Lawyer Lingo

      Listening to an attorney, in their element, as they discuss legal methods and cases can sound like complete gibberish to the average person. Deciphering this advanced vocabulary is almost impossible without a JD degree, especially since many of the words and phrases used by lawyers only have meaning as legal terms (“TIP:Courts Frown on Lawyer”). As a result, it is the attorney's responsibility to effectively communicate their clients wishes in proper legal terminology to judges as well as explain legal jargon in practical terms to clients.

     Having the ability to mediate between two parties and possessing strong communication skills are clearly important aspects of being a lawyer. This is particularly true when attorneys and judges try to get legal information out to the general public. Recently, blogging and social media have become a rising form of professional communication used by lawyers to exchange ideas and advise the public (Shields para 3). These less formal modes of communication increase the accessibility of legal information, but they’re not enough to teach people the legal language and how to apply these skills.

     Learning how to effectively communicate as a lawyer is a skill I plan to develop throughout my education. When I attend law school I will learn a plethora of legal terminology, but for now I am enrolled in a class at Michigan State where I will be taught the basics of legal writing, research, and how to conduct myself in the leal environment. Though this is just one step in the right direction, I believe it will pave the path for me to develop and progress my interpersonal skills as a future attorney.

By: Jasmine Shafquat 

Don't Make Me Use My Lawyer Voice. Digital image. N.p., 2014. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

Legal Glossary. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Shields, Allison. "Blogging and Social Media.” American Bar Association. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

"TIP: Courts Frown on Lawyer “Gibberish”." Lowering the Bar. Web. 23 Sept. 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

Why I Want to be a Lawyer

By: Katie Nagy

Throughout all of my blog posts so far, I have talked about the different aspects of being a lawyer, but now I want to share where my interest in being a lawyer comes from, and why law has interested me, personally.

In my opinion, lawyers are a necessary part of the U.S. justice system. Without lawyers, people would have no way to protect themselves against the power of the police and government. In order for there to be a fair criminal justice system in America, it is critical that all citizens have access to a lawyer to defend them. American citizens that are arrested of a crime all have the right to an attorney, but often times a defendant cannot afford to pay for a lawyer, so the government appoints a lawyer to the defendant’s case.

The government-appointed lawyers often are not as strong of lawyers as the prosecutor, or as the lawyer of a rich citizen. The appointed lawyers in the justice system are often criticized for being weak lawyers, or for not being dedicated to their clients. Government-appointed lawyers often have too many cases going on at once, so they are usually overworked, overtired, and cannot spend too much time on just one person’s case (Southers para. 6).

Lawyers will also often do “pro bono work” which is the providing of legal services without charge mainly for people that cannot afford a lawyer and at times there are lawyers that will do pro bono work for nonprofit organizations (“Pro Bono Lawyers” para. 2). Lawyers can make a big difference in someone’s life; they help fight for their children, against injustices, for their rights, and many more crucial parts of someone’s life. Pro bono work is just proof that even if someone cannot afford a lawyer, it is imperative that there is someone who is looking out for you and defending you in front of the law.

Lawyers often are the link between every-day people and powerful people, corporations, etc. when two parties have a conflict. Lawyers have the ability to change or save someone’s life, and that should not be taken lightly. Take, for example, an innocent man is on death row, and he has no idea what his rights are or how to file an appeal to stop his execution, but his lawyer has the power to try and do all of those things. I see lawyers as educated superheroes that can use their powers for good in this world. 

"Pro Bono Lawyers." Enlighten Me. Dex Media, 04 May 2014. Web. 21

                     Oct. 2015.

Southers, Frank R. "Public Defender and Court Appointed Lawyers."

 Southers. Author Media, 3 Oct. 2012. Web. 21 Oct.

Businessman in Cape. Digital image. MorganMckinley. Morgan Mckinley,

24 Nov. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

Prompt Post #9: Recognizing Significance

      Unless you have been living under a rock these past few months, you are probably aware of the fact that same sex marriage is now legal in the United States. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v Hodges, which expanded the rights of gay Americans, would not have been possible without the combined efforts of activists and attorneys in the last few decades (Liptak para. 4). I decided to take a closer look at the specific lawyers who argued on the side for gay marriage because their pursuits in this landmark case led to a significant change in American culture

      Mary L. Bonauto was a lawyer who justified same sex marriage to the Supreme Court by claiming that all people have the right to be allowed to join the governmental institution of marriage (Liptak para. 6). Douglas Hallward-Driemeier was another attorney who argued that the fourteenth amendment protected same sex marriage even when the marriage occurred in a different state (Bouchard para. 8). Other people helped the case, but as the legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Shannon Minter said, Mary and Doug were the “dream team” (De Vouge para. 6).

      The countless hours of litigation and persuasion Bonauto and Hallward-Driemeier put into advocating same sex marriage has improved the lives of many Americans. Whether you agree or disagree with the Supreme Court’s ruling, the fact of the matter is we are all affected by the court’s ruling. Lawyers have the power to shape laws and touch many lives, so it is almost impossible to underestimate the significance of the legal profession.

