September 19, 2019

5 Facts About Lawyers and Law Firms

What do you really know about what lawyers do or how they became lawyers? Here are five facts to know about lawyers and law offices.

Most people will go through life without ever hiring a lawyer. Those who do will probably hire a lawyer for a very specific purpose, whether it be a criminal defense attorney to defend you in court, a family law attorney to file a divorce, or a personal injury attorney to seek compensation for an illness or injury. Except for those who personally know a lawyer, most people do not know what lawyers do or how they became lawyers. Here are five facts to know about lawyers and law offices:

Education

A lawyer could once obtain a law degree by studying the practice as an undergraduate in college without ever attending law school. Moreover, four states including California, Washington, Virginia, and Vermont, still allow people to apprentice for a lawyer instead of attending law school. However, the vast majority of lawyers today have graduated from law school.

Most law schools require applicants to have an undergraduate degree. The exact nature of the undergraduate degree does not matter for the most part. Due to the diversity of the law, lawyers with any type of degree can find a way to practice in the area that they studied in undergraduate school. For example, economics undergraduates often practice antitrust law; business undergraduates often practice corporate law or securities law; and engineering undergraduates often practice patent law. However, there is no hard and fast rule about what practice areas law students will eventually choose.

All law students have to take certain "basic" classes such as contract law, property law, criminal law, and Constitutional law. Consequently, almost any attorney can answer questions about basic legal principles.

Licensing

To practice law, a law school graduate must pass a bar exam. Each state has a bar association that administers the bar examination attendees of the state's college. The bar association gets to choose the topics on the examination, but bar examinations generally test the basic subjects that all attorneys need to know.

For example, the Texas bar examination is a very difficult test, with just over half of test-takers passing the examination in February 2019. Right now, there are about 70,000 licensed attorneys practicing in Texas.

Areas of Focus

Attorneys can become specialists as long as they apply to become board-certified in a specific area. This takes plenty of time and effort; these attorneys will have to take an exam and adhere to policies and regulations determined by the board in that state. More often than not, lawyers must have participated in a specific number of jury and bench trials in order to qualify. When an attorney achieves a specialization in a specific field, you can rest assured knowing your lawyer has worked hard to get there.

Lawyers do not spend all day in court

Generally speaking, attorneys do not spend all day in court. Attorneys perform many tasks throughout the average workday, including:

Legal research and writing
Legal counsel and advice
Negotiation
Legal advocacy before legislatures and other rule-making bodies
Legal representation before regulatory agencies and courts of law

Consequently, attorneys usually spend their days at their law office. In fact, some attorneys have a purely transactional practice and very rarely, if ever, go to court.

Everyone should have a lawyer

Our system of laws is complex and can be difficult to navigate. While no attorney can promise or guarantee the outcome of a case, you can rest assured knowing that your lawyer will work hard to protect your rights.

Lawyers and law offices, by definition, serve and represent clients. You should have no reservations about contacting the law office of Arthur J. White III to discuss your legal problems.

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