Starting a Claim

Fourth course. Starting a claim in the civil court.

 

Legal English is a differnt language from general English. Just as lawyers in your own country write in a different language from other people, so do English speaking lawyers.

Sentences are often structured differently in legal English. The words lawyers use are often centuries old, and no longer commonly used in general English. New prepositions need to be learned. When you read a commercial contract or read a letter there is new, thecnical vocabulary to understand on every page.

 

When you are in dispute with another person sometimes it is necessary to start a claim in the civil court. We sometimes call this process « filling a claim » or « issuing a claim ». Lawyers also say « startingproceedings ». We do not use the verb « to prosecute » in civil law because that ver bis only used in criminal law.

 

The person who starts the claim is called the claimant in the UK. This person was called the plaintiff until 1999, when there were new court rules in England to make everything easier for people to understand. However, in the USA the claimant is called the plaintiff. In both England and the USA the other party is called the defendant.

 

I work in a very old and interesting area of law. Today I met a client who is 70 years old and has no family. When she dies, she wants to put all of her money into a special fund. Her two friends will use this money to help homeless and migrants in the city of Liverpool. I explained to her how to do that ans I will draft the necessary legal documents for her.

 

I am a little worried about the process of using civil court to start off a legal process. I am thinking of getting a claim form and some leaflets to try to find out more.

 

My mother and father bought a new house recently an the solicitor who did the real estate transfer of ownership seemed to do a lot very difficult paperwork.

 

You said that lawyers usually work in partnership and are rarely lawyers who work alone.