lawyer | Definition, Responsibilities, & Facts | Blogosm

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,

lawyer | Definition, Responsibilities, & Facts | Blogosm

Lawyer

A lawyer is a person who has been taught and licensed to prepare, handle, and either prosecute or defend a court case on behalf of another person, as well as provide legal advice on situations that do not need judicial action.

Lawyers are professionals who apply the law to specific situations. They gather information about the facts and evidence by speaking with their clients and studying documents, then write and file pleadings in court. They present evidence, ask witnesses and debate legal and factual issues during the trial. They can ask for a fresh trial or redress in an appeal court if they don't win the case.

Negotiation, reconciliation, and compromise are frequently used by attorneys to settle cases without going to trial. Furthermore, the law empowers individuals to plan and define their legal rights in a variety of ways, including through wills, contracts, and corporation bylaws, and attorneys assist in many of these arrangements. The representation of clients before administrative committees, courts, and legislative committees has been a fast-growing sector of business for attorneys during the twentieth century.

Lawyers have various obligations in their profession, including to their clients, the administration of justice, the community, their colleagues, and themselves. When these loyalties clash, the profession's norms are supposed to bring them together.

The legal system differs from country to country. Barristers, who practice in the higher courts, and solicitors, who practice in the lower courts, are the two types of attorneys in England. Attorneys in the United States frequently specialize in certain areas of law, such as criminal law, divorce, business law, probate, or personal injury, while many also practice general law.

Various categories of professionals, including nonprofessionals, conduct various elements of legal practice in France. The avocat, who is equal in rank to a magistrate or a law professor, is the most prestigious. The avocat's principal role is to plead in court, similar to that of an English lawyer. In France, like in other civil-law nations, the magistrate conducts the witness examination rather than the attorney, as in common-law countries. Avocates construct their case and point out inconsistencies in witness testimony in their pleadings; this is the principal mechanism by which avocats persuade the court on legal and factual issues. There used to be avoués and agréés in addition to Avocats; the formerly represented plaintiffs in all procedural issues except oral presentations, produced papers, and negotiated settlements, while the latter, who were rare in number, were in charge of pleading in specific commercial courts. In all except the appellate courts, the difference between avoués and Avocats has been removed. Avoués continue to practice as before.

Nonprofessional legal counselors, in addition to these professional groups, provide advice on a variety of legal issues and are frequently hired by businesses. There are notaries (see notary) in practically every civil-law country who have exclusive powers to deal with such office work as marriage settlements and wills.

The main divide in Germany is between attorneys and notaries. The German lawyer, on the other hand, has a far less courtroom presence than the French lawyer, owing to the fact that speeches on legal grounds are limited, and litigation is frequently relegated to junior partners. Attorneys are sometimes limited to practicing in certain jurisdictions. There are further limitations in that some attorneys only practice before appeals courts, necessitating the hiring of a different counsel at each stage of litigation. Lawyers are employed in government administration in Germany to a larger extent than they are in common-law nations.