Legal Terms

• Breach of Contract A breach of contract occurs when one party fails to fulfill their obligations under a legally binding agreement without a valid legal excuse — entitling the other party to seek damages or other legal remedies.
• Force Majeure Force majeure is a contract clause that excuses a party from performing their obligations when an extraordinary event beyond their control — like a natural disaster, war, or pandemic — makes performance impossible or impractical.
• Affidavit An affidavit is a written statement of facts made voluntarily under oath and signed before a notary public or other authorized official.
• Affirmative Defense An affirmative defense is a legal argument in which a defendant admits the basic facts of the accusation but presents new facts or legal reasons that justify or excuse the conduct and defeat the claim.
• Arbitration Arbitration is a private dispute resolution process in which one or more neutral arbitrators hear evidence and arguments from both sides and issue a binding decision — serving as a private alternative to a court trial.
• Bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a federal legal process that allows individuals or businesses overwhelmed by debt to either eliminate or restructure what they owe under the protection and oversight of a federal court.
• Class Action Lawsuit A class action lawsuit is a type of legal action where a large group of people with similar claims sue a defendant together as a single collective case.
• Contempt of Court Contempt of court is the act of disrespecting or disobeying a court's authority, rules, or orders, and can result in fines or imprisonment.
• Contingency Fee A contingency fee is a legal fee arrangement where an attorney is paid only if the client wins the case, typically taking a percentage of the settlement or judgment rather than charging by the hour.
• Defendant A defendant is the party in a lawsuit or criminal prosecution who is accused of wrongdoing and must respond to the claims or charges brought against them.
• Deposition A deposition is pre-trial testimony given under oath by a witness or party, recorded for use as evidence during legal proceedings.
• Discovery Discovery is the pre-trial process in a lawsuit where both parties exchange information and evidence relevant to the case, including documents, witness lists, and depositions.
• Due Process Due process is the constitutional guarantee that the government must follow fair procedures and respect individual rights before depriving a person of life, liberty, or property.
• Eminent Domain Eminent domain is the government's power to take private property for public use, but it must pay the owner just compensation, as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.
• Felony A felony is the most serious category of crime, typically punishable by more than one year in prison, and carries severe long-term consequences including loss of voting rights and employment opportunities.
• Habeas Corpus Habeas corpus is a legal principle that protects individuals from unlawful detention by requiring authorities to justify in court why a person is being held.
• Indemnification Indemnification is a contractual obligation by which one party agrees to compensate another for losses, damages, or legal liability arising from specified events — a common clause in business, employment, and service contracts.
• Indictment An indictment is a formal criminal charge issued by a grand jury after reviewing evidence and finding probable cause that a person committed a felony.
• Injunction An injunction is a court order requiring a party to do something or refrain from doing something, used to prevent harm when money damages would be insufficient.
• Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP) refers to legal rights that protect creations of the mind — including inventions, artwork, brand names, and trade secrets — giving creators exclusive control over how their work is used.
• Jurisdiction Jurisdiction is the legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case, determined by geography, subject matter, and the parties involved.
• Liability Liability is the legal responsibility to compensate for harm caused to another person or party, whether through negligence, breach of contract, or intentional wrongdoing.
• Lien A lien is a legal claim against a property or asset that serves as security for a debt, giving the lienholder the right to take the property if the debt is not paid.
• Living Trust A living trust is a legal document created during your lifetime that holds ownership of your assets, names a trustee to manage them, and designates beneficiaries to inherit them — allowing your estate to transfer to heirs without going through the court-supervised probate process.
• Living Will A living will is a legal document that specifies a person's wishes for medical treatment in the event they become incapacitated and cannot communicate their healthcare decisions.
• Mediation Mediation is a voluntary dispute resolution process in which a neutral third party (the mediator) helps parties in a conflict negotiate and reach a mutually acceptable agreement — without a judge or binding decision.
• Medical Malpractice Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the accepted standard of care while treating a patient, causing injury or harm that a competent provider would have avoided.
• Miranda Rights Miranda rights are the legal warnings that U.S. law enforcement must read to a suspect before custodial interrogation, informing them of their right to remain silent and to an attorney.
• Misdemeanor A misdemeanor is a category of crime less serious than a felony, typically punishable by up to one year in a local jail, fines, or probation.
• Negligence Negligence is a legal concept where a person fails to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm to another person, and forms the basis of most personal injury lawsuits.
• Non-Compete Agreement A non-compete agreement is a contract in which an employee or contractor agrees not to work for competitors or start a competing business for a specified period and within a defined geographic area after leaving a job.
• Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legally binding contract in which one or more parties agree to keep specified confidential information secret and not disclose it to unauthorized third parties.
• Parole Parole is the supervised early release of a prisoner before the end of their sentence, conditioned on following specific rules and regularly reporting to a parole officer.
• Piercing the Corporate Veil Piercing the corporate veil is a legal doctrine that allows courts to hold shareholders, directors, or officers personally liable for a corporation's debts and liabilities when they have used the corporate structure to commit fraud or injustice, or have failed to maintain the legal separation between themselves and the entity.
• Plaintiff A plaintiff is the party who initiates a lawsuit in a civil court, claiming to have been harmed by the actions of the defendant.
• Plea Bargain A plea bargain is a negotiated agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant in which the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge or receives a reduced sentence in exchange for avoiding trial.
• Power of Attorney A power of attorney is a legal document that authorizes one person to act on behalf of another in legal, financial, or medical matters.
• Probate Probate is the legal process of validating a deceased person's will and administering their estate, including paying debts and distributing assets to heirs.
• Probation Probation is a court-ordered period of supervision in the community that allows a convicted person to serve their sentence outside of jail or prison, subject to conditions set by the court — such as regular check-ins, drug testing, and restrictions on travel.
• Promissory Note A promissory note is a written, legally binding promise by one party (the maker) to pay a specified amount of money to another party (the payee), under specified terms including interest rate and repayment schedule.
• Restraining Order A restraining order is a court order that prohibits a person from contacting, approaching, or harassing another person, most commonly used in domestic violence and stalking cases.
• Settlement (Legal) A legal settlement is a voluntary agreement between parties in a lawsuit to resolve a dispute without a court judgment — typically involving a payment from one party to the other in exchange for dropping the case.
• Small Claims Court Small claims court is a special division of civil court designed for resolving low-dollar disputes quickly and informally, without requiring an attorney, at minimal cost.
• Statute of Limitations The statute of limitations is the deadline by which a lawsuit must be filed or criminal charges brought — after which a claim is legally barred forever.
• Subpoena A subpoena is a legal order requiring a person to appear in court to testify or to produce documents and evidence in a legal proceeding.
• Tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes harm to another person, giving the injured party the right to sue for damages, and includes negligence, assault, fraud, and many other wrongful acts.
• Tortious Interference Tortious interference is a civil law claim in which a third party intentionally interferes with another person or company's existing or prospective business contracts and relationships, causing economic harm — giving the injured party grounds to sue for damages.
• Voir Dire Voir dire is the jury selection process where attorneys and judges question potential jurors to determine whether they can be fair and impartial in a trial.
• Writ of Certiorari A writ of certiorari is an order by the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court's decision, and the primary method by which the Supreme Court exercises its discretionary appellate jurisdiction.