Lawyers Essay, Research Paper
INTRODUCTION
A lawyer is a man or woman trained to deal with legal problems of all kinds. Lawyers advise their clients as to their rights and responsibilities under the law. Lawyers protect the interest of their client by taking legal action when the person’s life or property is threatened. They also defend their client when action is taken against him or her. Most judges are lawyers.
To people lawyers appear to be a guide who can lead them through a strange land. Besides training, lawyers have good reason to understand the law better then most people. Lawyers dominate or exercise control over the legislature that make the laws.
HISTORY OF THE LAW
Even in prehistoric time their were laws. They were passed down to generations by mouth. If someone murdered another person, it weakened the group. The murderer would either be killed, kicked out of the group, or have to take care of the family of the person they murdered.
In France during the Middle Ages, it was not uncommon to force an accused criminal to submit to a “trial by combat.” The person who was accused of the crime and the person who accused them of the crime fought. The person who lost was held to be guilty.
THE LAWS OF ANCIENT GREEKS
DRACO
Draco was hired to write new laws because there were thousands of poor people who could not earn a living because of debts they owed. Draco set up a specific legal system that had courts to deal with all cases. Draco gave people the right to vote who had never been able to vote before.
The problem with Draco’s laws were that the punishments were too strict. Death was the punishment for almost any crime, even petty theft. Any man who did not have a job, could not vote. If the man with no job was from a foreign country, he was killed. Any law today that is harsh would be called Draconian because of Draco’s cruel punishments.
SOLAN
There seemed to be a revolt forming because of Draco’s laws. Solan was hired to make new laws. Solan was a wealthy man and was known for being honest. He traveled to other countries to see what kind of laws the people had there.
Solan set up a new government that had a Council and an Assembly. The Council had four hundred members that were elected by people. Citizens who wanted to participate made up the Assembly. The trial by jury Solan created was different than ours today. Six thousand people were selected to be on the jury for one year. The number of jurors in any case was no less than five hundred. Sometimes there were as many as two thousand jurors at a trial.
Any person could accuse another person of a crime by putting the charge in writing. The accuser acted as a prosecutor and the man on trial defended himself. The judge and the jurors knew little about the laws though. Men who knew about laws were hired to explain them to the jurors and the judge. In time orators were hired to write speeches about the case and read it to the jury. Orators learned many methods to sway the jury. In effect, they became the lawyer of that day.
Solan wrote a complete set of laws that pleased the people. Before he resigned, he had a pledge made from the Atticans that his laws would not change for one hundred years. Solan’s laws remained in effect for five hundred years with only certain changes.
BECOMING A LAWYER
There are many questions you can ask yourself about becoming a lawyer like what schooling do I need, what work is reguired after I become a lawyer, what my financial statis would be, and most of all what satisfaction will I gain from what I achieve. Going to local courts to listen to cases is a good start to seeing if you want to really become a lawyer. Read books both fiction and non-fiction on lawyers and the law.
HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES THAT WILL HELP
In high school take as many courses of political science if that is a class in your school. Political science deals with government and you must know a considerable amount about government to be a successful lawyer. Civics is an important part of political science. Civics deals with the rights of citizens and duties of citizenship. Taking Civics in high school will make you in a better position to understand the conflicts that exist today. It is important to study history. Not only U.S. history but history from all nations around the world. Another important subject you can take is mathematics. Mathematics is good for problem solving which a lawyer does for his or her client. If Latin is a language you can take at your school you should take it. Roman laws were written in Latin and being able to read Latin is good for becoming a lawyer. Joining student governing bodies will help later in becoming a lawyer. Another important class is the debate team. A good voice is useful but the power of reasoning is more important. Joining a sport will help you in fair play.
COLLEGE TRAINING
Some law schools require you to have a bachelor’s degree usually in liberal arts. Other law school require three to four years of college. Math, history, civics, and logic are classes you should take in college. You should also take sociology and psychology. Sociology is a science that deals with the origins of people, the relationships between people, and especially the relations between an individual and his or her community. Psychology is the science of learning about the behavior of people and why they act as they
LAW SCHOOL
Before you go to law school, you should decide what kind of law you want to practice. You can go to a local law school or a national law school. There are a few differences between a local law school and a national law school.
