ADVICE TO A YOUNG MAN INTERESTED IN GOING INTO LAW

FELIX FRANKFURTER

INTRODUCTION

Felix Frankfurter was born in Vienna, Austria, on Nov. 15, 1882. At the age of 12 he and his six brothers and sisters were taken to the United States. Following graduation from the College of the City of New York in 1902, Frankfurter entered Harvard Law School. He became editor of the Harvard Law Review and earned his degree in 1906 with honors. Henry Stimson, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, appointed Frankfurter an assistant in 1906. When President William Howard Taft named Stimson secretary of war in 1911, Stimson took Frankfurter along as law officer of the Bureau of Insular Affairs. Frankfurter was made a Supreme Court justice in 1939. As he had no children, he adopted three English refugee children.

LETTER OF M.PAUL CLAUSSEN Jr.

In May 1954, a 12 year old school boy M. Paul Claussen Jr. from Alexandria, Virginia wrote a letter to Justice Felix Frankfurter. In the letter he expressed his interest in going into law as his career. He wanted to start his preparation from the Junior school itself. He sought the advice and guidelines of the Justice Felix Frankfurter in this regard. The present prose work is the reply letter of Felix Frankfurter to Paul Claussen.

TRULY COMPETENT LAWYER

Felix feels that if one wants to be a capable lawyer, he must be a cultivated man. He advised to Paul that he first forget the technical preparation for law. It is must he says. To prepare for law career, he must enter into Law course as a well-read personality.

USE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

To become a true lawyer, he must have the knowledge of standard English language. By acquiring the capacity of using English in both speech and thinking, one can acquire the true knowledge. Such knowledge can only be given by the truly liberal education.

 EMPLOYING IMAGINATIVE FACULTIES

Felix is expressing that, for a lawyer, he must develop his imaginative faculties by reading poetry, seeing great paintings and listening to music. By doing the above mentioned things, one may get peace of mind, clear mindset and can do well in his duties.

CONCLUSION

He finally says that, he must read a lot and deposit that knowledge in his mind for the future. By learning the mysterious of this universe, he can widen and deepen his feelings. If he (Paul) follows the words of Felix, he may forget all about his future career, Because, the above things are the foundation for starting the good career.

Anna University – Regulation 2017

HS8381 - INTERPERSONAL SKILLS/LISTENING & SPEAKING

Listening Skills

Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process.

Listening is the key to all effective communication. Without the ability to listen effectively, messages are easily misunderstood. As a result, communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated.

If there is one communication skill you should aim to master, then listening is it.

Listening is so important that many top employers provide listening skills training for their employees. This is not surprising when you consider that good listening skills can lead to better customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer mistakes, and increased sharing of information that in turn can lead to more creative and innovative work.

Many successful leaders and entrepreneurs credit their success to effective listening skills. Richard Branson frequently quotes listening as one of the main factors behind the success of Virgin.

Effective listening is a skill that underpins all positive human relationships.

Spend some time thinking about and developing your listening skills – they are the building blocks of success.

Good listening skills also have benefits in our personal lives, including:

A greater number of friends and social networks, improved self-esteem and confidence, higher grades at school and in academic work and even better health and general well-being.

Studies have shown that, whereas speaking raises blood pressure, attentive listening can bring it down.

Listening is Not the Same as Hearing

Hearing refers to the sounds that enter your ears. It is a physical process that, provided you do not have any hearing problems, happens automatically.

Listening, however, requires more than that: it requires focus and concentrated effort, both mental and sometimes physical as well.

Listening means paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and how the other person uses his or her body. In other words, it means being aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages. Your ability to listen effectively depends on the degree to which you perceive and understand these messages.

Listening is not a passive process. In fact, the listener can, and should, be at least as engaged in the process as the speaker. The phrase ‘active listening’ is used to describe this process of being fully involved.

The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen.  Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.

Rachel Naomi Remen

 We Spend a lot of Time Listening

Adults spend an average of 70% of their time engaged in some sort of communication. Of this, research shows that an average of 45% is spent listening compared to 30% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing. (Adler, R. et al. 2001). That is, by any standards, a lot of time listening. It is worthwhile taking a bit of extra time to ensure that you listen effectively.

Time Spent Communicating

A 'pie in pie' chart to show the significance of listening.

Based on the research of: Adler, R., Rosenfeld, L. and Proctor, R. (2001)

Interplay: the process of interpersonal communicating (8th edn), Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt.

