Hit the books! More than 110,000 Americans are enrolled in law school. If you want to have a high-paying and stimulating career, you should study law.
But studying law can mean many different things. If you’re confused about what you want to do, you can make things simpler by looking at a few popular areas of law.
What are the most popular types of law in the United States? What do you need to know to develop your legal specialty? How can you find other jobs within certain areas of law?
Answer these questions and you can find the perfect specialty in no time. Here are seven great areas of law.
Related Posts
1. Personal Injury Law
Personal injury law relates to situations where people claim they sustained injuries due to the actions of other people. You can work on cases related to workplace injuries, wrongful death, and medical malpractice. Learn more about Alpha Accident Lawyers and other personal injury firms so you know what cases you may deal with.
In law school, you can study tort law, which relates to acts that aren’t illegal but can be harmful. Some law schools let you take classes in tort law or pursue a specialty in personal injury cases.
Many personal injury cases do not result in trials. You may reach settlements with defendants and insurance companies. You should develop your negotiation and public speaking skills so you can defend your clients properly.
2. Criminal Law
Criminal law is the type of law that most people are familiar with. You can serve as a prosecutor and attempt to convict people of offenses, or you can work as a defense attorney representing people who have charges. This makes it easy to find jobs and develop a public profile for yourself.
Every law school offers classes and specialties in criminal law, so you don’t need to find a special school. However, studying criminal law is very complicated, and you need to spend time preparing for the bar exam.
3. Family Law
Family law relates to divorce, child support, and child welfare proceedings. Being a great family lawyer requires knowledge about many different types of laws. If you’re dividing a marital estate, you need to know about real estate law as well as divorce and financial law.
Family law cases can be extremely difficult and draining. You may have clients who have experienced domestic violence or child abuse. Be ready to handle these cases with discretion and compassion.
You can find work as a paralegal or a lawyer. Most family lawyers have independent practices and handle a few cases at a time. This can make it hard to earn money at first, but as you develop a name for yourself, you can charge higher fees.
4. Immigration Law
When people think about immigration law, they think about deportation proceedings and undocumented immigrants. You may have to deal with these cases and argue why immigrants should stay in the United States.
But many immigration lawyers help people enter the country legally. They may consult with companies to offer visas to workers overseas.
This means that you have to know corporate law in addition to laws related to immigration. You have to work with USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security as well.
5. Corporate Law
Corporate law relates to the rules and regulations for small and large companies. You may need to help companies get started or close their operations. You also need to handle mergers, acquisitions, and civil lawsuits against the companies.
Many corporate lawyers act as independent advisors to companies. A company may ask you for help with drafting contracts and then go on its way. Other lawyers serve on boards of directors or as chief legal officers, working with specific companies for their entire careers.
You can start your career as an associate attorney. While working alongside a full-time corporate attorney, you can help draft contracts and settle disputes between companies. After a few years, you can become a partner in a law firm or start an independent firm.
6. Employment and Labor Law
Employment law can overlap with corporate law, but it is a distinct field. While corporate lawyers deal with boards of directors and high-ranking employees, many employment lawyers help low-ranking workers. They deal with discrimination, workplace safety, and union cases.
You will need to study business and corporate law in order to be an effective employment lawyer. But you also need to know about labor law and social justice. You may be representing people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and lower-income people against powerful organizations.
You can defend corporations against discrimination cases as well. Participate in cases on both sides and see which one you prefer.
7. Intellectual Property Law
Intellectual property law relates to creative works, products, and inventions. You can find several subcategories in the field, and you can become a specialist. Copyright law lets you work with artists while patent law lets you work with inventors.
You may need to pass additional bar exams in order to develop your specialty in intellectual property law. You also need to study technology and science so you know what your clients are talking about.
Government institutions like the United States Patent and Trademark Office affect intellectual property law. You will need to learn how to work with them. If you like working with the government, you can get a government job as a patent lawyer, which can come with substantial benefits.
How You Should Study Law
You can study law in more ways than you think. You can find many work opportunities in personal and criminal law. If you want to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable people, you can try family or immigration law.
Corporate law lets you partner with business leaders. If you want to fight for socioeconomic justice, you should pursue employment law. If you want to help inventors or artists, you should look at intellectual property law.
Once you’ve picked a field, you need to study that field. Read more guides on legal fields by following our coverage.
