lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law;
as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law."[1] Law
is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a
society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political and social
authority, and deliver justice. Working as a lawyer involves the practical
application of abstract legal theories and knowledge to solve specific
individualized problems, or to advance the interests of those who retain (i.e.,
hire) lawyers to perform legal services.
The role of the lawyer varies significantly across legal jurisdictions, and so
it can be treated here in only the most general terms.[2][3] More information is
available in country-specific articles (see below).[clarification needed]
In most countries, particularly civil law countries, there has been a tradition
of giving many legal tasks to a variety of civil law notaries, clerks, and
scriveners.[8][9] These countries do not have "lawyers" in the American sense,
insofar as that term refers to a single type of general-purpose legal services
provider;[10] rather, their legal professions consist of a large number of
different kinds of law-trained persons, known as jurists, of which only some are
advocates who are licensed to practice in the courts.[11][12][13] It is
difficult to formulate accurate generalizations that cover all the countries
with multiple legal professions, because each country has traditionally had its
own peculiar method of dividing up legal work among all its different types of
legal professionals.[14]
Notably, England, the mother of the common law jurisdictions, emerged from the
Dark Ages with similar complexity in its legal professions, but then evolved by
the 19th century to a single dichotomy between barristers and solicitors. An
equivalent dichotomy developed between advocates and procurators in some civil
law countries, though these two types did not always monopolize the practice of
law as much as barristers and solicitors, in that they always coexisted with
civil law notaries.[15][16][17]
Several countries that originally had two or more legal professions have since
fused or united their professions into a single type of lawyer.[18][19][20][21]
Most countries in this category are common law countries, though France, a civil
law country, merged together its jurists in 1990 and 1991 in response to
Anglo-American competition.[22] In countries with fused professions, a lawyer is
usually permitted to carry out all or nearly all the responsibilities listed
below.
[edit] Oral argument in the courts
Arguing a client's case before a judge or jury in a court of law is the
traditional province of the barrister in England, and of advocates in some civil
law jurisdictions.[23] However, the boundary between barristers and solicitors
has evolved. In England today, the barrister monopoly covers only appellate
courts, and barristers must compete directly with solicitors in many trial
courts.[24] In countries like the United States that have fused legal
professions, there are trial lawyers who specialize in trying cases in court,
but trial lawyers do not have a de jure monopoly like barristers. In some
countries, litigants have the option of arguing pro se, or on their own behalf.
It is common for litigants to appear unrepresented before certain courts like
small claims courts; indeed, many such courts do not allow lawyers to speak for
their clients, in an effort to save money for all participants in a small
case.[25] In other countries, like Venezuela, no one may appear before a judge
unless represented by a lawyer.[26] The advantage of the latter regime is that
lawyers are familiar with the court's customs and procedures, and make the legal
system more efficient for all involved. Unrepresented parties often damage their
own credibility or slow the court down as a result of their inexperience
e.