Questions tagged [lawyer]

For questions about lawyers and the licensed practice of the legal profession.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Do lawyers have to hold disputed funds in trust account pending litigation?

Alice sued Bob and won. Bob filed an appeal and a motion/application for a stay of the payment he now owed to Alice pending the appeal. The stay was declined. Alice's lawyer demanded payment into his ...
Greendrake's user avatar
  • 25.6k
19 votes
1 answer
3k views

What is the significance of “moral turpitude”?

Ellis, Chesebro and Powell have all asked the court to state their crimes were not ones of “moral turpitude”. What is the significance of that expression and why is it so important to them?
Simd's user avatar
  • 744
3 votes
1 answer
122 views

Powell Plea Deal Consequences

Given Sidney Powell's plea deal: https://apnews.com/article/sidney-powell-plea-deal-georgia-election-indictment-ec7dc601ad78d756643aa2544028e9f5 The article indicates consequences: As part of the ...
gatorback's user avatar
  • 6,955
0 votes
1 answer
113 views

Can a US govt lawyer become judge?

Can a person who has an attorney-client relationship with the US Government (typically, an licensed lawyer employed by the govt) ethically become a judge in the US? If so, how is the apparent conflict ...
Jaredo Mills's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
64 views

Can a government lawyer's duty of loyalty be ended in Canada?

I assume the following: A lawyer employed by the Government of Canada (GC) has an attorney-client relationship with GC. The "attorney" is the lawyer, the "client" is "...
Jaredo Mills's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
66 views

California: "For quality assurance, this phone call is being recorded" Can I record them without consent then [duplicate]

In California, it is illegal to record phone calls without the consent of all parties involved. However, I called a corporate office and it says that "this call may be recorded for quality ...
MatthewP's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
128 views

Where do lawyers keep themselves updated with some specific laws?

Laws don't update often, unlike software, but we do see some of them update for many reasons. Let's say someone asked questions here, or someone visited this site, found a pretty good answers with ...
user294265's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

Unpacking "If they have a question for the lawyers, they've got to go outside and the grand jurors can ask questions." from former US Fed. prosecutor

I need help understanding in plain language the last few sentences of the following exchange between CNN's anchor Dana Bash and CNN's Chief Legal Analyst (and former federal prosecutor) Laura Coats in ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 612
-2 votes
2 answers
216 views

Can a self-represented defendant call oneself as a witness? [duplicate]

You see this occassionally in comedy films and I have to wonder how legal it is. If I act as my own lawyer at a trial, can I call myself to the stand as a witness? Can I refuse to answer my own ...
Jon's user avatar
  • 460
-5 votes
3 answers
234 views

Can political parties becoming public?

Can political parties become public? For example, could the Democrat and Republican parties in the US carry out initial public offerings (IPOs), listing shares on NASDAQ and NYSE?
Prashant Akerkar's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
43 views

What lawyer specialization needed to deal with obnoxious neighbors

I am the lucky one that is blessed with 2 obnoxious neighbors on either side of me. They are causing me all sort of issues. From property line wars to out right verbal harassments on a weekly/monthly ...
Sam B's user avatar
  • 109
-2 votes
3 answers
119 views

What kind of lawyer should I contact after not receiving the service which I paid for?

I went to a courier company to pick up my package and not only was my package not released (in spite of me having all the legal documents) when I pressed for an explanation I was asked to leave the ...
HamurrabisHomie's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
3k views

Personal Misconduct That May Result in a Lawyer's Censure or Disbarment

Is there some type of Code of (Personal) Conduct that lawyers in the United States must abide by under the penalty of either censure of disbarment? What personal kinds of personal misconduct might ...
DDS's user avatar
  • 1,125
12 votes
2 answers
3k views

If a witness asks for their lawyer during a trial, how is it handled?

A criminal trial is going on. Andy the Attorney asks Walter the Witness some questions. After a while, Walter realizes he's been an idiot, and says he wants his Lawyer Larry. How does the court ...
chausies's user avatar
  • 3,555
0 votes
1 answer
129 views

Why is it considered unethical for a barrister to communicate with another side or even their own client, directly?

Obviously there are exceptions to this provision, like ones who are "direct access"-licensed, but why does that in itself even require special licensing qualifications to be permitted? And ...
Seeking answers's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
61 views

What is the role of barristers?

A recent question apparently mischaracterises the role of a barrister as "merely to study their instructions and perhaps an exhibit bundle that is readily prepared from them and then to draw on ...
Seeking answers's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
382 views

Does one's "lawyer license" need to be regularly renewed?

