Legal Advice

Many people will need legal advice at some point in their lives. Common reasons to need legal advice includes an accident, a pending lawsuit, a divorce or custody case, buying property or even a speeding ticket. For individuals on a budget and those unsure if they need a lawyer, getting free legal advice is a good way to decide what course of action they may choose to take.

• One way to get free legal advice is to find an attorney that offers a free consultation. Many lawyers offer this service because they want to be the lawyer that the potential client turns to if the individual does decide to sue. The legal advice that one would receive here would be the most accurate legal advice that the individual could get. The free legal advice that the person will receive during this free consultation will include information about the process one will go through when preceding through their legal experience.

• For individuals who are suing someone, the legal advice that the lawyer gives will center on whether or not they have a shot at winning such a lawsuit. A custody case follows along the similar lines. Free legal advice about defending oneself if a lawsuit will also be useful, as the lawyer could tell the individual what they feel the outcome of the trial might be, along with any possible penalties that the individual may face if convicted. Seeking free legal advice about a corporate matter such as buying into a business or property is different. A lawyer will be able to explain the process that the individual one must take, as well as the steps in getting such things accomplished. Most necessary to some, the lawyer will most likely offer an estimated fee while giving someone free legal advice. This way, they can decide if they can afford the lawyer or they can consider taking on the process alone.

• Another way to get free legal advice to look on the Internet. There are many websites that offer free legal advice to individuals seeking it. Sometimes the websites will have different sections with commonly asked questions and answers to each topic of legal advice. There is also sometimes a form that can be filled out and electronically mailed to the lawyers who control the free legal advice website. These lawyers may be willing to answer specific questions through these personalized email.

In all honesty, the only individual who is automatically legally entitled to an attorney is one who is arrested on a criminal charge. The courts will appoint an attorney for those who cannot pay and this lawyer can then give free legal advice to the individual in custody. All other lawyers must be paid for out of pocket. Still, there are many ways to find free legal advice.

United States Constitution

More than any other document or treaty, the United States Constitution is the most powerful, highest law within the United States. The US Constitution is the oldest constitution by the federal government that is in use today, put into official writing in 1787. Since the time of its conception, the US Constitution has been changed 27 different times, with the help of the United States Constitution’s amendments. An amendment is a formal change made to law or contract. The United States Constitution, like any other constitution is usually changed because the people change their minds about what they think the government should be doing.

• The US Constitution is made up of a preamble and seven articles, or sections. The preamble does not count as a law like the rest of the articles in the United States Constitution do. Instead, it actually explains the reasons that the US Constitution was written. It is the most well known part of the US Constitution.

• The seven articles in the United States Constitution are the Legislative power, the Executive power, the Judicial power, the State’s Power and Limits, the Process of Amendment, the Federal Power, and the Ratification. All these parts in the United States Constitution make laws about certain things; for instance, the Ratification section of the US constitution states that the new amendments under the United States Constitution would not start until representatives from at least nine states approved the US Constitution.

• Since its beginning, Congress wrote 33 amendment proposals to try to change the United States Constitution but due to the lack of state power, only 27 of those amendments were ratified, or approved. The first ten amendments in the United States Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. Created in 1791, they were made to limit the power of the federal government when it came to controlling individuals.

• There are many facts about the United States Constitution that some people consider to be interesting. For starters, although it is the most powerful legal document that exists in the United States, the US Constitution is also the shortest governmental Constitution ever written at only 4400 words. Another interesting fact is that when it came time for the states to agree on the final draft of the US Constitution, it was the lack of any bill of rights that held up the process. This explains why a bill of rights was quickly ratified into the United States Constitution. Also, when the United States Constitution was signed, there were 4 million people living in the United States. There are now over 300 million.

The United States Constitution has governed the laws of America for over 200 years now. Even though the word democracy does not actually appear in the United States Constitution, many people credit the US Constitution for being one main reason that the United States are generally a thriving country and is run as a democracy.

First Amendment

The fact that Americans are legally allowed to use freedom of speech is one thing that make the United States a popular country to try to live in. Freedom of speech means that an individual has the right to speak their mind socially, religiously and politically about any topic they choose. The right of freedom of speech is protected under the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, a part of the United States Constitution.

