What Kind of Lawyer Should You Be? The 10 Best Legal Areas for New Lawyers
With 40,000 new lawyers joining the profession every year, it’s no surprise that new areas of law keep popping up. It seems like the subject possibilities are endless.
There are many legal practice areas that you should take into consideration if you’re an incoming law student or a current lawyer looking to switch areas of law practice. You’ve come to the right place to read about the top ten best legal practice areas. Keep reading to decide what your area of passion may be.
1. Medical Law
Medical law is one of the more exciting fields of law that seems to be constantly changing. With new medical findings and experimental procedures, there are constantly patients (and doctors) that find themselves needing a lawyer that specializes in medicine.
Medical lawyers even defend those who have been injured outside of medical offices. For example, some defendants have found themselves needing a lawyer after they’ve incurred brain swelling after a car accident.
2. Intellectual Property Law
Although one of the more unknown branches of law, intellectual property law can still be riveting. Intellectual property lawyers handle patents, copyrights, trademarks, and other legal holdings on intellectual property.
Intellectual property can include ideas, projects, books, and more. Inventors, writers, artists, and other innovators find common use in intellectual property lawyers.
You may even get to argue a case about stolen intellectual property. While complex and abstract, these cases can be exhilarating.
3. Environmental Law
As more and more time passes, climate change and similar environmental issues keep showing up on the news. We’re constantly hearing about how lawyers are holding companies responsible for carbon emissions or other harmful practices.
If you’re passionate about the environment and caring for Mother Earth, environmental law might just be the place for you. The need for passionate environmental lawyers like you will keep rising as the planet experiences a harder toll from human practices.
Are you going to be the one to hold businesses responsible and crack the case of climate change?
4. Civil Rights Law
If you feel enraged by broken human rights, civil rights law may be your calling. With the persistence of hate crimes across the United States, more and more civil rights lawyers are being called upon to protect citizens and uphold the Constitution.
You may find yourself defending people who were wrongfully fired, wrongfully accused, or even wrongfully killed because of how they appear or what they practice.
5. Animal Rights Law
Animal rights law focuses on protecting our furry friends. These voiceless creatures are often harmed or exploited by large companies.
Most notoriously, the makeup and food industries have been past culprits of animal rights’ cases.
You may find yourself saving hundreds of animals across the span of your career as you fight against greedy corporations and other cruel people. If you’re a lover of all animals, animal rights law may be your calling.
6. Tax Law
If you’d rather stay out of the courtroom and in the books, tax law may just be for you. Tax lawyers are actually quite common and quite popular.
The average person doesn’t know how to navigate their taxes, estate planning, or other important legal practices. As a tax lawyer, you could help them set up their lives (and their children’s lives) for success.
If you’re a wiz at keeping up with tax law or you just like doing taxes or math, tax law is the perfect fit for you.
7. Immigration Law
As immigration becomes a greater debate in the United States, many people are calling on immigration lawyers. If you’re on the side of the debate that would like to help people immigrate into the United States, immigration law is for you.
As an immigration lawyer, you’ll get to do highly-visible work while helping people who want to make a home in the United States.
8. Criminal Law
Criminal law is one of the most televised legal practice areas. Whether you choose to be a defender or a prosecutor, you’re bound to get some drama out of the courtroom.
If you live for law shows and dramatic monologues, criminal law is your place to shine. You’re bound to get joy out of protecting your clients.
You may see cases that range from shoplifting to murder. Criminal law has such a wide range of cases ready for you to pick up.
9. Family Law
If you’re interested in families and their interworkings, family law is for you. From adoptions to divorces, family law reaches through every legal process that families go through.
As a family lawyer, you may also find yourself in juvenile court representing youth in the family.
Some family law cases can be difficult, like those involving domestic abuse. However, many family lawyers enter this field to directly impact people’s home lives, and family law is a great way to do this.
10. Sports and Entertainment Law
If you’re interested in sports, you might have just found your perfect area of legal practice. Sports and entertainment law covers contracts, royalties, compensation, negotiations, disputes, and more.
This field of law gives you a background look into all of the sports drama that you may otherwise only see on television. If you’re finding yourself consumed by what happens on and off the field, you should consider sports and entertainment law.
Choosing Your Favorite of These Legal Practice Areas
Now that we’ve gone over the most exciting and financially-stimulating legal practice areas, it’s time for you to decide which one you’d practice. Are you interested in medical law, environmental law, criminal law, tax law, or something else? Perhaps, you’re interested in one of the other areas of law that isn’t even featured on this list.
Whatever the case, we bid you luck on your law journey and wish you the best in providing a voice for whomever you choose to serve.
To learn more about law or another field, feel free to peruse the rest of our website and binge read our blog. We have more lists and tips there that were made just for you.
