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Interesting Attorney Facts

Attorneys, more commonly referred to as lawyers, are highly educated professionals who have completed four years of undergraduate study followed by three years of study at a law school.

If you have gotten yourself in trouble with the law, it is important to know a good bail bondsman and good attorney.  Attorneys are sworn officers of the court who are legally bound by an ethical code of conduct.

Attorney Facts

● Attorneys are required to maintain a strict legal confidentiality with their clients, known as “attorney-client privilege.” This means your attorney cannot disclose or discuss any details about your case with anyone but you without your consent, even if you admit to committing a crime. Your attorney-client privilege is interned to allow you to be completely honest with your lawyer, so he or she, may better represent you.

● While attorneys cannot disclose any information you’ve confided to them in the vast majority of circumstances, attorney-client privilege is not absolute. Generally attorney-client privilege only covers what are known as “prior bad acts.” This means that you can tell your attorney anything you have already done, but not everything you are planning to do. As an example, you are protected if you tell your attorney you have already committed murder, but if you tell your lawyer you plan to cause someone harm, and your attorney believes you, the attorney is legally obligated to try and to stop you.

● Most attorneys will work on what is called a “contingency” basis in most civil litigation matters. This means your attorney will only be paid if the court awards you a monetary judgment. This is typically of great benefit to the client, as your attorney having a vested interest in your case will make the needed effort to win you a settlement. Most attorneys will charge an hourly rate or a flat fee to handle other matters.

● A good attorney may sometimes be able to have your case dismissed, without it ever going to court. Some lawyers, called “transactional attorneys,” specialize in making your case go away so you will never even have to see the inside of a courtroom.

● The first lawyers weren’t actually attorneys as we think of them today, but skilled orators who were advocates of the people. These orators mostly wrote speeches for the litigating parties and occasionally spoke before juries.

● An attorney cannot practice law unless and until he or she passes a strict code of ethics exam known as the Model Rules of Professional Conduct test. Having to pass this exam is intended to hold attorneys to the highest possible ethical standards and practices, to ensure their clients receive proper legal representation and protection.

● Attorneys are also bound by a doctrine called “fiduciary duty.” This means that an attorney cannot legally or ethically allow their own personal feelings or interests, or those of a third party, to in anyway interfere with representing their client’s interest.

● As defenders of the U.S. Constitution, your attorney is opposed to any conflicts of interest and is bound to the utmost degree of loyalty to you, their client. Attorneys are prohibited from representing multiple clients if their interests conflict in any manner. Laws against conflict of interest constitute very serious legal issues, and are designed to protect the attorney’s client. For example, if another client seeking representation contacts your attorney and the client’s interest could compromise your case your attorney cannot legally represent the new client.

● While “general practice” attorneys specialize in multiple fields, most attorneys will have their own particular area, or areas, of expertise. This means retaining a “family law” attorney will help ensure you get proper representation during your divorce.

● Just graduating from law school does not make someone an attorney, as they are not yet licensed to practice law. New law-school graduates must first pass the bar exam in the sate, or states, where they intend to practice. Once they pass the bar, all attorneys are sworn in as an “officer of the court” to uphold all the duties of the office.

The American Bar Association

According to the American Bar Association, there were 1,300,705 licensed attorneys in the United States in 2015.