National law schools are larger than local law schools. There is a large student body. Each professor will only teach one subject. There will be more attention on procedures that will apply in many states. Large corporate law firms will usually not accept a local law school graduate until he or she has proven themselves.
Local law schools give you more information on the laws and court procedures of the state that it is located in. The professors are likely to teach two or three subjects. Since the classes are smaller, the professors can talk to you individually. You can also meet other students because the school is smaller. Local schools give you adequate training.
BAR EXAMINATIONS
Before you can become a lawyer and start your practice, you must pass a bar examination. The bar examination will give you a license to practice law in your state. You should give the State Board of Examiners your application before you finish your last year of law school. For the bar examination, just answer the questions using the best of your knowledge. Study cases and try to come up with your own outcome before you read what really happened. That is a good way to study for the bar examination. Once you have past the bar examination you are ready to start you practice.
STARTING A BUSINESS IN LAW
When starting a business in law you can work alone, start a partnership, or work for a firm.
WORKING ALONE
If you start your own business in a city, it might take awhile to get clients. You should take any case that comes to you. You might have to take cases for free until you get recognized. You could work for friends or neighbors in your city unless they already have a lawyer.
STARTING A PARTNERSHIP
You can start a partnership with one or more of the people you went to school with. You could work for an experienced lawyer. You could also work with family members. If you start a partnership in the city, then you can work on a variety of cases. This will not be possible if you start your business in a small town.
WORKING FOR A FIRM
When your working for a firm you might research or write briefs or take depositions in civil cases. You will be employed as an associate on a salary. Partners are the people that own the firm. If you work real hard for a firm, you might be made a full partner.
SALARIES FOR LAWYERS
Salaries for lawyer can very on where you start your business. If you start your business in a small city, you can earn a salary anywhere from $24-30,000. When you become more experienced you can ear anywhere from $50-200,000+. In a big city you can earn $30-45,000 dollars during the beginning. After you become experienced you can earn anywhere from $75-250,000+ dollars. If becoming a lawyer sounds like a job you would do, go for it. You will be satisfied every time you win a case for your client. You will be happy to know that you are helping people with their problems.
BIBLIOGRAPHY REFERENCE
Nader, Ralf
“Crimes and Whispers”
Nation GTNAU, Vol. 262 (Feb. 5, 1996) pg. 10.
“A Gentlemanly Lawyer Plays Political Hard Ball”
Newsweek, Vol. 127 (Feb. 19, 1996) p. 34-36.
Cadye, Corinn
Vilma Martinez
Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1993.
Dean, John W.
Blind Ambition; The White House Years
New York, simon and Schuster, 1976.
Steinberg, Alfred
John Marshall
Putnan, c. 1962.
Fincher, Ernest Barkdale
The American Legal System
New York, F. Watts, 1980.
Swiger, Elinor Porter
The Law and You; A Hand Book For Young People
Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill, 1973.
Norwick, Kenneth P.
Your Legal Rights; Making the Law Work for You
New York, Johnday Co., 1972.
Kutner, Luis
I, The Lawyer
New York, The Cornwall Press, Inc., c. 1966.
LAWYERS
THESIS STATEMENT
The purpose of this paper is to show the career of being a lawyer. This paper will talk about the history of law, the schooling needed to become a lawyer, how to start a business in law, and the salary range for lawyers.
OUTLINE
I. Introduction
II. The History of the Law
A. The Laws of Ancient Greeks
1. Draco
2. Solan
III. Becoming a Lawyer
A. High School Classes That will Help
B. College Training Required
C. Law School
D. The Bar Examination
IV. Starting a Business in Law
A. Working Alone
B. Starting a Partnership
C. Working for a Firm
V. Salaries For Lawyers
BIBLIOGRAPHY PAGE
Kutner, Luis
I, The Lawyer
New York, The Cornwall Press, Inc., c. 1966.
Fincher, Ernest Barkdale
The American Legal System
New York, F. Watts, 1980.