Lawyers

• Over one million lawyers in the US• Most of them are in private practice• Most of the lawyers do not go to court• Most give advice, negotiate settlements, draft

opinions, etc…• Ones that do are trial lawyers or litigators• Lawyers that are representing defendants have a

ethical and legal responsible responsibility to try and defend his/her client

• There are 93 United States Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. • United States Attorneys are appointed by, and serve at the

discretion of, the President of the United States, with advice and consent of the United States Senate.• They have a term of 4 years.• The United States Attorneys have three statutory

responsibilities under Title 28, Section 547 of the United States Code: • the prosecution of criminal cases brought by the Federal government;

• the prosecution and defense of civil cases in which the United States is a party; and

• the collection of debts owed the Federal government which are administratively uncollectible.

• When do you need a lawyer? Best time is before the problem happens (preventive advice)• Attorneys advise:• Home, business, will, contract, accidents or property damage, or

criminal or civil suit• How: question of law• Small claims – usually no lawyer needed• Arguments with friends, spouse – no lawyers but maybe

counselors• If not sure – contact a bar association (free or very cheap

cost)

• The bar examination in most U.S. states and territories is two days long and consists of:• Essay questions: • Essentially all jurisdictions administer several such questions that test knowledge of general legal

principles, and may also test knowledge of the state's own law (usually subjects such as wills, trusts and community property, which always vary from one state to another). Some jurisdictions choose to use the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), drafted by the NCBE, for this purpose. Others may draft their own questions with this goal in mind, while some states both draft their own questions and use the MEE.

• Some jurisdictions administer complicated questions that specifically test knowledge of that state's law.

• The Multistate Bar Examination, a standardized, multiple-choice examination created and sold to participating state bar examiners by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. The MBE contains 200 questions which test six subjects based upon principles of common law and Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code (covering sales of goods) that apply throughout the United States.

• A majority of U.S. jurisdictions also require a performance test as a more realistic measure of actual lawyering skill; the candidate is presented with a stack of documents representing a fictional case and is asked to draft a memorandum, motion, or opinion document. Many jurisdictions use the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), while California drafts and administers its own performance tests.

• Because the MBE is a standardized test, it must be administered on the same day across the country. That day occurs twice a year as the last Wednesday in July and the last Wednesday in February

• Finding a lawyer could be hard or easy• Recommendations, employer, clergy members, other

professionals, yellow pages• FIND A LAWYER• For years they could not advertise, forbidden by bar

associations• How important is the Bates case for Lawyer Advertising?

• Bates Case Summary