David Ford Avon CT is describing all about lawyers and their work. How the lawyers face the problems and handle them.

1. All About Lawyers and
their work
David Ford Avon Ct

2. Becoming a Lawyer
 Complete a 4-year college program
 Demonstrate strong academic skills
 Take LSAT (Law School Admission Test)
 Complete Law School (usually 3 years)
 Pass the State Bar Exam
 Each state sets eligibility for their state
 WASHINGTON STATE LAW SCHOOLS
 Gonzaga University
 Seattle University
 University of Washington

3. What is a LAWYER?
A lawyer (also called attorney, counsel,
counselor, litigator, barrister, or solicitor) is
a licensed professional who advises and
represents others in legal matters. Today's
lawyer can be young or old, male or
female. Nearly one-third of all lawyers are
under thirty-five. Almost half the law
students today are women, and women
will probably ultimately be as numerous in
the profession as men.

4. When do I need to contact
a lawyer?
There are matters best handled by a lawyer.
Nearly everyone agrees that you should
talk with a lawyer about major life events
or changes, which might include:
 Being arrested for a crime or served with legal papers in a civil
lawsuit;
 Being involved in a serious accident causing personal injury or
property damage;
 A change in family status such as divorce, adoption, or death;
 A change in financial status such as getting or losing valuable
personal property or real estate, or filing for bankruptcy.

5. Why do you need a lawyer?
 When you are buying or selling a home
 When you are organizing a business
 When you are changing family status
 When you are making/changing a will
 When handling accidents involving personal
injury or property damage
 When signing a large or important contract
 When defending a criminal charge
 When bringing a civil suit ($5000 or less)

6. ?What to ask your Attorney?
 What is the lawyer’s fee?
 Will there be a written fee agreement?
 How often will you be billed
 Will the lawyer tell you when the fee is going to exceed a
certain limit
 Has the lawyer ever handled cases like this
before?
 Will the lawyer provide you with copies of
everything prepared on your behalf?
 Will the lawyer keep you informed of any new
developments in your case and talk to you in
“plain English”?

7. The Car Crash
(read page 68)
 Get into the your groups
 Role-play the initial attorney-client interview
between Marie and the attorney(s).
 Write out the dialogue that take place between
Marie and her attorney(s)
 ATTORNEY(s):
 Ask questions an attorney should ask a client
 CLIENT:
 Provide the attorney with all necessary information
 Ask all the questions that are relevant to Marie’s case
 Decide if you should retain that attorney

8. Working with your lawyer
 Attorney-Client Privilege – need to be honest
 Clients need to be able to speak freely with their lawyer to
assist in preparing a good defense
 If the lawyer had to tell the courts if his/her client admitted to
a crime, the client would not feel free to be honest
 A lawyer knowing, fully, what his/her client has done is
essential to preparing their defense
 A good attorney will give you legal advice but the
decisions are up to the client
 How the defense will proceed (who to call, to take the stand)
 To take a plea deal or not
 Attorneys must follow the rules too
 Disbarred
 Legal Malpractice

9. Group Activity
 Get into groups of 3 or 4
 DISCUSS the Code of Professional Responsibility
 On one paper, write the cannon down in the order
you believe to be the most important and write one
sentence for EACH explaining WHY this is important
for a lawyer to follow.

10. Code of Professional Responsibility
 Cannon 1: Assist in maintaining the integrity and competence of the legal
profession
 Cannon 2: Assist the legal profession in fulfilling its duty to make legal
counsel available
 Cannon 3: Assist in preventing the unauthorized practice of law
 Cannon 4: Preserve the confidences and secrets of a client
 Cannon 5: Exercise independent professional judgment on behalf of a
client
 Cannon 6: Represent a client completely
 Cannon 7: Represent a client zealously within the bounds of the law
 Cannon 8: Assist in improving the legal system
 Cannon 9: Avoid the appearance of professional impropriety

11. Ethical Dilemmas
A. Mart, an attorney for the family of a man
killed in an auto crash, visits a bar and
runs into a juror in the case. She has a
drink with the juror.

