Different Types of Law

Many people assume that any lawyer can provide the correct legal representation they need. However, as much as this is true (except for cases where further licensing is necessary), the field of law is so vast that one single lawyer can’t handle all types of cases. Just as in business school, where one chooses a particular area(s) to focus on, lawyers choose specific types of law to specialize in. There are many different areas of law; therefore, if you are looking for legal representation, it is essential to look for one specializing in that area.

Let’s look at some of the types of specialized law.

1. Family lawyers

These lawyers specialize in domestic cases such as legal separation, divorces, child custody, emancipation, child support, and so on. Most family lawyers also handle reproductive rights cases and any other area that may intersect with other areas. For example, criminal law may be intertwined in child abuse or domestic violence case. This type of lawyer may work alone if they’re equipped with experience, or they may collaborate with a criminal lawyer. You can find a great family lawyer at surrattlaw.com.

2. Corporate lawyers

They may also be referred to as business lawyers. They cover a more extensive range of expertise in maintaining, transferring, building, managing, and dissolving a business. Lawyers in this area of specialization deal with employment contracts, tax compliance issues, acquisition and mergers, and so on. Some law firms focus on representing big corporations, while others opt to handle small and medium-sized enterprises.

3. Personal Injury lawyer

PI lawyers deal with accidents and a wide range of injuries. They can represent you if you get involved in an accident, a misdiagnosis by a doctor, getting unpleasant side effects from treatments you were not warned about, illnesses from a defective product, and so on. Most of their cases often end up in substantial financial settlements involving insurance companies. PI lawyers get paid from contingency fees by taking a percentage of the money you get from the court, and it does not cost you anything if you lose. The percentage rates often range between 33%-40%. There are whole law firms that focus on personal injury cases such as Gorospe Law Group Personal Injury Law Firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

4. Criminal lawyer

If you or your loved one is charged with a crime, you’ll want to enlist the services of a criminal lawyer. They are versed with knowledge relating to criminal law, bail, arraignment, pleas, whether to take deals offered by the district attorney or not, and so on.

5. Intellectual Property Lawyer

Commonly known as IP lawyers, these people deal with protecting intellectual property, which is intangible. The three primary areas of IP law are trademarks, copyrights, and patents. Some focus on either of the three, while others are knowledgeable on all three key areas. Patent law, however, requires further licensing beyond the law degree and technical backgrounds, such as engineering or software development.

These are the most common types of lawyers that you may see around. However, there are so many more such as real estate, immigration, entertainment, digital media and internet, bankruptcy lawyers, you name it. Most of them overlap each other, so before you decide on your legal representation, make sure to go with one who specializes in your particular area of interest.