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The U.S. Legal System Attorney Types Areas of legal specialization of the licensed professionals who provide advice and representation on legal matters for individuals businesses organizations and government; examples include criminal corporate and taxation law Licensed attorneys in the United States are permitted to handle virtually any legal matter that a client hires them to handle. The breadth of attorneys' authority in the United States contrasts with the organization of legal professions in some other countries. In Great Britain, for example, there is a traditional division within the legal profession between solicitors, who advise clients and prepare legal documents, and barristers, who present cases in court. Despite their authority to handle any area of law, U.S. lawyers usually specialize in specific tasks or legal subjects. Their specializations usually result from the needs of their employers or from the demands of their clients. Training and Licensing of Attorneys In the United States attorneys must generally have a four-year college degree and a degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) or approved by a state supreme court. Graduation from law school requires three years of full-time study or four years of part-time study. During law school all students take a variety of required courses covering a broad range of legal subjects. In addition, depending on a particular law school's requirements, 30 to 60 percent of a student's courses may be electives. Many students use their elective choices to begin preparing for a career specializing in a particular field of law. States require that law school graduates pass a bar examination and undergo a background check before becoming licensed attorneys. Each state has its own bar examination. Many states give a standard six-hour multiple-choice examination on general subjects, and each state requires of examinees that they answer essay questions focused on the laws of the state in question. Upon passing the bar examination, law school graduates become licensed attorneys who are permitted to handle the full range of legal matters, from writing a simple will to conducting a jury trial in defense of an accused murderer. Because law students must pass the bar examination in order to become licensed attorneys and the examination covers a broad sweep of subjects, few students become specialists in particular areas of law while in law school. Instead, the jobs obtained by new attorneys largely determine what types of attorneys they will be. It is not always easy for new attorneys to choose their own specializations. Beginning attorneys must compete for jobs, because U.S. law schools produce thousands of new law school graduates each year. Students whose grades place them at the top of their law school's graduating class or those who attend the most prestigious law schools are most likely to gain employment in the law firm, corporate, or government setting of their choice. Most other new attorneys have limited options and therefore find their specializations determined by the settings in which they happen to find employment. For example, if they are hired by a law firm that specializes in family law, they become divorce lawyers.
Attorneys employed by government agencies become specialists in the areas of law handled by their agencies. For example, attorneys who work for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or a state's treasury department handle tax matters on behalf of the government. Attorneys at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or a state's natural resources department handle legal issues concerning land, water, and environmental pollution regulations. Other government attorneys specialize in matters affecting health care, education, transportation, housing, agriculture, and the other areas overseen by government agencies. These attorneys typically advise government agencies on how to follow statutes enacted by legislatures and decisions issued by courts. They may also defend government agencies against lawsuits by individuals and businesses. Frequently they help to draft suggested new statutes when an agency seeks to have its authority expanded or otherwise altered by the legislature. Even the branches of military service have attorneys to handle all kinds of cases that arise affecting military personnel. The enforcement of criminal laws is primarily handled by local prosecutors who typically work for county or city government. Attorneys who work for state attorneys general, the chief legal officials in each state, may have the authority to prosecute violations of certain state laws or to file civil lawsuits against corporations and individuals involved in illegal business practices. Such attorneys also defend the state against lawsuits, whether by large corporations or by imprisoned criminal offenders who claim that their rights have been violated. In the federal government, lawyers in the Justice Department prosecute federal crimes and handle lawsuits involving the U.S. government. In addition, the federal government and many counties have salaried attorneys, called public defenders, who represent criminal suspects who are too poor to hire their own attorneys. