What is the difference between a lawyer and a attorney at law? -

This is not a joke. I need to know for a business law class for extra credit.

A lawyer, or legal practitioner, is a person certified to give legal advice who advises clients in legal matters. Some lawyers represent clients in courts of law and in other forms of dispute resolution. Law is a theoretical and abstract discipline, and working as a lawyer represents the practical application of legal theory and knowledge to solve real problems or to advance the interests of those who retain (i.e., hire) lawyers for legal services. The role of the lawyer varies significantly across legal jurisdictions, and therefore can be treated here in only the most general terms. An attorney at law (also known simply as an attorney or lawyer) in the United States is a person licensed to practice law by the highest court of a state or other jurisdiction. Alternate terms include attorney-at-law and attorney and counselor (or counsellor) at law. The American legal system has a united (or fused) legal profession, and does not draw a distinction between lawyers who plead in court and those who do not. Many other common law jurisdictions, as well as some civil law jurisdictions, have a separation, such as the solicitor and barrister/advocate split in the United Kingdom and the advocate/civil law notary split in France. There is also no delegation of routine work to notaries public or their civil law equivalent. The job of an attorney Once admitted to practice by the highest court of a state (a function sometimes administered by the state s bar association), an American attorney may file legal pleadings and argue cases in any court in that state (except federal courts, which usually require a separate admission), provide legal advice to clients, and draft important legal documents (such as wills, trusts, deeds, and contracts). American attorneys use the term lawyering to refer to the art of practicing law. In some states, real estate closings may be performed only by attorneys, even though the attorney s role in a closing may involve primarily notarization of documents and disbursement of settlement funds through an escrow account. Practicing law can be broadly generalized as: Interviewing the client and identifying what is their legal matter or dispute; Identifying the discrete legal and factual issues embedded within the client s larger problem; Researching systematically each issue; Deriving a solution that resolves some, if not all of the issues; Executing it through specific tasks like drafting a contract or filing a motion with a court. Most academic legal training is directed to identifying legal issues, researching facts and law, and arguing both the facts and law in favor of either side in any case.

nothing

they all come under the same umbrella. The titles are no more thatn alternates.

Nothing. Different terms for the same thing.

Absolutely nothing. Unless a lawyer hasn t passed the bar yet and an atty at law has. ???

Same thing. Kinda like a surgeon and a doctor or a female and a woman etc.

One will screw you himself and the other will have someone else screw you.

I know a lot of attorneys and not one of them could answer this question.

About $50.00 an hour. Other than that, nothing. It s just a different title.