American Civil Liberties Union

membership organization founded in 1920 to protect and defend "the rights of man set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution"

American Depository Receipt

called an ADR in the banking trade, it is a receipt issued by American banks to Americans as a substitute for actual ownership of shares or foreign stocks.

Amicus Curiae

Latin for "friend of the court," a party or an organization in an issue which files a brief or participates in the argument in a case in which the party or organization is not one of the litigants, for example; the ACLU often files briefs on behalf of a party who contends their constitutional rights have been violated

Amnesty

blanket abolition of an offense by the government, resulting in the removal of charges or convictions

Amortalization

periodic payment plan to pay a debt in which the interest and a portion of the principal are included in each payment by an established mathematical formula; by figuring the interest on the declining principal and the number of years of the loan, the monthly payments are averaged and determined; since the main portion of the early payments is interest, the principal does not decline rapidly until the latter stages of the loan term; if the amortization leaves a principal balance at the close of the time for repayment, this final lump sum is called a "balloon" payment

Ancillary Administration

administration of an estate's assets in another state, example; if J. Doe dies in Montana and leaves a parcel of land in downtown Columbus, Ohio there must be ancillary administration in Ohio to obtain court approval and tax agency clearance; ancillary means "aiding" or "subordinate"

Ancillary Jurisdiction

term used in federal courts when the court decides matters not normally under federal jurisdiction so that it can give a judgment on the entire controversy, the main issue at hand is a federal matter which it is authorized by law to determine

And

the word is important in law, particularly when compared to or; most commonly it determines if one or both owners have to sign documents

Annuity

1) an annual sum paid from a policy or gift 2) short for a purchased annuity policy which will pay dividends to the owner regularly for years or for life

Annul

to reduce or to be made void