What Does A Lawyer Do….Reallly?

You probably think you know what a lawyer does. In fact, the idea of arguing a case in court might have intrigued you enough to consider pursuing a law degree; at least, at some point. And those who do pursue a legal degree—in hopes of becoming a lawyer—quickly come to find that being a lawyer might not be exactly what the movies make it out to be.

LAWYERS IN REAL LIFE

In the movies, MyLawyer.ca lawyers often have high-profile jobs and get into heated debates; maybe they are caught in the middle of a  conspiracy.  I’m sure some of those happen, on occasion but that is certainly not the case for every single lawyer in the field, easily not for the majority of lawyers.  Instead of spending most of their time in a courtroom, for example, most lawyers spend more time studying and negotiating from the comfort of their own office or perhaps at the courthouse, sometimes.

CASE LAW

First and foremost, lawyers study legal statutes and past cases.  They try to determine if existing laws are still relevant and how it can be applied to specific situations.  They can argue for or against a person’s innocence based on the precedence set by cases that have already concluded.  This is largely what you are paying your lawyer to do: to know how the law is supposed to work (from going to law school) and know how these laws apply to your particular case.

LEGAL NETWORK

One big conception that the media often assuages—though not typically on purpose—is to pit defense attorney against the prosecuting attorney. While they are in the courtroom to argue opposing views, though, in real life these two polar opposites typically have more favorable relationships outside the court. Most of the time, too, defense attorneys and prosecuting attorneys will meet in private residents to discuss the case—or in the judge’s chambers—to negotiate the outcome. The goal, of course, is to avoid having to go to court at all.

In addition, though, when you hire a lawyer, you are also getting access to all the people that lawyer knows.  The legal field is broad and no single person can possibly know everything at any given time.  Most lawyers try to work with a firm which has many partners and these partners all work as a team, sometimes, to help a single client make it through their case.