Say that Bob passes the bar exam. Then he goes to a mountain and becomes a hermit for X years. When he comes back, is he still allowed to be a lawyer? Or does his "law license" require ...
chausies's user avatar
  • 3,555
-4 votes
2 answers
64 views

Can the prosecution fight for the defendent's innocence?

Bob is accused of a crime (let's say murder). Bob is a self-hating man who wants to be punished. He admits to the crime, and hires a lawyer to push forth his guilty plea. The prosecution, however, ...
chausies's user avatar
  • 3,555
3 votes
5 answers
366 views

Are attorneys discouraged/disallowed from having therapists?

Lawyers defend many genuine criminals who, after being freed, would go on to continue to commit terrible criminal acts. I would imagine that it is a profession that is extremely taxing on one's mental ...
chausies's user avatar
  • 3,555
2 votes
2 answers
87 views

Is it a valid attorney strategy to make statements, even if they will be striken from the record?

Similar to how, in football/soccer, players strategically go for fouls because they're effective. Is it common practice for an attorney to bring up inadmissable evidence/points that, even though they ...
chausies's user avatar
  • 3,555
23 votes
6 answers
11k views

Is an attorney allowed to turn on their client?

Inspired by Yakuza Judgement. Say that Andy the Attorney is potentially representing Dave the defendant. But while they talk, Andy finds Dave to be a repulsive human being who's obviously guilty of ...
chausies's user avatar
  • 3,555
-1 votes
1 answer
77 views

Legal "we": when is it appropriate to use "we" in legal correspondence?

Similarly to how a party's representative is often referred to in the third person as "solicitors," it seems often that in legal submissions and other correspondence, individual solicitors ...
Seeking answers's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
6k views

How is a wealthy criminal expected to get a good lawyer?

Say Carl the criminal is a bad guy who's rich. One day, he gets caught. They confiscate his phone and lock him up and deny bail. How is Carl supposed to find a good lawyer? He's locked up and doesn't ...
chausies's user avatar
  • 3,555
-2 votes
2 answers
190 views

Is it common to provide evidence via email to a lawyer?

Do clients and attorneys typically communicate evidence via e-mail or cloud-based sharing services (i.e. One Drive or Dropbox)? If so, are these safe for confidential material? It this a common way to ...
hellohello's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
125 views

How do you get legal advice on a question from a lawyer?

It's common to respond to requests for specific legal advice on this site with something along the lines of "you need to hire a lawyer." I've said it myself. However, I'm not exactly sure ...
Someone's user avatar
  • 13.8k
-1 votes
2 answers
107 views

How do lawyers unofficially and perhaps somewhat surreptitiously influence the content of laws and rules of proceure?

Justice John F. Molloy of Arizona wrote a book titled The Fraternity: Lawyers and Judges in Collusion that was published in 2004. Among things alleged in that book are that lawyers, in part because of ...
Michael Hardy's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
111 views

Can my lawyer charge fees after termination? [duplicate]

I have asked my lawyer to withdraw from my case and stop communications to and from opposing counsel due to a clear lack of communication on my lawyers end. She has since sent her notice of withdrawal ...
Dan's user avatar
  • 19
-2 votes
2 answers
220 views

Not sure if it's worth hiring a lawyer because not sure if what happened was illegal

Something recently happened to me that I'm not sure was legal. To give a high level overview I was accused of something I didn't do. An internal investigation found me guilty. The investigation was ...
Edwards's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

Appealing a verdict due to the lawyers being incompetent and or failing to follow instructions?

Pretend there is a criminal court case against a defendant in England and Wales. The instructed solicitor from a firm, and barrister from a Chambers, do not follow the defendant's wishes regarding a ...
user5623335's user avatar
22 votes
3 answers
10k views

Why don't courts punish time-wasting tactics?

Inspired by the lawsuit filed amidst an ongoing controversy in the chess world. In brief, one player (Carlsen) accused another (Niemann) of cheating, and Niemann filed a defamation lawsuit against ...
Allure's user avatar
  • 2,407
2 votes
0 answers
46 views

Does the Vietnamese law prohibit non Vietnamese to work as lawyers in Vietnam?

Does the Vietnamese law prohibit non Vietnamese to work as lawyers in Vietnam? A "Vietnamese" for that matter is a citizen of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
jordanola's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
379 views

Is it always a good idea to instruct opposing lawyers to speak directly?

It is a common practice that opposing parties communicate via their lawyers rather than the parties communicating directly to each other. Besides saving the parties' time, what are the benefits and ...
Mingze's user avatar
  • 31
24 votes
3 answers
10k views

Is a lawyer allowed to follow a client's instructions to hide evidence?

