Lawyers

It is a longstanding tradition in the Anglo-American legal world that anyone can represent himself in court. But contemporary law and judicial procedure are so complicated that it is unrealistic for a litigant to represent himself in any but the simplest matters. Lawyers are essential to ensure the full and fair presentation of cases. American courts, being passive agencies in the common-law tradition, depend on lawyers to present the litigants’ positions and to develop the evidence and the legal arguments. Under the adversary system it is each lawyer’s obligation to present his client’s case to the court vigorously and completely. Lawyers are thus an integral part of the machinery of justice.

In the United States admission to the practice of law and the governance of the legal profession are matters of state concern. One can speak accurately, for example, of “the Virginia bar” or “the Texas bar” or “the Illinois bar”, meaning the lawyers in each of those states who have licensed by those states. There is no national or federal authority to admit persons to the legal profession. The entity known as the American Bar Association is a private, voluntary, nationwide organization of some 370,000 lawyers from all states; it is the largest organization of lawyers in the country, although there are many other private bar associations, often based on areas of legal specialization.

In each state the requirements for admission to the bar are set by the Supreme Court or the legislature or the two acting together. Typically graduation from an accredited law school is required; there are more than 170 such schools in the United States, almost all affiliated with universities. Law school requires a three-year course of study after a student has attended college for four years and received a bachelor’s degree. Law school graduates are awarded the degree of Juris Doctor (J.D.). They are then eligible to take a state bar examination, a written examination lasting two or three days. These examinations are usually administered by a body of lawyers, known as bar examiners, acting under the authority of the state’s Supreme Court. Applicants who pass the bar examination and who also meet the requisite standards of character are admitted into the bar by that court.

Within the legal profession there is no formal division; there are no barristers or solicitors. Anyone admitted to the bar in a state is legally authorized to engage in any kind of legal practice in that state. As a practical matter, there is an increasing degree of specialization among lawyers. Typical areas of specialization are litigation, taxation, labor law, patent law, family law, trusts and estates, and various branches of administrative law.

A lawyer admitted to one state’s bar can practice in another state only if he gets admitted in that state or that state recognizes the original state’s admission. This kind of reciprocity is accorded in some states but not in all.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-17