Lawyers exist in every modern society and perform essential work within each legal system. Nevertheless, the fundamental variation around the world in how the legal occupation is defined, organized, and regulated, along with the sheer variety of legal tasks performed within any particular system, makes generalizations in this field difficult and potentially misleading. Even the concept of the legal profession defies any unitary notion, despite the nomenclature sometimes shared among various systems. There is no single conception of the profession that applies worldwide, nor is there a single list of functions that can be attributed to the term lawyer.

Legal Profession in the United States

In the United States, the legal profession encompasses lawyers practicing in the private sector, individually or in small to large firms; lawyers ...

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