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Legal definitions for terms and concepts beginning with L
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Laches
A legal doctrine whereby those who take too long to assert a legal right, lose their entitlement to a right or compensation. Expanded Legal Definition of Laches
Lake
An expanse of standing water or a widened portion of a river.Expanded Legal Definition of Lake
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.Expanded Legal Definition of Landed Immigrant
Landlord
A land or building owner who has leased the land, the building or a part of the land or building, to another person.Expanded Legal Definition of Landlord
Lap Dancing
The intentional rubbing or grinding against men to please them in a sexual way.Expanded Legal Definition of Lap Dancing
Larceny
A criminal offence now more commonly referred to as theft, covering the unlawful or fraudulent removal of another's property without the owner's consent.Expanded Legal Definition of Larceny
Law
Rules of conduct approved and enforced by the government of and over a certain territory (eg. the 'laws' of Australia).Expanded Legal Definition of Law
Law Merchant
International commercial law.Expanded Legal Definition of Law Merchant
Law of Nature
The uncertain and elastic concept of regulation of conduct based on morality, conscience or God.Expanded Legal Definition of Law of Nature
Lawyer
An individual trained in the law and that has been certified to give legal advice or to represent others in litigation.Expanded Legal Definition of Lawyer
Lay Day
A term of a maritime law contract: days stipulated for the loading or unloading of cargo from a ship.Expanded Legal Definition of Lay Day
Lay-Off
A temporary discharge of an employee.Expanded Legal Definition of Lay-Off
Lay on the Table
Also “to table”; a term of parliamentary law and procedure which refers to a motion in regards to another motion being actively debated, but intended to defer a final disposition of the pending motion.Expanded Legal Definition of Lay on the Table
Leading Question
A question which suggests an answer; usually answerable by yes or no.Expanded Legal Definition of Leading Question
Lease
A special kind of contract between a property owner and a person wanting temporary enjoyment and exclusive use of the property, in exchange for rent paid to the property owner.Expanded Legal Definition of Lease
Leasehold
Real property held under a lease.Expanded Legal Definition of Leasehold
Legacy
A gift of a chattel by will.Expanded Legal Definition of Legacy
Legal Aid
No-cost legal services to economically disfavoured litigants.Expanded Legal Definition of Legal Aid
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).Expanded Legal Definition of Legal Custody
Legalese
Legal terms combined in long-winded sentences, or varied or with permutations, with the initial design of legal or drafting precision but which otherwise add unnecessary complexity or inadvertently resulting in confusion.Expanded Legal Definition of Legalese
Legal Fiction
A ruling on law based on hypothetical facts.Expanded Legal Definition of Legal Fiction
Legalism
The rigorous and ruthless adherence to the word of the law, usually combined with a policy to regulate as much as possible.Expanded Legal Definition of Legalism
Legislation
Written and approved laws.Expanded Legal Definition of Legislation
Legislative Branch
The elected law-making branch of government.Expanded Legal Definition of Legislative Branch
Lessee
The person to whom is granted exclusive possession of a thing under the terms of a lease.Expanded Legal Definition of Lessee
Lessor
The person who grants a lease, usually the owner of the thing leased.Expanded Legal Definition of Lessor
Letter of Credit
An undertaking to pay money on stated terms such as the occurrence of a specified event or document(s).Expanded Legal Definition of Letter of Credit
Letters Rogatory
A request of a judge in one jurisdiction to a court of another, to examine a specific witness.Expanded Legal Definition of Letters Rogatory
Lettre de Cachet
A discretionary, arbitrary and often secret order issued by the King of France for the execution of some act.Expanded Legal Definition of Lettre de Cachet
Lex Causae
Latin; law of the cause. The law which has precedence, where there is a conflict of laws, to dispose of an action.Expanded Legal Definition of Lex Causae
Lex Fori
The law applicable to particular legal proceedings; Latin for the law of the forum.Expanded Legal Definition of Lex Fori
Lex Loci
Latin; the law of a place as in where a right was acquired or a liability incurred.Expanded Legal Definition of Lex Loci
Lex Non Scripta
Unwritten law; the common or custom law; as opposed to lex scripta.Expanded Legal Definition of Lex Non Scripta
Lex Scripta
Written law; statutes.Expanded Legal Definition of Lex Scripta
Lex Situs
A conflict of law rule that selects the applicable law based on the venue or location of something.Expanded Legal Definition of Lex Situs
