TV series: The Split
Update September 2022: The link below is no longer working but the series is available on DVD.
One of my clients recently told me that the BBC legal drama ‘The Split’ is now showing on the European TV Channel ARTE. You can watch it at this website, in the original English version: https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/RC-021759/the-split/
The Split is a series about divorce law. The main characters are members of the same family, who practise law in rival law firms. The series contains a lot of useful legal English vocabulary, not just about divorce law. Here are some examples from the first episode (Season 1, Episode 1):
1. brief
Nathan says that he has a ‘mountain of briefs’. He means that he has a lot of work to do.
A brief, in British English, is the document containing the instructions given to a barrister by a solicitor, asking the barrister to act in a case. It can also be used as a verb: you could say that you were going to brief counsel, in other words give instructions to a barrister.
In the episode, Hannah’s assistant says ‘Christie wants to brief you on your 9 o’clock [meeting]’. This is a more general English usage of the verb, meaning that Christie wants to give Hannah information about the meeting.
2. instruct
If a client instructs a lawyer, they ask the lawyer to act for them.
3. letter of engagement
Nina sees a letter of engagement on Hannah’s desk. This is the document which sets out the terms on which the lawyer will act for a client, including details of the lawyer’s fees.
4. colleague
When Hannah wants to talk to the opposing lawyer, Nina, she refers to her as ‘my colleague’ even though they are working for different law firms. This would be the equivalent of the French word consoeur in this context.
5. decree absolute
In English family law, a decree absolute is the final divorce order. It comes after the decree nisi, which is a provisional order. Changes to English divorce law legislation in April 2022 have modernised this vocabulary. A decree nisi is now a conditional order and a decree absolute is now called a final order.