Why is it that when you refer to a lawyer's firm they are called Attorneys "at" Law, instead of say, of Law?
97226
Bc they are working with the law, by the law and or not the "law" themselves.
716810
I work in one.  Your friend is overly sensitive.  People are jerks everywhere you go and people are nice everywhere you go.  Law practice can be stressful and lawyers do vent sometimes.  Personally, I really like the professional enviroment.  I'm only here 35 hours a week and the rest of my life is the part that counts.  I'm just here for the paycheck and at 5:00, I leave the office and don't give it another second's thought.
547522
"Thinking like a lawyer" involves two different sets of skills.\n\nThe first is the ability to formulate general rules that function as templates. Sometimes these rules are clearly stated, while other times you need to piece them together from long winded explanations in case opinions.\n\nThe second is the ability to pick out what facts are relevant to a given issue, and to understand how to apply those facts to one or more of your rules to come to a conclusion.\n\nFrom my observation, the average person jumps to the conculsion, then tries to find facts to support that conclusion. The lawyer, on the other hand, starts from a premise (the rule), applies the facts, and figures out what the result would be. If they don't like the answer, then they try to find a different rule that may also be appropriate, and try again. \n\nThat latter aspect is what tends to bother non-lawyers most. A lawyer may come up with two completely different answers, given the same set of facts, just by applying different rules. Being able to 'think like a lawyer' means being able to keep those different results in your head, and thus being able to argue either conclusion based on the starting rule.\n\nMost people think the facts only lead to one conclusion, since they are subconsiously assuming one one rule can apply. And since very few people are consciously aware of the assumptions they are making, it is difficult for them to see an alternate perspective. But that's what a lawyer is trained to do.
50269
The USPTO registers both attorneys at law and persons who are not attorneys at law. The former persons are now referred to as “patent attorneys” and the latter persons are referred to as “patent agents.” Both patent attorneys and patent agents are permitted to prepare an application for a patent and conduct the prosecution in the USPTO. Patent agents, however, cannot conduct patent litigation in the courts or perform various services which the local jurisdiction considers as practicing law. For example, a patent agent could not draw up a contract relating to a patent, such as an assignment or a license, if the state in which he/she resides considers drafting contracts as practicing law.
123116
If you want to craft new legislation, half the people will not read between the lines and miss your legal loop-holes.\n A lawyer is born.
562037
To call yourself a lawyer in the US you have to pass your state's Bar Exam which is a pretty brutal test. I suppose it would be possible to get through it without going to school but most people--- and I mean pretty much all of them--- go to law school, which you can't get into without a 4-year college degree.  Without passing the Bar exam, you can call yourself an "advocate" or "advisor" or such but you won't make nearly the money that a lawyer does.
163631
Attorney are only answerable to other attorneys...if you bring a complaint against an attorney it has to be through the bar association which yuppp you guessed it is made up of attorneys...the Judges in this country were once all....yuppp yet again attorneys.... we need for these people to be accountable to us not to themselves.....it is the ultimate example of injustice and the fox guarding the hen house ....wake up America there is no real justice anymore...only back room deals and what time are we playing golf tomorrow....Its an affront to all Americans...
1055851
A "barrister" is a person who has done a bar-at-law in England\n\n Only after successful completion of  practical courses under definite apprenticeship as prescribed by the rules, could a person become a Bar-at-Law, or an Attorney-at-Law, or a Solicitor and thereafter be eligible to start legal practice.  People who undergo  training for pleading and representation call themselves Bar-at-Law, and the people who practice by providing legal advice, preparing documents and extending all other legal services including notarial services, are called solicitors.
869932
A phrase commonly applied to counsel employed to assist in the preparation or management of the case, or its presentation on appeal, but who is not the principal attorney for the party.\n\nI work for a corporate law firm and our of counsel attorneys assist with cases like associates do, however, they have many more years of experience, meaning their rates are higher, and they also can be the attorney in charge of clients like partners of the firm.\n\nTo me, they are between the associate and partner positions, in so many words.  They assist with cases, but they also bring in clients as their own.
649543
Many elected officials are lawyers...and they write the laws so that a normal person can't really understand what the hell they mean. So then you need a lawyer so you don't get screwed.
618930
Erm... okay, is that a law firm? an advertising agency? an accounting firm?\n\nRight, if it's a law firm, I'm going with Lowell; if it's an ad agency, I'm going with Ortiz; if it's an accounting firm, I'm going with Youkilis; and if it's the Boston Red Sox you're referring to, I'm going with Papelbon.\n\nAnd yes, that last comment was for our zen! ;)
831411
In UK, it is an office lawyer (i.e. one that does not appear in Court).  In US, it is a pimp.
61137
ask your attorney when you are in court
853218
Several reasons.  One, they often represent criminals accused of horrible crimes, and do their best to get them acquitted.  While doing so is essential to a just legal system, people often blame the lawyers for doing "too good a job."\n\nSecond, many of them really do make a ton of money off of the misfortunes of other people.  Chemical plant leaks and gives hundreds of people cancer?  Yippee, a tort lawyer's gold mine.  You get the picture :)\n\nMy father's a lawyer, and a couple of my best friends are.  I know a lot of them.  By and large, they're highly ethical, honest, hard-working, and very intelligent people.  But there are still an awful lot of lawyers out there that aren't ethical at all, and will do anything for money...that's true in any profession, but lawyers who do that are often quite visible in society :)\n\nGood luck with your studies.
915603
Most attorneys do their own legal research.  Older attorneys may have the luxury of paralegals or younger associates to do this work for them.  But in the end, we all do at least some of our own research.
213326
CPA and Lawyers rarely work together in one office.\n\nWhy do you need them in one office to incorporate?  I had a lawyer incorporate my business and asked for a referral to a CPA that works with him.\n\nIt worked out great.
814823
No, we do not address lawyers in any particular way. Mr. or Mrs. is the preferred way to address someone formally. Lawyers do sometimes put "Esq." or "Esquire" at the end of their names.\n\nLawyers do, however, have doctorate degrees. The degree earned at law school is a Juris Doctor or Doctor of Law, so in the technical sense they are doctors.