• The right of freedom of speech is one of a American’s most basic human rights. Many other countries do not allow its residents to have the freedom of speech, and many have been jailed or even killed because of things they have said. However, the First Amendment is often misunderstood by individuals. Freedom of speech extends beyond an individual verbally saying something. Now, non-verbal, visual and symbolic expressions fall under the protection of the First Amendment. The first amendment doesn’t only protect freedom of speech. The first amendment also protects an individual’s religious freedom, their right to petition, freedom of the press, and the right to assembly. The right to assembly refers to the right to gather and protest peacefully in any public place.

• The actual wording of the first amendment is “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This first amendment was established to protect the basic liberties of American citizens.

• However, with the freedom of speech comes some rules. There are some exceptions to the things that can be said, both verbally and non-verbally, under the First Amendment. The law has decided that any speech that is obscene, incites violence, threatens national security or defames someone is not protected under the freedom of speech amendment. Somewhat controversial is the fact that what is considered to be hate speech is actually protected under the first amendment. For instance speaking out as a representative of the Ku Klux Klan is not illegal and is protected by the first amendment.

The first amendment is considered to be one of the most important amendments in the United States Constitution. Although there are other countries who have the right to freedom of speech, the United States are the country in which the first amendment is tried to be strictly protected by the government.

Internet Marketing

Internet marketing is the practice of promoting a company or service on the Internet. Legal Internet marketing follows the same guidelines, promoting various law firms and law websites. Some attorneys find that using the services of a company that will help with legal marketing gives them a leg up on the competition.

• Consulting companies are usually the businesses that are in charge of legal marketing. Their employees dedicate themselves to making sure that the law firms they represent develop a high level of Internet visibility, thus increasing the law firm’s chances for gaining new clients. When legal Internet marketing is performed, the goal of the legal marketing expert is to have such a high visibility level for the firm they are representing that the firm can be found on the top of search engine lists. That way, when potential clients use a Internet search engine to find an attorney, the name of the law firm that the legal Internet marketing agency has been helping will be one of the first ones that are seen. Legal Internet marketing companies also design websites for law firms. These websites are meant to increase a law firm’s visibility by optimizing their services. Legal Internet marketing companies operate in several ways.

• Legal Internet marketing companies take certain steps to make sure that a law firm becomes highly visible. The first step is to strategically place keywords and phrases throughout the law firm’s website content. The legal marketing company should also discuss which niches that the law firm wishes to be highly marketed in. This can be nationwide, statewide, or local. Since successful legal Internet marketing is dependent on the law firm’s visibility, keywords that are constantly and statistically searched the most should be placed within the law firm’s website and tags. Legal marketing experts should be aware of what the most relevant keywords are for their particular law firm.

• Another important factor to consider when hiring a legal Internet marketing firm is what type of law firm an individual wants advertised. The legal marketing team will be responsible for researching the field in which the law firm excels. Examples of this include personal injury, criminal defense, real estate, or family. Keywords that fall under the law firm’s area of expertise will be used by the legal marketing team to boost the law firm’s visibility.

Some law firms may think that they do not need to hire a legal marketing company to help them find clients. Other law firms decide that it would be a smart business move. Either way, anyone thinking of hiring a legal Internet marketing company should search for a reputable one with a high success rate, positive testimonials, and fair pricing.

State Laws

The term state law refers to the rules of each separate state in America. State laws are passed by the state legislature in New Jersey as well as the other 49 states. State laws in New Jersey are then signed into a code by the New Jersey state Governor. The common problem with any state law is that it can often conflict with the federal laws of the United States. When there is an unclear interpretation of state law, which there often is, the issue or conflict is resolved by the federal courts.

• Like other state laws, the state laws of New Jersey follow the actual state constitution. Although every state has a separate constitution of state laws that govern them, most of the major state laws involving serious crimes like robbery, murder and rape are the same. Some state laws allow the death penalty, like Texas; others, such as New York, does not condone it. A state law will sometimes vary depending on the state. For instance, when one is caught Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), a particular state law may ensure certain punishments that other states do not. The United States Constitution has set the groundwork for most major state laws.

