USA legal profession Flashcards
Which legal title is only used by the USA legal profession?
attorney
What common initials, if you find them behind an American’s name, indicates that he or she is an Attorney?
While many attorneys might indeed be SOBs, the initials Esq., which stand for Esquire, indicate that an American is an attorney.
Alice Smith, Esq.
Particularly when writing to a fellow lawyer in the USA, it is wise to put what initials in front of his or her name?
Rather than writing Mr. Smith or Ms. Jones, it is polite (and strategic!) to write:
Atty Smith / Atty Jones
(While some may want to use ‘Liar’ in front of many lawyers’ names, it is, alas, spelt another way than choice 4!)
Which of the following is the correct, American spelling, of an alternative for “lawyer”?
The Brits spell Consellor with two L’s, Americans spell it with one L.
The common expressions using counselor are: “opposing counsel” and “legal counsel”
A rather “fancy” expression used by lawyers for other lawyers in America is what?
The ‘bar’ in this sense is not a place to buy alcoholic drinks, but rather refers to the wooden ‘bar’ in the courtroom that separates the public from the lawyers.
After ‘passing the bar’ exam, I become a ‘member of the bar’, and am allowed then to practice law on the other side of the wooden bar in the courtroom. So, as you can see, this piece of wood has great symbolic meaning!
A lawyer in America who specializes in trial work is called a what?
A litigator
American lawyers who spend most of their time dealing with paperwork, rather than in court, are commonly referred to as what?
A transactional lawyer
American partners whose primary job is to try to ‘woo’ new clients, are commonly referred to as what?
Rainmarkers
partners that spend most of their time drafting legal documents and managing the associates are called what?
service partners
