Labor & Employment
Law
this area of the law encompasses a wide variety of issues
like Pension Plans, Retirement, Occupational Safety & Health
Regulations, Affirmative Action and Sexual Harassment. Employment
lawyers can
show businesses how to reduce their risk of employment litigation
and how to comply with state and local laws. Employment lawyers
can also help protect workers when their rights are being violated.
Often an employment lawyer will concentrate on representing
either workers or employers.
Laches
A legal doctrine whereby those who take too long to assert
a legal right, lose their entitlement to compensation.
When you
claim
that a person's legal suit against you is not valid because
of this, you would call it "estoppel by laches".
Landlord
A land or building owner who has leased the land, the building
or a part of the land or building, to another person.
Landlord/Tenant
an area of the law dealing with the relationship between
the owner of property and the person(s) renting or leasing
that
property
from the owner.
Larceny
An old English criminal and common law offense covering
the unlawful or fraudulent removal of another's property
without
the owner's
consent. The offense of theft now covers most cases
of larceny. But larceny is wider than theft as it includes
the taking
of property of another person by whatever means (by
theft,
overtly , by fraud,
by trickery, etc.) if an intent exists to convert that
property to one's own use against the wishes of the
owner.
Law
All the rules of conduct that have been approved by
the government and which are in force over a certain
territory
and which
must be obeyed by all persons on that territory (eg.
the "laws" of
Australia). Violation of these rules could lead to
government action such as imprisonment or fine, or
private action such as
a legal judgement against the offender obtained by
the person injured by the action prohibited by law.
Synonymous to act or
statute although in common usage, "law" refers
not only to legislation or statutes but also to the
body of unwritten
law
in those states which recognize common law.
Lawyer
A person that has been trained in the law and that
has been certified to give legal advice or to represent
others in
litigation. Also
known as a "barrister & solictor" or
an attorney.
Leading
question
A question which suggests an answer; usually answerable
by "yes" or "no".
For example: "Did you see David at 3 p.m.?" These
are forbidden to ensure that the witness is not
coached by their lawyer
through his or her testimony. The proper form
would be: "At
what time did you see David?" Leading questions
are only acceptable in cross-examination or where
a witness is declared
hostile.
Lease
A special kind of contract between a property
owner and a person wanting temporary enjoyment
and use
of the property,
in exchange
for rent paid to the property owner. Where the
property is
land, a building, or parts of either, the property
owner is called a
landlord and the person that contracts to receive
the temporary enjoyment and use is called a
tenant.
Leasehold
Real property held under a lease.
Legal
custody
A child custody decision which entails the right
to make, or participate in, the significant
decisions affecting a child's health and
welfare (compare with physical custody and joint custody).
Legal
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
the area of law that involves the principles
of conduct governing an individual or
a group, specifically
the
legal industry.
Legal
Father
a man who is recognized by law as the
male parent
Legislation
Written and approved laws. Also known
as "statutes" or "acts." In
constitutional law, one would talk
of the "power to legislate" or
the "legislative arm of government" referring
to the power of political bodies (eg:
house of assembly, Congress,
Parliament) to write the laws of the
land.
Liability
Any legal obligation, either due now
or at some time in the future. It
could be
a debt
or a
promise to
do something.
To
say a person
is "liable" for a debt
or wrongful act is to indicate that
they are the person responsible
for paying the debt or
compensating the wrongful act.
Libel
Defamation by writing such as in
a newspaper or a letter.
Liberal
construction
A form of construction which allows
a judge to consider other factors
when deciding
the meaning
of a phrase
or document. For example, faced
with an ambiguous article in
a statute, a liberal
construction would allow a judge
to
consider the purpose and
object of a statute before deciding
what the article actually
means.
License
A special permission to do something
on, or with, somebody else's
property which,
were
it not for
the license,
could be legally
prevented or give rise to
legal action in tort or trespass.
A common example
is allowing
a
person to walk across
your lawn which,
if it were not for the license,
would constitute trespass.
Licenses are
revocable at will
(unless supported by
a contract) and,
as such, differs from an easement
(the latter conveying
a legal interest
in the land). Licenses which
are not based on a contract
and which
are
fully revocable
are
called "simple" or "bare" licenses.
A common example is the shopping
mall to which access by the
public is on the basis of
an implied license.
Lien
A property right which remains
attached to an object that
has been sold,
but not totally
paid
for, until
complete
payment has
been made. It may involve
possession of the object
until the debt
is paid or it
may be
registered against the
object (especially
if the object is real estate).