• State laws regulate many issues. A state law may control driving privileges, property ownership, or taxes. Some state laws are considered to be unusual, but in general a state law serves its purpose by giving a state some control over individual’s who break the state laws. New Jersey is one state that has many unusual state laws, such as a state law that makes it illegal for a man to knit during hunting season. However, New Jersey is not the only state with weird state laws.

• In Texas, for instance, a state law prohibits any individual from having a pair of pliers on their person. California state law prohibits any women wearing a robe from driving a vehicle. Another odd state law has made it illegal to mispronounce the name of the state of Arkansas while the individual is in Arkansas. In Alaska, state law dictates that an individual is not allowed to look at a moose from an airplane. Residents of Kentucky have to follow a state law that forces them to bathe at least once a year. In Tennessee, a state law prevents bologna from being sold on Sundays.

Serious state laws exist to protect individuals from harm. Some silly state laws seem to serve no purpose at all. Either way, some state laws are nationwide while other state laws are specifically tailored to that individual state.

Lawyer

According to the American Bar Association, the number of licensed lawyers that currently practice law in the United states numbered in at nearly 1.2 million in 2009. With that incredulously large number of lawyers, an individual should have no trouble finding a lawyer to fit their needs. A lawyer is an individual who is authorized and licensed to practice law, carry out lawsuits or give legal advice.

An individual should search for a lawyer depending on their reasons for going to one. Someone facing a criminal conviction is always advised to have a lawyer. Although an individual has a right to retain a lawyer for free when they are arrested if they cannot afford one, someone facing serious criminal charges will often try hard to find a lawyer that is very experienced. If an individual cannot afford an outside lawyer then a free, court appointed lawyer known as a legal aide defends them. Legal aides are lawyers who have large case loads do the fact that represents many different individuals facing criminal charges at once.

Another reason one may want to hire a lawyer is if they want to sue an individual or company. Lawyers who take on a client as a plaintiff usually have the job of trying to get them some type of compensation, usually monetary. Lawyers are also hired to fight custody battles, make wills, and help with titles for real estate transactions.
Sometimes these lawyers charge a lot of money. Usually, lawyers who have the solid reputations for winning cases can charge more money and the fees can cost upwards of hundreds of dollars per hour. Lawyers are paid on a hourly rate, which they call billable hours. These billable hours take into account time spent in court, time speaking with the client, and any outside work a lawyer has to do for the case including do research or make telephone calls. Some lawyers are willing to work on a sliding scale, meaning that they will take the individuals financial status into account and charge them what they feel can be afforded. Also, there is a good number of lawyers who will not charge any fees unless they win the lawsuit for an individual: these lawyers will be especially careful about who they take on as clients.

There are many ways that an individual can find a lawyer to hire. Many lawyers offer free or cheap consultations. A lawyer will tell the potential client what they think the outcome of the case will be once they have some of the facts that they will be working with.

Attorney

Because of the fact that the legal system in America effects every member of society, a high number of attorneys are employed in the United States. An attorney acts as a supporter and an advisor to their clientele. Being an attorney is considered to be a white collar job with a lot of responsibility involved. Attorneys are supposed to conform to an ethics code and must be careful of what they do in their personal lives. Attorneys are individuals who know the laws of a particular state, topic, or country and apply their knowledge to the special circumstances that their clients have.

• Attorneys are required to do several things depending on what they specialize in. There are attorneys that specialize in family court, criminal cases, wills and trusts, other financial matters, international law, bankruptcy, and many others. These attorneys should know the basics of general law but should know a large amount of information about their specialization in particular. An attorney works by representing either a plaintiff or defendant in criminal or civil trials. All attorneys are licensed to able tor represent individuals in court but some attorneys will see the inside a courtroom much more than others. A criminal lawyer will find that most of their work will take place in a courtroom. An attorney that specializes in financial matters may find that they never are in a court room and spend most of their time in an office meeting with clients individually.

• Attorneys may work in clients’ home as well. Although they usually have steady hours, an attorney gearing up for a big case may have to work sporadic hours preparing for it. These count as billable hours and an individual is charged for every hour that an attorney is spent working on their case. This includes not just the time that the attorney spends in court on their behalf but any outside work they may have to do. Many attorneys work for law firms but roughly 25% of the 1.2 million practicing attorneys in the United States are self employed.