Liability
A legal obligation, either due now or at some time in the future; eg. a debt or a promise to do something.Expanded Legal Definition of Liability
Libel
Written form of defamation such as on the Internet, in a newspaper or a letter.Expanded Legal Definition of Libel
Liberal Construction
A form of construction which allows a judge to consider other factors when deciding the meaning of a phrase or document.Expanded Legal Definition of Liberal Construction
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.Expanded Legal Definition of License
Licensee
The recipient or beneficiary of a license to use something.Expanded Legal Definition of Licensee
Licensor
The person who grants a license to another, the latter called the licensee.Expanded Legal Definition of Licensor
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.Expanded Legal Definition of Lien
Life Estate
A right to use and to enjoy land and/or structures on land only for the life of the life tenant.Expanded Legal Definition of Life Estate
Life Tenant
The beneficiary of a life estate.Expanded Legal Definition of Life Tenant
Ligan
Also lagan; things thrown from a ship and attached to a float or buoy to mark their location.Expanded Legal Definition of Ligan
Limitation Fund
A guarantee or deposit made by a ship owner to meet any damage claim, and calculated on the negligent ship's tonnage.Expanded Legal Definition of Limitation Fund
Limitations or Statute of Limitations
Loss of a cause of action because of the passage of time.Expanded Legal Definition of Limitations or Statute of Limitations
Limited Partner
A unique colleague in a partnership relationship who has agreed to be liable only to the extent of his (or her) investment. Expanded Legal Definition of Limited Partner
Limited Partnership
A partnership with at last one general partner and a limited partner, the latter contributing financially or otherwise but not otherwise involved in the business or, generally, personally liable for the debts of the partnership.Expanded Legal Definition of Limited Partnership
Limited Power of Attorney
A POA limited by a condition or term or in regards to a specific item of property.Expanded Legal Definition of Limited Power of Attorney
Limitrophe
Adjacent, bordering or contiguous.Expanded Legal Definition of Limitrophe
Lineal Descendant
A person who is a direct descendant such as a child to his or her natural parent.Expanded Legal Definition of Lineal Descendant
Liquidated Damages
Pre-determined damages.Expanded Legal Definition of Liquidated Damages
Liquidation
The selling of all the assets of a debtor and the use of the cash proceeds of the sale to pay off creditors.Expanded Legal Definition of Liquidation
Lis Pendens
Latin: a dispute or matter which is the subject of ongoing or pending litigation.Expanded Legal Definition of Lis Pendens
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.Expanded Legal Definition of Literal Construction
Litigation
A dispute is in 'litigation' (or being 'litigated') when it has become the subject of a formal court action or law suit.Expanded Legal Definition of Litigation
Livery
Delivery.Expanded Legal Definition of Livery
Living Will
A document that sets out guidelines for dealing with life-sustaining medical procedures in the eventuality of the signatory's sudden debilitation.Expanded Legal Definition of Living Will
LL.B., L.M. or LL.D.
Abbreviations for law degrees as in bachelor of law, master or law, or doctorate.Expanded Legal Definition of LL.B., L.M. or LL.D.
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.Expanded Legal Definition of Lockout
Locus
Latin: the place; venue.Expanded Legal Definition of Locus
Locus Standi
A right to address the Court on a matter before it.Expanded Legal Definition of Locus Standi
Lodge Act
A 1950 law of the United States of America which allowed foreign nationals who enlisted in the US Army for at least a 5 year tour of duty, to obtain US citizenship.Expanded Legal Definition of Lodge Act
LOF 2000
A Lloyd's standard form of salvage contract.Expanded Legal Definition of LOF 2000
Loitering
To waste time; to be idle.Expanded Legal Definition of Loitering
Long Arm Statutes
A statute which purports to regulate persons outside of its territorial jurisdiction.Expanded Legal Definition of Long Arm Statutes
Long-Term Offender
A convicted person for whom there is a substantial risk of re-offending.Expanded Legal Definition of Long-Term Offender
Lubricum Linquae Non Facile Trahendum Est In Poena
Latin: the law tends to overlook rash or inconsiderate language spoken in the heat of the moment.Expanded Legal Definition of Lubricum Linquae Non Facile Trahendum Est In Poena
Lunatic
An individual of unsound mind.Expanded Legal Definition of Lunatic
Lycurgus
Sparta(n) legal innovator circa 700BCE.Expanded Legal Definition of Lycurgus
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Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.

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