Legal Terms Beginning with L
Laches
A legal doctrine whereby those who take too long to assert a legal right, lose their entitlement to compensation. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Landed Immigrant
An immigration law term; an individual who has relocated and changed his permanent residence to a state where he does not have citizenship but does limited rights associated with residency. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Landlord
A land or building owner who has leased the land, the building or a part of the land or building, to another person. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Larceny
An old English criminal and common law offence covering the unlawful or fraudulent removal of another's property without the owner's consent. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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). - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Lawyer
A person that has been trained in the law and that has been certified to give legal advice or to represent others in attorney. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Leading question
A question which suggests an answer; usually answerable by yes or no. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Leasehold
Real property held under a lease. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Legacy
A gift of a chattel by will. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Legal Aid
No-cost legal services to economically disfavoured litigants. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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). - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Legalese
English words combined with others in long-winded sentences, or varied or with permutations, with the initial design of legal or drafting precision but which otherwise add unnecessary complexity and inadvertently resulting in confusion. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Legislation
Written and approved laws. Also known as statutes or acts. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Libel
Defamation by writing such as in a newspaper or a letter. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Liberal construction
A form of construction which allows a judge to consider other factors when deciding the meaning of a phrase or document. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Life estate
A right to use and to enjoy land and/or structures on land only for the life of the life tenant. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Life tenant
The beneficiary of a life estate. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Limitations or Statute of Limitations
Loss of a cause of action because of the passage of time. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Limited partner
A unique colleague in a partnership relationship who has agreed to be liable only to the extent of his (or her) investment. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Limited Power of Attorney
A POA limited by a condition or term or in regards to a specific item of property. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Limitrophe
Adjacent, bordering or contiguous. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Lineal descendant
A person who is a direct descendant such as a child to his or her natural parent. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Liquidated damages
Pre-determined damages. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Liquidation
The selling of all the assets of a debtor and the use of the cash proceeds of the sale to pay off creditors. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Lis pendens
Latin: a dispute or matter which is the subject of ongoing or pending litigation. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Litigation
A dispute is in 'litigation' ( or being 'litigated') when it has become the subject of a formal court action or law suit. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Livery
Delivery. An archaic legal word from the feudal system referring to the actual legal transmission of possession of an object to another. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Living will
A document that sets out guidelines for dealing with life-sustaining medical procedures in the eventuality of the signatory's sudden debilitation. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
LL.B., L.M. or LL.D.
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. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Lockout
An employer's decision to bar unionized employees entry to the workplace until such time as they accept to work on the employer's terms and conditions or based on a lapsed collective bargaining agreement. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Locus
Latin for the place. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Locus Standi
A right to address the Court on a matter before it. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Loitering
Loitering: to waste time idling. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Long-term offender
A convicted person for whom who a court states there is a substantial risk of re-offending. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Lunatic
An individual of unsound mind. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Lycurgus
Sparta(n) legal innovator circa 700BCE. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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