A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person taught to practice law. Black's Law Dictionary is the most widely-used Law dictionary for the Law of the United States. An attorney at law (or attorney-at-law) in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute "^[1] Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver justice. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society A Gold Sovereign is a Gold coin first issued in 1489 for Henry VII of England and still in production as of 2008 For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. JUSTICE is a Human rights and law reform organisation based in the United Kingdom. Working as a lawyer involves the practical application of abstract legal theories and knowledge to solve specific individualized problems, or to advance the interests of those who retain (i. e. , hire) lawyers to perform legal services.

The role of the lawyer varies significantly across legal jurisdictions, and therefore can be treated here in only the most general terms. ^[2] More information is available in country-specific articles (see below).

Terminology

In practice, legal jurisdictions exercise their right to determine who is recognized as being a lawyer; as a result, the meaning of the term "lawyer" may vary from place to place.

• In Australia, the word "lawyer" is used to refer to both barristers and solicitors (whether in private practice or practising as corporate in-house counsel) but not people who do not practice the law. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A barrister is a Lawyer found in many Common law Jurisdictions that employ a split profession (as opposed to a Fused profession) in relation A "solicitor" is a term used in many Common law jurisdictions for a lawyer who offers legal services outside of the courts
• In Canada, the word "lawyer" only refers to individuals who have been called to the bar or have qualified as civil law notaries in the province of Quebec. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Call to the Bar is a legal Term of art in most Common law jurisdictions Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk Common law lawyers in Canada may also be known as "barristers and solicitors", but should not be referred to as "attorneys", since that term has a different meaning in Canadian usage. However, in Quebec, civil law advocates (or avocats in French) often call themselves "attorney" and sometimes "barrister and solicitor".
• In England, "lawyer" is used loosely to refer to a broad variety of law-trained persons. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland It includes practitioners such as barristers, solicitors, legal executives and licensed conveyancers; and people who are involved with the law but do not practice it on behalf of individual clients, such as judges, court clerks, and drafters of legislation. A barrister is a Lawyer found in many Common law Jurisdictions that employ a split profession (as opposed to a Fused profession) in relation A "solicitor" is a term used in many Common law jurisdictions for a lawyer who offers legal services outside of the courts Legal executives are trained legal professionals in England, Wales, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia who often specialise in A Licensed Conveyancer is a specialist in the United Kingdom, New Zealand or Australia who has been trained to deal with all aspects of Property law
• In India, the term "lawyer" is often colloquially used, but the official term is "advocate" as prescribed under the Advocates Act, 1961. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another person especially in a legal context ^[3]
• In Scotland, the word "lawyer" refers to a more specific group of legally trained people. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It specifically includes advocates and solicitors. An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another person especially in a legal context A "solicitor" is a term used in many Common law jurisdictions for a lawyer who offers legal services outside of the courts In a generic sense, it may also include judges and law-trained support staff.
• In the United States of America, the term generally refers to attorneys who may practice law. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the An attorney at law (or attorney-at-law) in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute In its most general sense the practice of law involves giving Legal advice to clients drafting legal documents for clients and representing clients in legal Negotiations
• Other nations tend to have comparable terms for the analogous concept.

Responsibilities

In most countries, particularly civil law countries, there has been a tradition of giving many legal tasks to a variety of civil law notaries, clerks, and scriveners. Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. Civil law notaries are trained Jurists who often receive the same training as advocating jurists &mdash those with a legal education who become litigators such as Barristers ^[4] These countries do not have "lawyers" in the American sense, insofar as that term refers to a single type of general-purpose legal services provider;^[5] rather, their legal professions consist of a large number of law-trained persons, known as jurists, of which only some are advocates who are licensed to practice in the courts. JURIST is an online legal news service hosted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, written by founder Professor Bernard Hibbitts and a staff of more than ^[6][7] It is difficult to formulate accurate generalizations that cover all the countries with multiple legal professions, because each country has traditionally had its own peculiar method of dividing up legal work among all its different types of legal professionals. ^[8]

Notably, England, the mother of the common law jurisdictions, emerged from the Dark Ages with similar complexity in its legal professions, but then evolved by the 19th century to a single dichotomy between barristers and solicitors. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive This article is about the phrase "Dark Age(s" as a characterization of the Early Middle Ages in Western Europe A barrister is a Lawyer found in many Common law Jurisdictions that employ a split profession (as opposed to a Fused profession) in relation A "solicitor" is a term used in many Common law jurisdictions for a lawyer who offers legal services outside of the courts An equivalent dichotomy developed between advocates and procurators in some civil law countries, though these two types did not always monopolize the practice of law as much as barristers and solicitors, in that they always coexisted with civil law notaries. ^[9][10][11]

Several countries that originally had two or more legal professions have since fused or united their professions into a single type of lawyer. Fused profession is a term relating to jurisdictions where the Legal profession is not divided between Barristers and Solicitors. ^{[12][13][14][15]} Most countries in this category are common law countries, though France, a civil law country, merged together its jurists in 1990 and 1991 in response to Anglo-American competition. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. ^[16] In countries with fused professions, a lawyer is usually permitted to carry out all or nearly all the responsibilities listed below.

