[Vocabulary] "lawyer" and "attorney" equally used in American English?

[Olympian]

Hello,

I used to think that "attorney" is commonly used in American English rather than "lawyer".
But while reading this article describing Zuckerberg being sued (Zuckerberg’s Neighbors Join Backyard Brawl With Developer), it uses "lawyer" in one sentence and "attorneys" in the sentence that immediately follows!

"Zuckerberg’s lawyer, Patrick Gunn, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment on the Kori lawsuit.

Zuckerberg’s attorneys have said in court filings that the developer employed “extortive” tactics to profit from the billionaire’s desire for privacy. "
​

Are they equally used in AmE?

Another question I have is about style. At the end of the article, I was a bit surprised to see the same county and the same court name written in a slightly different manner. In formal articles, shouldn't there be some consistency? I think Bloomberg is a reputable publication/website so they would have taken efforts to find out what the official names (of the county and court) are.

"The Koris’ case is Kori v. Alain Pinel Realtors Inc., 115cv279192, California Superior Court, Santa Clara County (San Jose). The Zuckerberg case is Voskerician v. Zuckerberg, 114CV264667, Superior Court of the California, County of Santa Clara (San Jose)."
​

Thank you

 

[SoothingDave]

Yes, "attorney" and "lawyer" are pretty much interchangeable. "Attorney" may be slightly more formal.

"Superior Court of the California" is a mistake. There should be no "the" there.

As for using "County of Santa Clara" versus "Santa Clara County" you are correct that a media operation should follow one style consistently.

Most governmental entities are formally "X of Y," but in English we have the ability to say it more simply the other way. I grew up in what is formally, legally the "Township of Penn," but I have never heard anyone outside of a legal context say anything other than "Penn Township."

 

[Olympian]

Most governmental entities are formally "X of Y," but in English we have the ability to say it more simply the other way. I grew up in what is formally, legally the "Township of Penn," but I have never heard anyone outside of a legal context say anything other than "Penn Township."

I probably came across an example of this. I came across the website of the University of Oklahoma, but the website is ou.edu and also at several places on that site it says "OU" (for example, "OU Home", "Life at OU", "OU Health Services Center"). I am assuming they are using "OU" for brevity. But this does not seem to be the case with all/other universities. That is "Univ of X" is not referred to as "X University" by other universities.

 

[MikeNewYork]

The usage varies.