The legal field can be extensive and challenging to navigate for the uninitiated. If you need legal counsel, it’s essential to first figure out what type of lawyer you should approach. There are many types of lawyers with responsibilities and specializations in fields ranging from corporate law and healthcare to civil rights and toxic tort.

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While legal software has made lawyers much more accessible, not every lawyer will be adequately equipped or knowledgeable enough to help you with your specific needs. Once you have a better grip on the different types of lawyers and their areas of expertise, you’ll be able to figure out what kind of counsel you need.

What Is a Lawyer?

A lawyer (also referred to as an attorney or counselor) is a legal professional with the license to represent the interests of others in legal matters.

To qualify as a lawyer, an individual must:

• Obtain a bachelor’s degree
• Complete law school
• Qualify in the state bar examination
• Pass a character and fitness review
• Swear an oath to support the state and federal constitutions
• Receive a license to operate from the highest court in the state

As you can see, it’s a tall order. You can, however, choose to represent yourself in a court of law under special circumstances. In the case of minor misdemeanors or disputes, it’s not unheard of; but for anything more significant, it’s always advisable to get guidance from a lawyer.

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Types of Lawyers

You can categorize lawyers into 20 types based on roles, specializations and qualifications. This section will briefly discuss what kind of lawyers there are and what exactly sets them apart.

1. Bankruptcy Lawyer

Bankruptcy lawyers deal with consumer or commercial bankruptcy issues. Consumer cases deal with individuals or creditors, while commercial cases deal with commercial institutions or corporate creditors.

They must have a deep understanding of the U.S Bankruptcy Code to help their clients file for bankruptcy and counsel them through financial disputes, insolvency issues and claims. If you’re filing for bankruptcy, you’ll also need to restructure your finances in the aftermath, so hiring an expert is in your best interests.

2. Business or Corporate Lawyer

They act as legal counselors to corporations to ensure all operations occur within the boundaries of local, state and federal law. Business operations can include mergers and acquisitions, contracts, intellectual property, and patent disputes.

Because most business lawyers either work at a corporate law firm or as in-house counsel, you need to be thoroughly familiar with drawing up and scrutinizing legal documents and navigating corporate affairs.

3. Constitutional Lawyer

Constitutional lawyers are experts in interpreting and dealing with cases related to the Constitution. They usually represent the interests of individuals against government institutions and dispute any unconstitutional legislature in a court of law.

A constitutional lawyer would be an excellent place to start if you want to fight for civil rights or seek justice against discrimination.

4. Criminal Defense Lawyer

Criminal defense lawyers represent clients accused of illegal activities as private attorneys or public defenders. They must have a clear and in-depth understanding of the judicial system to be able to defend clients to the best of their ability.

It’s their responsibility to ensure the justice system treats their clients fairly during the trial and preserves their rights and liberties during interrogation.

5. Employment and Labor Lawyer

They deal with disputes arising in the workplace from concerns about discrimination, benefits, harassment, overtime, working hours and more. Employment lawyers are more common in non-union workplaces, while labor lawyers deal with unionized workspaces.

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6. Entertainment Lawyer

Entertainment lawyers represent individuals in the entertainment industry, including athletes, artists, actors and musicians. They are well-versed in laws governing intellectual property, contracts and fee agreements. Their main responsibility is to negotiate contracts, transfers, fee agreements and talent releases while protecting the intellectual properties of clients.

7. Estate Planning Lawyer

As the name suggests, estate planning lawyers are experts in estate planning — they advise clients on property rights and help set up trusts and wills. They can help you evaluate the worth of your assets, gauge liabilities and ensure you handle the transfer of any assets properly and legally.

The estate planning lawyer is responsible for ensuring all proceedings happen according to the client’s wishes. Their knowledge of tax laws is crucial to understanding taxation based on your estate’s value.

8. Family Lawyer

Family lawyers deal with family-related matters and domestic disputes. Their responsibilities cover a wide range of issues, ranging from child custody and divorce cases to alimony and prenuptial agreements. Other areas of prominence include surrogacy, juvenile delinquency, domestic abuse, child welfare, guardianship, adoption and more.

While a large portion of family lawyers either operate individually or as part of law firms, some nonprofit organizations retain them to help vulnerable sections of society.

9. Immigration Lawyer

They help immigrants navigate how to live, work and study in a foreign country. People new to the country, especially refugees and asylum seekers, have no idea about the strings attached to their particular roles. Immigration lawyers play a crucial role in understanding how to legally immigrate, gain a work status or apply for citizenship.

Many immigration lawyers work in government agencies and nonprofit organizations to help immigrants with such issues.

10. Intellectual Property (IP) Lawyer

Intellectual property lawyers advise artists and creators on how to best protect their intellectual capital. This role requires thorough knowledge of copyright laws, trademarking, patenting, branding and licensing.

Suppose you want to register a trademark or a patent. In that case, you need an IP lawyer familiar with all the procedures and regulations and who can protect your intellectual property from infringement.