By: Jasmine Shafquat

Bouchard, Mikayla. "Supreme Court Hears Same-Sex Marriage Arguments." New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

De Vouge, Ariane. "Meet the Lawyers Who Will Argue the Gay Marriage Case." CNN Politics. CNN, 27 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

Liptak, Adam. "Supreme Court Ruling Makes Same-Sex Marriage a Right Nationwide." The New York Times. The New York Times, 26 June 2015. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

Rainbow White House. Digital image. Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 June 2015. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.

Measuring economic growth

       The broadest measure of economic growth and activity is the gross domestic product or known as GDP. There are three approaches arrive at the same value for GDP which are the product approach, the expenditure approach or the income approach.

       The product approach to measuring GDP is defines as the market value of final goods and services newly produced within a nation during a fixed period of time. Now I will touch about what is defined as market value. It is all summing across various good and services. As an example, the cost of teacher’s salaries, new schools and equipment are included in GDP of product approach. GDP only include newly produced goods and services because it is based on current produced goods during a period of time. The value of the used house would have been included in GDP for the year it was built but the price paid in the sale of used house is not counted in GDP.

        Besides, only final goods and services will be counted in GDP. For example, the flour that have been produced for making bread is not included in GDP. Only the bread is included in GDP because flour is the intermediate goods. Illegal activities such as drugs and prostitution are not counted in GDP but it is specifically according to each country cause some countries like Amsterdam is considered weeds as a legal item. Thus, they included weeds in the GDP for product approach.

       Besides, expenditure approach is one of the ways to measure GDP. It measures the total spending on goods and services produced within a nation during a fixed period of time. The major categories of spending in GDP are consumption, investment, government purchases and net exports. Consumption is the spending by domestic households on final goods and services including those produced abroad. There are three types of consumption which are on consumer durable (long lived good), non-durable goods (short lived goods) and services.

       Other than that, investment also one of the expenditure. Investment is the spending for new capital goods and increases in firm’s inventories holdings. In addition, government purchases also included in GDP and it will affect the expenditure of the countries. As an example, spending for social security, Medicare, unemployment benefits and welfare. We must know that interest on the government debt is not a government purchases. The last component for expenditure approach is net exports. Net exports are when exports minus imports. Exports are goods and services produced domestically that are purchased by foreigners while imports are goods and services produced by other countries that are purchased by our nation.

       Lastly, income approach measures the total income received by producers, including profits and taxes. A main part of the income approach is a concept known as national income. There eight types of national income which are:

1.       Compensation of employees. It is the income of workers received and includes wages salaries, employee benefits for the future and employee contributions to Social Security.

2.       Proprietor’s income. It is the income of the non-incorporated self-employed including labor and capital.

3.       Rental income of persons. Income earned by individual who own land or structures that they rent to others.

4.       Corporate profits. The profits earned by corporations and the remainder of corporate revenue after wages, interest, rents and other costs have been paid.

5.       Net interest. Interest earned by individuals from business and foreign sources minus interest paid by individuals.

6.       Taxes on production and imports. Including the indirect business taxes.

7.       Business current transfer payments (net). Payments made by businesses to individuals or governments or foreigners but not as wages or taxes or as payment for services.

8.       Current surplus of government enterprises. The profit of businesses that are owned by governments.

       Other than national income, there are three items that must be included to obtain GDP which are statistical discrepancy, depreciation and net factor payments. Hope that this information helps you to understand about how to measure the GDP. In conclusion, the total value of the product approach, expenditure approach and income approach must equal to each other in order to get the right value of GDP.

Thank you

By: Syarah Alya

What Can We Do with a Law Degree?

By: Katie Nagy

     Right now, there is a huge problem facing many law school graduates. There are not enough law-based jobs for the vast number of young lawyers looking for a job (Sylvestre-Williams para. 4). In this blog post, I’m going to look at the different non-law based jobs graduates can get with a law degree.

     To start, someone with a law degree could get a job in negotiation (Sylvestre-Williams para. 7). You don’t need a law degree to work as a mediator, but the skills you learn as a lawyer apply to the job of a mediator. As a mediator, you try to reach a solution that will make both sides happy, and you often have to act as a referee between parties.

   
    Another job someone could get with a law degree is politics (Sylvestre-Williams para. 9). Part of being a lawyer is arguing with the opposing side in the courtroom, and debating is a huge characteristic of government and politics. If you look at previous presidents in the United States, many presidents have a background in law. President Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both had a history in law before becoming presidents, but there is currently a decline of law graduates entering politics (Sylvestre-Williams para. 9).

     Lastly, someone with a law degree could get a job in banking or finance. Certain areas of finance are very similar to law, for example, estates, tax, and small business (Sylvestre-Williams para. 10).You could practice law in the financial sector, or you could even work in finance since knowledge of law helps with finance and banking

     As a future law student, it is scary that law graduates outnumber jobs in law, so I like that I have different options that I can do with my future law degree. I obviously would rather have a job in law with my law degree, but there are a lot of different pathways my law degree could take me.

    
Sylvestre-Williams, Renee. "Nine Jobs You Can Do With A Law Degree."

   Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Tama, Mario. Bill Clinton Hosts Barack Obama In His

        Harlem Office. Digital image. Zimbio. Zimbio Entertainment, 11 Sept. 2008.

      

         Web. 13 Oct. 2015.