|
Even as a little boy I always wondered
how I could become
a lawyer in New York! I went
through high school doing my normal studies and once I
picked a college I decided to focus on a pre-law degree. I
was destined to become a lawyer regardless of the efforts it
was going to take. 4 years of college was rough but I made
it out alive with my shiny pre-law degree. In the meen time
I had also studied and taken the LSAT test which was suppose
to help me prepare for Law School. My scores were mediocre
but with due dillegence and fortitude I was able to get
accepted into the New York law school at St
Johns University. Now St Johns
wasn't my first choice, I really had my eye on Columbia but
my grades and LSAT scores simply weren't good enough.
Three years later I was a
proud graduate of St Johns University and the thought of not
attending Columbia was an afterthought. I didn't care
anymore, I just wanted the opportunity to practice law.
Before I could do that I had to pass the bar exam.
Fortunately I was able to study on my own instead of
purchasing pricy pre-exams and actually passed the Bar Exam
on the first try!
Soon after graduating law
school and passing the bar exam I was offered a job as an
associate lawyer. I was truly here! I was in the court
room arguing cases and making a difference in peoples life.
I always wanted to be a lawyer but even as a little boy
couldn't imagine the feeling of stepping foot in the court
room. It's amazing! If I can do it you can too!!!
Legal subjects
Though all legal systems must deal with similar issues,
different countries often categorise and name legal subjects in
different ways. Quite common is the distinction between "public
law" subjects, which relate closely to the state (including
constitutional, administrative and criminal law), and "private
law" subjects (including contract, tort and property). In civil
law systems, contract and tort fall under a general law of
obligations and trusts law is dealt with under statutory regimes
or international conventions. International, constitutional and
administrative law, criminal law, contract, tort, property law
and trusts are regarded as the "traditional core subjects",
although there are many further disciplines which might be of
greater practical importance.
International law
In a global economy, law is globalising too. International law
can refer to three things: public international law, private
international law or conflict of laws and the law of
supranational organisations.
* Public international law concerns relationships among
sovereign nations. It has a special status as law because there
is no international police force, and courts lack the capacity
to penalise disobedience. The sources for public international
law to develop are custom, practice and treaties between
sovereign nations. The United Nations, founded under the UN
Charter, is one of the most important international
organisations. It was established after the League of Nations
failed to prevent the Second World War. International
agreements, like the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war,
and international bodies such as the International Court of
Justice, International Labour Organisation, the World Trade
Organisation, or the International Monetary Fund, also form a
growing part of public international law.
* Conflict of laws (or "private international law" in civil law
countries) concerns which jurisdiction a legal dispute between
private parties should be heard in and which jurisdiction's law
should be applied. Today, businesses are increasingly capable of
shifting capital and labour supply chains across borders, as
well as trading with overseas businesses. This increases the
number of disputes outside a unified legal framework. Increasing
numbers of businesses opt for commercial arbitration under the
New York Convention 1958.
* European Union law is the first and thus far only example of a
supranational legal framework. However, given increasing global
economic integration, many regional agreements—especially the
Union of South American Nations—are on track to follow the same
model. In the EU, sovereign nations have pooled their authority
through a system of courts and political institutions. They have
the ability to enforce legal norms against and for member states
and citizens, in a way that public international law does not.
As the European Court of Justice said in 1962, European Union
law constitutes "a new legal order of international law" for the
mutual social and economic benefit of the member states.
Further disciplines
Law spreads far beyond the core subjects into virtually every
area of life. Three categories are presented for convenience,
though the subjects intertwine and overlap.
Law and society
* Labour law is the study of a tripartite industrial
relationship between worker, employer and trade union. This
involves collective bargaining regulation, and the right to
strike. Individual employment law refers to workplace rights,
such as health and safety or a minimum wage.
* Human rights, civil rights and human rights law are important
fields to guarantee everyone basic freedoms and entitlements.
These are laid down in codes such as the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the
U.S. Bill of Rights.
* Civil procedure and criminal procedure concern the rules that
courts must follow as a trial and appeals proceed. Both concern
a citizen's right to a fair trial or hearing.
* Evidence law involves which materials are admissible in courts
for a case to be built.
* Immigration law and nationality law concern the rights of
foreigners to live and work in a nation-state that is not their
own and to acquire or lose citizenship. Both also involve the
right of asylum and the problem of stateless individuals.
* Social security law refers to the rights people have to social
insurance, such as jobseekers' allowances or housing benefits.
* Family law covers marriage and divorce proceedings, the rights
of children and rights to property and money in the event of
separation. |
