To practice law in the United States a person must first obtain a J.D (Juris Doctorate) degree from an accredited law school. After that, you must take and pass a bar exam from the state where you intend to start practicing law. Once you pass the state bar exam, you need to decide what type of lawyer you want to be.  There are many areas of law in which you might choose to specialise. For example injury lawyers Perth specialise in assisting clients with their personal injury claims and bankruptcy lawyers specialise in assisting clients with bankruptcy proceedings.   

A good place to start would be to figure out which of the twelve types of lawyers appeals to you. For this article, we came up with a list of the twelve lawyers and we explained what they do and how they can help your particular situation.

12 Types of Lawyers

Bankruptcy Lawyer

A Bankruptcy Lawyer is a lawyer who specializes in handling cases dealing with the US Bankruptcy Code. They are capable of working with both individuals and commercial entities. A lawyer working for a firm could be asked to represent either individuals or a creditor, depending on the circumstances. A Bankruptcy Lawyer can help you to figure out how is the best way to proceed under your specific circumstances. Bankruptcy lawyers also specialize in helping to create financial restructuring plans involving bankruptcy.

Business Lawyer (Corporate Lawyer) 

Business lawyers (a.k.a Corporate Lawyers) work strictly with businesses to ensure that everything that the business does is handled correctly. They are familiar with all of the local, state, and Federal Laws as they pertain to a business. Business Lawyers can work on cases involving a wide range of specialties. Some of these specialties include acquisitions, contracts, mergers, patent filings, and liability concerns. As part of their job, lawyers frequently research and create papers to file for court.

Constitutional Lawyer

As the name implies, a Constitutional Lawyer deals with the interpretation of the constitutionality of laws or actions. They are often called upon to work on civil rights cases and to argue cases before a state Supreme Court or US Supreme Court. Constitutional Lawyers are highly specialized and they also handle cases involving discrimination.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

A Criminal Defense Lawyer is an advocate for the rights of an individual accused of committing a crime. They are responsible to ensure all of the rights afforded to an accused person are strictly upheld during a trial. There are two different types of Criminal Defense; a public defender and a private lawyer. The primary difference between the two is that a public defender is paid for by the state and a private lawyer is paid for by the individual. Public Defenders will normally have several cases that they are assigned to go before a judge for trial. While a Private Lawyer will likely only have a small number of cases depending on the firm they work for.

Employment and Labor Lawyer

An Employment Lawyer and Labor Lawyer may sound the same at first glance, however, they are quite different. The primary differences between the two are Employment Lawyers generally handle cases involving non-union issues and Labor Lawyers focus primarily on union issues. These two types of lawyers deal with workplace discrimination, wage issues, harassment problems, and many other kinds of issues. Labor Lawyer adds a few other areas, like collective bargaining and the relationship between the labor force and the company in a union shop.

Entertainment Lawyer

An Entertainment Lawyer is someone that represents clients in the entertainment world such as athletes, singers, writers, and others. They work mainly with protecting a person’s intellectual property against theft or losses. They can help entertainers protect their creative properties such as songs and comedic routines. They help entertainers with negotiating and other services related to contracts.

Estate Planning Lawyer

An Estate Planning Lawyer handles cases that deal with probate, trusts, and wills. An Estate Planning lawyer knows well the tax laws and other legal issues surrounding wills and trusts. They can represent people in probate proceedings to ensure that their interests are protected. They can assist with drawing up wills and different types of trust documents.

Family Lawyer

A Family Lawyer handles many family-related legal issues. They are much more than simply divorce lawyers, while that may be the lion’s share of their work. They also represent juveniles in Juvenile Court proceedings. Most domestic case law falls under the purview of a Family Lawyer, such as adoption proceedings, child well-fare cases, and many other family-related cases. They draw up a wide range of legal documents including prenuptial agreements for protecting assets.

Car Accident Lawyer

A car accident lawyer assists clients with claims for both property damage and personal injury suffered in a motor vehicle accident crash.  People should conduct some research to ensure that they find the best car accident lawyer in Perth to assist them with their claim.  Google reviews are useful in allowing a person get some insight into what they can expect from a lawyer. 

Immigration Lawyer

An Immigration Lawyer plays an integral role in helping non-US persons to gain legal status in the United States. They are well versed in all of the laws that pertain to legal access to the US. This includes offering legal advice to people wanting a request asylum in the US. Along with helping individuals with immigration questions, they are also able to offer legal advice to employers regarding the laws covering hiring immigrants.

Intellectual Property (IP) Lawyer

An Intellectual Property Lawyer specializes in helping clients protect a wide range of property. They offer advice on a long list of topics ranging from patent protection and defending, to creative content protection (writing, songs, and inventions). They are also able to help develop a strategy to protect against copyright infringement.

Personal Injury Lawyer

A Personal Injury Lawyer helps to protect the rights of their client that were injured as the right of another person’s actions. Choosing the best personal injury lawyers Perth to assist you with your claim is important in ensuring you receive the maximum amount of compensation you are entitled to.  They primarily deal with civil cases and often involve negotiating settlements between their client and another party. These liability cases can either be against an individual or business entity to ensure that a client’s rights are protected.

Tax Lawyer

A Tax Lawyer is well versed in all of the ever-changing tax laws, at both the local, state and federal levels. Tax Lawyers can be found in a wide range of settings, helping to advise individuals, corporations, and even non-profit agencies on the tax laws that govern them. Tax Lawyers can represent clients during a wide range of proceedings involving taxes.