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| To infer or attribute responsibility or causation. |
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1. A severing or cutting off; in criminal law the process of bringing a particular charge out of many so that only one issue, or a few closely related ones, is before the jury at a time, while reserving the right to bring other charges later; the separating of the claims of two or more parties for any of a number of reasons; the ending of a joint tenancy.
2. The removal of something attached to real property, such as crops or minerals, so that it becomes personal property instead of a part of the land. |
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1. A colleague, companion, partner, or fellow employee.
2. A junior member of an association, institution, organization, profession, or society.
3. A junior member of a law firm who typically works on salary and does not share in the ownership, profits, or decision-making of the firm. |
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| Attorney-Client Privilege |
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| the right of a lawyer to refuse to divulge confidential information from his client. |
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| written materials, charts, notes of conversations and investigations, and other materials directed toward preparation of a case or other legal representation. Their importance is that they cannot be required to be introduced in court or otherwise revealed to the other side. Sometimes there is a question as to whether documents were prepared by the attorney and/or the client for their use in the case preparation or are documents which are independent and legitimate evidence. |
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| Slang term for new lawyer |
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| charges attributed to clients; this amount often is used as an evaluation tool for paralegals working in a firm that uses billable hours as its primary method of payment. The billable hours are those which were actually spent; collections (or collectible hours)are those which are actually |
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| To record events and deadlines on the schedules of all members of the legal team working on a case |
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| Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) |
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| A designation awarded by National Association of Legal Assistants |
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| Certified Legal Assistant Specialist (CLAS) |
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| An individual who passed both NALA's CLA exam and a subsequent exam in a particular subject area |
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| The newer, alternative title for the CLA |
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| The duty of the lawyer and his legal team to keep all aspects of a client's case, including his identity, secret |
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| Being paid on an hourly or flat fee for designated work as an independent contractor as opposed to being an employee |
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| Official study text for the CLA exam |
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| In a civil litigation, an attorney who ordinarily represents defendants of tort actions |
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| Court-supported investigation |
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| A court order requiring the parties to meet interim deadlines before trial; also called a scheduling order |
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| and employee of a law firm whose primary task is to maintain internal filing system of the law firm |
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| A person with knowledge of the facts relevant to the litigation who does not want to cooperate with a particular party or with the litigation |
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| An area of legal practice in which the Attorney is retained and paid by the defendant's insurance company |
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| The process of obtaining information from an individual |
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| Finding facts about a particular matter |
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| An outline scheduling or defining facts to be learned and potential sources |
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| Ordinarily a law student working in a law firm; usually with the primary duty of research; may also be used to designate an attorney working as an assistant to a judge or justice |
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| An individual responsible for the business aspects of the firm, particularly human resources; usually someone with management experience and/or training (Office Administrator) |
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| traditionally synonymous with Paralegal; currently in flux and can mean PL or Legal secretary or some other person in a legal office |
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| A supervisor of Legal Assistants |
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| Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC) |
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| A RN with legal training; is aligned more with medical than legal practice and usually meets a particular set of criteria |
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| a skilled assistant to a lawyer who performs high-level clerical and typographical tasks |
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| An attorney involved in practice related to civil trials; usually on the defense side |
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| An insurance company providing a policy for professional negligence |
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| National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) |
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| National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) |
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| One of two major national professional paralegal organizations |
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| An individual trained as a paralegal who also has nursing experience and training |
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| An individual engaging in substantive legal work (as opposed to clerical work) under some level of supervision of an attorney |
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| A person who is one of the owners of an unincorporated law firm |
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| A personal injury attorney, usually on the plaintiffs side |
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| A individual responsible for incoming calls and clients |
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| Registered Paralegal (RP) |
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| The designation for an individual who successfully passes the NFPA PACE exam |
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| An employee of the law firm whose job it is to deliver files, file documents at the courthouse, and pick up docs from other offices |
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| An individual owning shares or stocks in a corporation; in legal practices, used to describe the owners of an incorporated practice instead of using the word Partner |
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| An attorney who engages in the practice of law without entering into a business relationship with other attorneys |
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| The amount of time a plaintiff has to file a suit after a cause of action has accrued. Times vary greatly from state to state. The equity version of SoL is called Laches |
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| An organizational device to ensure that files are reviewed on a regular basis; also called Diary or Diary system |
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| Individual allegedly committing a tort |
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| An attorney who primarily represents personal injury plaintiffs in court |
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| Undisputed; not challenged |
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| A set of techniques to involve the listener in what the speaker is saying rather than focusing on the listener's own responses |
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| Official filing of a business name |
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| Legal process of taking property to pay a debt |
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| Charging clients based on fractions of an hour. The hour may be divided into tenths (.1) or in quarters (.25). The client is charged for the entire fraction from the first moment it begins |
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| The duty of producing evidence in favor of the persons position |
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| A recognized pattern of facts upon which a court may grant relief |
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| Refers to the practice of isolating certain members of the legal team from files upon which they formerly worked as a member of the opposing party's legal team (ethical wall) |
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| Inquiry that can only be answered with a predetermined list of responses |