The police arrested a suspect linked to sexual assaults. The police searched his home. It sounds like initially the search warrants were very limited in scope but they widened as things turned up. ...
TreVon's user avatar
  • 331
0 votes
1 answer
116 views

Can a client share legal advice from a lawyer?

Alice, Bob, and Chris have a conversation about doing XYZ, and the question of legality comes up --- none of them know whether or not XYZing is legal. Alice hires a lawyer and asks him; he says yes, ...
Someone's user avatar
  • 13.8k
6 votes
1 answer
569 views

Can an attorney give legal advice on a federal issue to an out-of-state client?

Can a lawyer in one state give advice to a client in another state if only federal law is relevant?
Someone's user avatar
  • 13.8k
3 votes
1 answer
107 views

What are lawyers who work with FCC regulations called?

I have a question about FCC regulations, and would like an answer from a lawyer. How would I find a lawyer familiar with this topic?
Someone's user avatar
  • 13.8k
5 votes
3 answers
1k views

lawyer's corruption

If a corrupted lawyer during a court case intentionally doesn't provide enough given information by his client to the judge, i.e. intentionally doesn't represent given information and loses the case, ...
Jane B.'s user avatar
  • 63
1 vote
1 answer
142 views

Are the attorney ratings on the website avvo.com reliable?

I am relying on the ratings on Avvo to determine who I should choose. Is it reliable?
Bear Bile Farming is Torture's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
104 views

USPTO search says that a practitioner, Bob has status "agent", but his employer advertises him as a "patent attorney"

Bob is a patent practitioner, and works for a firm. The firm’s website lists him as a Senionr Attorney holding a J.D. However, according to a https://oedci.uspto.gov/OEDCI/practitionerSearchEntry ...
Bear Bile Farming is Torture's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
347 views

Which state's laws apply to online defamation?

If a libelous statement is posted online, and the victim and offender are from different states, which state would be more pertinent to the defamation case? I.e. which state's defamation laws, statue ...
cine's user avatar
  • 93
49 votes
9 answers
11k views

Why do lawyers write contracts with language that is more difficult to understand than other works?

The recent Ig Nobel Prize Winning work "Poor writing, not specialized concepts, drives processing difficulty in legal language" by Martínez, Mollica, and Gibson demonstrates that contracts ...
User65535's user avatar
  • 5,880
15 votes
6 answers
4k views

Advantages of a law license other than the ability to practice law

The late Professor Charlotte Striebel was a lawyer if that term means one who is licensed to practice law, but not a lawyer if that term means one who does practice law. She worked for decades as a ...
Michael Hardy's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
330 views

How to find a lawyer to hire

The site linked here gives far to little information to choose. How should one deal with such a situation? Why does such a site give so little information?
Michael Hardy's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
272 views

Is it necessary to have an attorney-client relationship for a lawyer to give legal advice to someone?

If a lawyer gives legal advice to someone who is not his/her client, is that legal?
Someone's user avatar
  • 13.8k
5 votes
1 answer
884 views

Why do lawyers not represent themselves in their own areas of expertise?

I understand why a criminal defense lawyer would not represent himself in a personal injury case, or a patent attorney would not defend herself against criminal charges. But why wouldn't a criminal ...
Someone's user avatar
  • 13.8k
2 votes
1 answer
140 views

What is a lawyer allowed to do?

There was a report about a crypto currency company sending 10 million Australian dollars to a customer by mistake (they entered the account number instead of the amount for a $100 refund) and finding ...
gnasher729's user avatar
  • 32.9k
1 vote
2 answers
119 views

Could a person's lawyer legally answer that person's Law SE RSLA?

I hire a lawyer for legal issue ABC. I post a request for specific legal advice on Law Stack Exchange about unrelated legal issue XYZ. I do not tell my lawyer about it; neither of us knows that the ...
Someone's user avatar
  • 13.8k
1 vote
1 answer
57 views

Where did the term attorney (or simply its prevalence) originate?

In America there is no dichotomy between solicitors and barristers but simply attorneys at law, colloquially just lawyers. Why are they not just solicitors or not just barristers? Further we have ...
JosephCorrectEnglishPronouns's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
147 views

Can a lawyer sign a contract with a client that the client will not settle?

Suppose a charity is providing free legal services as part of serving their charity's mission. Can the charity make these services contingent on a contractual promise that the plaintiff will not ...
Brian's user avatar
  • 1,373
0 votes
3 answers
463 views

Can lawyers refuse to copy all client-related communication to the clients?

If a lawyer (other than an in-house lawyer) is asked by their client to copy all in/out communication that the lawyer sends/receives in relation to the client — be it communication with the courts or ...
Greendrake's user avatar
  • 25.6k