Legal Definitions - attornatus

The term attornatus, originating from Law Latin, refers to an individual who is formally designated or appointed to act in the place of another person. This individual is empowered to perform actions, make decisions, or represent the interests of the original party, essentially stepping into their legal or representative capacity. In modern legal contexts, this role is most commonly fulfilled by an attorney.

• Example 1 (Historical Context): During medieval times, a nobleman might appoint a trusted steward to act as his attornatus, managing his estates, collecting rents, and even representing him in local courts while the nobleman was away on crusade or at the royal court.

  Explanation: Here, the steward is the attornatus because he is literally 'put in the place of' the nobleman, carrying out duties and making decisions on his behalf regarding his property and legal matters.

• Example 2 (Modern Legal Representation): An elderly individual, anticipating potential future health issues, executes a durable power of attorney, naming her daughter as her agent. This grants the daughter the authority to act as her mother's attornatus for financial and medical decisions should the mother become incapacitated.

  Explanation: The daughter becomes the attornatus by being formally empowered to step into her mother's shoes and make critical decisions on her behalf, reflecting the core meaning of acting 'in the place of another' through a legal instrument.

• Example 3 (Corporate Authority): A large corporation designates its Chief Legal Officer to serve as its attornatus in negotiations with a regulatory body. The Chief Legal Officer is authorized to speak for the company, present its arguments, and agree to terms on its behalf.

  Explanation: In this scenario, the Chief Legal Officer acts as the corporation's attornatus because they are formally empowered to represent the company's interests and make binding commitments, effectively standing 'in the place of' the entire corporate entity for that specific interaction.