Legal Studies, Law Degree Programs and Training

Business Law

Business law is sometimes called mercantile law or commercial law and refers to the laws that govern the dealings between people and commercial matters. There are two distinct areas of business law; regulation of commercial entities through laws of partnership, company, bankruptcy, and agency and the second is regulation of the commercial transactions through the laws of contract. The history of these types of laws dates back several centuries and can be seen in the peace-guilds where members would pledge (…)

Firearm Law

Firearm law is the combination of laws, regulations and public policy that govern the manufacture, distribution and sale of firearms in the United States. Although the basic rule is that guns are legal in the United States, there are exceptions to the rule, and firearm law remains controversial. Firearm law says who can make or buy a gun and under what circumstances. Firearm laws exist in the United States at both the federal and state levels. The Second Amendment The right to (…)

FDA Law

Food and Drug Administration law, or FDA law, is the body of law that regulates food, cosmetic and drug manufacturing and sale in the United States. The goal of FDA law is to make food and drugs safe for public consumption. The goal is to provide consumers with honest information about the contents of a product so that consumers can make informed choices. FDA law also exists to regulate how food and drug manufacturers maintain the rights to profit from (…)

Food Law

Food law is the collection of laws and regulations that govern food production, distribution and consumption. Food laws aim to protect consumers and provide for the efficient growth and use of food in the United States. Food attorneys focus their careers on helping clients comply with food laws and regulations. In addition, they work on behalf of government agencies making or enforcing food laws and policies. Food laws cover a variety of topics Most people know that food laws govern (…)

Maritime Law

Maritime law is the collection of laws and agreements that govern behavior and activities on the seas. The area of law governs how people interact and do business on the waters of the world. Also called admiralty law, maritime law primarily governs activities on international waters. However, there are also laws that apply to the waters in and near each country. Generally, each country applies their own laws to inland waters like lakes and rivers. When most Americans board a (…)

Public Health Law

Law plays an important role in the public health care system. A public health official has many responsibilities and legal rights when protecting and promoting their community’s health. There are three areas associated with public health law, law of populations, prevention of disease and injury, and police power. Public health law is a field that focuses legal practice, scholarship and advocacy on issues involving the government’s legal authorities and duties “to ensure the conditions for people to be healthy,” and (…)

How to Become a Criminal Investigator

Criminal investigators are individuals who investigate crimes and other events for legal and official purposes. They’re professionally licensed, but they don’t work for a government agency like police officers do. Instead, they work for hire on behalf of private clients. They might end up using the results of their investigation in a criminal proceeding. What does an Criminal Investigator Do? An investigator for criminal offenses helps their client prove or disprove facts relating to a criminal allegation. They pursue leads (…)

Franchise Law

Franchise law is the body of law that relates to making, operating and ending franchise relationships. Franchise law encompasses laws and regulations at all levels of government that govern how corporations and individuals may enter into franchise relationships. The practice of franchise law involves helping clients understand and comply with franchise laws. It may also include enforcing franchise laws or advocating for changes to the law. What is a franchise? A franchise is the legal use of another company’s business (…)

What is a Criminologist?

Criminologists use social patterns, statistics, and psychology in order to analyze the behaviors of criminals and methods used by criminals in order to help predict and prevent criminal behavior from occurring in the future. Psychological profiling plays an important role in the profession as well. In addition, a criminologist will evaluate how different methods of law enforcement affect crime rates. A criminologist will use their education in federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies or work as college professors. In (…)

Cryptography Law

Cryptography law is the body of law that relates to securing and protecting information from unauthorized access. Cryptography laws protect individuals from having their personal information disseminated without their consent. They also work to protect government secrets as part of a military defense strategy. Another name for cryptography law is encryption law. What Is Cryptography? Cryptography or encryption is the practice of modifying information with a secret encoding key or other method of transforming the information to another form. The (…)

Statutory Law

Statutory law is law that’s written by a legislative body. It’s law that a government deliberately creates through elected legislators and an official legislative process. It’s up to the judiciary to interpret and enforce statutory law, but the judiciary can’t create statutory law. Laws created by statute are often codified. That means they’re all put together in one place and given numbers for reference. For example, the United States Code is the indexed collection of U.S. law. States have their own collections of statutes (…)

Juvenile Justice and Rehabilitation

For those that want to work in juvenile rehabilitation, there are many different careers available in this field. Some of the common careers in this include juvenile counselors, juvenile court attorneys, probation officers, and judges. Those that work in the juvenile justice system will deal with troubled youths in a number of settings. The justice system for juveniles was established as a way to discipline individuals that commit a crime, but are too young to be tried as adults. There is (…)

Master of Laws (LLM)

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 (…)

Parole Officer

While parole officers and probation officers are often discussed together, these two jobs are not identical. A parole officer works with a person that has been released from a state or a federal prison. A prisoner may be released on parole, but the individual is still not completely free of supervision and the release has strict conditions. Parole can be revoked for almost any type of infraction. The role of a parole officer is to help an individual that has been incarcerated (…)

Parliamentary law

Parliamentary law is the collection of laws, rules and procedures that organizations use to conduct business. Parliamentary law is the set of rules that a public or private group uses to conduct meetings or otherwise go about their affairs. Parliamentary lawyers facilitate the use of parliamentary laws. They also help their clients challenge decisions when the procedure used to arrive at those decisions may be in question. Parliamentary law makes an organization run in a uniform way All organizations must (…)

Business Organization Law

Business organization law is the body of law that relates to creating, managing and dissolving businesses. There are several ways to organize a business. Each type of business structure has its own set of rules to follow. Each type of business structure also comes with its own advantages and drawbacks. A business lawyer helps their client choose the right business structure, complete paperwork filing, manage ongoing organizational issues and even helps dissolve the business when it’s appropriate. Helping clients go into business (…)

Energy Law

Energy law is the field of law concerned with creating, enforcing and challenging laws that regulate energy use. Laws exist that regulate the creation and harvesting of energy. There are laws that regulate taxation of energy use. Energy companies and the public alike must navigate energy laws as they relate to the sale, use and conservation of energy resources. Many people don’t realize how much energy laws and regulations impact their daily life. Each time you put gasoline in your (…)

Customs Agent

The main role of a Customs Agent (aka Customs Inspector) is to investigate and inspect persons, goods, common carriers, and merchandise, arriving in or departing from the United States or between states to detect violations of immigration and customs laws and regulations. Customs Agents work for the United States Department of Customs and Border Patrol, which is a branch of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security). A custom agent that works for the CBP is responsible for helping keep weapons (…)

Becoming Detective

A detective and a criminal investigator, who are often called special agents or agents, have the job of collecting evidence and gathering facts of possible crimes. The duties of a detective will depend on the type and size of the organization that they work for. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 109,960 active detectives and criminal investigators working in the US with an average salary of $79,030. Typical Duties of Detectives The typical duties of a (…)

Health and Safety Law

The purpose of health and safety laws is to protect the welfare, health, and safety of the public in general. Some sections of the population such as employees are protected under the health and safety laws that have been put in place. Typically, a civil law system is in place that will cover most health and safety laws. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 says that employers are responsible for making sure that all their employees are safe (…)