Oral argument in the courts

Arguing a client's case before a judge or jury in a court of law is the traditional province of the barrister in England. A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law A jury a sworn body of persons convened to render a rational, impartial Verdict (a finding of fact on a question officially submitted to them However, the boundary between barristers and solicitors has evolved. In England today, the barrister monopoly covers only appellate courts, and barristers must compete directly with solicitors in many trial courts. ^[17] In countries like the United States that have fused legal professions, there are trial lawyers who specialize in trying cases in court, but trial lawyers do not have a de jure monopoly like barristers. A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person

In some countries, litigants have the option of arguing pro se, or on their own behalf. It is common for litigants to appear unrepresented before certain courts like small claims courts; indeed, many such courts do not allow lawyers to speak for their clients, in an effort to save money for all participants in a small case. Small claims courts are Courts of limited jurisdiction that hear civil cases between private litigants ^[18] In other countries, like Venezuela, no one may appear before a judge unless represented by a lawyer. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the ^[19] The advantage of the latter regime is that lawyers are familiar with the court's customs and procedures, and make the legal system more efficient for all involved. Unrepresented parties often damage their own credibility or slow the court down as a result of their inexperience. ^[20][21]

Research and drafting of court papers

Often, lawyers brief a court in writing on the issues in a case before the issues can be orally argued. They may have to perform extensive research into relevant facts and law while drafting legal papers and preparing for oral argument.

In England, a solicitor gets the facts of the case from the client and briefs a barrister in writing. The barrister then researches, drafts, and files the necessary court pleadings, and orally argues the case. ^[22]

In Spain, the procurator merely signs and presents the papers to the court, but it is the advocate who drafts the papers and argues the case. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. ^[23]

In some countries, like Japan, a scrivener or clerk may fill out court forms and draft simple papers for lay persons who cannot afford or do not need attorneys, and advise them on how to manage and argue their own cases. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. A scrivener (or scribe) was traditionally a person who could read and write. ^[24]

Advocacy (written and oral) in administrative hearings

In most developed countries, the legislature has granted original jurisdiction over highly technical matters to executive branch administrative agencies which oversee such things. The original jurisdiction of a court is the right to hear a case for the first time as opposed to Appellate jurisdiction when a court has the right to review the decision of In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. As a result, some lawyers have become specialists in administrative law. Administrative law is the body of Law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of Government. In a few countries, there is a special category of jurists with a monopoly over this form of advocacy; for example, France formerly had conseil juridiques (who were merged into the main legal profession in 1991). ^[25] In other countries, like the United States, lawyers have been effectively barred by statute from certain types of administrative hearings in order to preserve their informality. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ^[26]

Client intake and counseling (with regard to pending litigation)

An important aspect of a lawyer's job is developing and managing relationships with clients (or the client's employees, if the lawyer works in-house for a government or corporation). The client-lawyer relationship often begins with an intake interview where the lawyer gets to know the client personally, discovers the facts of the client's case, clarifies what the client wants to accomplish, shapes the client's expectations as to what actually can be accomplished, begins to develop various claims or defenses, and explains his or her fees to the client. ^[27][28]

In England, only solicitors were traditionally in direct contact with the client. ^[29] The solicitor retained a barrister if one was necessary and acted as an intermediary between the barrister and the client. In most cases a barrister would be obliged, under what is known as the "cab rank rule", to accept instructions for a case in an area in which they held themselves out as practising, at a court at which they normally appeared and at their usual rates. ^[30][31]

Legal advice (with regard to all legal matters)

Legal advice is the application of abstract principles of law to the concrete facts of the client's case in order to advise the client about what they should do next. In the Common law, legal advice is the giving of a formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law by an officer of the court (such as Solicitor or In many countries, only a properly licensed lawyer may provide legal advice to clients for good consideration, even if no lawsuit is contemplated or is in progress. Consideration is a central concept in the Common law of Contracts and Contract theory: it is value paid for a promise ^[32][33][34] Therefore, even conveyancers and corporate in-house counsel must first get a license to practice, though they may actually spend very little of their careers in court. Failure to obey such a rule is the crime of unauthorized practice of law. In its most general sense the practice of law involves giving Legal advice to clients drafting legal documents for clients and representing clients in legal Negotiations

In other countries, jurists who hold law degrees are allowed to provide legal advice to individuals or to corporations, and it is irrelevant if they lack a license and cannot appear in court. ^[35][36] Some countries go further; in England and Wales, there is no general prohibition on the giving of legal advice. History The Roman occupation of Britain was the first period in which the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit (with the exception ^[37] Sometimes civil law notaries are allowed to give legal advice, as in Belgium. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those ^[38] In many countries, non-jurist accountants may provide what is technically legal advice in tax and accounting matters. ^[39]

