An American lawyer, his trip to America made people love and hate.

Americans, Russians and Cubans travel in the same train car. When the train was running, the Russians took out 1 bottle of vodka and drank it. They threw it out of the window without a few sips. Americans don't understand why he wastes so much. The Russian replied: "We have vodka in our country, and vodka is the most, so much that we can throw it at will!" "The Cuban next to him was smoking a cigar. When he saw it, he quietly threw a half-smoked cigar out of the window. The American said, "Why do you need this? "The Cuban replied," In Cuba, we have cigars, and cigars are the most, so we have to throw them away without worrying about waste. "

Without saying anything, the American stood up, opened the window, turned his head and threw the accompanying lawyer out of the window. ...

Liu Guiming

As for American lawyers, many experts, scholars and professionals have made many introductions, expressed many opinions and produced many humorous, witty, sharp and heartbreaking stories. To this end, we can make a summary of American lawyers: there are too many American lawyers, which are dizzying (I can't remember), annoying (they are all swearing) and annoying (some people want to "kill all lawyers"). But the question that has been lingering in my mind is: How many lawyers are there in America? Why are there so many lawyers in America? Does America really need so many lawyers?

How many lawyers are there in America?

In view of the different concepts of lawyers in the world, it is almost impossible to confirm the number of lawyers in the world. Similarly, the number of American lawyers is difficult to confirm. During my visit to the United States, the Los Angeles Bar Association failed to give me a very accurate answer. They told me that there may be millions of lawyers in America. An authoritative source told me that the correct conclusion and the latest data are (as of the end of 2004): 954,000 people.

In fact, this figure is only the number of private lawyers. According to incomplete statistics, millions of lawyers in the United States are mainly distributed in eight categories:

1. Private lawyers: About 74% of all lawyers, and the vast majority of American lawyers mainly refer to American private lawyers to outsiders.

2. Members and assistants: The United States Senate currently has 65,438+000 senators and 65,438+07 standing committees. The Federal House of Representatives has 435 members and 65,438+09 standing committees. Each Standing Committee has about 20 members (including majority parties and minority parties). The work of the Standing Committee is to investigate, listen to opinions, demonstrate and make suggestions on every bill submitted to the National Assembly, and then send it to discussion and vote. The preparation and coordination of these tasks are all done by lawyers. According to the legal adviser of the Judicial Committee of the Federal Senate, there are 25 lawyers who only serve the chairman of the Judicial Committee of the Federal Senate. Behind every senator, there are 1 ~ 3 lawyers to serve him, regardless of the members of the House and Senate 1/2 to 1/3 are lawyers themselves. In the state government, the situation of lawyer services in the Senate and the House of Representatives (only Nebraska has a unicameral system) is roughly similar.

3. Judges and assistants. In America, it is almost unthinkable to become a judge instead of a lawyer. The United States federal system has 65,438+0,200 judges (including 9 federal courts, 3,365,438+0 federal appeals courts and 860 federal district courts) and about 80,000 state courts. Generally speaking, there is a sheriff's office behind every judge. Its members are basically lawyers. According to preliminary statistics, each judge has 5- 10 lawyers working. Such lawyers account for about 3% of American lawyers.

4. Government lawyers: At present, there are 94 federal districts in the United States, and the prosecutors in each district (including prosecutors and assistant prosecutors, about 50 people in each district) are government lawyers, all appointed by the President. Similarly, all major government agencies have government lawyers (even the Pentagon has a large number of government lawyers). These lawyers account for about 8% of the total number of American lawyers.

5. Corporate lawyer: This is a major feature of the American lawyer system. All big American companies have their own legal departments, and they only serve big companies. Of course, with the development of business, some lawyers even stopped practicing and became CEOs. It is understood that these lawyers account for 8% of lawyers in the United States.

6. Civil rights lawyers: There are a group of lawyers in the United States who specialize in serving ethnic minorities such as blacks and vulnerable groups such as women and the disabled. They are called civil rights lawyers, who are mainly in charge of the civil rights department of the US Federal Department of Justice. These lawyers account for about 1% of the total number of American lawyers.

7. Part-time lawyers: These lawyers are mainly active in the field of legal education. For example, Professor dershowitz of Harvard Law School is a well-known lawyer. Such lawyers account for about 1% of American lawyers.

8. Public interest lawyers: These lawyers mainly serve legal aid, environmental protection and public interests. These lawyers account for 1% of American lawyers.

Eight categories, eight lawyers, represent the current situation of American lawyers. So, someone joked: "American lawyers also have the Eighth Route Army!"

Why do you need so many lawyers?

