Trial Lawyers: Who Do They Represent?
Fictional trial lawyers certainly get their time on the big and small screens—and the characters they play are often extremely inspiring. Of course, watching TV is a lot easier than scoring the grades to get into law school, passing the state bar, and then stepping out into a high-powered career. In the most basic of definitions, a trial lawyer is a licensed professional who is usually hired by clients to represent them in court, whether in civil or criminal cases. They must research the details of the case fully, and often there may be a jury present also.
A trial attorney may represent either the plaintiff or the defendant, pertaining to countless types of different cases. A litigation attorney may spend most of their time in civil court dealing with cases pertaining to copyrights and patent issues in intellectual property law, landlord and tenant disputes in real estate cases, construction defect cases where homeowners are suing over a leaking roof or electrical issues, or perhaps employers embroiled in lawsuits with employees or non-disclosure agreements, or employees suing employers for overtime pay.
A criminal trial attorney often represents defendants who may have been arrested on serious charges for drugs, or violent crimes or murder (sometimes gang related), sex offenses, larceny over a wide range of different types of theft, driving under the influence, and much more. Some of these cases may be extremely high profile too. This can make prepping for a trial extremely time consuming and stressful—not to mention the actual time spent in the courtroom. Murder trials especially tend to garner a great deal of public attention, along with those where well-known individuals play a part in the case.
The scenarios are endless, but what most cases have in common is that the trial attorney—whether civil or criminal—will be responsible for extensive research, interviewing their clients, speaking with witnesses, reviewing information and documents, filing papers with the court, meeting with other attorneys, selecting jury members, and much more. As a trial attorney in training at California Desert Trial Academy College of Law, you will be prepared for such a career, taking courses in both hard skills and soft skills. All of this knowledge will prepare you for your future job, along with helping you to gain the knowledge required to pass the State Bar of California.
Our mission at CDTA College of Law is to educate, train, and develop extraordinary legal advocates. Your legal education will be comprised of bar-tested academic subjects, skills training, and values reinforcement. Upon completion of your four-year course of study you will be fully qualified to take and pass the California Bar examination. Call us today at (760) 342-0900 or find out more online here.