Effective listening requires concentration and the use of your other senses - not just hearing the words spoken.

Listening is not the same as hearing and in order to listen effectively you need to use more than just your ears.

Barriers to Effective Listening

To improve the process of effective listening, it can be helpful to turn the problem on its head, and look at barriers to effective listening, or ineffective listening.

For example, one common problem is that instead of listening closely to what someone is saying, we often get distracted after a sentence or two, and instead start to think about what we are going to say in reply. This means that we do not listen to the rest of the speaker’s message.

We may also get distracted by the speaker’s appearance, or by what someone else is saying, which sounds more interesting.

These issues not only affect you, but you are likely to show your lack of attention in your body language.

Generally, we find it much harder to control our body language, and you are likely to show your distraction and/or lack of interest by lack of eye contact, or posture. The speaker will detect the problem, and probably stop talking at best. At worse, they may be very offended or upset.

  

Active Listening

Active listening is a skill that can be acquired and developed with practice. However, active listening can be difficult to master and will, therefore, take time and patience to develop.

'Active listening' means, as its name suggests, actively listening. That is fully concentrating on what is being said rather than just passively ‘hearing’ the message of the speaker.

Active listening involves listening with all senses.  As well as giving full attention to the speaker, it is important that the ‘active listener’ is also ‘seen’ to be listening - otherwise the speaker may conclude that what they are talking about is uninteresting to the listener.

Interest can be conveyed to the speaker by using both verbal and non-verbal messages such as maintaining eye contact, nodding your head and smiling, agreeing by saying ‘Yes’ or simply ‘Mmm hmm’ to encourage them to continue.  By providing this 'feedback' the person speaking will usually feel more at ease and therefore communicate more easily, openly and honestly.

Signs of Active Listening

Non-Verbal Signs of Attentive or Active Listening

This is a generic list of non-verbal signs of listening, in other words people who are listening are more likely to display at least some of these signs.  However these signs may not be appropriate in all situations and across all cultures.

Smile

Small smiles can be used to show that the listener is paying attention to what is being said or as a way of agreeing or being happy about the messages being received.  Combined with nods of the head, smiles can be powerful in affirming that messages are being listened to and understood.

Eye Contact

It is normal and usually encouraging for the listener to look at the speaker. Eye contact can however be intimidating, especially for more shy speakers – gauge how much eye contact is appropriate for any given situation.  Combine eye contact with smiles and other non-verbal messages to encourage the speaker.

Posture

Posture can tell a lot about the sender and receiver in interpersonal interactions.  The attentive listener tends to lean slightly forward or sideways whilst sitting.  Other signs of active listening may include a slight slant of the head or resting the head on one hand.

Mirroring

Automatic reflection/mirroring of any facial expressions used by the speaker can be a sign of attentive listening.  These reflective expressions can help to show sympathy and empathy in more emotional situations.  Attempting to consciously mimic facial expressions (i.e. not automatic reflection of expressions) can be a sign of inattention.

Distraction

The active listener will not be distracted and therefore will refrain from fidgeting, looking at a clock or watch, doodling, playing with their hair or picking their fingernails.

Verbal Signs of Attentive or Active Listening

Positive Reinforcement

Although a strong signal of attentiveness, caution should be used when using positive verbal reinforcement.

Although some positive words of encouragement may be beneficial to the speaker the listener should use them sparingly so as not to distract from what is being said or place unnecessary emphasis on parts of the message.

Casual and frequent use of words and phrases, such as: ‘very good’, ‘yes’ or ‘indeed’ can become irritating to the speaker.   It is usually better to elaborate and explain why you are agreeing with a certain point.

Remembering

The human mind is notoriously bad at remembering details, especially for any length of time.

However, remembering a few key points, or even the name of the speaker, can help to reinforce that the messages sent have been received and understood – i.e. listening has been successful.  Remembering details, ideas and concepts from previous conversations proves that attention was kept and is likely to encourage the speaker to continue.  During longer exchanges it may be appropriate to make very brief notes to act as a memory jog when questioning or clarifying later.

Questioning

The listener can demonstrate that they have been paying attention by asking relevant questions and/or making statements that build or help to clarify what the speaker has said.  By asking relevant questions the listener also helps to reinforce that they have an interest in what the speaker has been saying.

Reflection

Reflecting is closely repeating or paraphrasing what the speaker has said in order to show comprehension.  Reflection is a powerful skill that can reinforce the message of the speaker and demonstrate understanding.

