A class action lawsuit is a lawsuit with many plaintiffs. When a case is a class action case, there are a lot of people who claim they’ve been wronged by the defendant. The plaintiffs have similar complaints. The courts allow all of the plaintiffs to join together in order to litigate their issues together. Why do class action cases exist? Courts allow litigants to join together and bring their cases as one class action in order to conserve resources. Rather (…)
Civil rights law is the area of law that gives people in society the right to be free from certain types of discrimination. It’s the area of law that gives people the right to equal and fair treatment in society. Civil rights law creates protected classes of people. It gives people in these classes the protection of the law when others try to discriminate against them based on the class characteristic. What are civil rights laws? Civil rights laws are (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
Biotechnology law is the broad name for the area of law practice that encompasses biotechnology. It is a relatively new field of legal practice as it has only been around since about 1970. Lawyers that practice in this area often will be involved in a biotechnology project from the beginning, throughout the development process, marketing, and bringing the idea to fruition. Biotechnology law includes several aspects such as contract, tax, real property, corporation, and intellectual property. Biotechnology is technology that relates (…)
Bankruptcy laws focus on helping individuals solve and repay their debts after they have suffered heavy losses. In the United States there were bankruptcy laws as early as 1800. However, the first voluntary bankruptcy laws were allowed through the Acts of 1841 and in 1867. These laws along with the Bankruptcy Act in 1898 also called the Nelson Act are what our modern debtor/creditor relation system are based on. It is common to hear that a person in a bad (…)
Banking law is the broad term for laws that govern how banks and other financial institutions conduct business. Banks must comply with a myriad of federal, state and even local regulations. Lawyers perform a wide variety of functions that relate to creating, following and enforcing regulations. Multiple federal agencies oversee banking regulations. A bank or other financial institution might fall under regulations of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve System or the Office of the Comptroller of (…)
A trial isn’t always the end of the case. One or both parties may want to appeal part or all of the trial verdict. In addition, they may want to appeal certain aspects of the lower court’s proceedings that they believe may have led the jury or the court to make the wrong decision. The process of asking a higher court to review a decision made by a lower court or an administrative agency is called an appeal. Attorneys who (…)
Antitrust law is the broad category of federal and state laws that are meant to keep business operating honest and fairly. Antitrust laws regulate the way companies do business. The goal is to level the playing the field in the free market and prevent businesses from having too much power. For the purposes of antitrust law, a trust is a large group of businesses that work together or combine in order to form a monopoly or control the market. Major (…)
Advertising is everywhere. Each and every day we see countless television commercials, magazine ads, billboards, posters, and more – all meant to convince us to buy one product or another. Something many people don’t consider, however, are the laws and regulations that govern the ways in which companies may or may not legally advertise. Attorneys who work in advertising law are behind the scenes, providing guidance through law firms or in-house counsel and making sure that companies play by the (…)
Administrative law is the body of law and legal work that deals with government agencies. Lawmakers create government agencies to carry out laws and administer the functions of government. These agencies create, implement and enforce regulations. All of the work that goes into these activities falls under the category of administrative law. Administrative law is a diverse area of law The term administrative law is a broad term that encompasses many different types of law. A lawyer that practices administrative (…)
Transportation security officers (aka TSA Agents) conduct screening of passengers, baggage, or cargo to ensure compliance with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations. They may also operate basic security equipment such as x-ray machines and hand wands at screening checkpoints. TSAs work at airports, ports, docks, and train stations throughout the country. The department of transportation security is a branch of homeland security and charged with helping with the fight against terrorism by investigating passengers to ensure the safety of all (…)
A state trooper is often referred to as the State Police or as Highway Patrol Officers. A State Trooper is typically responsible for enforcing traffic laws on state highways. In addition, these officers often help law enforcement agencies that are located in more rural areas. State Trooper Requirements Each state has varying requirements for their state troopers however the majority of states require an aspiring State Trooper to attend and graduate from the state police academy. For example, according to (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
Penology, a sub type of sociology, is the study of management of prisons and jails and of rehabilitating convicts. Penologists are sociologists who spend most of their time working inside prisons with prisoners. In addition, penologists will aid prison security by helping to prevent disturbances such as escapes, assaults, and other antisocial behavior that can result in disruptions. Local, state, and federal prisons all employ penologists. A penologist can find a job in both low security and maximum security environments. (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
Legal Secretaries perform secretarial duties using legal terminology, procedures, and documents. They also prepare legal papers and correspondence, such as complaints, motions, summonses, and subpoenas. Finally they may also assist the lawyers in legal research and arrange meetings between the attorney and potential witnesses for some cases. Generally they help run the law office and ensure that the services provided to each of the clients is both efficient and complete. Educational Requirements Most states do not require an individual to (…)