Types of Lawyer Titles

A law office typically has many employees in addition to the lawyers. The following descriptions will help you be more informed about your legal representation:

Partners:People typically refer to the owners of a law firm as partners. It is very prestigious for a lawyer to become a partner of his or her law firm. Partners are usually the most experienced lawyers in the firm and they charge the highest fees.

Contract Lawyers:A firm will sometimes hire outside lawyers as independent contractors to do part-time work. The firm will usually pay a contract lawyer on an hourly basis and then bill out his or her time at a higher rate in order to cover overhead costs and hopefully make a profit off of the lawyer's work.

Law Clerks:Law clerks are typically law students who work for the firm while they are going to law school. They do legal research and assist lawyers in preparing cases.

Legal Assistants:This is a general term that is some­times used by law firms to describe paralegals, legal secretaries, and other support staff.

Investigators:Depending on the type of law practised, some law firms will hire investigators who are charged with going out and investigating background facts on a case.

Task 4. Answer the following questions:

1. What requirements should lawyers meet if they want to become partners of their law firms?

2. How do associates compare to partners?

3 What categories of lawyers are called contract lawyers?

4. What are the functions of law clerks?

5. Who are paralegals and what are their responsibilities?

6. How are paralegals paid?

7. With respect to what people is the term "legal assistants" used?

8. What is the purpose of hiring investigators?

Scientific vocabulary

Англо-русские обороты научной речи

Assignment 1.Study the following scientific vocabulary units.
Use them in a summary of your research paper.

The theme of the research

Сообщение о теме и содержании работы

Aims and Tasks

Цели и задачи работы