Clarification

Clarifying involves asking questions of the speaker to ensure that the correct message has been received.  Clarification usually involves the use of open questions which enables the speaker to expand on certain points as necessary.

Summarisation

Repeating a summary of what has been said back to the speaker is a technique used by the listener to repeat what has been said in their own words. Summarising involves taking the main points of the received message and reiterating them in a logical and clear way, giving the speaker chance to correct if necessary.

# # # # #

The above notes collected from various websites.

How To Write A Legal Essay ?
‘Write an essay’ is a routine question in LLB examinations and in the Civil Judge entrance
examination. Before to understand the essentials of writing an essay, we should first understand the meaning of the word ‘Essay’.
The word “Essay" derives from the French word “Essayer”, meaning "to try" or "to attempt". An essay is essentially an attempt to explain the writer’s perspective on any given subject. It is an attempt to show what a writer think about the given subject. A skillfully written essay shows the analytical power, linguistic ability and power of expression of the writer.
Following are the steps for writing any essay:

1) Context : First, the writer has to identify the given topic for the essay. What is the
context, who will read the essay (audience) and what is expected from a writer in the essay.
It is necessary to find out the desired length of an essay. Should it be five paragraph or ten
paragraph of may be twenty pages. At the first sight, the context of the topic should be
identified and understood.

2) Essay –Plan : Draw the plan : It is to plan that what is required to write to meet the
objective of the topic. For this, writer must have good information about the topic, must have
read the discussion, relevant provision, judgments, article on the given topic so that a short essay can be written.

3) Introduction : When writer commence writing an essay, he has to first give a
introductory note on the giving topic. The introductory note can be initiated by the opening
sentences like ‘Atrocity on women is the course on humanity’, ‘Reservation is an essential
for our society’. Introductory paragraph should be informative, catchy and attractive so that
the reader get hooked by the paragraph and start reading the essay.

4) Body content : After the introduction of the topic, one should come directly on the
subject matter discussion and information sharing. Identify atleast three specific points which
the writer would elaborate in the essay. Explain the identified points in considerable length.
Support the explanation with few vital and convincing facts. Body content must be full of
facts which a reader should know. These facts should be relevant to the topic. The body
content can have details like “After the amendment in the Indian Penal Code, the cases of
dowry death started following in the police station and the society has started abstaining
from the family of accused of dowry matters.” “ Media has initiated a public trial and the
politician were pronounced convicted in the eyes of public”. Body of content can be of two or
three paragraph or even more. Length depends on the knowledge of the writer , requirement
of the topic and the defined word count.

5) Conclusion of the essay : The last paragraph should always be a concluding
paragraph. By this paragraph, writer concludes his writing . It is paragraph where writer gives
his thoughts on the topic, his personal view points, suggestion and a message to the reader.
This paragraph shows the inner capacity of the writer about the level of understanding and
maturity with the writers.

6) Language of an essay : The essay should be language of good quality. One should
choose the word carefully. The sentence may be short and easily understandable. Grammar
should be correct. Avoid any ambiguous words. Abbreviation should be strictly avoided.

7) Revise : Before finalizing the agreement one should revise the essay. The fair criticism
to essay would be great help for improve in quality. Repetitive words should be picked out of
the essay. If required, paragraphs should be rearranged. It should be kept in mind at the
time of revising the essay that it should meet the objective of writing it and justify the
ultimate purpose of writing the essay on the given topic.

8) Check the Flow : Check the flow and rhythm of the sentences in the essay. One
sentence should follow the other or should be in line with the same. The sentences should
be sequentially arranged and give a flow to the reader. Any surprise or interruption to the
flow should be avoided. Sentence should be arranged in brick by brick manner. The
arrangement of sentence should give a feeling of comfort and easy flowing to the reader.


Taken from
http://www.advocatelive.com

ENGLISH – III (FQF)

UNIT – V LEGAL MAXIMS

LEGAL MAXIMS

According to Britannica, Legal maxim, a broad proposition (usually stated in a fixed Latin form), a number of which have been used by lawyers since the 17th century or earlier. Some of them can be traced to early Roman Law. Much more general in scope than ordinary rules of law, legal maxims commonly formulate a legal policy or ideal that judges are supposed to consider in deciding cases.

01.  Actus reus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea (Latin)

An act is not necessarily a guilty act unless the accused has the necessary state of mind required for that offence.

