I was once asked the following question: …

Let me tell you what happened to me…

Problem to think about

Suppose you wanted to…. How would you go about it?

Imagine you had to…. What would be your first step?

Main part

Saying what is coming

In this part of my presentation, I’d like to talk about…

So, let me first give you a brief overview.

Summarizing a point

Before I move on, I’d like to recap the main points.

Let me briefly summarize the main issues.

I’d like to summarize what I’ve said so far…

Moving to the next point

This leads directly to my next point.

This brings us to the next question.

Let’s now move on/turn to…

After examining this point, let’s turn to…

Let’s now take a look at…

Going back

As I said/mentioned earlier, …

Let me come back to what I said before…

Let’s go back to what we were discussing earlier.

As I’ve already explained, …

As I pointed out in the first section, …

Adding ideas

In addition to this, I’d like to say that…

Moreover/furthermore, there are other interesting facts we should take a look at.

Apart from being too expensive, it’s also too time-consuming.

Rhetorical questions

What conclusion can we draw from this?

So, what does it mean?

So, how good are the results?

So, how are we going to deal with these complaints?

So, where do we go from here?

Why do I say that? Because…

Do we really want to miss this opportunity to …?

Describing visuals

Introducing a visual

Let’s now look at the next slide which shows…

To illustrate this, let’s have a closer look at…

The chart on the following slide shows…

I have a slide here that shows…

The problem is illustrated on the next slide.

You can see the test results in this table.

As you can see here, …

Highlighting information

I’d like to stress/highlight/emphasize the following point(s).

I’d like to start by drawing your attention to…

Let me point out that…

I think you will be surprised to see that…

I’d like to focus your attention on…

What is really important here is…

What I’d like to point out here is…

Let’s look more closely at…

Conclusion

Summarizing points

Before I stop, let me go over the key issues again.

Just to summarize the main points of my talk…

I’d like to run through my main points again…

To conclude/in conclusion, I’d like to…

To sum up, let’s…

Inviting questions

Are there any questions?

We have time for a few questions.

And now I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Dealing with questions

Clarifying questions

I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch that.

I’m sorry, could you repeat your question, please?

So, if I understood you correctly, you would like to know whether…

So, in other words you would like to know if…

If I could just rephrase your question. You’d like to know whether…

Does that answer your question?

Avoiding giving an answer

If you don’t mind, could we discuss that on another occasion?

I’m afraid, that’s not really what we are discussing here today.

Well, actually I’d prefer not to discuss that today.

Admitting you don’t know

Sorry, I don’t know that off the top of my head.

I’m afraid, I’m not in a position to answer that question at the moment.

I’m afraid, I don’t know the answer to your question, but I’ll try to find it out for you later.

Sorry, that’s not my field. But I’m sure my colleague from the Accounts could answer your question.

Postponing questions

If you don’t mind, I’ll deal with/come back to this point later in my presentation.

Can we get to this point a bit later?

I’d prefer to answer your question in the course of my presentation.

Would you mind waiting until question and answer section at the end of my speech?

Perhaps we could go over this after the presentation.

EXERCISES

Exercise 1.

Exercise 2.

Exercise 3.

Exercise 4.

Exercise 5.

Exercise 6.

UNIT 3.

Lead-in

Telephoning

Notwithstanding that messaging and email may have overtaken telephone conversations as a way of communicating, telephone skills remain important in developing professional relationships and providing services. They are skills required of lawyers from the first day of their practice. It is common for many first interviews to take place and initial instructions to be given by telephone. It is also a means by which transactions and matters are progressed, either on a one-to-one or telephone conference basis. In light of this, you as a lawyer should take every opportunity to practise a professional telephone manner and try not to become too dependent on email. It may feel like an easy way of avoiding having to think on your feet, but the fact is that some matters are better handled by speaking to a client. Delivering an unpalatable message, such as that you are not going to meet the deadline, is a kind of matter that is tempting to deal with by email so that you do not have to deal with the client’s immediate reaction. However, this is precisely the kind of issue, which is better handled by telephone. It is much easier to avoid errors in tone by telephone; emails may often be misconstrued and if the subject matter is delicate, this can be exacerbated. In addition, if you can call a client to deliver an unpalatable message, you will demonstrate to that client that you are an honest and confident lawyer with good communication skills, and most clients will appreciate this.