The population of the United States accounts for only about 5% of the world's total population and its land area accounts for about 6%, but its industrial and agricultural products and service products account for about 25% of the world's total, and lawyers account for 35% of the world's total lawyers. It can be seen that 35% of employees only serve 5% of the global population market, which is naturally overcrowded and fiercely competitive. The large number of American lawyers naturally means that the demand for legal services in the United States is relatively strong. The service of American lawyers has also promoted the social development of the United States. Third. As a result, some families complain about lawyers, while encouraging their children to apply for law school and prepare to become lawyers in the future.

There are so many lawyers in America for the following reasons:

First of all, the law is complicated. The United States is a case law country with a wide variety of cases. Whether it is government agencies or ordinary people, these precedents are always out of touch and can't see the essence. It can be said that it is unthinkable for them to have no lawyer. So is the judge. More importantly, American law is the most procedural. The owner who is familiar with the procedure and uses it is a lawyer. "Simpson case" is because his lawyer used the procedure (that is, the rule of evidence exclusion) to make the jury doubt the prosecution's evidence, thus making the judge acquit Simpson according to the principle of "no doubt". The final result of the judge's ruling, the jury's confirmation and the lawyer's denial is that the verdict does not mean that Simpson is not a murderer, but Simpson is not necessarily a murderer. It is conceivable that Simpson's wealth, power and fame would be of no help without the legal help of a lawyer.

The second is cultural tradition. Abraham lincoln, the 16 th president of the United States, once said a warning representing American lawyer culture: "We should make the law a political belief in this country." President franklin roosevelt once called the Constitution of the United States a "civilian document". O 'Connor, the first female judge of the outgoing federal court, said: "When we run for parliament or administrative office, we write letters to the president, the governor or members, start constitutional procedures in the court, educate our children about the meaning of the constitution, or argue with our friends or neighbors about the application of constitutional provisions in modern life. We are all paying tribute to our constitution and its makers." Therefore, Americans have always been absolutely obedient to the court's decision. Even if he wants to scold the street, he dare not refuse to execute the judgment. In the debate between Gore and Bush about counting votes in the presidential election, Gore lost his position as president because the court's decision was unfavorable to Gore. He said, "I don't like this judgment, but I must obey it." The fate of Chavo, a vegetable woman who happened in Florida this spring, once touched the hearts of all Americans. In the end, the federal court made a final judgment and made a final legal statement. Although many people express * in different ways, they still have to accept the verdict in the end. The birth of these judgments has the shadow of lawyers, the hard work of lawyers and the advice of lawyers. More importantly, according to the tradition of the Sixth Amendment to the American Constitution, in the American legal culture, the defendant can voluntarily give up your right to ask for the assistance of a lawyer, but he can't be forced to lose this right because he has no money.

Third, the territory is vast. The United States has a vast territory and many nationalities. Fifty states have different legal systems, and the cities, counties and counties in each state also have different legal habits. The United States is a society that highly respects individual life, individual life, individual will and individual will, and emphasizes individual struggle everywhere. Whether you are a native American or an American who immigrated later, whether you are white or black, whether you live on the east and west coasts or inland, you can find legal help and lawyers to help you. Without the assistance and guidance of lawyers, no citizen can clear his mind and clear his head. Similarly, many government officials feel uneasy without lawyers. Because of the great geographical differences, sometimes even the time difference between the eastern and western States has become a sharp weapon for lawyers to safeguard the rights and interests of clients. For many foreigners who immigrate to or visit the United States, the first person they know when they enter the United States may be a lawyer, and the last American they know when they leave the United States may also be a lawyer.

The fourth is market orientation. The market is the interest, the market is the demand, and the demand extends to different occupations, which naturally makes the lawyer's market. At present, less than 2% of civil cases in the United States are actually tried by juries, and only a small part of the remaining 98% cases are tried by judges, and most of them end up through out-of-court settlement between the parties. This kind of out-of-court settlement depends on the lawyer's professionalism and strategy. Most notably, the tort liability compensation in the United States includes not only compensatory compensation, but also a considerable amount of punitive compensation. These compensations are attractive to both parties and lawyers. In addition, product safety and liability have become professional weapons that American lawyers attach great importance to and use a lot. Therefore, the market is getting bigger and bigger, the specialties are getting finer and finer, the demand is getting bigger and bigger, and lawyers are becoming more and more specialized. Whether litigation or non-litigation, the demand for lawyers is getting higher and higher, and the demand for law is getting hotter and hotter. Existence determines demand, demand generates market, and the market calls for lawyers, so the relationship between lawyers and the market is getting closer and closer. Among the millions of American lawyers, the market for professional lawyers is getting better and better.