Lawyers are individuals who have successfully trained in legal matters; if they act as a legal counsel they are called legal advisors but are also commonly referred to as attorneys. In criminal or civil trials in court, the lawyer representing the client is then called an advocate; most do not wish to represent clients in this way and merely act as advisors. When advising on the issues relating to the law they become legal advisors; they counsel their clients concerning their legal rights and obligations and suggest particular courses of action in business and personal matters.
One who primarily practices law in a courtroom is a trial lawyer; this does not appeal to everyone because it requires fast thinking plus a confident manner, and those who prefer to carry out his work are paid very well.Much of a trial lawyer’s work is actually performed outside the courtroom environment; they investigate evidence and interview people involved in the case.
The legal system affects nearly every aspect of our society; it affects everyone’s life from negotiating a house purchase to organizing a will and the reason why lawyers are governed by a very strict code of practice. Some areas of law are so highly specialized that legal representatives may never have to appear in a courtroom; although they are all licensed too represent in court when required.
Lawyers can specialize in a number of different areas of society; examples of just a few are show below:
*Bankruptcy *Aviation Law *Contract Law *Personal Injury *Company Law
The number of specialist areas of law is also the reason why only a few ever practice in a courtroom!
Representing environmental issues can mean they may work for the government or private companies; some are shown below:
*Construction Firms *State agencies *Large Corporations
Representatives in this field may be arranging for their clients to carry out certain actions; they might also represent a company in a civil action resulting from work they have already undertaken.
A growth area for attorneys in recent years is that of intellectual property rights; an area that has increased owing to the use of digital products; music and video for example. Most large insurance providers engage the services of specialist lawyers in their legal departments; writing insurance policies, investigating claims protecting company assets are just a few areas where their knowledge is useful.
Despite these different areas of legislature, most attorneys will practice in the field of either criminal or civil law; persons charged with crimes are represented by criminal lawyers on both sides one for the defense and one for the prosecution; however civil law is much different and is normally based around interpretation of the law but this is a gross simplification.
There are those individuals that prefer very high profile, ‘public interest cases’ both civil and criminal; these might concern large companies for example where their image might be at risk. Lawyers with a more rounded social conscience can work for non-profit organizations or legal-aid centers; these attempt to serve disadvantaged people wherever they are from often oppressive governments and companies.
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