• Some attorneys represent individuals and some attorneys represent corporations or companies. The attorneys that represent companies will work for a particular company and take care of their law needs. Companies often need attorneys because they are sued more than individuals are.

Hiring an attorney may be necessary depending on an individual’s legal needs. Finding and attorney that can adequately represent one’s case is not a difficult process, because there are so many attorneys currently practicing in the United States.

Law Firms

The definition of a law firm is a business that is formed by one or multiple lawyers for the purpose of practicing law. One main service that are offered by law firms are client advisement about any legal rights or responsibilities. Another service offered by a law firm is the representation of clients in a court of law in criminal or civil cases. Law firms are organized in different ways, depending on the specific powers of the law firm.

There are several common arrangements for law firms, with two of them being particularly popular. One is sole proprietorship, where one attorney is responsible for everything involving the law firm. Another arrangement for a law firm is called general partnership. These law firms are owned by a group of lawyers who share ownership equally. Typically, law firms have partners who jointly own and operate the law firm. Law firms vary in size. Some law firms have literally one individual working for it while other law firms may have hundreds of individuals working for them. Smaller firms tend to concentrate on specialities such as financial or family law. Larger law firms tend to branch out and offer several law services to their clients. These larger law firms also may have several specialized groups within the law firm, all concentrating on specific law fields.

Law firms have been in existence since the early 1860s, right before the start of the Civil War. From this law firm, others began to spring up, with the idea quickly reaching England. Statistically, the United States and England combined have a large number of smaller law firms, with two to 50 lawyers and mid size law firms which employ about 50 to 200 lawyers. Because the field of law is so competitive due to the large number of lawyers in the United States, many law firms choose to specialize in one or two individual fields to set themselves apart from the rest of the law firms.

Being an attorney is typically considered to be a prestigious career with access to a large salary, but with the recession of 2009, many law firms shut down leaving a large group of unemployed lawyers looking for new law firms to work for. In early February of 2009, it was reported that over 700 jobs were cut from various law firms in one day.

New graduates tend to seek out small law firms to gain experience in when they first graduate law school, while more experienced lawyers gravitate towards a larger law firm that pays more money. Even with the many law firms in the United States, individuals are still having a hard time finding jobs in the field of law.

Law

A law is a rule that is enforced by institutions such the police and the government. Laws sometimes vary from state to state. Laws are known to shape everything from politics to economics and society in several ways. A law can be serious or strange. New Jersey is a state that is known for having several strange laws. Laws are not made into laws overnight though.

• A American federal law just begins as an idea. Sometimes a law is made as a result of public demand. Usually laws that are formed in this way is a result of some form of violence, such as Megan’s Law, which was passed to require legally law enforcement officials to release information about convicted sex offenders. This law came about because of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka. Her murderer was a repeated sex offender who had moved into Megan’s neighborhood. No one was required to inform the families in the neighborhood that a sexual offender had moved in. Because of this, Megan’s Law began with state attempts to protect children in their communities from sex offenders; the law then became a nationwide law.

• Once an idea for a law is brought to the attention of congressmen, they can decide whether or not to sponsor the proposed law. A congressman may decide to sponsor a law if they think the law has a good chance of being passed. The proposed law is then introduced to Congress as a bill. The bill then will be sent to a particular committee to see if it will be voted into law. The committee depends on what type of law is trying to be passed. For instance, if a bill revolves around a farming idea, than it is passed along to the Agriculture committee. If the committee approves the possible law, than the bill goes on to the full house of Congress. A proposed law, or bill starts in either the Senate or the House of Representatives.

• There are 435 members of the house of Congress who can turn a bill into a law. Proposed laws are discussed and debated. The bill is then voted on. Of the 435 members, at least 218 members have to agree to the bill to be voted in. Once the House approves the bill, then the proposed law is sent to the Senate. If the Senate does not approve of the bill, it may be sent back to the House for further debate, or abandoned. If the Senate agrees on the bill then it is passed on to the full Senate. Of the 100 senators that vote on the proposed law, 51 must approve of it for it to get passed on to the President of the United States.

The President makes the final decision about turning a bill into a law. If the President does not approve of the bill he can send it back to Congress by vetoing it. However, if the president does approve, then he can sign the bill, thus turning it into an official law.