Law in the American Society

Sophia Puckett

Mr. Alburger

English III Honors

22 February 2018
 Puckett 1

Sophia Puckett

Mr. Alburger

English III Honors

22 February 2018

Law in the American Society

Judicial opinions, legislation, and constitutions historically define law. Laws control

behavior and govern societies. “In modern societies, some authorized body such as a legislature

or a court makes the law. It is backed by the coercive power of the state, which enforces the law

by means of appropriate penalties or remedies” (“Law”). Law has multiple purposes, such as:

limiting power of governments, maintaining peaceful societies, resolving disputes, and changing

social matters. The career of law has importance because of notable people, prestigious

universities, and newly developing technology that aids attorneys.

This history of law develops from a plethora of sources. Common law uses the principles

of previous judicial cases instead of legal statutes. Unwritten law and common law refer to the

same expression. Common law goes by unwritten law because the law did not come from a

single source. Experience, not necessarily logic stands behind the rulings in a case. Common law

focuses on specific facts of a case for the outcome for litigants (people involved in a lawsuit) to

remain as fair as possible. The judge assigned to a common law case will focus only on specific

facts and nothing else. The ruling reached by the judge will become the new precedent for future

cases (“Common”). Common law typically serves as the basis for newly forming governments.

Common law during medieval times in England consisted of worldly views not religious

views, whereas the Roman Catholic Church views focused on religion. During this time, the
 Puckett 2

major need for law came from merchants. The merchants had their own court called mercantile

courts that incorporated maritime law. Along with the importance of the worldly views, equitable

jurisdiction ranks high. By taking actions that prove fair and plausible to result in an outcome

defines equitable jurisdiction. When people wanted the monarch to give them justice, equity

came about (“Common”). At the end of the medieval period, the majority of English law came

from common law and equity, the same for today.

The American system of law developed from the British common law because the

Americans formed their government at the end of the American Revolution. In general, America

uses common law except for the state of Louisiana. Louisiana bases their law system on the

French civil-law model. The Supreme Court and US Constitution equal the United State’s

highest influencer of common law, whereas in Great Britain, the country uses statutory law as

the greatest influencer. Louisiana still uses the U. S. Constitution and the Supreme Court as a

major influencer (“Common”). From the beginning of the creation of the United States, common

law has had a major impact on the current legal system.

Natural law bases itself as a set of moral principles that does not change for humans to

live by. Natural law has traces back to the ancient Greek philosophers. As described by

Heraclitus in the 6th century BC, natural law presented itself around the whole universe.

Aristotle spoke on natural law; he stated throughout different places natural law varies and not

everyone has to accept natural law in their societies. During recent times, the modern theory of

natural law connects to Hugo Grotius. Grotius states the use of natural law has the ability to

contain traditional aspects even without a God. Typically, enactors present themselves in order

for natural law to work and most times God will present himself as the enactor. Natural Law
 Puckett 3

intends to do good and avoid evil in one’s life (“Natural”). When humans had to choose between

good and evil, nature would provide the necessary elements. The philosophy of natural law came

about from the theory of doing good and avoiding evil.

In order for a lawyer to practice, they must have a degree from a school of law that has

accreditation with the American Bar Association (ABA). Earlier in history, bar associations

gathered in cities because lawyers could easily come together. The Galveston Bar Association

formed in 1868, then the Association of the Bar of the City of New York in 1870, and the Bar

Association of St. Louis in 1874. A meeting by the American Social Science Association, met in

1877 in Saratoga, NY. At this meeting, the gentleman read a paper, a section in particular

contains importance. The department of jurisprudence (theory of law) section brought up a

discussion between the attendees. David Dudley Field, Chancellor William G. Hammond,

General Alexander R Lawton, and William P. Wells took part in a motion about the New Orleans

Bar. From the motion, these men realized that the influence that the schools of law have on the

legal education in the United States provided many benefits for students. These gentlemen

realized the Association of Social Science provided people with care, encouragement, and

development into the legal field. Later, F. P. Poché and Simeon E Baldwin came to the

conclusion that an organization should deal especially with jurisprudence. At a later meeting

date, Simeon E Baldwin mentioned a consideration for a national bar association. A vote took

place and the consensus reached included three people would have elected positions into the

organization. The first committee consisted of Richard D Hubbard, Governor of Connecticut,

Simeon E Baldwin, and William Hamersley. Hubbard became chair and Baldwin became

secretary (“The Founding”). From these men coming together in a simple meeting, the American
 Puckett 4

Bar Association as people know it now, formed.