Ultimately, a lien
can be enforced by a court
sale of the property to
which it attached
and then
the debt is paid off from
the
proceeds of the sale.
Life
estate
A right to use and to enjoy
land and/or structures
on land only
for the life
of the life tenant.
The estate
reverts
back to
the grantor (or to some
other person), at the
death of the
person to whom
it is given.
A property
right
to last
only
for the life
of the life tenant is
called the estate "pur sa vie." If
it is for the duration
of the life of a third party, it is called an estate "pur
autre vie". The rights of the life
tenant are restricted
to conduct which does not permanently change the
land or structures upon
it.
Life
tenant
The beneficiary of a life
estate.
Limited
partner
A unique colleague in
a partnership relationship
who has agreed
to be liable only
to the extent of his
(or her)
investment. Limited
partners, though,
have no right
to
manage the partnership.
Limited
partners are usually
just investors or
promoters who seek the tax benefits
of a partnership
Limitrophe
Adjacent, bordering
or contiguous.
Lineal
descendant
A person who is
a direct descendant
such as a
child to his or
her natural parent.
Liquidation
The selling of
all the assets
of a
debtor and
the use
of the cash
proceeds
of
the sale to
pay off
creditors.
Lis
pendens
Latin: a dispute
or matter
which is the
subject of
ongoing or
pending litigation.
Politicians
will sometimes
refuse
to discuss
a matter or
an issue which
is "lis
pendens" because
they do not
want their
comments to
be perceived
as an attempt
to influence
a court of
law.
Literal
construction
A form of
construction
which does
not allow
evidence
extrapolated
beyond the
actual
words of
a phrase
or
document
but, rather,
takes
a phrase
or document
at
face value,
giving
effect
only
to the
actual words
used. Also
known as "strict" or "strict
and literal" construction.
Contrasts
with liberal
construction
(which allows
for the
input from
other factors
such as
the purpose
of the document
being interpreted).
Litigation
A dispute
is in "litigation" (
or being "litigated")
when it
has become
the subject
of a formal
court
action
or law
suit.
Litigation
the area
of law
that
provides assistance
in the
preparation
and
presentation of a lawsuit
or other
resort
to
the
courts
to determine
a legal
question
or
matter.
Livery
Delivery.
An
archaic legal
word
from
the
feudal
system
referring
to
the actual
legal
transmission
of
possession of an
object
to
another. For
example,
a
knight would
obtain
an
estate
in
land as tenure
in
exchange for
serving
in
the king's
army
for
40
days a
year.
The
king
would
give
exclusive
possession
of
the
land,
(i.e. "livery")
to
the
knight.
A
writ
of
livery
also
developed
which
allowed
persons
to
sue
for
possession
of
land
under
the
feudal
system.
Livery
(or "delivery")
of
the
land
was
important
in
completing
legal
possession
or,
as
it
was
known
in
the
feudal
system,
seisin.
Living
will
A
document that
sets out
guidelines for
dealing with
life-sustaining medical
procedures in
the eventuality
of the
signatory's sudden
debilitation. Living
wills would,
for example,
inform medical
staff not
to provide
extraordinary life-preserving
procedures on
their bodies
if they
are incapable
of expressing
themselves and
suffering from
an incurable
and terminal
condition.
LL.B.,
L.M. or
LL.D.
The
Latin abbreviations
for the
three classes
of law
degrees: the
regular bachelor
degree in
law (LL.B.),
the masters
degree in
law (LL.M.)
and the
doctorate in
law (LL.D.).
These are
basic prerequisites
to admission
to the
practice of
law in
many states.
Locus
Latin
for "the place." For example, lawyers talk
of the "locus delicti" as the pace where
a criminal offense was commited or "loco parentis" to
refer to a person who stands in the place of a parent
such as a step-parent in
a common law relationship.
Long
arm statutes
Each
court is
bound to
a territorial
jurisdiction and
does not
normally have
jurisdiction over
persons that
reside outside
of that
jurisdiction. For
example, a
court in
Scotland would
not normally
have jurisdiction
over a
resident of
Ireland. Long-arm
statutes are
a tool
which gives
a court
jurisdiction over
a person
even though
the person
no longer
resides in
the territory
limits of
the court.
For example,
UIFSA allows
a court
to have
jurisdiction over
a non-resident
support payor. |
