Chapter 2 Flashcards
Private law firm
It generates income mainly from attorney and paralegal fees that are paid by the client.
Boutique law firms
A law firm that specializes in one main area of the law.
General counsel
The chief attorney in a corporate law department.
Civil service
Nonmilitary government employment, often obtained through merit and competitive exams.
Jurisdiction
A geographic area over which a particular court, legislature, or administrative agency has authority.
Paralegal specialist
The major civil service job classification for paralegals who work for the federal government and for some state and local governments.
Legal aid offices
An office of attorneys and paralegals that provides free or low-cost legal services for people who cannot afford standard legal fees.
Indigent
Not being able to afford something such as a private attorney or filing fees.
Civil
Noncriminal; pertaining to the state or its citizens.
IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts)
A program that helps fund legal services for the poor with funds that attorneys are required to turn over from interest earned in client trust accounts containing funds.
Client trust account
A bank account controlled by an attorney that contains client funds that may not be used for general operating expenses or for any personal purpose of the attorney.
Uncontested
Unchallenged; without opposition or dispute
TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
A federal-state welfare program.
Pro bono
Doing legal services that are provided for the public good without fee or compensation.
Special-interest group
An organization that seeks to influence policy in favor of a particular group or cause, often through lobbying.
Test case
Litigation that seeks to create a new legal principle or right.
Prepaid legal services
A legal-insurance plan by which a person pays premiums to cover future legal services that might be needed.
Crime
A serious conduct that the government classifies it as needing to warrant a criminal proceeding and punishment if convicted.
Tort
A civil wrong that causes injury or other loss that our legal system deems it appropriate for providing a remedy such as damages. Injury or loss can be to the person, to movable property, or to land and anything attached to it.
Conversion
A tort committed by an intentional interference with another’s personal property consiting of an exercise of dominion over it.
Public defender
An attorney appointed by a court and paid by the government to represent an indigent defendant in a criminal case.
Assigned counsel
An attorney appointed by the court to represent an indigent person in a criminal or civil case.
Outsourcing
Paying an outside company or service to perform tasks usually performed by one’s own employees.
E-discovery
The discovery of a party in litigation of an opponent’s data generated by or stored in a computer or other digital device.