Throughout time, memorable people have made their way to become remembered

throughout the world: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi,

Sandra Day O'Connor Janet Reno, and Nelson Mandela. Alexander Hamilton started his legal

career at twenty-five years of age. He practiced maritime litigation but he moved to public

service and realized he could not pay for his expenses, he then returned to his firm. Aaron Burr

served twice in the state legislature and Attorney General, appointed by George Clinton. Burr got

elected as part of the US Senate as well (Pavao). Abraham Lincoln, one of the United States

Presidents, specialized in reading juries and arguing verbally. He always had a partner to help

him throughout his law career. Mahatma Gandhi graduated law school in London and went to

practice in India for a short amount of time. After practicing in India, he moved to South Africa.

Sandra Day O’Connor graduated from Stanford, third in her class. She tried to start a law career

in California but she could not because of her gender; she then moved to Arizona to open and

operate her own law firm. She later returned to public service and became the first female

Supreme Court justice of the United States. An additional notable female includes Janet Reno;

she graduated from Harvard Law and became the first confirmed Attorney General of the United

States. Nelson Mandela, the only African-American in his graduating law class, went on to open

the first black law firm in South Africa (“Law Day 2017”). All of the mentioned people impacted

the law which resulted in innovations to the legal system. In addition to changes these people

accomplished, each took their own approach to persevering through challenges.

Because the United States constantly develops, technology must develop as well. After

the Great Recession, the use of technology increased. The American Bar Association took notice
 Puckett 5

of the technology and now states that the ability to use technology for law continues to increase.

Due to the increase use of technology, the curriculum of law schools now incorporate technology

as a requirement for their students. The use of note-taking in court and courtroom presentations

allow the use of technology. The technology includes Apple iPads or other tablets and laptops.

Technology allows for the ease to do many tasks which could improve efficiency and the overall

availability to share new information.

College of Law at the University of Oklahoma wanted to incorporate more technology

into their school curriculum. The school of law received a grant to fund the technology initiative

for three years, worth $300,000 (Fox). The school received the grant in the year 2014, since then,

the grant continues into the year 2019. The school will provide all students in the fall of 2017

with an iPad Pro with a keyboard and pencil. The administrators think the pencil will become an

important tool to take notes with in school and in the professional world. All students will

undergo a mandatory technology training sessions during all years of law schooling. Oklahoma

University designed a computer lab which have the purpose of attending training sessions,

student work, and collaborative group work. The law school also redesigned the library from a

$1.5 million grant. The library now has four different study rooms that comes with Apple TV,

HDMI inputs, and a 65-inch monitor, USB charging ports, and rolling work chairs (Fox). In

recent years, technology becomes a major component in the success of many law school students

and alumni.

In the United States, multiple schools offer the necessary requirements to obtain a law

degree. The top law schools in the country include: Yale University, Harvard University,

Stanford University, Columbia University, and University of Chicago. The schools had a variety
 Puckett 6

of requirements to meet. These requirements include: quality assessment, selectivity, placement

success, faculty resources, and overall rank. Quality assessment went from marginal (one) to

outstanding (five). Selectivity arises from median LSAT scores, acceptance rate, and GPAs of

undergrad students. Placement success had a calculation by employment rates and bar passing

rates. Faculty resources had a calculation from fiscal data in 2011 and 2012 about expenditures

per student for supporting services, instruction and library services. The top school had their

overall scores weighed, totaled, and rescaled making the their school get a 100 and the other

schools get a percentage of the top score (“Schools”). These schools met all of the requirements

and had the highest scores to have ranking in the top national schools.

North Carolina offers great options to graduate with a law degree as well. Those schools

include: Campbell University along with North Carolina Central University located in Raleigh,

Duke University in Durham, Elon University in Greensboro, University of North Carolina

located in Chapel Hill and Wake Forest in Winston-Salem (“Other”). All of the law schools in

North Carolina must have an accreditation by the American Bar Association. These schools in

North Carolina provide great alternatives to the nationally ranked schools.

