Curtis E.A Karnow is a judge with the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. He graduated from Harvard College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He has worked a federal prosecutor, and in law firms where he specialized in antitrust, intellectual property and internet law. Judge Karnow has lectured in law school across the United States, and teaches a wide variety of course to new and experienced judges. He is the author of many articles and books including “How The Courts Work: A Plain English Explanation of The American Legal System,” written with his wife, a middle school teacher.
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What Do Lawyers Do?
Just Comment Column by Judge Curtis Karnow
June 2012
In the United States, lawyers have usually graduated from college and then gone to a three-year law school before they can become lawyers. They have usually also passed a test called the bar exam, which tests their understanding about the law. Finally, people who want to be lawyers must be ‘morally fit’ to be a lawyer: people with past convictions for crimes may not be able to fulfill this requirement.
If all these requirements are met, the prospective lawyer takes an oath and becomes, as we say, a member of the bar. That means the person is a licensed lawyer, and is authorized to practice law. Only licensed lawyers can give legal advice, and act as lawyers in court. (The one exception is when a person does not have a lawyer, and represents himself. This is allowed.) It is a crime to practice law unless one is actually a member of the bar, unless one has actually been licensed. It’s interesting to note that judges are not members of the bar -- so judges cannot give anyone legal advice!
After one has become a lawyer, there is a wide variety of types of work they may do. From just watching television and movies, we might think that all lawyers go to court, and argue cases in front of judges and juries. This isn’t true. Many lawyers work in offices, meeting with clients, researching legal issues, and writing. People hire lawyers because they want to follow the law, and because they want to avoid getting sued in court. They hire lawyers when, for example, they are about to enter a contract and they want to make sure the contract is enforceable in court. They hire lawyers to help them understand the legal requirements in dealing with a governmental agency, or how to comply with the many laws we have, such as those that tell companies how to treat their employees, or environmental laws that regulate the sort of smoke or liquids a company can put into the air or nearby rivers.
Access the entire article to learn more about the different ways that lawyers work and the various law specialties that they practice: Karnow-WhatLawyersDo_6-12.pdf The printable article also has vocabulary and images to aid classroom use.
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Elementary School – Grades 3 and up
Graffiti on Trial http://www.courts.ca.gov/5174.htm
This unit focuses on the third grade social studies standards, which require students to understand the role of rules and laws in our daily lives and the basic structure of the U.S. government, and involves students in a simple mock trial with attorneys.
Going to Law School http://crf-usa.org/cateach/elementar
This excerpt from the People v. A Wolf, is a short focus activity that provides students with some background on the role of attorneys, the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the jury. .
Middle School
Gideon v. Wainright http://www.streetlaw.org/en/landmark/cases/gideon_v_wainwright
This is a lesson from Street Law about a landmark case involving the constitutional right to counsel; it includes an exploration of the role of an attorney. Materials can be selected by students’ reading level.
High School
Gideon v. Wainright http://www.streetlaw.org/en/landmark/cases/gideon_v_wainwright
This lesson from Street Law is focused on this landmark case about the constitutional right to counsel, which includes a lesson on the role of an attorney. Materials can be selected by students’ reading level.
Key Constitutional Concepts: The Right to Counsel http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/key-constitutional-concepts
This lesson and video set from the Annenberg Classroom begins with students considering the need for an attorney in a criminal trial, followed by an examination of the rights contained in the Sixth Amendment, and the Gideon v. Wainright landmark case.
Other Resources
iCivics: Argument Wars, Pocket Law Firm http://www.icivics.org/
These and other animated on-line games, engage students in fun and education games in which they are the attorney.
These curricula do not necessarily reflect the views of the Judicial Council, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), or the Court Programs and Services Division/CPAS. Furthermore, the authors, the Judicial Council, the AOC, and the Court Programs and Services Division/CPAS do not provide any warranties regarding the currency or accuracy of the information in these works. Users are reminded to check the subsequent history of any case and changes to statutes and Rules of Court cited in the works before relying on them. These works are provided for the personal noncommercial use of teachers.
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