In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, solicitor, or civil law notary. However, there is a substantial amount of overlap between the practice of law and various other professions where clients are represented by agents; these professions include real estate, banking and insurance. Moreover, a growing number of legal document assistants are offering services which have traditionally been offered only by lawyers and their employee paralegals. Many documents may now be created by computer-assisted drafting libraries, where the clients are asked a series of questions that are posed by the software in order to construct the legal documents. In addition, regulatory consulting firms provide advisory services on regulatory compliance that were traditionally provided by law firms.

In the United States, the practice of law is conditioned upon admission to practice of law, admission to the bar of a particular state or other territorial jurisdiction. The American Bar Association and the American Law Institute are among the organizations that are concerned with the interests of lawyers as a profession and the promulgation of uniform standards of professionalism and ethics, but regulation of the practice of law is left to the individual states, their definitions vary. "Unauthorized practice of law" is an act sometimes prohibited by statute, regulation, or court rules. The definition of "unauthorized practice of law" is variable, is conclusory and tautological, i.e. it is the doing of a lawyer's or counselor's work by a non-lawyer for money. There is some agreement that appearing in a constituted court in a legal proceeding to represent clients is considered to be unauthorized practice of law, but other variations are subject to interpretation and conflicting regulation as to the scope and breadth of the prohibition.

Black's Law Dictionary defines unauthorized practice of law as "The practice of law by a person a nonlawyer, who has not been licensed or admitted to practice law in a given jurisdiction."The Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers notes: The definitions and tests employed by courts to delineate unauthorized practice by non-lawyers have been vague or conclusory, while jurisdictions have differed in describing what constitutes unauthorized practice in particular areas. Certain activities, such as the representation of another person in litigation, are proscribed. In that area, many jurisdictions recognize exceptions for such matters as small-claims and landlord-tenant tribunals and certain proceedings in administrative agencies. Moreover, many jurisdictions have authorized law students and others not locally admitted to represent indigent persons or others as part of clinical legal education programs.... What is more controversial is out-of-court activities drafting of documents and giving advice, whether, considered to be unauthorized practice of law.

Some states have defined the "practice of law" to include those who appear as a representative in arbitration or act as arbitrators in disputes. For example, there is a growing conflict between the multijurisdictional practice of law in arbitration proceedings in the financial service industry and state regulation of lawyers. With a few exceptions, the general rule is that an appearance at an arbitration does not constitute the practice of law; the United States bankruptcy court for the Eastern District of Tennessee has held that "providing clients with explanations or definitions of such legal terms of art... is, by itself, giving legal advice." The North Carolina State Bar has held that "definition of lien law terms, warnings regarding time requirements, reminders about sending out preliminary notices within five to ten days of beginning work, when combined with its preparation of legal documents, constitute providing legal advice."Texas law prohibits a person, not an attorney from representing a client in a personal injury or property damage matter, punishes a violation as a misdemeanor.

Some states criminalize the separate behavior of falsely claiming to be lawyer. Criminal laws and enforcement of "Unauthorized Practice of Law" statutes is the organized bar's preferred method. In Florida, the unauthorized practice of law is a third degree felony, punishable by up to six months in prison and $5000 in fines. New Jersey has a law which makes it a “disorderly persons offense” to knowingly to engage in the unauthorized practice of law, a “crime in the fourth degree” to commit UPL if one creates a false impression that one is a lawyer. In a 2015 survey by the American Bar Association, Florida had the largest budget—$1.8 million—nationwide for prosecuting the unauthorized practice of law. Despite the state's interest in protecting the public and so-called "learned professions" from having unschooled persons practising them, the state's insistence on enforcing a monopoly, the existence of laws governing "unauthorized practice of Law" does not, ipso facto mean that they will be enforced.

The American Bar Association proposed model rules regarding the unauthorized practice of law, which Judge Richard Posner characterized as an attempt to perpetuate a monopoly to the disadvantage of consumers. The judge observed that the legal profession is “a cartel of providers of services relating to societ

The Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation was a charter proposed by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in an attempt to bring closure to the Algerian Civil War by offering an amnesty for most violence committed in it. The referendum on it was held on September 29, 2005, passing with 97%, the charter was implemented as law on February 28, 2006; the war broke out after Algerian military authorities suspended the country's first democratic national elections in the early nineties, to prevent an Islamist electoral victory. It is estimated to have caused around 200,000 dead or missing Algerians, with extremist fundamentalist groups held responsible for the most deaths, including atrocious massacres of civilians. Violence subsided in the mid-to late 1990s after a successful government campaign, but it still claims tens of lives each year, some minor fundamentalist organizations continue to attack government and civilian targets. According to official results, the Charter was approved by 97.36% of the voters, amounting to 79.76% of the eligible electorate.

The Charter, which follows on the 1999 law on "civil concord" and subsequent amnesty measures, proposed the following steps: Amnesty for "terrorists" who have handed in their weapons, except those guilty of mass murder, bombing attacks on public installations, rape. This includes. On the other hand, the outlawed Islamist party FIS will not be reinstated; the civil war, which broke out in 1992, has claimed more than 200,000 lives and cost the country's infrastructure $30 billion. The Charter left to the President's discretion detailed implementation of matters such as indemnities to victims of terrorism and their families, compensation for material damages, the future of rural militias raised by the military, the possible reintegration of those dismissed from work on political grounds, the extent to which insurgent leaders who escaped abroad will be pardoned; these matters may be regulated by presidential decree. The Charter has been criticized by human rights groups who argue that it institutionalises impunity and impedes any legal action against the security services, including the DRS, while proposing penalties for anyone who dares accuse those amnestied of crimes.

Furthermore, the families of victims and their organizations continue to demand information on the fate of the missing and to insist that "justice" must precede reconciliation. Many still fear the return of terrorists to their communities; the largest radical Islamist group still active – the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, estimated to consist of a few hundred members and is allied with Al-Qaeda – has rejected the Charter and has called for a continuation of their "jihad" against the regime. Ali Belhadj, former #2 of the FIS was released, as well as Abdelhak Layada, one of the founder of the Armed Islamic Group, in March 2006. According to Libération, more than 300 Islamists have been released after the new law on "national reconciliation", several hundreds more are expected to be freed soon. Algerian Civil War Islamic Salvation Front / Front Islamique du Salut Mourad Ikhlef, amnestied CNN.com Magharebia The News & Views of the Maghreb

In 503 BC, two Latin towns and Cora, said by Livy to be colonies of Rome, revolted against Rome. They had the assistance of the southern Aurunci tribe. Livy says that a Roman army led by the consuls Agrippa Menenius Lanatus and Publius Postumius Tubertus met the enemy on the frontiers and was victorious, after which Livy says the war was confined to Pometia. Livy says. Livy says that the consuls celebrated a triumph, however the Fasti Triumphales record that an ovation was celebrated by Postumius and a triumph by Menenius, both over the Sabines. In the following year the consuls were Opiter Virginius and Spurius Cassius. Livy says that they attempted to take Pometia by storm, but resorted to siege engines; however the Aurunci launched a successful sally, destroying the siege engines, wounding many, nearly killing one of the consuls. The Romans retreated to Rome, recruited additional troops, returned to Pometia, they rebuilt the siege engines and when they were about to take the town, the Pometians surrendered.

The Aurunci leaders were beheaded, the Pometians sold into slavery, the town razed and the land sold. Livy says; the Fasti Triumphales record only one triumph, by Cassius