Lawyers

Lawyers give clients legal advice on a wide variety of subjects, draw up legal documents, represent clients before administrative boards or tribunals and plead cases or conduct prosecutions in courts of justice, or instruct barristers to plead in higher courts of justice.

Tasks and duties

• Giving clients legal advice on a wide variety of subjects and undertaking legal business on clients’ behalf
• Researching legal principles, statutes and previous court decisions related to specific cases
• Gathering evidence to formulate a defence or to initiate legal actions, by such means as interviewing clients and witnesses to ascertain the facts of a case
• Evaluating findings and developing strategies and arguments in preparation for presentation of cases
• Pleading clients’ cases before courts of law, tribunals and administrative boards or instructing barristers to plead in higher courts of justice
• Accepting briefs and pleading in the higher court
• Acting as prosecutor on behalf of the government
• Negotiating settlements in matters which involve legal disputes
• Drafting legislation and preparing government regulations based on existing laws
• Drawing up legal documents such as contracts, real estate transactions and wills and preparing statements of legal opinions