What Are the Duties of a Lawyer? Lawyers work in an incredibly fast-paced and high-stress environment. They are the ones in charge of arguing on our behalf in a court of law. In order to properly represent their clients, there are a series of things that all lawyers must do.
In many cases, they may hold a person’s future in the palm of their hands. So it is imperative that they know how to do their jobs correctly! Read on – What Are the Duties of a Lawyer?
In order to properly represent, a lawyer has to first become familiar with you and your case. A lawyer will need to meet with you and hear your side of the story before they are able to do anything moving forward with a case.
Once they have an idea of what is going on, they will be able to start coming up with ways to help you. A lawyer will most likely need to know every nitty-gritty detail of the case. Otherwise, how are they supposed to argue on your behalf?
Once a lawyer has a better idea of what they are getting themselves into, they may dive headfirst into supplemental research. Oftentimes, this research will include looking for legal precedent, or examples of similar issues coming up in court in the past.
In many circumstances, legal precedent can be used in favor of your case, especially if past rulings appear as though they would have favored your side.
Throughout the entire process, which can take anywhere from a few months to many years, your lawyer is your legal guide. They will inform you of changes in your case, as well as advise you on how to act upon them.
Sometimes, a lawyer may say things that you don’t want to hear. However, it is a lawyer’s job to get the best results out of a case that they can for you. If you’re already in a tight situation, then this may mean playing a lot of damage-control.
They may also inform you of other potential actions that you can take that stand to positively benefit you. This can include, but is not limited to:
In most cases where a lawyer is representing an individual, they will spend a the most important chunk of time under your employment representing you in a court of law.
There is a lot of prep work that goes into these moments, and the courtroom is the stage where lawyers duke a case out with the weapons they’ve gathered.
Court cases aren’t pretty, and lawyers have to be extremely knowledgeable of the case’s intimate details and relevant laws in order to win the judge and jury’s favor. Depending on the type of cases and who they are representing, the way that lawyers present a case can be completely different.
A defense lawyer’s primary job is to protect a defendant from punishment while challenging the prosecution’s case that they built against the accused. In some cases, a defense attorney may be representing a case that has no chance of achieving a verdict of not guilty.
In these cases, the defense will do everything possible to soften the punishments that the defendant will have to face after the trial’s conclusion. This may be reducing jail time, reducing the charges against the defendant, or avoiding fines.
It is important to remember that lawyers aren’t magicians; there is nothing that they can do to change the facts of the case. It is simply their job to spin the facts in a way that represents their client in the best light.
For prosecuting attorneys, their job is a little different. Prosecutors in a criminal case must meet the burden of proof. In doing this, they must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of the crime that they are being accused of.
They will use evidence, witnesses, and various other forms of legal precedent to prove that the accused should face punishment.
In a civil case, nobody is facing jail time. Usually, two parties are facing a major disagreement or conflict of interests that need the intervention of a legal body. This can come in many forms, such as contract disputes, property disputes, and class action lawsuits.
In these cases, lawyers have to prove that the opposing party holds either entire or legal liability for the case that is being argued. In doing so, they are trying to reach a settlement that is most beneficial for their client.