¡  The maxim that, generally, a person cannot be guilty of a crime unless two elements are present: the  actus reus(“guilty act”) and the  mens rea (“guilty mind”). Most criminal offences require (1) an actus reus (conduct “external” to the defendant's thoughts and intentions) and (2) a mens rea (a specific state of mind on the part of the accused).

02. Actio personalis moritur cum persona (Latin)

¡  A personal action dies with the person concerned

¡  A maxim stating that actions of tort or contract are destroyed by the death of either the injured or the injuring party.

¡  Modern statutes mean that this is rarely the case. However, before the passing of the Fatal Accidents Act 1846 acceptance of this notion meant that in actions in negligence it was better for a doctor to kill his patient outright than to injure him. This situation arose because it was originally believed that the primary function of tort was to punish and not to compensate for damage caused. The maxim still survives in the law of defamation (“you cannot defame the dead”).

03. Audi alteram partem (Latin)

¡  Hear the other side

¡  Also called the Rule of Fair Hearing.

¡  This principle is a Rule of Law and a part of the Principles of Natural Justice. It says that no one shall be condemned unheard.

¡  When a dispute is put before a Court or a Tribunal, the Bench should hear both the parties of the case before a reasoned decision is made. The Bar comprising of Advocates assists the parties in presenting the case.

04.Communis error facit jus (Latin)

¡  Common error makes law. 

¡  Another expression for this idea is "common opinion," or communis opinio. 

¡  In ancientRome, the phrase expressed the notion that a generally accepted opinion or 

belief about a legal issue makes that opinion or belief the law. 

¡  Judges have pointed out that universal opinion  may also be universal error. Until the error is 

      discovered,however, the belief continues to be the law. The concept of communis opinio 

is not especially favored by contemporary U.S.courts.

05.Delegatus non potest delegare (Latin)

¡  the delegated (person) cannot delegate (further).

¡  The rule that a person to whom a power, trust, or authority is given to act on behalf, or for the benefit of, another, cannot delegate this obligation unless expressly authorized to do so.

¡  For instance, an auditor who has been appointed to audit the accounts of a company cannot delegate the task to another unless expressly allowed to do so.

06.Ex nudo pacto non oritur actio (Latin)

¡  No action arises on a contract without consideration.

¡  Since consideration is the founding platform to a contract, a contract without Consideration is void.

07.Ex turpi causa non oritur actio(Latin)

¡  No action can be based on a disreputable cause

¡  The principle that the courts may refuse to enforce a claim arising out of the claimant's own illegal or immoral conduct or transactions. Hence parties who have knowingly entered into an illegal contract may not be able to enforce it and a person injured by a fellow-criminal while they are jointly committing a serious crime may not be able to sue for damages for the injury.

08.In pari delicto potier est condition defendantis(Latin)

¡  In equal fault ,better is the condition of the possessor.

¡  This means, when the parties are equally at wrong, the condition of the possessor is considered to be better. Simply put, it means a person in a wrongful act cannot sue another person in the same wrongful act. When two parties have equally wronged, courts will generally not interfere with the status quo, which is the reason why the possessor is at benefit.

09.Falsus in uno falsus in omnibus (Latin)

¡  False in one thing, false in everything.

¡  A Roman legal principle indicating that a witness who willfully falsifies one matter is not credible on any matter. The underlying motive for attorneys to impeach opposing witnesses in court: the principle discredits the rest of their testimony if it is without legalization.

10.Generalia Specialibus Non Derogant(Latin)

¡  The universal things do not detract from specific things.

¡  It says that when a matter falls under any specific provision, then it must be governed by that provision and not by the general provision. The general provisions must admit to the specific provisions of law. It is a basic principle of statutory interpretation.

11.Facti excusat, ignorantia juris non excusat(Latin)

¡  Ignorance of the fact excuses; ignorance of the law excuses not.

¡  In criminal cases this maxim applies, as if a man should think he has a right to kill a person excommunicated or outlawed wherever he meets him and does so, this is murder. But a mistake of fact is an excuse, as where a man, intending to kill a thief or house-breaker in his own house, by mistake kills one of his own family, this is no criminal action.

12.In jure non remota causa, sed proxima spectator (Latin)

¡  The immediate, and not the remote cause is to be considered.

¡  This is a maxim of causation that is applied both in marine and general insurance. Pursuant to this principle, the cause nearest in the order of causation, without any efficient concurring cause to produce the result, must be considered as the direct cause. For example, if a ship foundered during a storm, the cause of her loss was considered bad weather conditions, regardless of any other factors that might have contributed to her foundering.

