Your Honor, I feel like I object, but I’m not sure

What you should know, and what you probably get wrong about legal representation.

Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

I’m back with a very basic topic today. But it’s a topic we need to cover so that, moving forward, we’re on the same page. After launching, I had a good amount of questions and topic suggestions come in. Both had one thing in common– Almost everyone got the overall idea of what a lawyer is, and what the outcome of the situation they were describing would be wrong. Let’s fix that!

First, you need to know that a lawyer and an attorney are two different things.

Technically, a lawyer is someone who has graduated from law school. An attorney is a lawyer who is licensed to practice. This means they passed the bar, were sworn in, etc. Unfortunately, both words are used interchangeably, so no one really knows to make the distinction anymore. This isn’t quite the big deal I’m making it out to be. However, it might be good to know the difference at some point.

I talked about the kind of law that I practice in my intro post.  If you need a refresher, I’m a business and intellectual property attorney/lawyer. The business portion involves contracts, negotiations, structured deals, etc. The intellectual property covers trademarks, contracts, and helping creatives and entrepreneurs protect their works and businesses. 

Let’s shoot straight on this next one. We don’t all go to court. 

Hypothetical: Your cousin becomes an attorney. You find yourself in a pickle, and you decide the thing that feels good here is threatening the other person involved with the law. You say something like, “I’m going to speak to my attorney. I’ll see you in court!” After a phone call or two, you find out that your cousin is a transactional attorney. An attorney who does not go to court ever. At all. For any reason.

As an intellectual property and business lawyer, I am a transactional attorney. That means all negotiations, demands, services, and business transactions are handled through contracts, letters, emails, calls, etc. Some others include real estate attorneys, estate/will planning attorneys, tech attorneys, tax attorneys, etc.

Now, if it turns out your cousin is a litigator, and you’re on good terms, you may have a shot in court. A litigator or litigation attorney will handle disputes via lawsuits, legal complaints, etc. Here, we have the popular guys you see all over bus stations, billboards, and TV commercials.  Personal injury attorneys, medical malpractice, intellectual property litigators, criminal attorneys– the list goes on.

Now that you know what a lawyer/attorney is, we can talk about some things people often get wrong about attorneys. 

Let’s start with my favorite. Because it’s people thinking we know all of the laws for me. Surprise! We don’t. In law school and when studying for the bar exam in your state, you get a general overview of everything. Be that as it may, it’s ONLY an overview. An overview that you’re possibly cramming into one semester, a few months, or a bar prep course. Pick your timeframe. It’s still not enough to retain everything you learned. And just hearing about a law doesn’t make any of us experts. It takes so much time and often what feels like the entirety of your career to become a true expert in a field.

Photo by Dmitrij Paskevic on Unsplash

This one is for the girlies and the guys who light up when they find an attorney on Hinge or Tinder. Not all of us are multi-millionaires. There are attorneys working for non-profits or municipalities that sometimes struggle to make ends meet. Some attorneys choose to be in an area of law that’s not as lucrative simply because they’re passionate about the work. Like many other professions, you can have a range of salaries, but I can tell you this… It isn’t always in the six-figure club.

Swipe left, sis. 

The last one that is a big motivator for why I’m doing this is that often, people think we’re all liars. We are indeed taught to use words and carefully crafted language to our advantage. But are we all liars who utilize that skill to manipulate, mislead, and take advantage of others? No. We’re not. We use words, facts, evidence, and things people don’t even think about so that we can defend/protect our clients. So, are we wordsmiths? Yes. Absolutely. Look at me writing this memoir. But are we all liars? I’m going to have to say no to that one. It’s also illegal for us to lie during the course of our work, so there’s that. 

As a bonus, I’ll add this honorable mention, and I’ll also add that TV shows and movies are to blame for this perception people have of us. We’re not all jerks and aren’t always looking for a reason to argue. This isn’t Law and Order. It’s the world, and we’re human beings, so you’ll certainly find your fair share of those who can be classified as jerks, but we are not a monolith. Some attorneys are incredible people doing amazing work. Do I love a spirited debate? Who doesn’t? Especially if you know you’re right! But am I walking around Whole Foods trying to start a fight? No. I just want to purchase my overpriced salad in peace. 

Another popular question I get is about whether or not attorneys can work with anyone geographically. The short answer is yes and no. But before we get into that, this is a great example of where it makes sense to make the distinction between lawyers and attorneys because lawyers can’t practice or work with anyone in this capacity. It depends on the area of the law. For example, some areas of the law that are considered federal, aka national, you can work with clients in all 50 states. Intellectual property, Immigration, bankruptcy, and tax, to name a few. But most of the other areas of law are state-specific, so we’re only allowed to work with clients residing in the state where we are licensed. Don’t get me wrong, you can be licensed in as many states as you’d like, but honestly, who’s got the capacity for that many bar exams?

Let’s wrap it up here. The legal jargon can get overwhelming, so we’ll take a break. I’ll come back with part two. But not before we get into the recent case I’ve seen circulating social media. It involves an influencer, lies, a little bit of foolishness, and a large repayment amount because the state of Pennsylvania said, “What you're not about to do is play with us.” 

See you next week!

Always remember that I am an attorney but not your attorney. All of this information is just that, information. This content should be viewed for informational and educational purposes only. None of it should be considered legal advice.