12. Ethical Dilemmas
B. Nicholas, a criminal defense attorney,
puts his client on the stand to testify to her
innocence, even though Nicholas knows
she is lying

13. Ethical Dilemmas
c. Gene, a corporate lawyer, is asked by a
wealthy client to recommend her son for
admission to the state bar. Gene says yes

14. Ethical Dilemmas
D. Antoine represents a man injured by a
defective lawn mower. The manufacturer’s
insurance company offers a $100,000
settlement. He accepts the settlement
without consulting his client.

15. Ethical Dilemmas
E. Nang, an attorney, has a trial next week
before Judge DeSilva. Nang sees the
judge in a grocery store and asks if the
trial can be postponed one week.

16. Ethical Dilemmas
F. Reynolds knows his client is guilty of the
crime she is charged with. During the trial,
he does not use a tactic that he believes
will make his client look not guilty.

17. ?Do you need an Attorney?
• You hit another car in a parking lot. Your insurance agent indicates that the
company will pay for bodily injury and property damage.
• You borrow a friend’s car without his knowledge, and he reports it to the
police as stolen.
• You buy a new stereo for $500. One month later, the receiver and speakers
blow out. Your return to the store, and the salesperson tells you he is sorry
but his stereos only have a 2 week guarantee.
• You decide to trade in your old car and buy a new one.
• Two friends are caught robbing the cashier at a local store, and they name
you as one who helped plan the robbery.
• The principal suspends you from school for two days because of an article
you wrote for the student newspaper criticizing the school dress code.
• You are turned down when you apply for a job. You think you were rejected
because you are deaf.
• You do not want your family to inherit the $10,000 you have saved. Told
you will die within a year, you want the money to be used for cancer
research.
• You and your spouse find you can no longer get along. You want a divorce.
• You earn $5,000 working in a restaurant during the year. You want o file
your federal income tax return.

18. Do you need an Attorney?
 Explain WHY you might need an attorney
in the following situations.
 1. You and your spouse are going to buy your first home
 2. You are pulled over for speeding
 3. You have been arrested for having drugs at school
 4. You neighbor and you decide to buy a lawnmower
together
 5. You are getting divorced
 6. You have been accused of cheating on a test
 7. You were hurt when the bus you were riding in had to
stop suddenly
 8. You have signed with a professional sports team to play
for them
 9. You are suing someone for $1000 damages
 10. You are suing someone for $15,000 damages

19. How do you find a lawyer?
 Recommendation of someone who had a similar
legal problem
 Recommendation of a friend who had a matter
resolved to their satisfaction
 Contact local legal referral service
 Lawyers CAN advertise
 Lawyers can be expensive. Some offer services
for free (pro bono) or for a percentage of the
final judgment (contingency fee)

20. Lawyers Advertise
 You need to know what
you are looking for
 Look for someone who
specializes in the area
you need
 If you don’t have money,
look for one who asks for
no money up front

21. ?should lawyers advertise?
 A television advertisement shows a lawyer
in a bathing suit coming out of a lake. He
says, “If you’re in over your head because
of bad debts, let us bail you out. We’re the
best firm in the state.”
 Should there be any restrictions on ads like this?
 If so, what?
 Should there be other restrictions on ads? What?

22. ?should lawyers advertise?
 A lawyer hears that many people have
been injured as a result of accidents in a
particular type of car. He runs a
newspaper ad showing a car crash. The
ad reads, “If this happens to you, I may be
able to help you recover your losses.”
 Should the lawyer be able to do this?

23. ?should lawyers advertise?
 Many people in an area have lost their
jobs and are about to lose their homes
because they cannot make their monthly
mortgage payments. Jane, a lawyer,
writes to all of these people saying she is
willing to represent them to prevent the
loss of their homes.
 Should she be allowed to do this?

24. “Need to Knows”
 Methods of Conflict Resolution
 Arbitration, Mediation, Negotiations, Settlements,
Ombudspersons, Trial
 Court System
 State/Federal Laws
 Levels of Courts (types of cases they hear)
 Supreme Court
 Lawyers
 When you need an attorney
 How you find an attorney
 What you ask an attorney

25. Vocabulary
 Adversarial System * Ombudsperson
 Arbitration * Petition for Certiorari
 Error in Law * Settlement
 Mediator * Trial Courts
 Negotiations * Voir Dire

26. Chapter Assessment
 Each student must complete the TAKE
HOME QUIZ about lawyers.
 The quiz is due on Monday
 You may use the remainder of class time
to work on this. You may work with 1 or 2
other student during this time.