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A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more Lawyer s to engage in the practice of law. The primary service provided by a law firm is to advise Client s (individuals or Corporation s) about their legal Right s and Responsibilities , and to represent their clients in Civil or Criminal Cases , business transactions and other matters in which legal assistance is sought. Smaller firms tend to focus on particular specialties of the law (e.g. Patent Law , Labor Law , Tax Law , criminal defense, personal injury); larger firms may be composed of several specialized Practice Group s, allowing the firm to diversify their client base and market, and to offer a variety of services to their clients. Law firms are organized in a variety of ways, depending on the jurisdiction in which the firm practices. Common arrangements include:
In many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom , there is a rule that only lawyers may have an ownership interest in, or be managers of, a law firm. Thus, law firms cannot quickly raise Capital through Initial Public Offering s on the stock market, like most Corporation s. In the United States this rule is promulgated by the American Bar Association and adhered to in almost all U.S. jurisdictions. The rule was created in order to prevent conflicts of interest. In the Adversarial System of justice, a lawyer has a duty to be a zealous and loyal advocate on behalf of the client. Also, as an officer of the court, a lawyer has a duty to be honest and to not file frivolous cases. A lawyer working as a shareholder-employee of a publicly traded law firm would be strongly tempted to evaluate decisions in terms of their effect on the stock price and the shareholders, which would directly conflict with the lawyer's duties to the client and to the courts. In the United Kingdom, lawyers are divided between Barrister s, who plead in the higher courts and give expert opinions on points of law, and Solicitor s who act directly for clients. Even though barristers are traditionally seen as the senior branch of the legal profession, and the most distinguished British lawyers are generally barristers, most barristers are self-employed sole practitioners (although they share facilities in sets of rooms known as "chambers", usually at one of the four Inns Of Court ). All the main UK law firms are firms of solicitors. Big law firms usually have separate litigation and corporate departments. The corporate departments advise companies on corporate deals, and the litigation departments deal with the problems the firms' clients face. STRUCTURE AND PROMOTION Larger firms are typically organized around s ( Burnout rates are very high in lawMichael H. Trotter, ''Profit and the Practice of Law: What's Happened to the Legal Profession'' (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1997), 83.). Making partner is very prestigious, especially at a large or midsize firm. Such firms take out advertisements in legal newspapers to announce who has made partner. Traditionally, partners shared directly in the profits of the firm, after paying salaried employees, the landlord, and the usual costs of furniture, office supplies, and books for the law library (or a database subscription). However, many large law firms have moved to a two-tiered partnership model, with equity and non-equity partners. Equity partners are considered to have ownership stakes in the firm, and share in the profits (and losses) of the firm. Non-equity partners are generally paid a fixed salary (albeit much higher than associates), and they are often granted certain limited voting rights with respect to firm operations. It is rare for a partner to be forced out by fellow partners, although that can happen if the partner commits a crime or malpractice, experiences disruptive mental illness, or is not contributing to the firm's overall profitability. However, some large firm have written into their partnership agreement a forced retirement age for partners. This age can be anywhere from age 65 on up. In contrast, most corporate executives are at much higher risk of being fired, even when the underlying cause is not directly their fault, such as a drop in the company's stock price. In the United States and Canada, many large and midsize firms have attorneys with the job title of "counsel", "special counsel" or "of counsel." These attorneys are employees of the firm like associates, although some firms have an Independent Contractor relationship with their of counsel. But unlike associates, and more like partners, they generally have their own clients, manage their own cases, and supervise associates. These relationships are structured to allow more senior attorneys share in the resources and "brand name" of the firm without being a part of management or profit sharing decisions. The title is often seen among former associates who do not make partner, or who are laterally recruited to other firms, or who work as in-house counsel and then return to the big firm environment. At some firms, the title "of counsel" is given to retired partners who maintain ties to the firm. Sometimes an "of counsel" is a senior or experienced attorney, such as a foreign legal consultant with experience in international law and