Every time a prospective client or referral source interacts with you or your firm by telephone, he or she comes away with a positive, neutral or negative impression. Making people feel important and letting them know you care leaves them with a positive impression, so how you and your law firm handle telephone calls speaks volumes. The person who first answers the phone becomes the greeter for the entire firm. Setting a friendly, warm tone is important because doing so sets the stage for the interaction that follows. When the person answering the phone is friendly, the caller is likely to reciprocate. Many companies that train people how to answer the phone suggest physically smiling before answering the phone. The smile can literally be heard in a person’s voice and articulation. The policy in many companies is to let the phone ring no more than three times. If you cannot answer the phone within the allocated time, offer an immediate apology to the caller. Doing this you inform your client or colleague that you are aware of the delay and of the caller’s probable annoyance, thus defusing it. If the caller has forgotten to introduce himself, there is a subtle way to get this information. You may politely ask him or her who is calling and once the speaker gives the name, be sure to use it in your response.

When you answer the phone, you may need to take a message. The key goal of this task is accuracy – getting the correct phone numbers, dates, meeting times, names of people. To ensure this accuracy you may need to repeat what you have written down to the caller. Most callers will appreciate it because the repetition helps to assure them that the correct information will be transmitted to the recipient of the message. If you do not understand what the caller has said, because he talks fast, has a speech impediment, has a strong accent, or there are interfering noises, do not be embarrassed to ask him to repeat what you did not understand or to ask him to slow down or speak up.

Try to demonstrate that you are actively listening to and empathizing with the person with whom you are interacting. When a client calls, you must give him or her your full and undivided attention; put yourself in the client’s shoes and try to see things from his or her perspective. Keep distractions and background noise to a minimum; when you are on the phone, do not type, tidy your desk or arrange your papers. During longer conversations, it is a good idea to take notes and pause at key points to summarize what you have just heard to show that you are listening ('So what you mean is...', 'If I understood you correctly, you want to... '). This can also help your client to move forward in the conversation. Wait until the other person has stopped talking before you decide what to say next. If you are constantly thinking about your response, you will not be able to concentrate on what they are saying. Use phrases like 'let me see', 'I see what you mean', or 'I just need to think for a moment' to give yourself time to think about what to say next.

If you are making a call, speak clearly, at a moderate pace and try to be polite and friendly. Start your conversation by stating your name and the purpose of your call. Your initial greeting is especially important if you are not well known to the person you are calling, and it is even more important if you have never met the person you are calling. You only get one chance to make your “first impression.” After your introduction, be sure to ask, “Is now a good time to talk? ” If you get a positive answer, give the person an idea how long the conversation is likely to last and get to the point as quickly as possible. If it is an inconvenient time for the recipient, schedule an appointment when the person will be available to speak with you. If you get a voicemail while making a call, get ready to leave a message. When leaving a message, speak slowly and clearly, state your name - spell it, if necessary - and the purpose of your call, keep your message short and to the point, indicate the best time to call you back, leave your call-back number at both the beginning and end of your recorded message, be sensitive to confidentiality as others might hear the message you leave.

One of the particular problems with telephoning is that you cannot see the person you are speaking to. You therefore do not have the benefit of the nonverbal clues given by body language, which assist communication in face-to-face situations. This makes it especially important for both parties to speak clearly and use simple terms. You, as a lawyer, should avoid jargon and slang words if you do not want to mislead or puzzle your client. The tone of verbal communication is very important, as it helps you to convey a range of messages: empathy, sympathy, humour, etc. Even if you are concentrating on something, try not to slip into a monotone. Make sure you vary the tone of your voice to add interest. People tend to mirror the emotions, so if you are pleasant to them, they are more likely to be pleasant to you.

Making a phone call in English requires mastering vocabulary and phrases typical of formal telephone communication. Preparation in advance will help you to organize your ideas and provide support for you if you get confused. Remember, that practice makes it perfect.

Opening a call

Identifying yourself

This/it is Mark Harris from Will’s Plc.

Asking for the person

Could I speak to James Cassidy, please?

Is Mr. Cassidy there, please?

Could you put me through to your legal department, please?

Listen, Steve, I'm actually trying to get through to Paula. Is she there at the moment?

Taking a call

Identifying yourself

Somerset and partners. James speaking. How can I help you?

So, what can I do for you?

Transferring a call

Can I just ask what it's about?

Can you hold on a moment, please?

Can you hold the line, please?

I'll put you through.

I'm connecting you now.

The line's (still) busy (Am Eng)/engaged (Br.Eng).

Would you like to wait, or shall I ask him/her to call you back?

I'm afraid his/her line is engaged (busy).

Shall I give you his/her extension number?

