Study Guide: The US Legal System - Chapter 3
Name:__________________________________ Date:___________________
United States Legal Study Guide – Lawyers
Please provide a well thought out answer to each of the questions below. The terms are found in the order in which they appear in your handout. Please note that the most important issues have been identified by the placement of a * next to the question. Please spend the greatest amount of your time answering these questions.
LAWYERS
The Legal Profession
Describe the 6 major areas of lawyers work.
Litigation: handling cases in court and preparing for court appearances.
Representation of clients: lawyers represent clients in formal proceedings and informal contacts with administrative agencies.
Negotiation: Working out an agreement between a client and another party.
Securing: providing security through the writing of documents
Counseling: helping clients find the most favorable course of action in a particular situation.
Provide several examples of how the line between legal practice and other activities “get blurred”. Do you think someone needs to be a lawyer to handle legal matters well?
Describe the difference between an accredited and an unaccredited law school.
In most states, a law school graduate cannot take the bar exam without having attended a school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA).
Explain the licensing requirements to become for an attorney. All attorneys must submit to an examination over two to three days. This test includes essay questions about the laws of the state, and several national-level components are often added.
Briefly describe what has happened to the size and composition of the legal profession over the last few decades. The growth in the size of the legal profession reflects several spurts in the number of students enrolling in law school since the early 1960s, and in the first half of that period there was a substantial increase in the
United States Legal Study Guide – Lawyers
Please provide a well thought out answer to each of the questions below. The terms are found in the order in which they appear in your handout. Please note that the most important issues have been identified by the placement of a * next to the question. Please spend the greatest amount of your time answering these questions.
LAWYERS
The Legal Profession
Describe the 6 major areas of lawyers work.
Litigation: handling cases in court and preparing for court appearances.
Representation of clients: lawyers represent clients in formal proceedings and informal contacts with administrative agencies.
Negotiation: Working out an agreement between a client and another party.
Securing: providing security through the writing of documents
Counseling: helping clients find the most favorable course of action in a particular situation.
Provide several examples of how the line between legal practice and other activities “get blurred”. Do you think someone needs to be a lawyer to handle legal matters well?
Describe the difference between an accredited and an unaccredited law school.
In most states, a law school graduate cannot take the bar exam without having attended a school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA).
Explain the licensing requirements to become for an attorney. All attorneys must submit to an examination over two to three days. This test includes essay questions about the laws of the state, and several national-level components are often added.
Briefly describe what has happened to the size and composition of the legal profession over the last few decades. The growth in the size of the legal profession reflects several spurts in the number of students enrolling in law school since the early 1960s, and in the first half of that period there was a substantial increase in the