Attorneys are legal professionals who graduate from law school. Their responsibilities include representing clients in Court, communicating with customers, and providing essential advice. Contact Attorney Big Al now!
While attorneys and lawyers are often used interchangeably, there is a distinction between the two that is important to understand. Understanding the difference can help you decide on your career path or find the right legal professional for your needs.
Becoming an attorney typically starts with a bachelor’s degree and law school. While some attorneys pursue alternative educational pathways like apprenticeships or law office study programs, these routes often lack the rigor that the traditional Juris Doctor (JD) degree provides. On average, it takes seven years to become an attorney—four years getting a bachelor’s degree and three years of law school.
While the JD degree remains the standard for professionals working in the legal field, it’s worth noting that many of the undergraduate degrees that attorneys choose to pursue can enhance their professional development and provide a competitive edge when applying to law school. For example, an English major can help future lawyers develop critical reading and writing skills, as well as construct logical arguments and interpret complex texts—all crucial attributes for the legal profession. Similarly, a degree in history can offer insight into the historical contexts that influence current legal systems and precedents.
Additionally, a degree in philosophy can be beneficial for those pursuing careers as lawyers, as the course of study encourages attention to detail and an analytical perspective. Other popular undergraduate degrees for aspiring lawyers include business administration, which provides an understanding of corporate structures and financial management—an important skill set for those who plan to work in the field of corporate law. A degree in psychology can also be helpful, as it equips aspiring lawyers with knowledge of human behavior and mental processes—a useful background for those who wish to practice criminal or civil law, respectively.
In addition to formal education and training, lawyers are encouraged to attend conferences that focus on their specific areas of expertise. These events provide a great opportunity to network with other attorneys, share insights, and discover new tools and technology that can help improve their practice. Additionally, attending conferences may qualify for Continuing Legal Education credits, which are required in many states.
Licensing
After receiving their undergraduate law degree, prospective attorneys must pass the bar exam. This is a rigorous, multi-day process that requires candidates to be interviewed by judges and attorneys before they are allowed to sit for the exam. The exam consists of two days of written and oral examinations, with the first day being a general law test. The second day covers legal topics such as civil procedure, criminal law, contracts, real estate and a few others. Once admitted to practice law, an attorney must continue their legal education through Continuing Legal Education (CLE). This ensures that they have the knowledge and skills to handle their caseload.
In addition to CLE, attorneys must pay their biennial registration fees to the Court. These fees are used to support attorney discipline, client protection and legal services for the unrepresented. The current fee is $375, which can be paid online with a credit card or debit card (with a 2.99% service charge) or by eCheck with a $1 fee.
Attorneys must also abide by the Rules of Professional Conduct established by their state bar association. These rules help protect the public from unauthorized or unethical acts by lawyers. These rules also provide a means for the public to resolve disputes with their attorneys. Attorneys can be disciplined by their bar association if they do not follow these rules.
While other Common Law countries maintain separate categories for barristers and solicitors, the United States only has one category of lawyer known as an attorney. While a paralegal and notary public can assist an attorney in their work, they cannot act as an attorney themselves. If any individual tries to offer their services as an attorney, you should decline their offers and report them to the appropriate authorities for unauthorized practice of law.
Practice Areas
When you finish law school, it is important to decide on a legal practice area. Although law school teaches you about all the different types of laws, an attorney will only specialize in one or two areas throughout their career. This allows them to provide their clients with the best possible legal representation in those areas.
The general categories of law are criminal and civil, with subcategories like DUI defense or personal injury law. Lawyers choose their specializations based on their interests, the types of cases they want to handle, and what they can reasonably expect to earn in those fields.
Civil law involves disputes between people or businesses and covers everything other than criminal cases. The most common types of civil cases include contracts, divorce, property disputes, and bankruptcy. If you are interested in complex litigation and high-stakes lawsuits, this might be a good field for you.
Municipal law concerns the local government bodies in a city or county and includes issues like land taxes, education policies, and police power. It is another popular practice area for attorneys in New York.
Tax law deals with business tax and other matters related to finance and the stock market. This is an in-demand specialty with Wall Street around the corner.
Animal rights law is a popular and high-visibility field, where attorneys work on behalf of animals who cannot speak for themselves. They work against those who harm or exploit them and for organizations that strive to give them a better life.
Attorney-Client Privilege
The attorney-client privilege is the cornerstone of a client’s relationship with their lawyer. It prevents attorneys from divulging confidential information to others unless the information is relevant to representing their client. However, it’s important to remember that privilege doesn’t cover all communications between a client and their lawyer.
Generally speaking, only communications about legal matters are protected by privilege. This includes discussions that take place in private or in a private location, as well as written documents. Privilege does not protect communications relating to non-legal business matters, even if the client specifically requests advice on those issues. Additionally, a client’s attorney cannot disclose privileged information to third parties unless the information is needed to accomplish the purpose for which they were consulted, such as an interpreter.
In some cases, the attorney-client privilege is waived if a client discloses a conversation with their attorney to someone who is not necessary to the representation, such as a family member or coworker. The attorney-client privilege also does not apply if the client discloses the conversation to someone in public, such as on social media or at a workplace party.
Another related concept, known as attorney work product, is less broad than attorney-client privilege and applies to a client’s mental impressions, conclusions, opinions, notes or summaries of conversations with their lawyers or the value or merit of a case or defense. Finally, the attorney-client privilege does not apply if the client is seeking legal advice to further a criminal act or fraud. However, there are a few other exceptions that can limit the scope of attorney-client privilege. For example, a court may revoke attorney-client privilege for clients who commit fraud on their tax returns.
Attorney’s Fees
A lawyer’s fees are the costs associated with providing legal services. Clients can be charged hourly rate fees, flat fee fees, or contingency fees. A flat fee arrangement is often based on the type of case or project and can be very helpful to clients because they know what their total cost will be unless something unexpected happens. A contingency fee is a fee paid if a successful outcome is reached in a case.
Attorneys’ rates vary by practice area, location, experience and reputation. They may also differ by the type of work required. For example, a patent attorney’s fee will likely be higher than a family law attorney’s fee. Clients should discuss the prospective charges with an attorney at their initial meeting to avoid misunderstandings and surprises.
Frequently, statutes allow a prevailing party to recover attorneys’ fees from the opposing party. When a fee is awarded it will often be calculated using a lodestar method that multiplies reasonably expected billable hours by a reasonable hourly rate and, sometimes, by a factor reflecting the complexity or risk of a case.
In addition to attorney’s fees, clients are usually responsible for paying certain other types of costs, such as court reporter and space rental costs for depositions. Attorneys should disclose any mandatory fees and costs that they will be charging to a client before the engagement begins.
When a retainer is received by an attorney, it will normally be placed in a trust account and moved into their general operating account as it is earned. It is important for attorneys to separate their client’s funds from their own personal money so that any unearned portion of the retainer can be returned to a client once their representation has ended.