Calling someone back

Sorry, I'm really busy at the moment. Can I call you back later today/in ten minutes?

I'm actually talking to someone on the other line.

I think I've got your number, but can you give it to me again just in case?

Returning a call

I'm just returning your call from yesterday.

You left a message on my answering machine.

Ending the call

Thank you very much. - You're welcome.

Just let me know if there's anything else I can do for you. - I’ll do that.

Speak to you later. - Goodbye.

Communication problems

I didn't catch that (last part).

Could you repeat that, please?

Can you speak up a bit, please?

Could you speak a little bit more slowly, please?

Could you spell that for me, please?

This is a really bad line.

Sorry, we got cut off... Anyway, as I was saying…

Taking a message

Can I take a message?

Does (s)he have your number?

I'll tell him/her you’ve called.

Shall I ask him/her to call you back?

I'll make sure he/she gets your message.

Checking the message

Let me just read that back to you.

Let me just make sure that I got that right.

You'd like to know if...

Was that M for Michael or N for Nancy?

Sorry, did you say 42 04 or 42 14?

Sorry, what was the post code again?

Leaving a message

Could you ask him/her to call me back?

My name is John Ellis. I'm calling from James Brown and my number is...

Mobile phones

Where are you?

I 'm on the train.

I 'm actually in the office. You can call me on my land line.

I'm afraid I'm in a meeting at the moment. Can I call you later?

Have you got a couple of minutes?

My battery's low - we might get cut off, I’m afraid.

Sorry, you're breaking up (a little).

Listen, I think I'm losing the connection. I’d better go.

Making arrangements

Suggesting a meeting

Do you have time to meet next week?

I was wondering if you might have time to meet next week.

It would give us a chance to talk about…

Suggesting times and places

When would suit you?

Where would you like to meet?

Would Monday be OK for you?

How about Wednesday morning?

Shall we say 10 o'c1ock in my office?

Reacting to suggestions

I just need to check my diary.

I think that should be possible.

Tuesday's bad for me. I'm afraid.

I'm tied up all day.

Yes, that would be good for me.

Confirming an arrangement

OK, so I'll see you Wednesday then.

So that's Monday at 10 a.m. at your office.

Changing arrangements

I'm calling about our meeting tomorrow.

I'm afraid something has come up.

One of my clients has cancelled/brought forward our appointment.

The meeting lasted longer than I expected.

I wanted to ask you if we could meet a bit earlier/postpone/put off our meeting.

I was wondering if we could reschedule our appointment.

Would it be possible to meet a bit later?

Complaints

Making a complaint

Are you the right person to talk to?

There appears to be a small problem with the documents.

There appears to be a mistake on the contract you’ve sent to us.

You seem to have forgotten the attachment.

Clarifying the problem

What is the problem exactly?

Could you explain the problem in more detail?

Apologizing

I'm very/extremely sorry about that.

Please accept my apologies.

That's entirely our fault.

There must have been a mix-up.

Taking action

It's good that you've brought this problem to my attention.

This is what I'll do.

I'll make sure it gets sorted out straight away.

Let me put you through to our legal department. They'll sort it out for you.

Reaching agreements

Making proposals

I wanted to make a suggestion.

I have an idea.

What do you think?

How does that sound?

Interrupting

Sorry, can I interrupt you there?

Yes, yes, but can I just say something?

Well yes, that may be true, but...

Can I just come in here?

Can I just stop you there?

Reacting to proposals

That sounds feasible/very reasonable.

We could probably work with that.

That depends. /That's difficult to say.

I don't think that would be possible.

I think we have a certain amount of room to maneuver, but I would have to check with my superior first.

EXERCISES

Exercise 1.

Exercise 2.

Exercise 3.

Exercise 4.

(A) Use phrases which are typical of telephone conversations to answer the following questions. Sometimes variants are possible.

1. How could you explain to your colleague why they couldn’t reach you on your mobile phone when they tried to?

2. How could you tell someone you’re speaking to on a mobile phone that the signal is very bad and you have difficulty understanding what they are saying?

3. How could you ask someone to speak louder because there’s a lot of background noise?

4. How could you ask someone to give you their mobile so that you could make a phone call because you haven’t charged up yours?

5. How could you ask someone to wait and not to put the phone down while you have to interrupt the call for some reason?

6. How could you ask somebody who has called you at the inconvenient time to call you later once again?

7. How could you ask someone to say the last phrase once again because you didn’t understand it?

8. What would you say to your colleague if you realized that you can’t meet them as it has been arranged?

9. What would you say to someone if you wanted to arrange a meeting with them?

10. What would you say to someone who has just called to your office and wants to speak to your colleague who isn’t at his/her desk?

