7 Types of Law Degree Specializations

 

Updated 3/24/2021

The law is so pervasive in our modern day and age that most people will eventually have to find a lawyer to help them through a situation or a case. If you have been injured and believe the fault was someone else’s, you may need a personal injury attorney to help you to get a good settlement. There are all different types of lawyers, and there will be a type for the kind of case that you have. You don’t have to go to all types of attorneys to see which one will take on your case. You can instead go to the local listings for attorneys in your area and see which ones specialize in the type of case you have.

Being an attorney requires an advanced legal degree, and the attorney that you hire should be able to answer all of your questions about your case. Some attorneys specialize in personal injury, probate law, car accidents, bankruptcy, or in all areas of corporate law. Find a lawyer in the specialty you need, and this will help you to use the years of experience your attorney has to your advantage. Here are some legal specializations you should be aware of.

Personal Injury Law

Personal injury law is one of the types of law degree specializations that deals with the legal representation of a person who may have sustained physical or emotional injuries due to another person’s carelessness. A personal injury attorney helps the client understand how personal injury claims work and ensure they are properly compensated for any damages they may have incurred during the accident. Some of these damages may include wage loss, medical expenses, lost opportunity, and prolonged pain. In case you get injured in your line of work or in an accident that is entirely not your fault, you will want to find an injury lawyer from one of the best personal injury law firms to represent you.

Have you ever wondered how a personal injury claim works? Well, it’s simple. The first step is to get the best law firms for personal injury. Second is to ensure you receive financial compensation or recover other damages to lift the accident’s burdens off your shoulders. If you want to make a personal injury claim, you may contact the best law firms for personal injury. They will assist you in making a claim and make sure you receive the right compensation. It is important when you are dealing with personal injury claims with your insurance provider that your attorney be present. Your attorney will defend your interests and ensure the information you provide is not used against you.

When someone decides they want to go to law school, they are making a decision to start a career that offers many different avenues and opportunities. With the wide range of types of law degree specializations, a fledgling law student can choose a field of law that matches their unique interests, goals, and passions. The decision on which type of law degree they want to go for will shape the rest of their life, as it will dictate where they can later find jobs and what they will spend their professional lives fighting for.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn about the many different types of law degree specializations, now is your chance. Whether you’re preparing to go to law school for the first time or you already have a degree and want to pursue another in a different specialization, it helps to know what that type of law will entail and what you can expect from it. Let’s take a look at a few types of law degree specializations so that you can make a well-informed decision.

Family Law

This field of law focuses on finding solutions to issues that relate to the relationships between individuals within the context of a family. Most often, the relationships a family lawyer deals with are those between spouses, or former spouses, and those between a child and their guardian. A family law attorney may handle a wide range of legal proceedings, including adoptions, divorces, child support, prenuptial agreements, and domestic abuse. Family law attorneys will often narrow their focus even further by specializing in one or two of these areas.

As a family lawyer, you will be dealing with the legal side of some very personal aspects of a client’s life. This makes it a very emotive area of law to practice, as your role in a case could determine how your client gets to interact with their loved ones. A family lawyer who specialized in divorce law will be deeply involved in one of the most emotionally-stressful parts of their clients’ lives. A family lawyer specializing in adoption law is key in helping their client welcome a child into their family, a life-changing milestone for everyone involved.

If you’re interested in becoming a family lawyer, you need to be prepared for a lot of client-facing work. People who are passionate about helping others and want to interact closely with their clients tend to be a good fit for family law. At the same time, you will also need to ability to detach yourself from the client and remain professional no matter the situation. It takes a certain personality and nuance to successfully strike this balance, but those who are able to often find their careers very fulfilling.

Criminal Law

Out of all of the types of law degree specializations, you’ve likely seen criminal law the most in television shows and movies. Of course, criminal law is much more complicated than what is portrayed in the media. This area of law focuses on the fundamental issues of the law and a client’s personal liberties. Attorneys in this area of law will fall under one of two main types of criminal law lawyers. The first type is a criminal defense lawyer, who represents a client accused of a crime in court. The second type is a prosecutor or district attorney, who represents the interests of the state in prosecuting a person accused of a crime. These two types will typically go head-to-head in the courtroom, presenting each side of the argument to the judge and jury.

People who are criminal lawyers tend to have a personality that allows them to thrive under pressure. Criminal law cases tend to be fast-paced, changing as new evidence is presented, new witnesses are introduced, and the truth behind the crime comes to life. While not every criminal law case is as exciting as television or film may imply, plenty do still hold the same high-stakes and pressure. Those who practice criminal law need to be able to pay attention to detail and to know how to gather evidence and process information quickly. These traits can make or break a criminal law case.

If you’re interested in becoming a criminal defense attorney, you will likely work at a firm that specializes in certain types of crime, such as white-collar crimes. Prosecutors and district attorneys, on the other hand, typically work for the state rather than a private firm.

Banking and Finance Law

From personal loans to corporate business deals, banking and finance law covers all matters related to money. Often, the focus will be on the contractual relationship between lenders and borrowers. A lawyer’s main role is to negotiate and manage that relationship to guarantee that the interests of all parties are met legally and commercially.

