Comment by Alex-Programs

Comment by Alex-Programs 13 hours ago

As a Brit, the concept of "My lawyer" is slightly unfamiliar. The average Brit doesn't "have a lawyer"; they would only find a lawyer if they had a specific need, eg being accused of a crime or wanting to write a contract etc.

And yet as far as I can tell, most middle class Americans seem to refer to "their lawyer". Do you pay a monthly fee? Are they a criminal defence lawyer, or something broader? How often do you talk to them? How do you find them?

richardfontana 3 hours ago

The average American does not have a "my lawyer" either. Not sure where you're getting "most middle class Americans" from unless you're extrapolating from pop culture. I think it's common in movies and TV dramas for characters to refer to "my lawyer" in situations in which there is contact with law enforcement.

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seabass-labrax 10 hours ago

Not an American but have been involved in lots of US legal things for a charity. Generally "their lawyer" refers to a lawyer (solicitor in British usage) who is 'on retainer', which means that the client either pays a monthly fee to secure the lawyer's availability, or has a deposit with the lawyer which will be drawn from if legal assistance is needed.

Funnily enough, Americans do not use the term solicitor; that's reserved for lawyers working for the government!

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richardfontana 3 hours ago

> Funnily enough, Americans do not use the term solicitor; that's reserved for lawyers working for the government!
It is certainly a rare term in American English. I associate it with the probably now-archaic "NO SOLICITORS" signs, which used to be commonly used in an effort to ward off door-to-door salesmen and such. The specialized usage you are referring to is the use in titles of certain important government lawyers (I'm only aware of this in the federal government). The most famous is the Solicitor General, which is an appointed official in the Department of Justice whose job is mainly to argue on behalf of the government before the US Supreme Court.

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acuozzo 9 hours ago

> most middle class Americans seem to refer to "their lawyer"

I've only run into this among the so-called "upper middle class" here (e.g., physicians making $500K+/yr) and even then it's pretty rare.

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philwelch 5 hours ago

It's not normal for Americans to just have a lawyer ahead of time. But then again it's also not normal for most Americans to routinely get themselves arrested at "protests". So if you're going to engage in activities that are likely to get you into legal trouble, you might find yourself a criminal defense attorney ahead of time. In particular, organized "protests" often have legal assistance from sympathetic lawyers.

It is possible to have an attorney on retainer though, either as a consequence of having hired that attorney in the past or as part of a subscription service.

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