A lawyer is a graduate or doctor of law.
A lawyer is a doctor or law graduate who is responsible for the defense and direction of the parties involved in judicial or administrative processes . It can also provide legal advice and counsel . The word comes from the Latin advocātus .
The professional practice of this profession is known as law and requires, in most countries , that the lawyer have a state authorization or be registered with a Bar Association or similar institution. The study where one or more lawyers work is known as a firm .
It is important to emphasize that there is a document called the Lawyer's Decalogue and that it is a set of "commandments" that it is considered that every legal professional must strictly comply with. Among those maxims are, for example, loving one's profession, being loyal to both the client and the adversary and also to the law itself, fighting for justice , working hard, tolerating and having patience.
Lawyer functions
The lawyer is not only responsible for defending the interests of a third party during a trial . One of its most important functions is preventive, where it is responsible for advising its clients and drafting documents and contracts in such a way that legal conflicts do not arise.
The lawyer can also be an extrajudicial mediator to prevent a problem or confrontation from turning into a judicial procedure or litigation .
In a broad sense, someone who has completed a law degree is able to resolve different issues linked to a legal process and provide advice on statutes, regulations and laws in general. The lawyer must always know all the details of the legislation and must be able to analyze jurisprudence . In this way, according to your specialty, you can intervene in a civil procedure, an administrative procedure or a criminal procedure.
Drafting contracts is a common task for a lawyer.
Defense guarantee
Generally, those who must appear before a judge or court must have a lawyer. The lawyer represents a guarantee of legitimate defense for the person involved in the process. For this reason, judicial writings and presentations are delivered with the signature of both the client and his lawyer.
Citizens who do not have the financial resources to pay for the services of a lawyer receive free legal assistance: these are official lawyers or public defenders , who depend on the State . In this way, when an accusation falls on an individual, the subject in question can turn to an official lawyer to defend himself.
It should be noted that the lawyer is subject to professional secrecy (he cannot disclose the information provided by his client), which means he must respect confidentiality and maintain privacy . Your obligation is to litigate in accordance with the social responsibility that your role confers on you, acting with professional ethics.
The office where one or more lawyers work is called a firm.
Lawyers and branches of law
Lawyers generally specialize in some branch of law , directing their actions in a specific direction. Depending on the chosen specialization, these professionals intervene in certain types of cases.
Thus, a lawyer who is dedicated to family law will deal with issues related to marriage , divorce , adoption , guardianship , child custody or alimony, to name a few possibilities.
The commercial law expert, for his part, will analyze topics such as the formation of companies and the development of mergers and acquisitions. If a worker needs to claim compensation for a dismissal, meanwhile, they will turn to a lawyer focused on labor law , while a person who wants to file a lawsuit for damages will need to agree on fees and hire a lawyer who works with civil law. .
The lawyer dedicated to constitutional law , in turn, has experience in problems and situations related to the Constitution of his country. These professionals often act when the fundamental freedoms of citizens are violated by those in power .
The registration of patents or trademarks, the preparation of a will and the filing of a complaint are other actions of various kinds that are carried out with legal advice , which is why the services of lawyers are needed to carry them out. Depending on each situation, you should appeal to the services of lawyers dedicated to different branches of law .
Expressions with the term
Colloquially, it is common to use the expression "devil's advocate" . What is intended with it is to point out that a legal worker is capable of defending any cause, even one in which he or she does not believe.
Another possibility is that someone who, outside of a legal or juridical field, decides to support someone who is frowned upon by the majority of people, is mentioned as a "devil's advocate." Suppose that, in a group of friends, someone is being criticized for a certain attitude. If a participant in the talk chooses to justify this attitude, he or she can be said to be acting as "devil's advocate."
In the cinematographic field there is a film that is precisely titled "The Devil's Advocate" . In 1997, this film was released, directed by Taylor Hackford and starring Robert De Niro and Keanu Reeves , in which it tells how an ambitious and highly successful young lawyer is capable of leaving his wife aside, seriously sick, in order to get his client, whom he knows guilty of a serious crime , to be declared innocent.
Likewise, there is also the expression "dryland lawyer" that is commonly used to refer to that jurist who not only does not practice as such but also lacks the necessary skills and abilities to do so. Also mentioned as a "dryland lawyer" is a person who did not study law but who boasts of his supposed legal knowledge.