Whether you're seeking the assistance of a lawyer or contemplating going to law school, there is a general confusion in the people as to what kinds of lawyers are there. Some people assume that a lawyer is a lawyer, and so any attorney will be able to provide whatever legal services they need. While technically this is true because a lawyer is licensed to practice law (without a couple of exceptions where further licensing is required), the law is so huge and all-encompassing that it is not possible for one lawyer to effectively provide legal services throughout every different field of law. Much like doctors, where there's a focus on a particular area of the body, particular age groups, or specific types of disorders and diseases, lawyers generally specialize in a single, or a few relevant kinds of lawenforcement. Below is a listing of 18 of the most common types of attorneys (in no specific order) and brief descriptions of every attorneys ' law practice. "
Real Estate LawyerReal Estate attorneys assist with any legal problems associated with real estate and property. Like business attorneys, property lawyers are distinguished between transactional vs. litigation. There are also many differences between commercial real estate and residential property, in addition to some other kinds of private property, so most real estate attorneys specialize and concentrate on a few of these regions. Much like company lawyers, property litigators go to court to assert whether a contract or purchase/sale agreement was broken, or when a landlord or tenant breaks a law and has to be handled accordingly. Real estate transactional lawyers, on the other hand, solely take care of the discussion of property transactions and archiving documents enclosing those negotiations.
Criminal Defense LawyerCriminal defense attorneys help defend people accused of committing a crime against prosecution from the authorities, with the goal of reducing their probation or helping them stay out of jail. The crimes handled by criminal defense lawyers range from little offenses like shoplifting to serious crimes like DUI, drug trafficking, assault and battery, or even murder. Many lawyers who practice criminal defense had previous experience working on the prosecution side at the Office of the District Attorney (DA), either while at law school or after.
Intellectual Property Lawyer (IP)Intellectual Property, or IP, attorneys deal with anything having to do with protecting intellectual property, which is subjective (something you can't touch such as a tune or an idea) real estate. The three major areas of law within intellectual property are copyright, trademark, and patent. Some IP attorneys just concentrate on copyright and trademark problems, while others just focus on patent problems. Patent law is one area that needs further licensing than only a regular law degree and also requires a technical background (like one in technology, applications development, chemistry, or life sciences). Considering that IP laws are all very technical and different from one another, attorneys don't have a tendency to handle each these problems (nevertheless IP law firms will have a team of attorneys who can help you with some of these ). Like many areas of legislation, there are normal IP lawyers and IP litigators. The normal IP lawyers help with the filings required to safeguard your IP, while litigators are the individuals who go to court to battle who owns what IP and how much IP protects the individual in a given dispute.
Family LawyerYou probably could have guessed what a family lawyer does. A family lawyer handles anything having to perform direct family issues. Sometimes this includes estate or family planning, but usually family lawyers handle things like divorce, custody battles, legal arrangements, as well as other issues surrounding marriage and children. While some only concentrate on divorce, most family attorneys cover every area of law.
So, now you know a little more about what types of lawyers you will find. If you're wanting to hire a lawyer, it's 's very important to work out how to get the ideal lawyer for your needs. Even though there are many overlapping clinic areas, each kind of law differs and you will need to be sure to find an attorney that specializes in the sort of legal service that you need. Doing otherwise is risky and can create unnecessary legal problems later on.