Protecting intellectual property

In virtually all countries, patents, trademarks, industrial designs and other forms of intellectual property must be formally registered with a government agency in order to receive maximum protection under the law. A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an A trademark or trade mark, represented by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual Industrial design rights are Intellectual property rights that protect the visual design of objects that are not purely utilitarian Intellectual property ( IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical literary and artistic works inventions and symbols names The division of such work among lawyers, licensed non-lawyer jurists/agents, and ordinary clerks or scriveners varies greatly from one country to the next. ^[40][41]

Negotiating and drafting contracts

In some countries, the negotiating and drafting of contracts is considered to be similar to the provision of legal advice, so that it is subject to the licensing requirement explained above. ^[42] In others, jurists or notaries may negotiate or draft contracts. ^[43]

Lawyers in some civil law countries traditionally deprecated "transactional law" or "business law" as beneath them. French law firms developed transactional departments only in the 1990s when they started to lose business to international firms based in the United States and the United Kingdom (where solicitors have always done transactional work). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located ^[44]

Conveyancing

Conveyancing is the drafting of the documents necessary for the transfer of real property, such as deeds and mortgages. In the Common law, real property (or realty) refers to one of the two main classes of Property, the other class being Personal property ( A deed is a Legal instrument used to grant a Right. Deeds are part of the broader category of documents under seal. A mortgage is the pledging of a property to a Lender as a security for a Mortgage loan. In some jurisdictions, all real estate transactions must be carried out by a lawyer (or a solicitor where that distinction still exists). Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions notably in the USA, United Kingdom ^[45] Such a monopoly is quite valuable from the lawyer's point of view; historically, conveyancing accounted for about half of English solicitors' income (though this has since changed),^[46] and a 1978 study showed that conveyancing "accounts for as much as 80 percent of solicitor-client contact in New South Wales. "^[47] In most common law jurisdictions outside of the United States, this monopoly arose from an 1804 law^[48] that was introduced by William Pitt the Younger as a quid pro quo for the raising of fees on the certification of legal professionals such as barristers, solicitors, attorneys and notaries. William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 &ndash 23 January 1806 was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Quid pro quo ( Latin for "something for something") indicates a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services ^[49]

In others, the use of a lawyer is optional and banks, title companies, or realtors may be used instead. The National Association of Realtors (NAR whose members are known as realtors (rē(əltər -ˌtôr is North America's largest Trade association representing ^[50] In some civil law jurisdictions, real estate transactions are handled by civil law notaries. ^[51] In England and Wales a special class of legal professional, the Licensed Conveyancer is also allowed to carry out conveyancing services for reward. History The Roman occupation of Britain was the first period in which the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit (with the exception A Licensed Conveyancer is a specialist in the United Kingdom, New Zealand or Australia who has been trained to deal with all aspects of Property law

Carrying out the intent of the deceased

In many countries, only lawyers have the legal authority to do drafting of wills, trusts, and any other documents that ensure the efficient disposition of a person's property after death. In Common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the Testator) regulates the rights of others over his or her Property In Common law legal systems a trust is an arrangement whereby Property (including real tangible and intangible is managed by one person (or persons or organizations In some civil law countries this responsibility is handled by civil law notaries. ^[52]

In the United States, the estates of the deceased must be administered by a court through probate. Probate is the Legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person specifically resolving all claims and distributing the decedent's Property American lawyers have a profitable monopoly on dispensing advice about probate law (which has been heavily criticized). ^[53]

Prosecution and defense of criminal suspects

In many civil law countries, prosecutors are trained and employed as part of the judiciary; they are law-trained jurists, but may not necessarily be lawyers in the sense that the word is used in the common law world. The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the Common law Adversarial system, or the civil law ^[54] In common law countries, prosecutors are usually lawyers holding regular licenses who simply happen to work for the government office that files criminal charges against suspects. Criminal defense lawyers specialize in the defense of those charged with any crimes. A criminal defense lawyer is a Lawyer specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal conduct

Education

Main article: Legal education

The educational prerequisites to becoming a lawyer vary greatly from country to country. Legal education is the education of individuals who intend to become legal professionals or those who simply intend to use their law degree to some end either related to law In some countries, law is taught by a faculty of law, which is a department of a university's general undergraduate college. Legal education is the education of individuals who intend to become legal professionals or those who simply intend to use their law degree to some end either related to law ^[55] Law students in those countries pursue a Master or Bachelor of Laws degree. The Master of Laws is an advanced Academic degree, or research degree and is commonly abbreviated LL The Bachelor of Laws (abbreviated LLB, LLB or rarely LlB) is an undergraduate or bachelor degree in law offered in most Common law In some countries it is common or even required for students to earn another bachelor's degree at the same time. Nor is the LL. B the sole obstacle; it is often followed by a series of advanced examinations, apprenticeships, and additional coursework at special government institutes. ^[56]

