Attorney - Definitions
An attorney or lawyer is an individual who is certified to give legal advice and advises clients on various aspects of the law. There are many different areas of legal speciality. Some lawyers practice exclusively in certain areas, such as criminal law or civil law. Some attorneys represent clients in court while others handle matters through the practice dispute resolution and mediation.
In the United States a lawyer or attorney must receive a certain amount of higher education in order to be allowed to practice law. Attorneys must have a Juris Doctorate from an accredited university law school and become a member of the BAR Association in the state that he or she wishes to practice by passing the required BAR examinations.
A Juris Doctorate (J.D.) is a degree in law that is offered by multiple universities in the U.S. It is considered a professional degree (like a degree in medicine or theology) and, therefore, most law schools require a prerequisite education such as a bachelor’s degree of some kind-most law school applicants will have a bachelor’s degree in some area of criminal law, or political science.
A BAR Association is a professional body of attorneys. Some BAR associations are responsible for regulating standards within the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they do both. Most states in the U.S. require membership in the state BAR in order to practice law in that state. Members must pass the state BAR exam in order to qualify for membership in addition to having the proper educational background.
The American BAR Association (ABA) is a voluntary BAR association of attorneys and law students that is not specific to a single jurisdiction. Its main activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools and the formulation of ethical standards for the legal profession.
The Attorney General in most jurisdictions is the main legal advisor to the government and, in some jurisdictions, possesses executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. At the federal level in the United States the Attorney General is the head of the Department of Justice and is, therefore, the top-ranking law enforcement officer and lawyer for the U.S. government. Each U.S. state has an Attorney General who is the head official in similar state matters as well as being responsible for other areas of legal regulation depending on the state. The State Attorney General is chosen by popular vote through the election process, but the U.S. Attorney General is an appointment given by the President of the United States.
United States Constitution, Amendment VI states: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by the law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.