practice, and his own clients. They are hired as independent contractors by large firms as a special arrangement, that may lead upon profitable results to partnership. In these situation an "of counsel" could be considered as a transitional status in the firm. Size Law firms range widely in size. The smallest law firms are solo practitioners (lawyers practicing alone), who form the vast majority of lawyers in most countries. In North America , there are also many small firms (2 to 50 lawyers) and midsize firms (50 to 200 lawyers).Trotter, 46. Lawyers in small cities and towns may still have old-fashioned general practices, but most urban lawyers tend to be highly specialized due to the overwhelming complexity of the law today.Nelson, 172, and Trotter, 50. Thus, some small firms in the cities specialize in practicing only one kind of law (like Employment , Antitrust , Intellectual Property , or Telecommunications ) and are called "boutique" firms. The largest law firms have more than lawyers. These firms, often colloquially called "megafirms", generally have offices on several continents, bill up to $750 per hour or higher, and have a high ratio of support staff per attorney.Trotter, 56.Richard L. Abel, ''American Lawyers'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 190-199. They can, and in some cases do, litigate every issue, burying their opponents in a blizzard of paper in the process; the result has been a kind of legal " Arms Race " where every large Corporation tries to retain the services of the biggest law firm they can afford.Trotter, 114. Because of the localized and regional nature of firms, the relative size of a firm varies. Thus in New York, several hundred attorneys would be required for a "large firm", whereas in Las Vegas, perhaps only 50 attorneys would be needed to be a "large firm". The largest firms like to call themselves "full-service" firms because they have departments specializing in every type of legal work that pays well, which in the U.S. usually means mergers and acquisitions transactions, banking and litigation. These firms rarely do plaintiffs' personal injury work. However the largest law firms are not very large compared to other major businesses (or even other professional services firms) due to the fact that, as law firms, they cannot raise capital from the public markets and, due to ethics rules, cannot represent conflicting parties. The largest law firms in the world are based primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States. The American system of licensing attorneys on a state-by-state basis, the tradition of having a headquarters in a single Press, 2003), 92. There is an increasing tendency for globalisation of law firms. In 2004, the largest law firm in the world was the British firm Clifford Chance , which had revenue of US$ 1.675 billion. This can be compared with $312 billion for Wal-Mart . On the other hand, Clifford Chance employs about worldwide (+ of whom are fee-earning lawyers), versus Wal-Mart's employees. LOCATION Most law firms are located in office buildings of various sizes, ranging from modest one-story buildings to some of the tallest Skyscraper s in the world (though only in 2004 , Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP was the first firm to put its name on a skyscraper. Some solo practitioners practice out of their homes or in offices built as special additions to their homes. Because their "work product" is often intangible, or at least conceptually difficult for clients to grasp, some firms are notorious for using jaw-dropping Interior Design (huge amount of floor space and fantastic views) as a " Shock And Awe " tactic to impress prospective clients and intimidate opposing counsel. Other firms will find more modest office space, depending on the nature of the practice. In late 2001, it was widely publicized that one personal injury plaintiffs' firm in the state of New York has been experimenting with Bus -sized "mobile law offices."Alan Feuer, "Next Stop for a Legal Team? A Personal Injury Case in Queens," '' New York Times '', 26 December 2001, D1. The firm insists that it does not " Chase Ambulances ". It claims that a law office on wheels is more convenient for personal injury plaintiffs, who are often recovering from severe injuries and thus find it difficult to travel far from their homes for an intake interview. RANKINGS As legal practice is adversarial, law firm rankings are widely relied on by prospective rankings generally cover profit-related data such as profits per partner and revenue per lawyer http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1177664676190 AmLaw 100. IN FICTION A number of Television shows such as '' L.A. Law '', '' The Practice '', '' Boston Legal '', and '' Justice '' have revolved around relationships occurring in fictional law firms, highlighting both public fascination with and misperception of the characteristic lives of lawyers in high-powered settings. The primary Villain of the show ''Angel'' is an evil, supernatural law firm called Wolfram And Hart . Supernatural Law is a Comic featuring a law firm that specializes in serving the legal needs of monsters and other supernatural beings, REFERENCES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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