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11. Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal injury lawyers represent individuals who have sustained injuries because of a third party. They counsel the victims in civil litigations against the individual(s) or corporation responsible. Most common causes of personal injury include medical malpractice, motor vehicle accidents, workplace hazards and more.

These lawyers must collect evidence of their client’s injuries and argue for damages owed to them in court.

12. Tax Lawyer

Tax lawyers are specialists in navigating local, state and federal tax laws and regulations. They know the system inside and out and are experts in tax planning. Their skillset makes them valuable assets, especially to big corporations, accounting firms, government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

They must continuously keep up with updates in tax laws, regulatory changes, IRS rulings and relevant court sentences to understand how new tax laws will affect their clients.

13. Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Medical malpractice lawyers deal specifically with grievances against the medical profession. If you have experienced personal injury or harm because of erroneous treatment, misdiagnosis, negligence or discrimination at the hands of a medical care professional, you could be entitled to compensation.

They advise victims of medical malpractice on how to adequately represent themselves and bring charges against the accused. They can even defend those accused of medical malpractice, depending on who their client is.

14. Contract Lawyer

Contract lawyers specialize in creating, updating and enforcing legally binding contracts. Their presence is vital if you are disputing the legality of a contract or heading contract negotiations.

15. Social Security Disability Lawyer

They help clients seek assistance from the disability system. Their expertise in disability law is necessary to submit requests, appeal decisions and contest benefit reduction and termination issues.

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16. Environmental Lawyer

Environmental lawyers work to protect the environment from harm by individuals, government agencies or corporations. They can pursue legal action against any party that causes intentional or accidental damage to the environment. On the flip side, they also work as part of these organizations to draft policies and regulations that prevent the recurrence of harmful incidents.

This role requires a comprehensive understanding of environmental law and knowledge of the latest Environmental Protection Agency regulations and policies.

17. Finance and Securities Lawyer

Finance and securities lawyers deal with financial and white-collar crimes. They defend their clients against insider trading, market manipulation, fraud and other allegations. Corporations and government agencies also hire them to ensure their governance and internal policies are up to date with the latest regulations.

18. Digital Media and Internet Lawyer

Everything related to digital media or the internet is their domain. They deal with everything from piracy and copyright infringement to user privacy and censoring issues. Additionally, corporations hire their services to create internet policies and terms and conditions pages.

19. General Practice Lawyer

General practice lawyers are proficient in a wide range of areas and don’t have any particular specializations. Their individual preferences will vary depending on the specific practitioner.

If you are confused about what kind of counsel you should seek, it’s always considered a good rule of thumb to consult a general practice lawyer to get a grip on your bearings.

20. Toxic Tort Lawyer

They help individuals who have sustained injuries or damages from exposure to poisonous or hazardous materials. If you want to file a lawsuit or seek settlement for injuries caused, you need lawyers with knowledge of and experience in class action lawsuits.

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FAQs

Do I need to hire a lawyer whenever I have a legal problem?

It’s absolutely within your rights to represent yourself in any legal proceeding. There are particular circumstances where nonlawyers and paralegals can represent your interests. It’s always better to ask relevant authorities if there’s room for error.

While it’s normal to represent yourself in minor misdemeanors or small claims, getting legal representation for high-profile cases is advisable. Unless you have prior experience in legal matters, counsel from someone with actual legal knowledge and experience can go a long way in helping your case.

What are the differences between lawyers and attorneys at law?

To be an attorney, you must graduate from law school, pass the bar exam and become a member of the State Bar Association in the state of your choice. Then, and only then, can you represent clients in a court of law and offer legal advice or act as legal counsel in any particular role.

On the other hand, a lawyer is a person who has completed law school but has not yet passed the Bar exam. This means they are not yet eligible to provide legal advice and represent their clients in a court of law.

Do lawyers have to go through all the evidence on their own?

Some cases can have hundreds of thousands of files for discovery. It’s not humane for lawyers to go through all those files independently, irrespective of how big the firm is. For this reason, law firms use specialized legal software, eDiscovery software or case management software.

Lawyers and paralegals can archive, categorize, label and organize evidence for future reference using eDiscovery software that can automatically parse through terabytes of discovery material. Combined with the development of optical character recognition (OCR) and natural language processing (NLP), legal software can help you edit and search digital documents as well.

Can any lawyer practice in any state?

To practice law in a state outside of one’s original jurisdiction, a lawyer must meet the state’s bar admission requirements. Outside of that, they can appeal to the state’s highest court for a special permit — they can practice once they receive approval. Additionally, lawyers can appeal for a one-time permit to participate in a specific case.

Do lawyers have to spend a lot of time in court?

Contrary to popular belief, lawyers don’t spend much time in courtrooms. They spend a lot of time in offices collecting evidence, discovering or preparing legal documents. Other than that, they also have to interview witnesses and separate facts from fiction.

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Conclusion

When it comes to the law, lawyers are our guide. So it’s important to get good counsel when the time comes. Before seeking guidance, ensure you know what kind of assistance you require. We hope this article will help you recognize the types of lawyers you need.

Did we forget to mention any type of lawyer? Did we answer all your questions? Let us know in the comments section below.