Read the text about court structure.

Before you read the passage, talk about these questions.

Court structure

Unit 5

Letter to the client.

With a partner, act out the roles below based on

Listen again and complete the conversation.

False.

A paralegal. Are the following statements true or

Listen to a conversation between a lawyer and

Blanks.

Read the sentence pair. Choose where the words best fit in

Match the words (1-4) with the definitions (A-D).

1 retainer agreement

2 agenda

3 form letter

4 demand package

A a contract between a lawyer and a client for retention and

payment of services

B a set of documents that a lawyer obtains from other

companies to help with a case

C a letter that is printed many times and sent to many different

people

D a list of things that need to be done in a certain order

1 medical records / police report

Did Ashley contact the hospital for the _______?

Ms. Reed had to write a _______ after her car was stolen.

2 intake memo / fee agreement

When the new client arrives, the legal assistant must complete

the _______.

Mr. Jackson needs to see the ________ so he knows how

Much the services cost.

3 litigation / correspondence

Keep all _________, such as letters and emails, in a folder.

There have already been two _________ cases with company..

1 The lawyer left the intake memo in a folder.

2 The medical records are in the pre-litigation folder.

3 The speakers plan to send the client his pre-litigation

folder.

Lawyer: Janine, I’ve signed the fee 1 _______ and

the 2 _______ memo for Mr. Hendricks.

Paralegal: Thanks. What about the 3 _______ agreement?

Lawyer: Oh, sorry, it’s probably still in my office.

Paralegal: Don’t worry, I’ll get it.

Lawyer: Have you got a copy of the 4 _____ _____

We sent for his medical records?

Paralegal: Yes, the records are in his pre- 5 ______

folder.

Lawyer: Good. Send that to him too, and don’t forget

to include the 6 _______ letter.

Paralegal: No problem.

Task 6. Then, switch roles. Use language such as:

I’ve signed the……

Have you got a copy of the demand package?

Don’t forget to include……

Student A: You are a lawyer. Check with your paralegal

about the status of important documents. Talk to Student B

about:

- intake memo

- retainer agreement

- pre-litigation folder

Student B: You are a paralegal. Discuss the status of

documents with Student A.

8. Use the conversation from Task 7 to complete the paralegal’s

GREEN & WILSON

L A W Y E R S

Dear____________________________________________________

I am pleased to enclose the following documents:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Please sign the relevant documents and return them to us as soon as possible.

Janine Davies

Paralegal

a) What are some different kinds of courts in your country?

b) What types of cases do the different courts hear?

Are the following statements true or false?

1. District courts review decisions that people protest.

2. Cases involving state laws are not heard in a federal court.

3. The Supreme Court hears all cases that are brought to it.

Understanding the Levels of US Federal Courts

District courts – These are general courts. But in some cases, the jurisdiction is passed to specialized courts. These include: bankruptcy courts, tax courts and the court of private land claims.

Court of Appeals – The Court of Appeals reviews all decisions in the lower courts that people object to.

State courts – These courts decide disputes that pertain to state laws rather than federal laws.

The Supreme Court – This is another appeals court, but it is the only court that operates under discretionary review. This means it can choose which cases to hear. The Supreme Court is also called a High Court in some countries.

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