Legal Professionals

Legal profession is a profession, and legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first obtain a law degree or some other form of legal education.

In civil law countries there are usually distinct clearly defined career paths in law, such as judge,

In common law jurisdictions there tends to be one legal profession, and it is not uncommon, for instance, that a requirement for a judge is several years of practising law privately.

Including

Barristers

~avocats plaidant

A barrister (also known as barrister-at-law or Bar-at-law) is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings, and giving expert legal opinions. Barristers are rarely hired by clients directly but instead are retained (or instructed) by solicitors to act on behalf of clients.

Judges

~juges

Historically, this has been the first legal specialisation. In civil law countries, this is often a lifelong career. In common law legal system, on the other hand, judges are recruited from practising lawyers. A judge presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open court. The judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the parties of the case, assesses the credibility and arguments of the parties, and then issues a ruling on the matter at hand based on his or her interpretation of the law and his or her own personal judgment. In some jurisdictions, the judge's powers may be shared with a jury. In inquisitorial systems of criminal investigation, a judge might also be an examining magistrate.

Justices of the Peace

~justices de paix

Also/Magistrate - A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer, of a lower or puisne court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace.

Lawyers/Attorneys/Advocates

~avocats

Practising law means advising and representing clients as a private practitioner or in a law firm. In most countries, law graduates need to undergo some sort of apprenticeship, membership in a professional organisation and a licence.

The name for this profession is lawyer or attorney in most of English-speaking world, and advocate in many other countries.

Magistrates

~magistrats

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage, the term usually refers to a judge. In common law systems a magistrate has limited law enforcement and administration authority. In civil law systems, a magistrate might be a judge in a superior court; the magistrates' court might have jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases.

A magistrates' court in England and Wales is composed of a bench of (usually three) JPs or magistrates, who dispense summary justice, deciding on offences which carry up to six months in prison, to a maximum of one year of imprisonment over not less than two indictable offences. They are advised on points of law and procedure by a legally qualified justices' clerk and their assistants. No formal qualifications are required but magistrates need intelligence, common sense, integrity and the capacity to act fairly.

Solicitors

~solliciteurs

A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with any legal matter in court in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to practice there as such. Solicitors have more direct access to clients than barristers, and may do transactional-type legal work.

Queens Councillors

~ conseiller de la reine

Queen's Counsel (postnominal QC), known as King's Counsel (postnominal KC) during the reign of a male sovereign, are jurists appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law. Membership exists in various Commonwealth jurisdictions around the world, while in some other jurisdictions the name has been replaced by one without monarchical connotations, such as "Senior Counsel" or "Senior Advocate". Queen's Counsel is a status, conferred by the Crown, that is recognised by courts. Members have the privilege of sitting within the Bar of court.

As members wear silk gowns of a particular design, the award of Queen's or King's Counsel is known informally as "taking silk", and hence QCs are often colloquially called "silks".

Bailiffs

~huissiers

A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offices and duties vary greatly.

Court Clerks

~greffiers

A court clerk is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining the records of a court. Another duty is to administer oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors. The clerk also was the custodian of the court's seal, which is used to authenticate copies of the court's orders, judgments and other records.

Notaires (Québec)

See ~ voir Notaires du Québec, Canada

Please link profiles on Geni to this project.

Getting Involved

Free to follow, request to collaborate

To join the project use the request link under "actions" at the top right of the page.

Visit

Geni's Project Plaza

Working with Projects

Wicked Wiki

Geni Wikitext, Unicode and images which gives a great deal of assistance.

See the discussion Project Help: How to add Text to a Project - Starter Kit to get you going!

this project is in History Link