It’s all here, in a nutshell. Everything your textbooks don’t explain – the oblique terms and complex commercial lingo needed to navigate your way through a legal career

A

Antitrust – Laws to discourage anti-competitive behaviour among companies, such as monopolies, cartels and restrictive practices. The term originates from the US, where cartels formed ‘trusts’ in order to bully smaller companies.

Arbitration v Mediation v Litigation? – All are methods of resolving disputes, therefore known collectively as Dispute Resolution. Only litigation involves going to court. Arbitration is an attempt to reach agreement (arbitration agreement) using an umpire and is legally binding. Mediation is a less formal, voluntary process and there is no legally binding outcome.

Associate v Assistant? – Both are qualified solicitors who have not yet been elevated to the firm’s partnership. Associate is an Americanism and sometimes used as a middle-ground promotion between assistant and partner.

B

Best Friends – Law firms with no formal links or financial ties but who give each other first preference when referring work. Usually an international arrangement.

Billable hours – Also known as chargeable time, it is the legal work undertaken that can justifiably be charged to the client, ie should not include redrafting a document chewed in the photocopier.

Brief – The document of instructions from a solicitor to a barrister. Includes facts of the case and outlines what the solicitor would like the barrister do to.

Bond – Similar to a loan, the bond is an IOU issued by a company or government in return for money provided by investors (bondholders). One of many methods of raising capital, it is a form of debt.

C

Chambers – The rooms (offices) occupied by a group of barristers who share overheads.

Chocolate biscuits/cookies – Vital element inside a client meeting room; preoccupation of solicitors who don’t get out much.

Corporate finance – Area of law specialising in advising companies on raising money to buy other companies or asset finance.

Counsel – Another term for barrister.

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) – How firms manage their business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society, including areas such as environmental impact management, corporate governance, diversity and the way in which the firm responds to the needs of the wider community.

D

Debt – Money borrowed by companies, such as loans or bonds.

Derivatives – A spin-off of financial products such as shares or bonds. Derivatives include futures and options.

Due diligence – The detailed study of information about a company, such as its accounts and activities, prior to an acquisition or take-over.

E

Equity partner v Non-equity partner? – Equity partners collectively own the firm because they have bought a share of the business and therefore receive a cut of the profits. Non-equity partners have been professionally promoted but have not yet bought a share in the business and receive only a salary.

F

Firm – A business model comprising a partnership of individuals (partners). Contrasts with a company comprising directors, executives and a chairman. Most law businesses are firms rather than companies. Increasingly, many are becoming LLPs (see below).

Flotation – The admission of a new company to a stock exchange, so that its shares can be traded publicly. See IPO.

Fridays – The preferred day of the week for a department head to haul a trainee/junior lawyer onto a corporate deal, thereby ruining their weekend plans. Also the day for drinks. DL – Graduate Diploma in Law, also known as the Common Professional Exam (CPE). A one-year conversion course to law for non-law graduates.

G

H

I

Inns of Court – Four administrative bodies within the Bar – Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn. Each barrister and student barrister must belong to one. Originally established in the 14th century as schools of law.

IP – Intellectual property. An umbrella term covering copyright, patent and trade mark law. An area of the law which serves to protect a company or individual’s products or work from unauthorised use.

IPO – Initial Public Offering of shares of a company on a stock market. Also known as a flotation, it occurs when the privately owned shares in a company become publicly traded for the first time.

J

K

L

Leverage – The ratio of partners to assistant solicitors. High leverage means lots of assistants to every one partner, which is meant to be more profitable (because assistants get paid less).

Lockstep – The different pay levels awarded to partners, dependent on years of service rather than legal ability. Contrasts with the US system of ‘eat what you kill’ – ie pay is equated to number of hours billed.

LLP – Limited Liability Partnership. A halfway house between a partnership and a limited company. Limits the partners’ personal liability in the event of debt.

M

Magic Circle – Colloquial term referring to five UK law firms that have historically led the market in terms of corporate work, size and profits – Allen & Overy LLP; Clifford Chance LLP; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Linklaters; Slaughter and May.

Managing partner v Senior partner? – The MP is the main boss of a law firm and runs the business internally; in large firms, the MP is too busy to do fee-earning work. The SP is a firm ambassador, focusing on client relationships externally and combines the role with fee-earning.

MBO/MBI – Management buy-out: where a company’s senior employees, typically management, raise capital to buy and own the company or part of the company. Management buy-in: a new management team is put into a newly-acquired company and they are given a stake in the new company.

N

Notary Public – A lawyer, typically a solicitor, especially qualified to witness the signing of deeds or other important documents.

O

P

Photocopying room – Hopefully not your new office.

PPP/PFI – Public Private Partnership/Private Finance Initiative. Forms of funding, typically for major public infrastructure such as roads, hospitals and prisons. Funding and operation is a collaboration between the government and private sector companies.

PQE – Post-qualification experience. The number of years in legal practice since qualifying as a lawyer.

Private equity – An area of legal practice advising on the funding (through shares or loans) provided by specialist organisations to unquoted companies.

Private practice – Working in a law firm or as a sole practitioner, rather than in-house at a company or in the public sector.

Pro bono – Latin term meaning ‘for the good’. Legal advice and assistance provided voluntarily and without charge.

PEP – Profits per equity partner. A partner’s annual share of their firm’s profits.

Pupil – Trainee barrister working at a set of chambers.

Pupilmaster – Fully-qualified barrister who supervises the pupil (and makes them pick up their dry cleaning).

Q

Queen’s Bench Division v Chancery Division – Two of three subdivisions of the High Court (the third is the Family Division). The Queen’s Bench hears cases such as contract and tort, and includes the Commercial Court and Admiralty Court. The Chancery handles matters such as equity, trusts, probate and bankruptcy, and includes the Companies Court and Patents Court.

R

Reinsurance – An area of legal practice specialising in advising insurance companies on their own insurance matters.

Rights of audience – Suitably qualified to undertake advocacy in court.

S

Securitisation – A method of raising finance by obtaining loans that are ‘secured’ against a particular asset of the company (asset-backed loan). The loans go into a Special Purpose Vehicle and therefore do not appear on the company’s balance sheet.

Set – A group of barristers trading under a common name. Another word for Chambers.

Silk – Another name for Queen’s Counsel (QC) – the most senior rank of barrister. Becoming a QC is often referred to as ‘taking silk’.

Solicitor Advocate – A solicitor with special qualifications to allow him/her rights of audience in court. Avoids the requirement to hire a barrister.

Structured finance – An area of legal practice specialising in advising clients on complex forms of finance, such as securitisation.

T

Tenant – A qualified barrister with permanent rooms in a set of chambers.

Trade mark attorney – Professionals (Registered Trade Mark Agents – not solicitors or barristers) who specialise in advising clients on trade mark rights. May work in-house in companies or in private practice.

Transaction – A corporate deal, such as a merger, acquisition, joint venture or IPO.

V

Venture capital – Money provided by specialist organisations to invest in companies not listed on the stock exchange. Sometimes referred to as private equity and can be used to fund MBO/MBIs, for example.

W

White collar crime – Crime involving business and finance irregularities, such as fraud and tax evasion.