During one’s law schooling, certain classes aid the law school duration and help develop

skills that may show benefits later in the working industry. Business classes can help one

understand the basics of how a business works and how to build and establish relationships

between people and other businesses. To practice for a trial, classroom debate classes may aid a

student because one will know how to properly execute the trial appearance. If one plans to

become an attorney that involves courtroom appearances often, a trial advocacy course will help

one to better understand how the courtroom works (Zarsadias). Depending on which field of law
 Puckett 7

one wants to go into, various classes will assist one’s day-to-day life. The basics classes may

provide great assistance in the future legal career of the student.

When going into the law field, lawyers need to determine if they want to appear in the

courtroom often or not. Attorney’s day-to-day life will differ if one appears often in court of not.

If an attorney must appear in court, the preparation beforehand will vary depending on the type

of case. A routine matter of responding to the court regarding the status of a case, one might only

need to review the file briefly that day or the day before so the attorney can deliver the

appropriate response in court. If an attorney attends a motion or trial, the motion/trial carries

more preparation before, compared to a routine matter. Preparation for a motion or trial begins

days, weeks, or months in advance. Depending on the particular motion or trial, an attorney may

require anywhere from one hour before the court to several weeks before the court date in order

to adequately prepare (Zarsadias). Due to the large amount of work a motion/trial requires,

attorneys may need to work weekends and late nights to ensure that other client’s work gets

completed in a timely manner.

If an attorney does not have to appear in court, the day will differ if the attorney has to

appear in court. Overall, the day depends on what type of law the attorney practices. Litigation

requires meeting deadlines and preparing for court hearings, motions, and depositions. While

meeting deadlines and preparing for hearing, attorneys must also meet with new and previous

clients and work with opposing counsel via telephone, email, and correspondence. The attorney

must have the ability to start new work while working on previous work (Zarsadias). Attorneys

need to have the ability to balance new work and previous work in order to become successful.

The ability to balance an irregular schedule requires special skills only a few will have. The
 Puckett 8

attorneys will need to learn how to continue working with motions/trials, previous work, and

appear in court at the appropriate times. All of these components work together so an attorney

can become successful in their field.

According the Department of Labor, in the United States approximately 619,530 people

work as lawyers. They have an average hourly wage of $67.25, resulting in a yearly salary of

$139,880. In a national trend, the rise in employment of lawyers has increased 0.7 % and the

wage has increased 0.6%. Typically, metropolitan areas contain more lawyers than

non-metropolitan areas. New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division

contains 58,900 lawyers with an average salary of $175,340. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,

DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division contains the second highest concentration of lawyers.

41,520 lawyers find employment in this division (“23-1011”). The more populated of an area a

lawyer works in, the greater chance having a higher salary than those who work in a lower

populated area.

Pay and salary benefit a working attorney. In the United States, corporate attorneys start

out by making approximately $125,000 per year. The pay per attorney differs; the range starts at

$71,206 and increases to $264,116. Many factors determine pay/salary of an attorney, such as

geographical location. In the United States the top five locations for high pay include:

Denver/Colorado Springs, CO, Cleveland, OH, San Jose, CA, New York City, NY, and Houston,

TX. An additional factor that determines the pay of an attorney includes the industry in which

the attorney works. The top industries include manufacturing firms and non manufacturing firms,

followed by pharmaceutical and fabricated metal products (“Corporate”). Overall, if one works

in a prime location and industry, the salary increases than those not working in a prime location
 Puckett 9

or industry.

For attorneys working in North Carolina, geographic regions determine the hourly wage/

yearly salary. Greenville, Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord area, and Greensboro-High Point have the

highest paying salaries in the state of North Carolina. Greenville has the highest paying hourly

wage out of the top three in North Carolina, which pays $68.90 per hour. The yearly salary for

Greenville based attorneys would total to $143,312 without taxes. The

Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord area pays $66.85 per hour, with the salary totaling to $139,048

without taxes. The Greensboro-High Point area has an hourly wage of $65.71 per hour, the salary

totals to $136,676 without taxes (“Lawyer”). In general, those working as attorneys make more

than those in other fields.