In other countries, particularly the United States, law is primarily taught at law schools. A law school (also known as a school of law or college of law) is an institution specializing in Legal education. In the United States^[57] and countries following the American model, (such as Canada^[58] with the exception of the province of Quebec) law schools are graduate/professional schools where a bachelor's degree is a prerequisite for admission. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Most law schools are part of universities but a few are independent institutions. Law schools in the United States (and some in Canada and elsewhere) award graduating students a J. D. (Juris Doctor/Doctor of Jurisprudence) (as opposed to the Bachelor of Laws) as the practitioner's law degree. Juris Doctor (abbreviated JD or JD, from the Latin, Teacher of Law) is a first professional graduate degree and Professional The Bachelor of Laws (abbreviated LLB, LLB or rarely LlB) is an undergraduate or bachelor degree in law offered in most Common law However, like other professional doctorates (including the M. D. ), the J. D. is not the exact equivalent of the Ph. D. , since it does not require the submission of a full dissertation based on original research. Many schools also offer post-doctoral law degrees such as the LL. M (Legum Magister/Master of Laws), or the S. J. D. (Scientiae Juridicae Doctor/Doctor of the Science of Law) for students interested in advancing their knowledge and credentials in a specific area of law.

The methods and quality of legal education vary widely. Some countries require extensive clinical training in the form of apprenticeships or special clinical courses. ^[59] Others do not, like Venezuela. ^[60] A few countries prefer to teach through assigned readings of judicial opinions (the casebook method) followed by intense in-class cross-examination by the professor (the Socratic method). The casebook method, also known as the case method, is the primary method of teaching Law in law schools in the United States. The Socratic Method (or Method of Elenchus or Socratic Debate) named after the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of ^[61][62] Many others have only lectures on highly abstract legal doctrines, which forces young lawyers to figure out how to actually think and write like a lawyer at their first apprenticeship (or job). ^[63][64][65] Depending upon the country, a typical class size could range from five students in a seminar to five hundred in a giant lecture room. In the United States, law schools maintain small class sizes, and as such, grant admissions on a more limited and competitive basis. ^[66]

Some countries, particularly industrialized ones, have a traditional preference for full-time law programs,^[67] while in developing countries, students often work full- or part-time to pay the tuition and fees of their part-time law programs. ^[68][69]

Law schools in developing countries share several common problems, such as an overreliance on practicing judges and lawyers who treat teaching as a part-time hobby (and a concomitant scarcity of full-time law professors);^[70][71] incompetent faculty with questionable credentials;^[72] and textbooks that lag behind the current state of the law by two or three decades. ^[73][74]

Earning the right to practice law

Main articles: Call to the bar and Admission to the bar

Some jurisdictions grant a "diploma privilege" to certain institutions, so that merely earning a degree or credential from those institutions is the primary qualification for practicing law. The Call to the Bar is a legal Term of art in most Common law jurisdictions This article is about requirements for admission to practice law not just terminology The diploma privilege is a method for lawyers to be admitted to the bar without taking a Bar examination. ^[75] Mexico allows anyone with a law degree to practice law. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. ^[76] However, in a large number of countries, a law student must pass a bar examination (or a series of such examinations) before receiving a license to practice. A bar examination is an examination to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice Law in a given Jurisdiction. ^[75][77][78] In a handful of U.S. states, one may become an attorney by simply passing the bar examination, without having to attend law school first (though very few people actually become lawyers that way). A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government ^[79]

Some countries require a formal apprenticeship with an experienced practitioner, while others do not. For example, a few jurisdictions still allow an apprenticeship in place of any kind of formal legal education (though the number of persons who actually become lawyers that way is increasingly rare). ^[80]

Career structure

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is a famous example of a lawyer-turned-politician. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 &ndash April 15 1865 the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through its greatest internal

The career structure of lawyers varies widely from one country to the next.

Common law/civil law

In most common law countries, especially those with fused professions, lawyers have many options over the course of their careers. Besides private practice, they can always aspire to becoming a prosecutor, government counsel, corporate in-house counsel, administrative law judge, judge, arbitrator, law professor, or politician. The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the Common law Adversarial system, or the civil law An administrative law judge ( ALJ) in the United States is an official who presides at an administrative trial -type hearing to resolve a dispute between A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law An arbitral tribunal (or arbitration tribunal) is a panel of one or more Adjudicators which is convened and sits to resolve a dispute by way of Arbitration Legal education is the education of individuals who intend to become legal professionals or those who simply intend to use their law degree to some end either related to law A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person ^[81] There are also many non-legal jobs which legal training is good preparation for, such as corporate executive, government administrator, investment banker, entrepreneur, or journalist. Corporate titles are titles conferred on individuals as a means of identifying their function in the Organization. Investment banks profit from companies and governments by raising money through issuing and selling Securities in the Capital markets (both equity and An entrepreneur is a person who has possession over a company enterprise, or Venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends ^[82] In developing countries like India, a large majority of law students never actually practice, but simply use their law degree as a foundation for careers in other fields. ^[83]

In most civil law countries, lawyers generally structure their legal education around their chosen specialty; the boundaries between different types of lawyers are carefully defined and hard to cross. After one earns a law degree, career mobility may be severely constrained. For example, unlike their American counterparts,^[84] it is difficult for German judges to leave the bench and become advocates in private practice. ^[85] Another interesting example is France, where for much of the 20th century, all magistrates were graduates of an elite professional school for judges. Although the French magistracy has begun experimenting with the Anglo-American model of appointing judges from accomplished advocates, the few advocates who have actually joined the bench this way are looked down upon by their colleagues who have taken the traditional route to magistracy. ^[86]

In a few civil law countries, such as Sweden,^[87] the legal profession is not rigorously bifurcated and everyone within it can easily change roles and arenas. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation.

