What is an attorney? A lawyer is a qualified person who practices law as an attorney, counsel or agent, as a legal practitioner, lawyer-in-law, solicitor, barrister, at law, parlor, civil law notary and canon attorney. A person with any of these titles can be an attorney. They can practice in a court of law or act as a lawyer in the course of private practice. An attorney can represent individuals as well as companies or other entities.
A person can be an attorney whether he has taken a degree or diploma in any legal field or not. Attorneys who have passed the state bar exam and hold a certificate of good standing are known as licensed attorneys. An attorney can practice law in any locality or jurisdiction as long as he has not been tried and convicted of an offense. A person can become an attorney by taking the course of law at an approved institution of higher learning that is approved by the state. The duration of a course in this discipline varies from one state to another.
There are four general duties of an attorney. He should be competent in the courts of law and should have enough knowledge of the laws and legal practices to perform effectively his duties. The most common areas of specialization in the practice of law in which attorneys specialize include:
What is an attorney vs. what is not an attorney? What is an attorney does not have any special power to render legal service other than the duties that he is legally authorized to perform? What is an attorney must have power to act on behalf of his clients and he cannot act as one for himself alone. As per law, attorneys have the duty to give legal advice to their clients against any encroachment or infringement of their legal rights. There are some who excel in their profession in representing clients in high-stakes court cases and some excel in litigating simple cases of personal injury law.
What are an attorney if not a lawyer? Lawyers are lawyers and the qualifications they possess are different from those of attorneys. While lawyers attend law school and earn a bachelor's degree, attorneys are awarded a license by the state to practice law. Though all attorneys work on a pro Bono basis, some work exclusively or primarily for a fee. Attorneys can be categorized as civil (acts of) lawyers or criminal (acts of the mind). Civil lawyers represent individuals or organizations in a civil court case while criminal lawyers represent clients charged with criminal acts.
What are an attorney if not a lawyer? What is an attorney if not a lawyer is the legal representation of a client in a court of law. The attorney represents the client in two ways - a prosecutor and a judge. A prosecutor is the person that presents the case in the court of law and a judge is the one that reviews the case and renders a decision based on the evidence presented.