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| An interviewing technique that attempts to mentally take an interviewee to the time and place of the incident under discussion |
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| A doc affirming an event, action, appointment, etc. |
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| The process of determining whether a COI exists |
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| Conflict of Interest (COI) |
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| Inability to represent a client due to circumstances that would cast doubt on the loyalty of the attorney to a present or past client |
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| An agreement for attorney's fees that is based on a percentage of any recovery obtained for the client |
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| A request for a settlement sent by the attorney outlining the reasons supporting the request |
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| An individual with specialized knowledge that qualifies him/her to render an opinion |
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| An individual with information related to the litigation that is not dependent on opinion |
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| A process of setting aside a portion of a persons salary to pay a debt |
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| Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 |
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| Questionnaires designed to gather basic information |
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| Questions that require yes or no answer |
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| Letter of Non-Representation |
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| A letter to a potential client that the Attorney can not take on the legal matter at hand |
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| Questions that answer involved are usually lengthy, not yes or no |
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| An action by a govt entity that is not something ordinarily done by governments but is instead often a function of private entities; exempt from sovereign immunity under common law |
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| Purchase Money Security Interest (PMSI) |
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| A lien created against a particular piece of tangible personal property by the loan of the purchase price |
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| Repeat and summarize prior statements |
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1. A doc by which the keeper of privileged or confidential information about the person signing the doc may disclose it to another
2. A doc that relieves the defendant of liability signed in the course of the settlement |
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| A money deposit given to an attorney to secure his or her services |
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| On the state level, an official who oversees required state filings, such as docs relating to incorporation |
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| The process of finding someone whose whereabouts are no longer known |
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| An interview using open and closed questions to control the topics and manner of the interview |
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| A statute waiving sovereign immunity under specified conditions in which the plaintiff has a tort cause of action against a govt entity |
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| Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) |
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Definition
| Practicing law without the proper license from the state |
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Definition
| Terminating employment with a client in litigation (Motion to Withdraw) |
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| evidence which the trial judge finds is useful in helping the trier of fact (a jury if there is a jury, otherwise the judge), and which cannot be objected to on the basis that it is irrelevant, immaterial, or violates the rules against hearsay and other objections. |
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| Admission by a Party-Opponent |
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| Statements that are in partys' best interest |
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| Concessions by a party of the existence of certain facts |
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| A defense that is not dependent on the allegations of the opposing party but relievs the defendant of liabilty for some independent reason |
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| defendants docs that set forth his/her official contentions |
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| A psychological condition in which the sufferer has a profound difficulty with social interactions |
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| Chief Executive Officer; responsible for operations of a corporation |
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| Docs in which plaintiff begins litigation, outlining parties, factual basis of suit, causes of action, damages, and request for action by the court |
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| Copies of docs filed with the court that have the official court stamp from clerk indicating the date and time the docs were filed (file-stamped copies) |
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| The declarations page is the first page of a new policy containing other policy information. |
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| Judgement entered for one party because the other party failed to appear |
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| Any information or thing that will help lead to admissible evidence |
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| Rep by attorney of two or more clients in the same matter |
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| a statement in an answer to a lawsuit or claim by a defendant in a lawsuit, in which the defendant denies everything alleged in the complaint without specifically denying any allegation. |
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| Evidentiary principle that excludes out-of-court statements offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted |
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| Deep-seated psychological concerns related to how an individual views themselves |
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| Indemnification Agreement |
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Definition
| Contract or part of a contract wherein by reason of physical or mental condition is unable to make reasonable decisions about his or her property or persons |
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| Customer of insurance company |
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| Investigation Plan Summary |
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| Short narrative tallying the current status of an investigation |
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| Request to begin the trial over due to extreme circumstance that deprives litigants of a fair trial; can be done during trial or after verdict rendered |
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| Actions or inflections that can communicate information or emotions |
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| Party-Opponent Admissions |
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Definition
| Statements made by the opposing party that are NOT in the party's best interest |
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| One of the elements neccessary for a court to have the power to enter an enforacble decree; consists of official notice to the defendant (service), and geographical jurisdiction or the existence of at least minimum contacts over the defendant; can be waived |
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| The rules regarding the form, contents, and deadlines of pleadings |
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| Docs setting forth the official positions of the parties |
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| The max amt an insurance company must pay under an insurance policy |
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| Degree of offered evidence and matter to be proved |
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| Usually business'; by the nature of their or the extent of their holdings, will appear in court on a regular basis |
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| Events or statements that make up the occurrence that is the basis of the suit |
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| Doc provided by the service server in which he or she certifies who was served, how when and where |
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| Matters agreed to by the parties and filed with the court |
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| Tool for organizing notes and evidence in a trial |
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| Term often associated to Rule 403 in Federal Rules of Evidence, meaning that some admissible evidence may be excluded because its value to the case is a low priority |
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| Expressing negative feelings |
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