13.Omnia praesumuntur contra spolitorem (Latin)

¡  Against the offeror.

¡  It refers to a standard in contract law which states that if a clause in a contract appears to be ambiguous, it should be interpreted against the interests of the person who insisted that the clause be included. 

14.Qui facit per alium facit perse (Latin)

¡  He who acts through another, acts himself.

¡  It is the authorized act of an agent and is equated to the principal's acts. A principal's tort liability is based not on an agency but on the relationship of master and servant expressed in the maxim “respondent superior”. However, both rules and maxims are founded upon the principle that a duty rests upon every man in managing his/her own affairs, either by himself/herself or by his/her agents or servants. But if another person gets injured as a result of the acts, the principal is liable for the damage.

15.Respondeat superior (Latin)

¡  Let the superior reply.

¡  It is used to describe the legal relationship between an employer and employee for purposes of determining an employer's liability for acts of an employee.

¡  An employee and employer relationship is determined based upon the amount of control the employer exercises over the service provided by the employee. An employer will be liable for acts of an employee committed while within the scope of employment. Such liability attaching to an employer due to acts of an employee is called vicarious liability.

16.Res ipsa loquitur (Latin)

¡  The thing speaks for itself.

It is a doctrine of law that one is presumed to be negligent if he/she/it had exclusive control of whatever caused the injury even though there is no specific evidence of an act of negligence, and the accident would not have happened without negligence.

17.Sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas (Latin)

¡  It means only that one must use his property so as not to injure the lawful rights of another.

¡  Under this maxim, it is well settled that a property owner may put his own property to any reasonable and lawful use, so long as he does not thereby deprive the adjoining landowner of any right of enjoyment of his property which is recognized and protected by law, and so long as his use is not such a one as the law will pronounce a nuisance.

18.Ubi jus ibi remedium (Latin)

¡  Where there is a right, there is a remedy.

¡  The basic principle contemplated in the maxim is that, when a person's right is violated the victim will have an equitable remedy under law. The maxim also states that the person whose right is being infringed has a right to enforce the infringed right through any action before a court. 

19.Volenti Non Fit Injuria (Latin)

¡  To one who is willing, no harm is done.

¡  This doctrine holds that a person who knowingly and willingly puts himself in a dangerous situation cannot later on sue for any resulting injuries. Volenti non fit injuria is a defense in tort. If a person engages in an event accepting and being totally aware of the risks inherent in that event, then such person can not later complain of, or seek compensation for an injury suffered during the event.

20.Cessante ratione legis cessat lex ipsa (Latin)

¡  When the reason for a law ceases, the law itself ceases.

¡  The principle that when the grounds that gave rise to a law cease to exist, the law itself ceases to exist.

21.Salus populi est suprema lex (Latin)

¡  It means welfare of the people shall be the supreme law.

¡  The maxim tends to imply the information that law exists to serve common good. In the U.S., public health is considered as a common good and therefore, laws are framed keeping public health a central issue.

22.Novus actus interveniens (Latin)

¡  It means a new intervening act.

¡  It is an act or event that breaks the causal connection between a wrong or crime committed by the defendant and subsequent happenings. The new event relieves the defendant from responsibility for the happenings.

23.Rex non potest peccare (Latin)

¡  The King can do no wrong.

¡  This maxim has been the background of the legal principle, mostly now discarded, that a citizen could not sue the state for any alleged tort. On a regular basis in modern courts, Crown liability is being tested and teased into the common law rendering the maxim rex non potest peccare.

24.Vigiantibus non dormientibus, jura subvenient (Latin)

¡  Law will help only those who are vigilant.

¡  Law will not assist those who are careless of his/her right. In order to claim one’s right, s/he must be watchful of his/her right. Only those persons, who are watchful and careful of using his/her rights, are entitled to the benefits of law. Law confers rights on persons who are vigilant of their rights. Usually, law prescribes statutory limitations for enforcing one’s relief against another.

25.Ut res magis valeat quam pereat (Latin)

¡  It is better for a thing to have effect than to be made void.

¡  Ut res magis valeat quam pereat is a Latin term referring to a legal concept that stands for trying to coonstrue a law in a way to make sense, rather than void it. The law should be given effect rather than be destroyed.

REFERENCE

¡  http://www.duhaime.org

¡  https://uslegal.com

¡  www.oxfordreference.com

¡  www.britannica.com