A lawyer (also called an advocate, a lawyer, or an advisor) is a licensed professional who counsels and represents others on legal matters. A lawyer or attorney is an individual who practices law, either as a litigator, advocate, lawyer-at-law, barrister, solicitor-at-law, advocate-at-law, canonist, canon attorney, civil legal notary, counsel, counselor, attorney, executive officer of the law, or government employee, in preparation, interpretation, and application of the law, as opposed to paralegals or administrative secretaries.
Lawyers should be able to present and clearly explain a lawyer's case to arbitrators, mediators, opposing parties, judges, or juries, as they are speaking for their clients. Lawyers need to be able to locate those laws and regulations that apply to the particular matter, to be able to give their clients the proper legal advice.
Since laws differ from state to state and are always changing, only an attorney can give you the specific advice that applies to your situation. Get legal advice if you think you might be in any of these situations so that you know exactly whether you can represent yourself or you need a lawyer. If you are unsure of the consequences of your actions or are not sure of the way forward, getting some fast legal advice from an attorney could be really useful to avoid problems down the road.
If, however, your lawyer makes an error when handling your legal matters that no reasonable attorney would have made, and you lose money as a result, that is called negligence, and you may sue. You could later hire a new attorney, or have your attorney back, but doing so will require you to negotiate with that attorney anew, and you (or your new attorney) would need to file a New Attorney Statement with the Court letting the Court know you are represented again. The institution may issue money sanctions, compel a lawyer to pay restitution (such as payback stolen money), suspend a lawyer's law practice license, or deny an attorney's license.
After earning several years of experience, some attorneys begin practicing solo practice or transition into a law department at a major firm. Wherever the criminal defense attorney ends up, the criminal defense attorney has an unavoidable impact on the clients--and society--they serve. Whether pursuing individuals for breaking the law, protecting people accused of crimes, or performing related jobs, criminal lawyers have an integral role to play in our society and in administering justice.
Prosecuting and defending attorneys examine facts and evidence, consult with clients and review documents, and prepare and file briefs with the courts. In countries with widespread specialization, many lawyers specialize in representing a party within one specific area of law; therefore, in the U.S., you will often hear from personal injury lawyers who are plaintiffs. In the United States, attorneys typically specialize in narrow areas of law, such as criminal, divorce, business, probate, or personal injury, although many are involved in general practice. In most countries with civilian laws, lawyers typically structure their legal education around the specialization they have chosen; boundaries between the various types of lawyers are well-defined and difficult to cross.
In practice, the jurisdictions that regulate law exert their authority in determining who is recognized as an attorney. In addition, the law gives individuals the right to organize and define their own legal rights on a variety of issues and through various means, such as through a will, contract, or business charter, and lawyers assist with many such arrangements. Lawyers and others trained in law frequently use legal terms as a shorthand for complex ideas or principles. From the LSAT to the bar exam, that first Criminal Law class, all the way up to the day you earn your degree, becoming a criminal defense attorney takes an enormous amount of time and commitment.
lawyer, one trained and licensed to prepare, manage, and either prosecute or defend a court action as an agent for another and who also gives advice on legal matters that may or may not require court action.
Lawyers apply the law to specific cases. They investigate the facts and the evidence by conferring with their clients and reviewing documents, and they prepare and file the pleadings in court. At the trial, they introduce evidence, interrogate witnesses, and argue questions of law and fact. If they do not win the case, they may seek a new trial or relief in an appellate court.
In many instances, lawyers can bring about the settlement of a case without trial through negotiation, reconciliation, and compromise. In addition, the law gives individuals the power to arrange and determine their legal rights in many matters and in various ways, such as through wills, contracts, or corporate bylaws, and lawyers aid in many of these arrangements. Since the 20th century, a rapidly developing field of work for lawyers has been the representation of clients before administrative committees and courts, and before legislative committees.
Lawyers have several loyalties in their work, including loyalties to their clients, to the administration of justice, to the community, to their associates in practice, and to themselves. When these loyalties conflict, the standards of the profession are intended to effect a reconciliation.
Legal practice varies from country to country. In England, lawyers are divided into barristers, who plead in the higher courts, and solicitors, who do office work and plead in the lower courts. In the United States attorneys often specialize in limited areas of law, such as criminal, divorce, corporate, probate, or personal injury, though many are involved in general practice.
In France, numerous types of professionals and even nonprofessionals handle various aspects of legal work. The most prestigious is the avocat, who is equal in rank to a magistrate or law professor. Roughly comparable to the English barrister, the avocat’s main function is to plead in court. In France, as in most civil-law countries, the examination of witnesses is conducted by the magistrate rather than the attorney, as in common-law countries. In their pleading, Avocats develop their argument and point out discrepancies in the testimony of witnesses; this is the primary means open to Avocats to persuade the court on legal and factual points. Formerly, in addition to the avocats, there were also avoués and agréés; the former represented litigants in all procedural matters except the oral presentation, prepared briefs, and negotiated settlements, while the latter, few in number, were responsible for pleading in certain commercial courts. Today the distinction between avoués and Avocats has been abolished in all but the appellate courts, where avoués continue to practice as before.
In addition to these professional groups, there are nonprofessional legal counselors who give advice on various legal problems and are often employed by business firms. In almost all civil-law countries, there are notaries (see notary), who have exclusive rights to deal with such office work as marriage settlements and wills.
In Germany, the chief distinction is between lawyers and notaries. The German attorney, however, plays an even smaller courtroom role than the French avocat, largely because presentations on points of law are limited, and litigation is often left to junior partners. Attorneys are often restricted to practice before courts in specific territories. There are further restrictions in that certain attorney's practice only before appeals courts, often necessitating a new attorney for each level of litigation. In Germany, lawyers are employed in the administration of government to a greater extent than in common-law countries.
In communist countries, lawyers were widely used as advisers to government bureaus but had far less scope in representing individuals. See also advocate; barrister; solicitor.
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