Law students often find it hard to pick the right type of law they want to focus on. Law schools make students feel that corporate law and litigation are the only two types of law that exist. In truth, there are many different legal practices you can focus on. You can focus on the environment, taxes, criminal, employment, human rights, and even intellectual property.
How Do You Pick the Right Law Practice?
Do you enjoy arguing? How much money do you want to make? Meaning, are you motivated by money? The right type of law will depend on these three things: your interest, the money you need and want, and your personality and skills. You can get experience by interning for different law firms. That will give you an idea of what you’re looking at in your career, and even what type of clients you are going to get.
You might get a handle on things by focusing more on yourself—what extracurricular activities are you involved in? What elective classes did you take? Once it’s time to join a law firm, these are the things that will help you decide which firm is best for you.
Criminal Law
You’ve probably seen hundreds of criminal law movies already. These lawyers look badass on the silver screen. Criminal law is one of the toughest types of law to master. Whether you’re a prosecutor or a defense lawyer, this practice has a lot of courtroom drama as they try to protect the rights of their clients. Criminal law will also turn you into a car accident attorney. You’ll handle anything from accidents that involve minor scratches to the ones that caused fatalities.
Environmental
Lawyers in this area have to lobby policies and laws in Congress. They protect not only the rights of the people but the environment as well. Climate change is going to be a bigger issue in the years to come. Environmental lawyers will play a huge role in protecting natural resources by pushing for regulations.
Litigation
Are you argumentative? Complex litigation involves a lot of high-stake corporate lawsuits. However, these are also the types of law that pay huge. Most lawyers make their money by winning a couple of big lawsuits. These usually last a long time, so you have to be attentive to detail and patient.
Tax
This is another complex field of law to study. You have to keep up with new regulations and policies. You are not only guiding people in filing their taxes and other issues with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but you can also help them plan their estates. Some lawyers make more than $200,000 annually on tax law.
Health Care
This issue will be huge in the coming years as governments try to grapple with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. People are going to demand health care reforms. Those who are knowledgeable about it will reap the benefits. Health care lawyers will play a critical role in shaping the future of the health care industry as they fight for people’s rights to access free and affordable health care.
Family Law
Lawyers in this field have to ready themselves for the myriad of emotions these family law cases usually evoke. You can face ugly divorces, inspiring adoptions, and all things in-between. The beauty of family law is that lawyers have a direct impact on the lives of the family members.
Labor
Lawyers are always in-demand in issues of employment. Whether it’s a discrimination case, sexual harassment, or compensation, the rules are always evolving. This is an exciting field to practice, though it is not without its challenges.
With so many fields of law, you will certainly not lack choices. Make sure to know which you’re interested in early in your academic life. You have to complement your interests with extracurricular activities, elective classes, and internships.
