Common Legal Terms terms starting with L

33 terms

  1. Lapsed gift A gift made in a will to a person who has died prior to the will-maker's death.
  2. Larceny Obtaining property by fraud or deceit.
  3. Law As used in the Texas Election Code, means a constitution, statute, city charter, or city ordinance.
  4. Law Blank A printed legal form available for preparing documents.
  5. Law Clerk A lawyer (or law school student) employed to do legal research.
  6. law clerk (or staff attorney) Assist judges with research and drafting of opinions.
  7. lawsuit An action or proceeding in a civil court; term used for a suit or action between two parties in a court of law.
  8. Leading question A question that suggests the answer desired of the witness. A party generally may not ask one's own witness leading questions.
  9. Legal aid Professional legal services available to persons or organizations unable to afford such services.
  10. Legal process A formal paper that is legally valid; something issuing from the court, usually a command such as a writ or mandate.
  11. Legal texts Books that cover specific areas of the law, usually dealing with a single topic.
  12. Legislation The act of giving or enacting laws; the power to make laws via legislation in contrast to courtmade laws.
  13. Legitimate That which is legal, lawful, recognized by law or according to law.
  14. Leniency Recommendation for a sentence less than the maximum allowed.
  15. Lex Law.
  16. Lex domicili Law of the dominion.
  17. Lex loci The law or custom of a place.
  18. Lex scripta Law by statute.
  19. Liable Responsible or answerable by law; legally obligated.
  20. Libel Published defamation which tends to injure a person's reputation.
  21. Liber Book; a book of records, as of deeds.
  22. LIBRARIAN Meets the informational needs of the judges and lawyers.
  23. Licensing boards State agencies created to regulate the issuance of licenses, i.e., to contractors, cosmetologists, realtors, etc.
  24. Lien Legal claim against a property. Once the property is sold, the lien holder is then paid the amount that is owed.
  25. Limine See "in limine" in Foreign Words Glossary.
  26. Limited Jurisdiction Refers to courts that are limited in the types of criminal and civil cases they may hear.
  27. Lis pendens A pending lawsuit.
  28. Litigant A party to a lawsuit.
  29. litigation A lawsuit; a legal action, including all proceedings therein.
  30. Living trust A trust set up and in effect during the lifetime of the grantor. (Also called inter vivos trust.)
  31. locus (LOH-kuss) Specific place where something is located or occurs. It may refer to a specific place on the body (such as an acupuncture point) or the place…
  32. Locus sigilli (Abbr. L.S.) The place of the seal.
  33. Loose-leaf services Loose-leaf replacement pages provided by a publisher in areas of the law where changes occur at a rapid rate.