If an attorney affiliates themselves with a law firm, the law firm’s benefits differ from

firm to firm. The McIntosh Law Firm’s particular benefits, includes: paid personal time, paid

vacation time, paid holidays, medical insurance/ dental insurance/ vision insurance/ disability

insurance/ life insurance, matching 401K Plus and other perks. The other perks include: meals,

dress down days and flexible schedules. Depending on how long an employee has had

employment with the McIntosh Law Firm P.C. or any firm in general, the number of paid

personal days and vacation days differs. The longer employment, the more time off the employee

has. Meals include staff retreats and other meetings in the office, including monthly staff

meetings. Flexible schedules allow the employee to set their own working times each week. Each

employee still needs to work however many hours he/she regularly works (Armstrong). An

example of this would entail an employee arriving at work at 9:30 in the morning and work until

6:30 pm to obtain seven working hours. An attorney wishing to work with a firm needs to look at
 Puckett 10

all of the benefits and salaries he/she would have available upon employment to see what would

best fit him/her.

Law serves the purpose to help a society by a creation of rules and regulations to

effectively govern a society. Generally speaking, the law works in very close conjunction with

the government. Throughout history, law has developed and evolved to what societies need the

law to do. The increase in technology use has impacted how students go through law school and

the required classes now needed to learn about technology, as well as how courtroom

presentations incorporate technology. Notable people have impacted and influenced the law to

better suit the people for which law serves. Throughout time, these people have left a foundation

for people to come to use. Each person impacted the law in a different way that contains

uniqueness for how the law system functions. In order to practice law, one must obtain a law

degree. All law schools must have an accreditation from the American Bar Association. The

ABA assist the schools of law by ensuring that their students continue to acquire new

information and assist students throughout law school. If one wants to know if the career of law

would suit him/her, one should look at the day-to-day life and benefits of an attorney and even

consider an internship to get an inside look. The day-to-day life varies per attorney and if he/she

needs to go to court or not. Overall, the purpose of law helps to better serve and govern a society

and attorneys aid the achievement of this goal.

 Puckett 11

Works Cited

“23-1011 Lawyers.” ​U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,​ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,

<​www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes231011.htm#(5)​>.

Armstrong, Andy. Personal Interview. 23 January 2018.

"Common Law." ​Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia​, 2017, p. 1p. 1. EBSCO​host​,

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s845

5861&db=funk&AN=CO186300&site=ehost-live&scope=site​>

"Corporate Attorneys' Base Salaries Now Average $125,000." ​Report on Salary Surveys​, vol. 3,

no. 7, July 2003, p. 2. EBSCO​host,​

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s845

5861&db=bth&AN=10607208&site=ehost-live&scope=site​>

“Founding of the American Bar Association.” ​Law.yale.edu,​

<​digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5323&context=fss_papers​>

Fox, Darin K. "Technology and the Classroom Bringing Twenty-First Century Technologies to

the Law Library." ​AALL Spectrum​, vol. 21, no. 5, May/Jun2017, pp. 32-35. EBSCO​host​,

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s845

5861&db=lih&AN=122653852&site=ehost-live&scope=site​>

"Law." ​Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia​, 2017, p. 1p. 1. EBSCO​host​,

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s845

5861&db=funk&AN=LA027500&site=ehost-live&scope=site​>
 Puckett 12

“Law Day 2017: 10 Famous People Who Were Lawyers.” ​National Constitution Center –

Constitutioncenter.org​,

<​constitutioncenter.org/blog/law-day-2013-10-famous-people-who-were-lawyers.​>

“Lawyer Salaries by State.” ​Lawyeredu.org,​ 2015,

<​www.lawyeredu.org/lawyer-salary.html#north-carolina​>

"Natural Law." ​Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia​, 2017, p. 1p. 1. EBSCO​host,​

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s845

5861&db=funk&AN=NA018000&site=ehost-live&scope=site​>

"Other Schools to Consider." ​Best Graduate Schools,​ Jan. 2016, p. 105. EBSCO​host,​

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s845

5861&db=f6h&AN=120511976&site=ehost-live&scope=site​>

Pavao, Esther. “Aaron Burr.” ​Revolutionary War.net,​

<​www.revolutionary-war.net/aaron-burr.html​>

"Schools of Law." ​U.S. News Digital Weekly,​ 2014 Supplement Best Grad Schools, pp. 76-81.

EBSCO​host,​

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s845

5861&db=bth&AN=99058081&site=ehost-live&scope=site​>

Zarsadias, Tim. Personal Interview. 27 December 2017.