(B). Work in pairs. Make a list of questions as in 4 (A) to practise vocabulary used in telephone communication. Use useful phrases and vocabulary bank. Ask your partner these questions. Answer your partner’s questions.

Spell the following names

1. Antoine Bourget-Bourget 2. Yves Martignac 3. Tania Steinman 4. Alessandro Vieri 5. Hubert Adamczyk

1. Mariscal Estigarribia (Paraquay) 2. Huntington Avenue 3. Lubuklinggau (Indonesia) 4. Advanta Architeturra 5. Thabana-Ntlenyana (Lesotho)

Exercise 6.

Card 1

Student A You work for an international company as a PA. Answer the phone and help the caller. Important: Your boss has told you that he doesn’t want any phone calls.

Student B You work for an insurance company as a lawyer. Your client, the CEO of an international company has asked you to prepare an insurance policy for him but he has not provided you with the documents you asked for. Now there is a risk that you’ll miss the deadline. Call your client and try to solve this problem.

Card 2

Student A You work for a Banking international company as a lawyer. Your client, Mr. Wilson left a message for you, asking if you could meet him next week to discuss the legal consequences of his investment plans for his company. Call him and arrange a meeting.

Student B You work for a chemical manufacturing company as a secretary. Your boss, Mr. Wilson is out of the office at the moment. Someone will call and leave a message for him. Write down the message, checking all the details to make sure you understand them. Make sure you get the caller’s mobile number and e-mail address.

Card 3

Student A You would like to meet your lawyer next week to discuss all the circumstances and possible legal consequences of your case. Call him/her and find the time you are free. Don’t forget about an urgent business trip that will take you 2 days, and one-day long negotiations with your overseas colleagues.

Student B You are a lawyer. Your client, a very important person in the world of business, would like to meet you next day. He is calling you to arrange a meeting. Your next week is quite tough, as you have a lot of conferences and interviews. But you can’t afford to lose this client. Answer the call and try to find time when you are both free.

Card 4

Student A You work for a Russian company. Two months ago you applied to a translation agency. You wanted to have your website translated into English as you are going to the international market. When you received the English version of the website you found some mistakes in the translation of Russian terms. Make a short list of possible mistakes (e.g. Верховный суд≠ The High court). Call to the agency and complain.

Student B You work for a translation agency as a translator. A customer will call you to make a complaint. Deal with the complaint as politely and efficiently as you can. Note: You are only responsible for English/French translations, so problems with other languages are not your fault.

Card 5

Student A You work for the Russian subsidiary of an American multi-national legal firm. You are currently in charge of a three-person team which is working on a case for another large Russian company. However, the work is taking longer than you’ve expected and you think you will need one more person on the team if you are going to meet the deadline for the work. It is time for your weekly telephone conversation with your American boss. Explain the problem to him/her and try to negotiate a solution.

Student B You are the CEO of an American multi-national legal firm. It is time for your weekly telephone conversation with your Russian subsidiary. Your contact person (who reports directly to you) is currently head of a three-person team which is working on a case for a large Russian company. The project is already over budget. Ask for a status report on the case, and find out what your contact person is going to do to solve the problems on the case.

UNIT 4

Lead in:

Before reading the text please answer the following questions:

1. What sections must be included into a contract?

2. Who has a right to enter into a contract?

3. What contract validity period is considered to be the most common in Russia?

4. How many copies of a contract are to be made?

Text 1

Contracts

A contract is a legally binding exchange of promises or agreement between parties. Almost everyone makes contracts every day. Sometimes written contracts are required, for example when buying a house. However, the vast majority of contracts can be and are made orally, like buying a text book, or a coffee at a shop.

A valid contract must have several elements, a set of clauses named terms defining the exact set of promises agreed to.Perhaps the most important feature of a contract is that one party makes an offer for a bargain that another accepts, then offer and acceptance take place. This can be called a 'concurrence of wills' or a 'meeting of the minds' of two or more parties. Consideration is something of value promised to another party when making a contract. It can take the form of money, physical objects, services, promised actions, and much more. Consideration need not be adequate, which means courts generally do not look to the value parties place on things contracted for, thus agreeing to buy a car for a penny may constitute a binding contract. Both parties must have the " capacity" to understand the terms of the contract they are entering into, and the consequences of the promises they make, in other words to be competent parties. For example, animals, minor children, and mentally disabled individuals do not have the capacity to form a contract, and any contracts with them will be considered void or voidable. The contract must have a lawful purposeor proper subject matter. A contract to commit murder in exchange for money will not be enforced by the courts. It is void ab initio, meaning " from the beginning." Both parties must have an equal right or mutual right to remedy upon breach of the terms by the other party. Both parties must have some obligation to fulfill to the other, so called mutual obligation to perform. This can be distinct from the consideration, which may be an initial inducement into the contract. Intention to create legal relationship is also essential as there is a strict presumption for commercial agreements to be legally bound. Domestic and social agreements are usually unenforceable.

