A paralegal is a person who performs legal work. They assist an attorney with the attorney’s duties. Most of the time, they have formal legal training. They’re not a licensed attorney, and they can’t appear in court. However, they can assist an attorney with many of their duties. A lawyer can use a paralegal’s work as their own. A paralegal performs many of the functions of a lawyer in order to make the attorney’s work more manageable. They also handle (…)
A probation officer has the responsibility of supervising the activities of individuals that have been convicted of crimes and released on probation. A probation officer is very similar to a parole officer in that both types of law enforcement deal with convicts, but probation officers primarily deal with convicts of lesser crimes who have not been recently discharged from state or federal prison. Probation officers work with local, state, and federal prison systems. When a convict is released from state (…)
Cultural property law is the body of law that relates to protecting the buildings, artifacts and other items that are significant to a people and culture. Cultural property is the collection of unique real and personal property that’s important to a culture. The field of cultural property law seeks to protect cultural items that are important to a society or group. Cultural property may include any of the following: Ancient buildings Cultural buildings like museums and performing arts centers Significant (…)
Social workers assist others in dealing with life issues. The social worker may assist a person or group of people in working through an array of emotional effects resulting from drug or substance abuse, trauma, illness, difficult relations, and other challenging scenarios. The social worker may work in a medical center, school, hospital, clinic, or another location. The steps to becoming a social worker are: #1. Earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work In most states, earning a Bachelor’s degree (…)
Martial law is a military takeover of a country’s civil legal system. When a country has martial law, there’s no independent judiciary to oversee law enforcement activities. Instead, law enforcement can make arrests without any independent body to oversee or monitor their activities. Martial law means that the military and other law enforcement bodies control the movement and detention of individuals within in the country. To challenge martial law, a detainee brings a petition for habeas corpus. United States law (…)
Media law is law that regulates media production and use. Media law can encompass many different types of media including broadcast television, internet and print media. The practice of media law may involve all of the types of legal issues that might arise during the production or consumption of various types of media. Not all types of media are created the same The government treats different types of media very differently when it comes to regulations and oversight. Broadcast media (…)
What is a Crime Scene Investigator? The Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) collects and preserves a variety of evidence from an active crime scene. The crime scene investigator is most often a law enforcement professional responsible for the identification, collection, preservation, and cataloging of physical evidence at the crime scene. What Does a Crime Scene Investigator Do? Although many people assume that the crime scene investigator is responsible for the performance of tests of various types of physical evidence, forensic professionals (…)
The Master of Laws degree is the second level law degree a person earns, after a Juris doctor. This degree is earned by completing a full time program for one year. Typically, a legal professional or law student will pursue the master of laws degree in order to gain expertise in a specific area of the law, for example in international law, business law, tax law or family law. The majority of law firms prefers candidates that have masters of law (…)
Since its inception in 1865, the Secret Service has been involved in protecting the integrity of the United States financial systems. The Secret Service has jurisdiction in the United States for investigations involving the counterfeiting of U.S. and foreign obligations and securities. This authority has expanded to include the investigation of financial institution fraud, access device fraud, computer crimes, fraudulent government and commercial securities, fictitious financial instruments, telecommunications fraud, false identification and identity theft. The secret service has been mandated (…)
Does the United States own the moon? Have you ever wondered if there are laws about space? Space law is the body of laws, agreements and treaties that govern outer space. Worldwide leaders must grapple with how to regulate activity in space. Space law covers issues like rules for exploration, weapons use, damage for liability, rescue efforts for astronauts in distress, environmental regulations and records of space activity. What do space lawyers do? Space lawyers draft international treaties and national (…)
After graduating with a Juris Doctor a person is eligible for practicing law in the particular state where they pass their bar examination. A person may then go on to specialize in a specific area of the law and study for a Master of Laws degree. For those individuals that prefer to work in academia or in other types of work that has an emphasis in legal scholarship, the Doctor of Laws is the next step. A Doctor of Laws (…)
Medical malpractice law is the body of civil law that compensates victims of poor medical treatment. It’s a body of law that provides financial compensation when a person seeks medical care and receives care that falls below reasonable, professional standards. Medical malpractice law is the law that allows victims of poor medical care to receive financial compensation for their increased medical costs as well as for their pain and suffering. What is medical malpractice? Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor’s (…)
Tort law is the area of law that protects people from bad acts of others. When a person commits a tort, they violate civil law. If a person is damaged by someone else’s wrongful act, they can bring a claim for compensation against the person who commits the tort. The purpose of tort law is to ensure that wrongdoers pay for the damage that they cause instead of the victims. Torts aren’t crimes A tort can be a crime. However, (…)
Securities law (or Capital Markets law) is the group of laws and regulations that govern the issuance of securities. A security is a financial instrument usually designed to raise money for a business from investors in the business. Securities law dictates what a corporation has to do in order to offer their investment to the public. The laws exist in order to make sure that public investments are fair to everyone who might invest in the company. What is a (…)
Your undergraduate years are a great time to have a legal internship. If you’ve already decided that you want to work as a legal intern, you need to figure out how to go about getting a law internship. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to find the right legal internship. Learning about what to expect in an internship and how to approach the application process can help you make your search a successful one. What are law interns? (…)
Health law is the wide body of law that regulates the provision of healthcare services. Health law governs the relationship between those who provide healthcare and those who receive it. There are many topics and subtopics involved in the provision of healthcare law including provision of services, contracts, employment law and fraud. Health lawyers may focus on one area of healthcare law, or they may provide comprehensive legal services for a healthcare provider. Major health law legislation in the United (…)
In the United States health care laws had remained pretty much the same for many years until the Affordable Care Act was passed. The Affordable Care Act offers reform to the current health care laws that are in place and provides individuals with new options for coverage, consumer protection, and offers the citizens of the country the chance to make better and more informed choices about their health. Health Care Law, federal and state administered, deals with issues related to (…)
Trademarks are symbols that mark a product to show that it comes from a particular source. Some of the earliest trademarks can be dated back to the Roman Empire when blacksmiths would use a trademark to show that they had made a particular sword. Samson is the first company in the United States that used a trademark. Names of Marks The name of a business or company is a trade name. The terms “trade name” and “commercial name” mean any (…)
Obscenity law is the law that regulates what images, speech and other expressions individuals can lawfully communicate. Obscenity law concerns itself with banning or suppressing speech that violates standards of good taste and decency. The area of law balances legitimate communication in a free society with the purposes of public censorship. The practice of obscenity law involves prosecuting and defending cases that challenge and interpret obscenity laws. Why do obscenity laws exist? Obscenity laws protect a sense of morality in (…)
Land use and zoning law is the law that determines how a landowner can use their land. Land use and zoning law involves the creation, application and challenges of land use laws. Government bodies create laws that restrict what landowners can do with their real property. The laws may control how landowners can develop property, what types of activities they can do with their property or both. Land use and zoning law is the restriction of a private property owner’s (…)