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a right to counsel, which means that even poor people must be provided with attorneys in criminal cases. In the judicial branch of government, attorneys serve in various roles. Judges who preside over courtrooms and decide issues during trials are attorneys. The president of the United States chooses attorneys for the federal courts to serve as judges. In most states, voters play a role in either electing attorneys to become judges or in deciding whether judges have performed well enough to continue in office. Inexperienced attorneys called "law clerks" work for a year or two as assistants to federal judges, state appeals court judges, and some state trial judges. In addition, many appeals courts have staff attorneys who assist judges by reviewing cases and making recommendations about which cases deserve a full court hearing and which should receive a quick decision based solely on the initial papers filed with the court. Interest Group Attorneys Many organizations seek to use law as a means to advance their preferred public policies. They file lawsuits asking courts to issue orders declaring that the U.S. Constitution or a statute requires the government to operate in a particular manner. The most famous example of the use of law to change public policy involved civil rights attorneys in the 1950's who persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to declare that racial segregation in public schools violates the Constitution's equal protection clause. Attorneys for interest groups focus on particular kinds of issues of concern to their organizations. These attorneys often feel deeply committed to the causes they represent. Unlike attorneys in private practice, who may represent any client that hires them, interest group attorneys often have passionate feelings about the cases they pursue. For example, attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) handle cases in which individuals believe that the government has violated their rights to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and other matters addressed by the Constitution's Bill of Rights. Interest group attorneys for other organizations specialize in such fields as environmental law, labor law, education law, and consumer protection law. Attorneys in the Private Sector Some attorneys work as employees of corporations. These corporate attorneys are responsible for the full range of legal matters involving the corporation. They draft contracts, ensure compliance with government regulations, and produce the necessary legal documents to set up corporations and partnerships. Other corporate attorneys work for law firms that are hired by businesses to handle such legal matters. General practice law firms handle all types of legal cases, while other law firms specialize in specific areas of law. The areas of specialization within private legal practice touch upon nearly every area of human endeavor, especially activities regulated by the government or involving contractual relationships between private individuals or businesses. Labor attorneys handle matters related to employment. Most notably, they represent unions or employers in labor contract negotiations. The lawyers help to determine the details of labor contracts and ensure that labor-related activities of unions and employers are consistent with relevant laws. In the employment field, attorneys also handle discrimination claims and workers' compensation claims by injured employees. Family law attorneys address problems concerning family relationships. In particular, such attorneys advise individuals about divorce issues and represent clients in disputes over the division of financial assets and child custody. These attorneys may also draft legal documents for adoptions and for other matters affecting families. Litigators specialize in preparing and presenting cases in courtrooms during trials. Often these specialists work for law firms and work closely with corporate attorneys in specific cases that arise when resolutions to contractual and other disputes cannot be easily negotiated. Personal injury attorneys often have significant expertise in litigation because they must make use of court procedures to seek compensation for their clients' injuries caused by other people or businesses. While many personal injury cases result in negotiated settlements, these attorney must be prepared to take their cases to trial, at which judges or juries may be required to decide on the issue of compensation. Many attorneys specialize in providing advice to clients concerning financial matters. Attorneys who handle estate planning problems draft wills and create trusts in an effort to ensure that clients' assets are transferred properly after they die. Tax attorneys advise clients about how their business and personal financial dealings will be affected by tax laws. These attorneys also help clients legally avoid taxes that might otherwise be imposed. Christopher E. Smith Suggested ReadingsA description of the historical development of the legal profession is presented in Richard Abel's American Lawyers (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989). An analysis of the roles of lawyers in American society is presented in Jerold Auerbach's Unequal Justice: Lawyers and Social Change in Modern America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1976). Descriptions of the division between corporate lawyers and those who serve the needs of individual clients are presented by John P. Heinz and Edward O. Laumann in Chicago Lawyers: The Social Structure of the Bar (New York: Russell Sage, 1982) and by Marc Galanter and Thomas Palay in Tournament of Lawyers: The Transformation of the Big Law Firm (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991). In contrast, descriptions of other types of lawyers are presented in Carroll Seron's The Business of Practicing Law: The Working Lives of Solo and Small-Firm Attorneys (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996) and Donald Landon's Country Lawyers (New York: Praeger, 1990). See Also: American Bar Association; Appellate practice; Attorneys; Attorneys, court-appointed; Attorneys, United States; Attorneys general, state; Bar associations; Court types; Death row attorneys; Defense attorneys; District attorneys; Family law practice; Law firm partners and associates; Legal services plans; Legislative counsel; Military attorneys; Personal injury attorneys; Prosecutors; Public defenders. |
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