Specialization

In many countries, lawyers are general practitioners who will take almost any kind of case that walks in the door. ^[88] In others, there has been a tendency since the start of the 20th century for lawyers to specialize early in their careers. ^[89][90] In countries where specialization is prevalent, many lawyers specialize in representing one side in one particular area of the law; thus, it is common in the United States to hear of plaintiffs' personal injury attorneys. ^[91]

Organization

Main article: Law firm

Lawyers in private practice generally work in specialized businesses known as law firms,^[92] with the exception of English barristers. A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more Lawyers to engage in the practice of law A business (also called firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more Lawyers to engage in the practice of law The vast majority of law firms worldwide are small businesses that range in size from 1 to 10 lawyers. ^[93] The United States, with its large number of firms with more than 50 lawyers, is an exception. ^[94] The United Kingdom and Australia are also exceptions, as the UK, Australia and the U. S. are now home to several firms with more than 1,000 lawyers after a wave of mergers in the late 1990s.

Notably, barristers in England and Wales and some states in Australia do not work in "law firms". A barrister is a Lawyer found in many Common law Jurisdictions that employ a split profession (as opposed to a Fused profession) in relation History The Roman occupation of Britain was the first period in which the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit (with the exception For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Those who offer their services to the general public — as opposed to those working "in house" — are required to be self-employed. ^[95] Most work in groupings known as "sets" or "chambers", where some administrative and marketing costs are shared. An important effect of this different organizational structure is that there is no conflict of interest where barristers in the same chambers work for opposing sides in a case, and in some specialised chambers this is commonplace.

Professional associations and regulation

Mandatory licensing and membership in professional organizations

In some jurisdictions, either the judiciary^[96] or the Ministry of Justice^[97] directly supervises the admission, licensing, and regulation of lawyers.

Other jurisdictions, by statute, tradition, or court order, have granted such powers to a professional association which all lawyers must belong to. ^[98] In the U. S. , such associations are known as mandatory, integrated, or unified bar associations. A bar association is a Professional body of Lawyers Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their Jurisdiction In the Commonwealth of Nations, similar organizations are known as Inns of Court, bar councils or law societies. The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations to one of which every barrister in England and Wales (and those judges who were formerly barristers A bar council ( Comhairle an Bharra) in a Commonwealth country and in the Republic of Ireland is a Professional body that regulates the profession A Law Society in current and former Commonwealth jurisdictions is an association of solicitors (effectively the trade organisation for solicitors which has a regulatory role ^[99] In civil law countries, comparable organizations are known as Orders of Advocates,^[100] Chambers of Advocates,^[101] Colleges of Advocates,^[102] Faculties of Advocates,^[103] or similar names. Generally, a nonmember caught practicing law may be liable for the crime of unauthorized practice of law. In its most general sense the practice of law involves giving Legal advice to clients drafting legal documents for clients and representing clients in legal Negotiations ^[104]

In common law countries with divided legal professions, barristers traditionally belong to the bar council (or an Inn of Court) and solicitors belong to the law society. In the English-speaking world, the largest mandatory professional association of lawyers is the State Bar of California, with 200,000 members. The State Bar of California is California 's official Bar association.

Some countries admit and regulate lawyers at the national level, so that a lawyer, once licensed, can argue cases in any court in the land. This is common in small countries like New Zealand, Japan, and Belgium. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island ^[105] Others, especially those with federal governments, tend to regulate lawyers at the state or provincial level; this is the case in the United States,^[106] Canada,^[107] Australia,^[108] and Switzerland,^[109] to name a few. Brazil is the most well-known federal government that regulates lawyers at the national level. ^[110]

Some countries, like Italy, regulate lawyers at the regional level,^[111] and a few, like Belgium, even regulate them at the local level (that is, they are licensed and regulated by the local equivalent of bar associations but can advocate in courts nationwide). ^[112] In Germany, lawyers are admitted to regional bars and may appear for clients before all courts nationwide with the exception of the Federal Court of Justice of Germany (Bundesgerichthof or BGH); oddly, securing admission to the BGH's bar limits a lawyer's practice solely to the supreme federal courts and the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. The “ Federal Court of Justice of Germany ” ( German: “ Bundesgerichtshof ” or “ BGH ” is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction The Federal Constitutional Court (in German: Bundesverfassungsgericht BVerfG) is a special Court established by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic ^[113]

