Lawyers
Lawyers are people trained in aspects of law who may represent clients in court; American legal representatives are often referred to as advocates or attorneys. In both criminal and civil trials, the lawyer acting on behalf of clients in court is called their advocate; they can all appear in court but many choose not to whilst others spend most of their time in the courtroom. There is a slightly different set of circumstances if they provide legal counsel, when they are referred to as legal advisors; whether the matter is personal or business, they are there to provide assistance.
One who primarily practices law in a courtroom is a trial lawyer; of particular importance in trial work is the ability to think quickly and speak with ease and authority.Trial lawyers actually spend more of their time outside the court; they perform their own investigations into the case in addition to other trial procedures including talking to witnesses.
The law in all its guises affects every aspect of modern society; this is why lawyers have their own set of laws they must abide, to be above reproach. There are many specialized areas of law which they can focus; however, all can and do appear in court from time to time to represent their clients.
There are many areas now where a lawyer can specialize; just a few examples are listed here:
*Constitutional Law *Health Issues *Environmental Issues *Marine Law *Identification Theft
It depends on the field they practice in, as to whether they will use their skills in a courtroom!
Those who decide to become experts in environmental law may represent any side relating to the disputed issue; a few examples are listed here:
*Construction Firms *Utility Companies *Large Corporations
Often this work will be mundane as it involves planning applications and licenses for example; however, they also protect companies where claims for damages are being sought.
Intellectual property rights is one of the newer branches of law that attorneys are involved in; designed to protect products from theft and copyright primarily in the field of digital media like computer programs. 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.
Most attorneys work in the private sector working on criminal or civil law; criminal lawyers defend or prosecute persons charged with a crime; 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. A few lawyers decide to use their knowledge to help the defense and rights of those less fortunate in foreign countries; the work involved might mean providing legal assistance or representation to people who are not in a position to help themselves.