As this is a broad area of law, there are various types of law degree specializations within it. These specializations include property finance, bank lending, acquisition finance, derivatives, and assets finance. People who go into this field of law also need to choose whether they will represent the borrower or the lender. Many lawyers in this area of law will also choose whether they want to stick with representing individuals and their personal finances or go into corporate finance law to work with businesses and entrepreneurs.

Corporate Law

Corporate law, also known as company law, is one of the types of law degree specializations that is integral to both the legal and business industries. It focuses on the legal framework that shapes business practices and deals such as merging a company with another business, restructuring companies through selling assets and shares, and listing companies on the stock exchange. Corporate lawyers may also act as bankruptcy lawyers when they need to handle a corporate reorganization under the provisions of federal bankruptcy law. They could also act as intellectual property lawyers or liability lawyers, depending on the needs of a business.

Since corporate law can cover such a broad range of topics, corporate lawyers tend to specialize in certain areas, such as bankruptcy or product liability. As a corporate lawyer, you would likely work as a business law firm that represents the interests of their business clients. Corporate lawyers need to possess a passion for business and the ambition to go above and beyond the call of duty when representing their corporate clients. It’s also important for these types of lawyers to be able to build and maintain strong client relationships so that they stay loyal to the firm. A business client leaving to go to another firm can mean a major loss for the firm.

Employment and Labor Law

This area of law focuses on the legal rights of workers and their employers. As with lawyers in the other types of law degree specializations, those interested in specializing in employment and labor law typically choose to either represent the employees or the business. An attorney in this area of law could represent an individual employee, a group of employees, a union, union employees, government employees, a business, a government agency, or job applicants.

There is a wide range of issues this area of law covers. Two of the most common issues are wage disputes and unlawful terminations. If an individual employee or a group of employees is pursuing a case in either area, they are going to need legal representation in order to go up again their employer. On the other side of the case, the employer will need legal representation to make their case for what they have done to the employees.

Another issue this field of law covers is workplace discrimination and harassment. If someone is claiming that they experienced sexual harassment at the hands of their employer, they will need a labor lawyer to present their argument in a legal setting. An employee experiencing any form of discrimination, such as race, gender, disability, age, and sexual orientation discrimination, at the workplace can also contact a labor lawyer to represent their case. The business in question would then also work with a lawyer specializing in this area to defend their side of the case.

Tort Law

Tort law is a vast area of law with many types of law degree specializations within it. At its most basic definition, a tort occurs when one person commits a wrong against another person. Tort law gives the individual who has had the wrong committed against them the opportunity to claim damages against the individual who has committed the wrong.

There is a wide range of legal issues that fall under tort law, including automobile accidents, medical malpractice, and personal liability. As these issues typically fall under the umbrella of personal injury law, someone who has chosen tort law out of all of the types of law degree specializations will likely work as a personal injury attorney at a personal injury law firm. They may choose to focus their practice on just one or two of the many issues under tort law.

Those who specialize in tort law will primarily focus on a few key aspects of a case in order to ensure they a tort has occurred. The first aspect is duty of care. A tort occurs when someone who has a legal duty toward someone else breaches that duty and causes some kind of harm or injury due to that breach. A car accident attorney, for instance, would argue that every driver has a duty of care toward every other driver on the road. They breach that duty of care when they break traffic laws, drive while under the influence, or acts in a way that puts the lives of other drivers at risk. In tort law, the attorney will also have to prove that there was harm caused. This harm could be physical, financial, or emotional.

Real Estate Law

This area of law focuses on all matters relating to land. While some real estate lawyers focus on litigation issues, others will focus on contractual issues surrounding land and property. A real estate lawyer could have a more simple case, such as an individual purchasing a property, or they could have a complicated case, such a dispute between a landlord and their tenants.

As the sale or purchase of property is a big financial commitment, most people participating in it will want legal representation to ensure they do all of their paperwork correctly. This makes real estate lawyers common across the country. Anyone developing real property or looking to comply with local, state, and national regulations will also need to contact a law firm specializing in real estate law in order to ensure they are following all of the necessary procedures.

With over 1.3 million lawyers in the United States, the possibilities for a career in law are practically endless. If you’re still pondering which one of the types of law degree specializations that you want to pursue, think about your passions. The best lawyers are the ones who are passionate about their area of law and have a true desire to fight for their clients. Once you choose your specialization, you can finally start the grand journey of becoming a lawyer.

Practicing law is a rewarding and lucrative career. No wonder it’s one of the top professions people go to school for today. But with so many law school out there, how do you know which ones are good colleges for law school? The key is to decide what type of law you want to practice and then find a school with a great program in that area. For example, if estate planning law is your focus, you’ll want to a school, like Levin College of Law, with a focus on this instead of something like tax law. Access legal processing is another niche law degree you can obtain at the right law school. While all schools cover basic concepts of law, you’ll want one that has a focus on the area you plan to base your career on. Another reason you want to search for good colleges for law school is to guarantee you’ll know the backwards and forwards when you graduate. As a lawyer, you take on a huge responsibility to adhere to the law, so you really need to know it inside and out. 

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