Generally, geographic limitations can be troublesome for a lawyer who discovers that his client's cause requires him to litigate in a court beyond the normal geographic scope of his license. Although most courts have special pro hac vice rules for such occasions, the lawyer will still have to deal with a different set of professional responsibility rules, as well as the possibility of other differences in substantive and procedural law. Pro hac vice, Latin for "for this occasion" or "for this event" (literally "for this turn" is a Legal term usually referring to a See also Professional ethics Professional responsibility is the area of legal practice that encompasses the duties of Attorneys to act in a professional manner

Some countries grant licenses to non-resident lawyers, who may then appear regularly on behalf of foreign clients. Others require all lawyers to live in the jurisdiction or to even hold national citizenship as a prerequisite for receiving a license to practice. But the trend in industrialized countries since the 1970s has been to abolish citizenship and residency restrictions. For example, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down a citizenship requirement on equality rights grounds in 1989,^[114] and similarly, American citizenship and residency requirements were struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 and 1985, respectively. The Supreme Court of Canada ( French: Cour suprême du Canada) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. ^[115] The European Court of Justice made similar decisions in 1974 and 1977 striking down citizenship restrictions in Belgium and France. This article refers to the European Union court not the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe The Court of Justice ^[116]

Who regulates lawyers

A key difference among countries is whether lawyers should be regulated solely by an independent judiciary and its subordinate institutions (a self-regulating legal profession), or whether lawyers should be subject to supervision by the Ministry of Justice in the executive branch. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State.

In most civil law countries, the government has traditionally exercised tight control over the legal profession in order to ensure a steady supply of loyal judges and bureaucrats. That is, lawyers were expected first and foremost to serve the state, and the availability of counsel for private litigants was an afterthought. ^[117] Even in civil law countries like Norway which have partially self-regulating professions, the Ministry of Justice is the sole issuer of licenses, and makes its own independent re-evaluation of a lawyer's fitness to practice after a lawyer has been expelled from the Advocates' Association. ^[118] Brazil is an unusual exception in that its national Order of Advocates has become a fully self-regulating institution (with direct control over licensing) and has successfully resisted government attempts to place it under the control of the Ministry of Labor. ^[119][120]

Of all the civil law countries, Communist countries historically went the farthest towards total state control, with all Communist lawyers forced to practice in collectives by the mid-1950s. ^[121][122]

In contrast, common law lawyers have traditionally regulated themselves through institutions where the influence of non-lawyers, if any, was weak and indirect (despite nominal state control). ^[123] Such institutions have been traditionally dominated by private practitioners who opposed strong state control of the profession on the grounds that it would endanger the ability of lawyers to zealously and competently advocate their clients' causes in the adversarial system of justice. The adversarial system (or adversary system) of law is the system of law generally adopted in Common law countries that relies on the skill of each advocate ^[124]

However, the concept of the self-regulating profession has been criticized as a sham which serves to legitimize the professional monopoly while protecting the profession from public scrutiny. ^[125] Disciplinary mechanisms have been astonishingly ineffective, and penalties have been light or nonexistent. ^{[126][127][128]}

Voluntary associations of lawyers

Lawyers are always free to form voluntary associations of their own, apart from any licensing or mandatory membership that may be required by the laws of their jurisdiction. Like their mandatory counterparts, such organizations may exist at all geographic levels. ^[129][130] In American English, such associations are known as voluntary bar associations. ^[131] The largest voluntary professional association of lawyers in the English-speaking world is the American Bar Association. The American Bar Association ( ABA) founded August 21 1878 is a voluntary Bar association of Lawyers and law students which is not specific

In some countries, like France and Italy, lawyers have also formed trade unions. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming ^[132]

Cultural perception of lawyers

Hostility towards the legal profession is a widespread phenomenon. The legal profession was abolished in Prussia in 1780 and in France in 1789, though both countries eventually realized that their judicial systems could not function efficiently without lawyers. Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state ^[133] Complaints about too many lawyers were common in both England and the United States in the 1840s^[134][135] Germany in the 1910s,^[136] and in Australia,^[137] Canada,^[138] the United States,^{[139][140][141]} and Scotland^[142] in the 1980s. Events and trends Technology First use of General anesthesia in an operation by Crawford Long. The 1910s decade ran from January 1 1910 through December 31 1919 Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989.

