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L

Legal definitions for terms and concepts beginning with L
Laches
A legal doctrine whereby those who take too long to assert a legal right, lose their entitlement to a right or compensation. - (see definition)
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 definition)
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 definition)
Lap Dancing
The intentional rubbing or grinding against men to please them in a sexual way. - (see definition)
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 definition)
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 definition)
Law of Nature
The uncertain and elastic concept of regulation of conduct based on morality, conscience or God. - (see definition)
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 definition)
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. - (see definition)
Leading question
A question which suggests an answer; usually answerable by yes or no. - (see definition)
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 definition)
Leasehold
Real property held under a lease. - (see definition)
Legacy
A gift of a chattel by will. - (see definition)
Legal Aid
No-cost legal services to economically disfavoured litigants. - (see definition)
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 definition)
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 definition)
Legal Fiction
A ruling on law based on hypothetical facts. - (see definition)
Legalism
The rigorous and ruthless adherence to the word of the law, usually combined with a policy to regulate as much as possible. - (see definition)
Legislation
Written and approved laws. - (see definition)
Legislative Branch
The elected law-making branch of government. - (see definition)
Lex Causae
Latin; law of the cause. The law which has precedence, where there is a conflict of laws, to dispose of an action. - (see definition)
Lex Fori
The law applicable to particular legal proceedings; Latin for the law of the forum. - (see definition)
Lex Loci
Latin; the law of a place as in where a right was acquired or a liability incurred. - (see definition)
Lex Non Scripta
Unwritten law; the common or custom law; as opposed to lex scripta. - (see definition)
Lex Scripta
Written law; statutes. - (see definition)
Lex Situs
A conflict of law rule that selects the applicable law based on the venue or location of something. - (see definition)
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 definition)
Libel
Defamation by writing such as in a newspaper or a letter. - (see definition)
Liberal construction
A form of construction which allows a judge to consider other factors when deciding the meaning of a phrase or document. - (see definition)
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 definition)
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 definition)
Life estate
A right to use and to enjoy land and/or structures on land only for the life of the life tenant. - (see definition)
Life tenant
The beneficiary of a life estate. - (see definition)
Limitations or Statute of Limitations
Loss of a cause of action because of the passage of time. - (see definition)
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 definition)
Limited Power of Attorney
A POA limited by a condition or term or in regards to a specific item of property. - (see definition)
Limitrophe
Adjacent, bordering or contiguous. - (see definition)
Lineal descendant
A person who is a direct descendant such as a child to his or her natural parent. - (see definition)
Liquidated damages
Pre-determined damages. - (see definition)
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 definition)
Lis Pendens
Latin: a dispute or matter which is the subject of ongoing or pending litigation. - (see definition)
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 definition)
Litigation
A dispute is in 'litigation' ( or being 'litigated') when it has become the subject of a formal court action or law suit. - (see definition)
Livery
Delivery. An archaic legal word from the feudal system referring to the actual legal transmission of possession of an object to another. - (see definition)
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 definition)
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 definition)
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 definition)
Locus
Latin for the place. - (see definition)
Locus Standi
A right to address the Court on a matter before it. - (see definition)
Loitering
Loitering: to waste time idling. - (see definition)
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 definition)
Long-term offender
A convicted person for whom who a court states there is a substantial risk of re-offending. - (see definition)
Lunatic
An individual of unsound mind. - (see definition)
Lycurgus
Sparta(n) legal innovator circa 700BCE. - (see definition)

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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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