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What is Private Legal Practice?

In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister, solicitor, or civil law notary. However, there is a substantial amount of overlap between the practice of law and various other professions where clients are represented by agents. These professions include real estate, banking, accounting, and insurance. Moreover, a growing number of legal document assistants (LDAs) are offering services which have traditionally been offered only by lawyers and their employee paralegals. Many documents may now be created by computer-assisted drafting libraries, where the clients are asked a series of questions posed by the software in order to construct the legal documents.

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What are the Career Paths in Private Legal Practice?

This path leads to:

Typical roles: Lawyers

Typical tasks:

  • Advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits, or legal rights and obligations.
  • Present and summarize cases to judges and juries.
  • Gather evidence to formulate defense or to initiate legal actions, by such means as interviewing clients and witnesses to ascertain the facts of a case.
  • Represent clients in court or before government agencies.
  • Search for and examine public and other legal records to write opinions or establish ownership.
  • Perform administrative and management functions related to the practice of law.
  • Act as agent, trustee, guardian, or executor for businesses or individuals.
  • Probate wills and represent and advise executors and administrators of estates.
  • Help develop federal and state programs, draft and interpret laws and legislation, and establish enforcement procedures.
  • Work in environmental law, representing public interest groups, waste disposal companies, or construction firms in their dealings with state and federal agencies.

Getting In

  • customer relations
  • file management
  • legal research
  • community building
  • contract management
  • international investments

Credentials

This graph shows the rate of academic degree attainment in this industry.

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Private Legal Practice