Public distrust of lawyers reached record heights in the United States after the Watergate scandal. The Watergate scandals were a series of Political scandals during the presidency of Richard Nixon that resulted in the Indictment of several of Nixon's ^[143][141] In the aftermath of Watergate, legal self-help books became popular among those who wished to solve their legal problems without having to deal with lawyers. ^[144] Lawyer jokes (already a perennial favorite) also soared in popularity in English-speaking North America as a result of Watergate. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States ^[145] In 1989, American legal self-help publisher Nolo Press published a 171-page compilation of negative anecdotes about lawyers from throughout human history. Nolo, formerly known as Nolo Press, is a publisher in Berkeley California that produces Do it yourself legal books and software that reduce the need for ^[146]

A 2004 comparative study examined the various legal professions around the world and noted a "remarkable consistency" in complaints about lawyers that transcends both time and locale. ^[147] The authors then generalized the most common complaints about lawyers as follows:

Compensation

Main article: Attorney's fee

Lawyers are paid for their work in a variety of ways. Attorney fees (note that the use of the word 'attorney' connotes lawyers broadly solicitors and barristers are the costs of legal representation that an attorney's client or a party In private practice, they may work for an hourly fee according to a billable hour structure,^[149] a contingency fee^[150] (usually in cases involving personal injury), or a lump sum payment if the matter is straightforward. A contingent fee in the United States or conditional fee in the United Kingdom is any Fee for services provided where the fee is only payable A personal injury occurs when a Person has suffered some form of Injury, either physical or psychological as the result of an Accident or Medical Normally, most lawyers negotiate a written fee agreement up front and may require a non-refundable retainer in advance. An advance payment, or simply an advance, is the part of a contractually due sum that is paid in advance while the balance will only follow after receipt on the counterpart In many countries there are fee-shifting arrangements by which the loser must pay the winner's fees and costs; the United States is the major exception,^[151] although in turn, its legislators have carved out many exceptions to the so-called "American Rule" of no fee shifting.

Lawyers working directly on the payroll of governments, nonprofits, and corporations usually earn a regular annual salary. ^[152] In many countries, with the notable exception of Germany,^[153] lawyers can also volunteer their labor in the service of worthy causes through an arrangement called pro bono (for the common good). Pro bono publico (usually shortened to pro bono) is a Phrase derived from Latin meaning "for the public good ^[154] Traditionally such work was performed on behalf of the poor, but in some countries it has now expanded to many other causes such as the environment. See also Natural environment The '''biophysical''' environment is the symbiosis between the physical environment and the Biological

In some countries, there are legal aid lawyers who specialize in providing legal services to the indigent. Most liberal democracies consider that it is necessary to provide some level of legal aid to persons otherwise unable to afford legal representation ^[155][156] France and Spain even have formal fee structures by which lawyers are compensated by the government for legal aid cases on a per-case basis. ^[157] A similar system, though not as extensive or generous, operates in Australia, Canada, as well as South Africa.

In other countries, legal aid specialists are practically nonexistent. This may be because non-lawyers are allowed to provide such services; in both Italy and Belgium, trade unions and political parties provide what can be characterized as legal aid services. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those ^[158] Some legal aid in Belgium is also provided by young lawyer apprentices subsidized by local bar associations (known as the pro deo system), as well as consumer protection nonprofit organizations and Public Assistance Agencies subsidized by local governments. ^[159] In Germany, mandatory fee structures have enabled widespread implementation of affordable legal expense insurance. ^[160]

History

16th century painting of a civil law notary, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. Civil law notaries are trained Jurists who often receive the same training as advocating jurists &mdash those with a legal education who become litigators such as Barristers For his grandson the Elizabethan painter see Quentin Metsys the Younger Quentin Matsys, his first name also recorded as A civil law notary is roughly analogous to a common law solicitor, except that, unlike solicitors, civil law notaries do not practice litigation to any degree. A "solicitor" is a term used in many Common law jurisdictions for a lawyer who offers legal services outside of the courts

Ancient Greece

The earliest people who could be described as "lawyers" were probably the orators of ancient Athens (see History of Athens). Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's The History of Athens is one of the longest of any city in Europe and in the world However, Athenian orators faced serious structural obstacles. First, there was a rule that individuals were supposed to plead their own cases, which was soon bypassed by the increasing tendency of individuals to ask a "friend" for assistance. ^[161] However, around the middle of the fourth century BC, the Athenians disposed of the perfunctory request for a friend. The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. ^[162] Second, a more serious obstacle, which the Athenian orators never completely overcame, was the rule that no one could take a fee to plead the cause of another. This law was widely disregarded in practice, but was never abolished, which meant that orators could never present themselves as legal professionals or experts. ^[163] They had to uphold the legal fiction that they were merely an ordinary citizen generously helping out a friend for free, and thus they could never organize into a real profession — with professional associations and titles and all the other pomp and circumstance — like their modern counterparts. In the Common law tradition legal fictions are suppositions of fact taken to be true by the Courts of Law, but which are not necessarily ^[164] Therefore, if one narrows the definition to those men who could practice the legal profession openly and legally, then the first lawyers would have to be the orators of ancient Rome. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC

Early Ancient Rome

A law enacted in 204 BC barred Roman advocates from taking fees, but the law was widely ignored. ^[165] The ban on fees was abolished by Emperor Claudius, who legalized advocacy as a profession and allowed the Roman advocates to become the first lawyers who could practice openly — but he also imposed a fee ceiling of 10,000 sesterces. Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I ( August 1, 10 BC &ndash October 13, AD 54 ( Tiberius Claudius Drusus from birth to The sestertius, or sesterce, was an ancient Roman Coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small Silver, and rare coin issued ^[166] This was apparently not much money; the Satires of Juvenal complain that there was no money in working as an advocate. The ^[167]