Breach of contract is recognized by the law and remedies can be provided for parties to a contract. A breach of contract is a failure to perform as stated in the contract. There are some ways to reimburse a breached contract assuming it has not been performed: seeking for damages, specific performance and injunction.

According to the common law, damages are categorized into compensatory (or actual) damages, and punitive damages. Compensatory damages are paid as a restitution for loss, injury, or harm suffered by a non-breaching party. In contract law the term “expectation damages” is often used as well. Punitive damages are used to punish the party at fault. These are not usually given regarding contracts but possible in a fraudulent situation. The court may make an order of what is called " specific performance, " requiring that the contract be executed. In some circumstances a court will order a party to perform his or her promise (an order of " specific performance" ) or issue an order, known as an injunction, that a party refrain from doing something that would breach the contract.

Text 2

Drafting a contract

In the process of co-operating with people who do not speak Russian one of the problems occurring is to draw up a contract in English. You can hire translators or download the contract from the Internet. It is common for contracts, or some parts of them, to be built from earlier contracts – so if you are working as a paralegal then it is worth checking through files for similar cases that might have involved similar contracts. When designing your own agreement try to follow these steps. Once the elements mentioned in the Text 1 have been fulfilled, you can start drafting your own agreement. There may be different amount of sections and subsections included in an individual and particular document but there are some basic clauses typical and obligatory for every binding agreement. Use this more or less universal structure for all kinds of contracts.

Step 1

The first section should contain the names of the parties entering into the contract. There will be a general statement that the parties intend to enter into an agreement. Use their full names and include their addresses. Then accompany this information with an expression like “The parties agree as follows...” This sentence lets readers know that the specific contract clause terms will follow.

Step 2

The next section should contain a statement of what the consideration is that each party is offering in exchange for their performance under the contract. That would be the amount of money, goods or labour etc.

Step 3

The next section should contain any additional conditions that are important to the satisfactory completion of the contract for both parties. In the case above (mentioned in the Step 2 section), that might be the use of certain brands of paint or that the work is to be done during certain hours etc.

Step 4

Next, you should include a statement of what the consequences will be if one or both parties breach the contract. In other words, what happens if they don’t do what they promised. That might be a penalty for finishing the job late, or a delay of the start of work until payment is received. It could also include a statement that either party has the right to pursue any legal remedy available under the law of the jurisdiction of ____. (The jurisdiction where the contract was entered into or chosen jurisdiction for which the law will apply). Nowadays the Force-majeure clause is referred to as essential and even compulsive so you’ll never take a false step adding such a clause into the contract.

Step 5

There should be a statement that the contract contains all the terms and agreements of the parties, and that the agreement is binding on their heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assignees. This protects both parties from the other stating that there was more to the agreement that what was written. It also helps to protect them from not being able to collect what is due under the contract if the other party dies or sells their interest in it. This provision is often known as the merger clause, the parole evidence clause, the integration clause or the entire agreement clause.

Step 6

Finally, both parties must sign and date the contract. Include a Space for Signatures. End the document with lines so that each party can sign it. It is also useful to have witnesses sign the contract, or to have the signatures notarized in case there is ever a dispute as to who signed the document. If you are signing on behalf of a business entity, you should state your capacity to show you have authority to enter into the agreement. For example, President, CEO, Purchasing Manager etc. Both parties should review the document and take time to make any clarifications if necessary before signing it.

Text 3

Special Instructions

Vocabulary Focus

Special attention has to be drawn to the fact that the seller and the buyer in the contracts are indicated by the words Seller, Sellers, Buyer, Buyers with or without an article. Words Seller (s) and Buyer (s) are written with a capital letter, and in the introductory part of the contract Seller (s) and Buyer (s) are put in quotes.

