Law Firm Attorneys Serving You

Law Firm Attorneys Serving You　－Law firm

A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service provided by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent their clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions and other matters in which legal assistance is sought.

Law firms are organized in a variety of ways, depending on the jurisdiction in which the firm practices. Common arrangements include:

Sole proprietorship, in which the attorney is the law firm and is responsible for all profit, loss and liability;

General partnership, in which all of the attorneys in the firm equally share ownership and liability;

Professional corporations, which issue stock to the attorneys in a fashion similar to that of a business corporation;

Limited liability company, in which the attorney-owners are called "members" but are not directly liable to third party creditors of the law firm;

Professional association, which operates similarly to a professional corporation or a limited liability company;

Limited liability partnership (LLP), in which the attorney-owners are partners with one another, but no partner is liable to any creditor of the law firm nor is any partner liable for any negligence on the part of any other partner. The LLP is taxed as a partnership while enjoying the liability protection of a corporation.

In many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, there is a rule that only lawyers may have an ownership interest in, or be managers of, a law firm. Thus, law firms cannot quickly raise capital through initial public offerings on the stock market, like most corporations. In the United States this rule is promulgated by the American Bar Association and adhered to in almost all U.S. jurisdictions.

The rule was created in order to prevent conflicts of interest. In the adversarial system of justice, a lawyer has a duty to be a zealous and loyal advocate on behalf of the client. Also, as an officer of the court, a lawyer has a duty to be honest and to not file frivolous cases. A lawyer working as a shareholder-employee of a publicly traded law firm would be strongly tempted to evaluate decisions in terms of their effect on the stock price and the shareholders, which would directly conflict with the lawyer's duties to the client and to the courts.

Law firms are typically organized around partners, who are joint owners and business directors of the legal operation; associates, who are employees of the firm with the prospect of becoming partners; and a variety of staff employees, providing paralegal, clerical, and other support services. An associate may have to wait as long as 9 years before the decision is made as to whether the associate "makes partner". Many law firms have an "up-or-out policy" (pioneered around 1900 by partner Paul Cravath of Cravath, Swaine & Moore[1]): associates who do not make partner are required to resign, either to join another firm, go it alone as a solo practitioner, go to work in-house in a corporate legal department, or change professions (burnout rates are very high in law[2]).

Making partner is very prestigious, especially due to competition at a large or mid-sized firm. Such firms may take out advertisements in legal newspapers to announce who has made partner. Traditionally, partners shared directly in the profits of the firm, after paying salaried employees, the landlord, and the usual costs of furniture, office supplies, and books for the law library (or a database subscription). Partners in a limited liability partnership can largely operate autonomously with regards to cultivating new business and servicing existing clients within their book of business. However, many large law firms have moved to a two-tiered partnership model, with equity and non-equity partners. Equity partners are considered to have ownership stakes in the firm, and share in the profits (and losses) of the firm. Non-equity partners are generally paid a fixed salary (albeit much higher than associates), and they are often granted certain limited voting rights with respect to firm operations.

In the United States and Canada, many large and midsize firms have attorneys with the job title of "counsel", "special counsel" or "of counsel." As the Supreme Court of California has noted, the title has acquired several related but distinct definitions which do not easily fit into the traditional partner-associate structure.[3] These attorneys are employees of the firm like associates, although some firms have an independent contractor relationship with their of counsel. But unlike associates, and more like partners, they generally have their own clients, manage their own cases, and supervise associates. These relationships are structured to allow more senior attorneys share in the resources and "brand name" of the firm without being a part of management or profit sharing decisions. The title is often seen among former associates who do not make partner, or who are laterally recruited to other firms, or who work as in-house counsel and then return to the big firm environment. At some firms, the title "of counsel" is given to retired partners who maintain ties to the firm. Sometimes an "of counsel" is a senior or experienced attorney, such as a foreign legal consultant with experience in international law and practice, and his own clients. They are hired as independent contractors by large firms as a special arrangement, that may lead upon profitable results to partnership. In these situation an "of counsel" could be considered as a transitional status in the firm.

Law Firm Attorneys Serving You　法律事務所

法律事務所（ほうりつじむしょ：英law firm, law office）とは、通常は、1人または複数の弁護士から構成される法律事務を業として行うための事業体を指し、また、法令用語としては、「弁護士の事務所」（弁護士法第20条1項。ここでいう「弁護士」とは日本法上の弁護士を指す。）をいう。前者の意味では弁護士事務所とも呼ばれる。以下、原則として前者の意味で用いる。

多くの弁護士は、法律事務所において法律事務を遂行する。その他には、官公庁や企業の内部において法律事務を遂行する場合（インハウスロイヤー）がある。法律事務所の規模は様々であり、1人の弁護士からのみ構成されることもあれば（ただし、弁護士とは別に事務員もいるのが通常である。）、世界各国に支部を有し、さまざまな法域の数千人の弁護士を抱えるような規模のものまである。日本では、大規模な法律事務所は「ロー・ファーム」と呼ばれることもある。また、自宅において法律事務を遂行する弁護士は、「宅弁」と呼ばれる。

日本においては、次のような分類がなされる。まず、広義の企業法務の特定の分野に特化した専門性の強い法律事務所はブティックと呼ばれる。金融法務や知的財産（特に特許）について見られる。刑事弁護を専門に扱う公設事務所があるが、これがブティックと呼ばれることはない。これに対して、さまざまな分野を扱う法律事務所は、総合法律事務所と呼ばれ、日本の法律事務所の名称によく用いられる。ただし、総合法律事務所の中にも、一般民事を中心とするものから企業法務を中心とするものまでさまざまである。

また、かつては渉外性のある（＝国際的な）企業法務に特化した法律事務所は渉外事務所と呼ばれていたが、近年、国内においても急増した専門性の高い企業法務（M&Aやストラクチャード・ファイナンスなど）を渉外事務所が担うようになり、典型とされる四大法律事務所など大規模化したものは、もはや渉外案件に特化しているわけではなくなったものの依然として（少なくとも外部からは）「渉外事務所」と呼ばれている。

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