Like their Greek contemporaries, early Roman advocates were trained in rhetoric, not law, and the judges before whom they argued were also not law-trained. Rhetoric has had many definitions no simple definition can do it justice ^[168] But very early on, unlike Athens, Rome developed a class of specialists who were learned in the law, known as jurisconsults (iuris consulti). ^[169] Jurisconsults were wealthy amateurs who dabbled in law as an intellectual hobby; they did not make their primary living from it. ^[170] They gave legal opinions (responsa) on legal issues to all comers (a practice known as publice respondere). ^[171] Roman judges and governors would routinely consult with an advisory panel of jurisconsults before rendering a decision, and advocates and ordinary people also went to jurisconsults for legal opinions. ^[172] Thus, the Romans were the first to have a class of people who spent their days thinking about legal problems, and this is why their law became so "precise, detailed, and technical. "^[173]

Late Ancient Rome

During the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire, jurisconsults and advocates were unregulated, since the former were amateurs and the latter were technically illegal. The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial ^[174] Any citizen could call himself an advocate or a legal expert, though whether people believed him would depend upon his personal reputation. This changed once Claudius legalized the legal profession. By the start of the Byzantine Empire, the legal profession had become well-established, heavily regulated, and highly stratified. ^[175] The centralization and bureaucratization of the profession was apparently gradual at first, but accelerated during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. Publius Aelius Hadrianus (January 24 76 &ndash July 10 138 as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, and Divus Hadrianus after ^[176] At the same time, the jurisconsults went into decline during the imperial period. ^[177]

In the words of Fritz Schulz, "by the fourth century things had changed in the eastern Empire: advocates now were really lawyers. "^[178] For example, by the fourth century, advocates had be enrolled on the bar of a court to argue before it, they could only be attached to one court at a time, and there were restrictions (which came and went depending upon who was emperor) on how many advocates could be enrolled at a particular court. ^[179] By the 380s, advocates were studying law in addition to rhetoric (thus reducing the need for a separate class of jurisconsults); in 460, Emperor Leo imposed a requirement that new advocates seeking admission had to produce testimonials from their teachers; and by the sixth century, a regular course of legal study lasting about four years was required for admission. ^[180] Claudius's fee ceiling lasted all the way into the Byzantine period, though by then it was measured at 100 solidi. The solidus (the Latin word for solid) was originally a Gold coin issued by the Romans. ^[181] Of course, it was widely evaded, either through demands for maintenance and expenses or a sub rosa barter transaction. Barter is a type of Trade in which goods or services are directly exchanged ^[182] The latter was cause for disbarment. ^[183]

The notaries (tabelliones) appeared in the late Roman Empire. Like their modern-day descendants, the civil law notaries, they were responsible for drafting wills, conveyances, and contracts. ^[184] They were ubiquitous and most villages had one. ^[185] In Roman times, notaries were widely considered to be inferior to advocates and jurisconsults. ^[186] Roman notaries were not law-trained; they were barely literate hacks who wrapped the simplest transactions in mountains of legal jargon, since they were paid by the line. ^[187]

Middle Ages

After the fall of the western Empire and the onset of the Dark Ages, the legal profession of Western Europe collapsed. As James Brundage has explained: "[by 1140], no one in Western Europe could properly be described as a professional lawyer or a professional canonist in anything like the modern sense of the term 'professional. ' "^[188] However, from 1150 onward, a small but increasing number of men became experts in canon law but only in furtherance of other occupational goals, such as serving the Roman Catholic Church as priests. Canon law is internal ecclesiastical law governing the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Anglican Communion of churches ^[189] From 1190 to 1230, however, there was a crucial shift in which some men began to practice canon law as a lifelong profession in itself. ^[190]

The legal profession's return was marked by the renewed efforts of church and state to regulate it. In 1231 two French councils mandated that lawyers had to swear an oath of admission before practicing before the bishop's courts in their regions, and a similar oath was promulgated by the papal legate in London in 1237. ^[191] During the same decade, Frederick II, the emperor of the Kingdom of Sicily, imposed a similar oath in his civil courts. ^[192] By 1250 the a nucleus of a new legal profession had clearly formed. ^[193] The new trend towards professionalization culminated in a controversial proposal at the Second Council of Lyon in 1275 that all ecclesiastical courts should require an oath of admission. The First Council of Lyon, the Thirteenth Ecumenical Council took place in 1245 ^[194] Although not adopted by the council, it was highly influential in many such courts throughout Europe. ^[195] The civil courts in England also joined the trend towards professionalization; in 1275 a statute was enacted that prescribed punishment for professional lawyers guilty of deceit, and in 1280 the mayor's court of the city of London promulgated regulations concerning admission procedures, including the administering of an oath. ^[196]

References

See also

External links

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