Nowadays the usage of some “archaic” words like hereto, hereafter, thereof etc. is sometimes criticized. According to Lord Harry Woolf (Former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, 2000-2005), these words are not key values for the document; having avoided such word forms, you do not even need to look for an equivalent to replace them. But anyway they characterize the contract style and make it so special and recognizable. Here are some of them:

here+	there+
hereafter - далее в документе	thereafter – впоследствии
hereby - этим, настоящим, сим	thereby – в силу того
herein – в этом документе	therein – в том (месте), в нем
hereof – в отношении этого	thereof – вследствие чего
hereto – к этому (в документе)	thereto – кроме того

Grammar

One of the specific features of a contract designed in English is the use of modal verbs, e.g. “shall”, which is rarely used in modern plain English, but is widely used in business correspondence and business documents. For example, such expression as “The result shall be considered” is equal to the meaning of the expression “The result is to be considered” or “will be considered”.

For contracts is also common the usage of the combination should+ infinitive to designate steps that can occur in the future. For example, “if a delay in the delivery should exceed 3 months”. In many cases, verbs “shall” and “should” have the same value and meaning. For example, “If the actual cost to us shall / should increase”.

Another feature that should be considered when drawing up a contract in English, is missing of “if” in the subordinate clause with the verb “should”. In such instances “should” is the first element in the sentence. For example, “Should the above circumstances continue to be in force...”, “Should the Buyers fail to open the letter of credit in time...”.

Moreover, please note that concepts indicated in clauses should be written with a capital letter.

Style of Writing

Get the balance right between 'legalese' and plain English. Abusing legal formulations makes the contract unclear and full of causes to be argued consequently in court. Do not apply synonymous chains like for example, “There can be no further amendment, variation, modification or adjustment to the terms of this contract.” In this sentence highlighted words designate the same concept. Use just one of them to avoid oversaturation. In general, some lawyers believe that a legal document must contain not more than 25 words. Do you agree?

EXERCISES

Exercise 2.

Read the following bilingual contract text. Pay attention to the special contractual terms and expressions, capital letters in the words “Contract”, “Letter of Credit”, “Payment” etc. Give the analysis of a lawyer’s work upon making up this contract, say if the contract meets the requirements mentioned in Texts 2 and 3.

CONTRACT No __
CONTRACT FOR EXPORTING OF GOODS

Moscow “____” _________20__

__________, Moscow, Russia, hereinafter referred to “ХХХ”, on the one part, and __________, Nigeria, hereinafter referred to “YYY”, on the other part, have signed the present contract as follows:

КОНТРАКТ № __
НА ЭКСПОРТ ТОВАРОВ

г.Москва «____» _________20__г.

__________, Москва, Россия, далее именуемое «ХХХ», с одной стороны, и __________, далее именуемая «YYY», с другой стороны, подписали настоящий контракт о нижеследующем.

1.1. XXX shall deliver the goods as under Annex 1 to the Contract being its integral part to the total amount indicated in clause 1.1 within _____ months of the date of signing this Contract.

Quantity: _______ metric tons.
Price per ton: ______
Total amount: ______

The delivery shall be effected on C.I.F. terms, Nigerian port.

1.2. The date of Bill of Lading made out for this lot of goods shall be considered as the date of delivery of goods. The goods delivered under this Contract shall be considered accepted:

– in respect of quality – in accordance with the quality provided for in the Quality Certificate of the manufacturer;
– in respect of quantity – in accordance with the quantity of the pieces and the weight stated in the Bill of Lading.

*****************

1.1. ХХХ поставит товары, перечисленные в Приложении 1 к контракту, которое является его неотъемлемой частью, на сумму, указанную в пункте 1.1, в течение ____ месяцев с даты подписания настоящего контракта.

Количество: _____ метрических тонн.
Цена за тонну: _____
Общая сумма: _____

Поставки будут осуществляться на условиях СИФ, порт Нигерии.

1.2. Дата коносамента, выписанного на данную партию товара, считается датой поставки товара. Товар, поставленный по данному контракту, считается принятым:

– по качеству – в соответствии с качеством, указанным в сертификате качества, выписанном производителем;
– по количеству – в соответствии с количеством предметов и весом, указанными в коносаменте.

2.1. Payments for the goods delivered in accordance with the present Contract shall be effected by YYY in (currency of payment).

2.2. In order to effect payments, YYY shall open within 30 (thirty) days from the date of receipt from XXX of the cable notification of readiness of the goods for delivery an irrevocable confirmed letter of credit with a Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs, Moscow, through the State Bank of Nigeria in favour of XXX to the amounts stated in 1.1 and shall be valid for a period of ______ months from the date of opening of Letter of Credit.

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