Barrister

A qualified and regulated legal professional who traditionally represents clients in court. Barristers are normally self-employed and work in chambers. A barrister is often engaged by a solicitor to represent a case in court and / or to provide a legal opinion on a specialist area of law. Barristers wear wigs in court.

Civil Case

A dispute concerning the rights and property of individual people or organisations. No one is sent to prison in a civil case but the losing party may be hurt financially if damages are awarded against them. A breach of contract claim is an example of a civil case.

Contentious

A matter that involves a dispute between two or more parties. Litigation is a type of contentious work.

Contract

A contract is a legally binding promise by one party to fulfil an obligation to another party. In return, the other party agrees to do (or not do) something, for example paying for goods or services. A contract can be written or unwritten. To make a legally binding contract, certain criteria have to be met, including an intention by both parties to be legally bound by the agreement. A contract can be formed by the conduct of the parties.

Criminal Case

A criminal offence or breach of criminal law. Criminal proceedings will usually (but not always) be brought by the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) and will be heard in the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court. Examples include criminal damage, money laundering and murder. If found guilty of a criminal offence, the penalty might be a fine, community order or prison sentence.

Damages

Money awarded by a court in order to compensate for loss or damage.

Insolvency

When a person or business cannot pay its debt when they are due or where liabilities exceed assets.

Intellectual Property (IP)

A category of property that you create using your mind. Examples include inventions; stories and literary works; artistic works; names and symbols of products and brands. The most common types of IP are patents, copyright, trade marks and design rights.

Lawyer

This a generic term used to describe someone who provides legal services. It is often used interchangeably with the term ’solicitor’ but lawyer has no defined meaning in the UK. The two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales are solicitors and barristers.

Litigation

The process of taking a dispute to court. Litigation is often referred to as Dispute Resolution. Examples include contractual matters.

Non-Contentious

A matter that does not involve a dispute. Examples of non-contentious work include contract drafting or advising on the sale of a business.

Solicitor

A qualified and regulated legal professional who generally advises clients outside of court (though there are exceptions). A solicitor is likely to be the first point of contact for a person, company or other organisation needing legal advice. The work of a solicitor can be split in to two types: contentious and non-contentious.

This is a formal insolvency procedure for companies or limited liability partnerships (LLPs) when in financial difficulty. A company can place itself in to administration or it can be placed into administration by creditors of the company. It provides the struggling company with the potential for rescue. Administration normally stops any legal action or other process against the company from proceeding. This means creditors can’t take legal action against the company to recover outstanding amounts whilst the administration is ongoing.

They are a professional insolvency practitioner (IP) who will take control of the struggling company when it goes in to administration. The administrator’s job is to asses the company’s viability to survive and either:

i) save the company so that it can continue as a ‘going concern’, i.e. able to meet its financial obligations moving forward.

Or, if this is not possible, the administrator will;

ii) aim to put the company’s creditors in a better position than if the company was liquidated (without first being in administration). This may involve selling off the company’s property to pay off its debts.

Assets

Items of property, stock or currency regarded as having value and available to meet debts and other commitments. For example, cash is an asset.

Bankruptcy

This is a formal insolvency procedure for individuals who can’t pay their debts. It does not apply to companies or partnerships. Bankruptcy usually lasts a year so isn’t permanent. During the bankruptcy an official receiver will take control of the person’s assets, such as their property and non-essential income, and use them to repay the individual’s creditors. Bankruptcy can help individuals clear their debts and start again as, at the end of the bankruptcy, mosts debts are cancelled.

Creditor

A person, company or other organisation which is owed money or has a financial claim against another. intention by both parties to be legally bound by the agreement. A contract can be formed by the conduct of the parties.

Debtor

A person, company or other organisation which owes money.

Director

An appointed individual who is legally responsible for running a company. A director must be 16 years old or older and not be disqualified from being a director.

Insolvency

When a person or business cannot pay its debt when they are due or where liabilities exceed assets.