Whether you are seeking the aid of a lawyer or contemplating going to law school, there's a general confusion in the people regarding what types of attorneys are there. Some people today assume that a lawyer is a lawyer, and so any lawyer will be able to supply whatever legal services they need. While technically this is true because a lawyer is licensed to practice law (minus a couple of exceptions in which additional licensing is required), the law is indeed vast and all-encompassing it is not possible for one lawyer to effectively provide legal services throughout every distinct area of law. Much like doctors, where there's a concentration on a particular field of the entire body, particular age groups, or specific kinds of ailments and diseases, lawyers generally specialize in a single, or a couple of relevant kinds of law. Below is a listing of 18 of the most frequent kinds of attorneys (in no specific order) and short descriptions of every lawyers' law practice. "
Intellectual Property Lawyer (IP)Intellectual Property, or IP, attorneys deal with anything having to do with protecting intellectual property, which is intangible (something you can't touch like a tune or an idea) real estate. The three major areas of law inside intellectual property are copyright, trademark, and patent. Some IP attorneys just focus on copyright and trademark issues, while some just concentrate on patent issues. Patent law is one area that requires additional licensing than only a normal law degree and requires a technical background (like one in engineering, applications development, chemistry, or life sciences). Since IP laws are very technical and different from one another, lawyers don't have a tendency to deal with each of these issues (however IP law firms will have a team of lawyers who can help you with any of these ). Like many areas of legislation, there are ordinary IP attorneys and IP litigators. The normal IP attorneys help with the filings needed 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 person in a given dispute.
Digital Media & Internet LawyerThe development of the Internet opened up a whole new realm of law. Digital media and Web lawyers focus on all sorts of legal problems that come into play our use of technologies and the Internet. Everything from the site terms and conditions that govern our use of the world wide web, to privacy issues, copyright legislation and problems with pirating of music and movies, and protection of children from online predators falls within the area of digital media and Internet law. This area of law, such as the industry in which it operates, continues to evolve and change quickly with new technology.
Tax AttorneyTax lawyers usually help businesses and individuals comply with state and federal legislation when filing their tax returns. But a larger proportion of these lawyers actually go to court to defend you if the IRS audits you and you also face potential jail time or fines that are significant. Most individual tax lawyers also work in estate planning in certain manner unless they work from the tax department of a large corporation.
Criminal Defense LawyerCriminal defense attorneys help defend people accused of committing a crime against prosecution from the government, with the objective of reducing their probation or helping them remain out of jail. The crimes managed by criminal defense attorneys range from small offenses such as shoplifting to serious offenses like DUI, drug trafficking, assault and battery life, or even murder. Many lawyers who practice criminal defense had previous experience working on the prosecution side in the Office of the District Attorney (DA), either while in law school or after.
Personal Injury LawyerPersonal injury (PI) attorneys are the types of lawyers that deal with accidents and injuries of any character. Personal injury attorneys become involved whenever you're in a car collision, a doctor misdiagnoses an illness, you had bad side effects from a prescription medication that they didn't warn you about, you were injured by a faulty item, and more. This is probably the most common type of attorney that you see advertisements on TV, park benches, bus stops, and anyplace else. Their cases can lead to enormous financial settlements or decisions, typically involving insurance firms. PI lawyers work for contingency fees, meaning they just have a percentage of their money they recover for you in court, and it'll cost you nothing if you lose. The normal contingency fee ranges from 33%-40%. Because of this, it's important for you to know how to choose the ideal personal injury lawyer, because they basically charge the identical fee, but a good attorney can make all of the difference when it comes to winning your case and regaining a large financial award.
So, now you understand a little more about what types of lawyers there are. If you are wanting to hire a lawyer, it's important to figure out how to find the ideal lawyer for your requirements. Even though there are many overlapping clinic areas, each type of law differs and you will need to make certain that you find an attorney that specializes in the type of legal service that you want. Doing otherwise is risky and can create unnecessary legal trouble in the future.