Whether you're seeking the aid of a lawyer or considering moving to law school, there's a general confusion in the population as to what kinds of attorneys are there. Some people assume that a lawyer is a lawyer, and so any lawyer will have the ability to supply whatever legal services they want. While technically this is true because a lawyer is licensed to practice law (minus a few exceptions where additional licensing is required), the law is so vast and all-encompassing it is impossible for one lawyer to effectively provide legal services throughout each different area of lawenforcement. Much like doctors, where there is a concentration on a particular field of the entire body, specific age groups, or specific kinds of disorders and diseases, lawyers generally specialize in one, or a couple of related kinds of law. Below is a list of 18 of the most frequent kinds of attorneys (in no particular order) and brief descriptions of each lawyers' law practice. "
Family Lawyer
You probably could have guessed what a family attorney does. A family attorney handles anything having to do with direct family problems. Sometimes this includes estate or family planning, but generally family attorneys handle matters including divorce, custody battles, legal arrangements, and other issues surrounding marriage and kids. While some only focus on divorce, most family lawyers cover every area of law.
Entertainment Lawyer
Entertainment attorneys deal with all sorts of entertainment difficulties, mainly about entertainment contracts. They draft and examine licensing agreements, management contracts, contracts having to do with royalties and any other component of the entertainment industry you can imagine. If you live in Los Angeles or New York, amusement law is popular, but becoming an entertainment attorney is one of the hardest things to do due to high competition. Most entertainment lawyers have past experience working as a different sort of attorney.
Immigration Lawyer
An immigration attorney will assist with anything about bringing a relative, employee, or person into the USA from another country. Most immigration lawyers' clinics rely heavily on companies since they need employment visas in order to attract employees to the United States from overseas. There are a plethora of forms to file with every government entity involved and complex legislation to be followed to be able to employ a non-citizen.
Criminal Defense Lawyer
Criminal defense attorneys help protect individuals accused of committing a crime against prosecution by the government, with the goal of reducing their probation or helping them remain out of jail. The crimes managed by criminal defense lawyers range from small offenses like shoplifting to more serious crimes like DUI, drug trafficking, assault and battery, or even murder. Many attorneys who practice criminal defense had past experience working on the prosecution side at the Office of the District Attorney (DA), either while at law school or after.
Bankruptcy Lawyer
Bankruptcy attorneys allow you to file for bankruptcy or work through your bankruptcy that will help you escape debt. There are different subsets of bankruptcy attorneys who represent the borrower (the person or business filing for bankruptcy) and the lender (the ones that are owed money by the debtor and want to regain as much of the money as possible during the insolvency ). There are also lawyers who focus on different kinds of bankruptcy. The most frequent types are Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyers (Chapter 7 is when an individual or a company wishes to liquidate/dissolve their assets in order to get rid of their debts), Chapter 11 bankruptcy lawyers (Chapter 11 is when a company [or person within a company] wants to restructure their debts to get back on course ), and Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorneys (Chapter 13 is a different form of chapter 11 for people where you restructure your debts to become on a less expensive payment program, and it's still possible to keep the majority of your assets). Many bankruptcy lawyers can manage unique kinds of bankruptcies but some just specialize in one type of claim. Ensure you find a bankruptcy attorney that is familiar with handling situations like your own.
So, now you know a little more about what types of lawyers there are. If you are looking to employ a lawyer, it's 's very important to figure out how to find the right attorney for your needs. Although there are numerous overlapping practice areas, each kind of law differs and you will want to make sure that you find a lawyer that specializes in the sort of legal service you want. Doing otherwise is risky and can cause unnecessary legal problems in the future.