Lawyers tend to be highly compensated in our society, and that is why there are plenty of people lined up at the doors of law schools wanting in. Many people see dollar signs when they think about studying to become a lawyer, and it is understandable that some people would want to prioritize money as one of their prime objectives for going to school. However, that should not be the only thing that an aspiring law student thinks about. He or she also ought to consider how their choice of field to practice law in can impact the lives of other people as well. This is why we want to review some of the options open to those who enter law school at this time.
Divorce Attorney
There is the potential to make a lot of money as a divorce attorney. Society is structured in such a way that many marriages simply don’t make it. Thus, divorce lawyers are there to help people go through the legal steps that they must go through to finalize a divorce and move on with their lives. It is definitely not easy to deal with the emotional toll that comes with going through a divorce, but that is why lawyers are there to help clean up some of the legal mess that can spill out in these scenarios as well. They want to help their clients understand what they are going through from a legal perspective, and they know that the best way to do this is to try to remain neutral and calm throughout the proceedings. The role of a divorce attorney is certainly a special one.
Child Support
On the subject of divorce and the legal matters that must be resolved as part of it, child support is another area that lawyers may consider getting involved in. A child support lawyer is one who advocates on the part of his or her client to have legal guardianship over a child after a divorce has taken place. Once again, this is a highly emotional process in nearly every case, and it is not without an emotional cost associated with it. Still, a child support lawyer knows that they are doing a great thing to help protect the safety and well-being of the child. When the adults in the room cannot agree on who would be the best one to take the child, a lawyer may have to get involved to help sort it all out.
Getting people to pay up the child support that they owe to the other party is never easy, but there are legal mechanisms built into the system that are designed to force the hands of those who are not doing the right thing on their own. As such, it is definitely worthwhile to at least consider a career as an attorney that specializes in child support cases. You could make a real difference in the lives of many people, and that is why so many want to work in law, to begin with.
Bankruptcy Attorney
The number of bankruptcies in the United States and beyond is exploding rapidly. People are just not able to afford life as much as they used to. It is quite common for people to become overwhelmed by debts and to not have the income to sustain them. As such, they will call on a bankruptcy attorney to help them formally petition the court to help get them out of this mess. Indeed, the legal system is set up in such a way that people can file for bankruptcy to get out of the financial mess that they have created for themselves. Obviously, no one wants to be in those shoes to begin with, but if you do find yourself in a difficult spot, there are options out there for you.
Criminal Defense
The type of lawyer that most people think of when they think of a lawyer at all is a criminal defense attorney. These are the individuals so often portrayed on television. They are also often villainized by pop culture as only being interested in fame or money over the truth. The reality is that defense attorneys often work for little money to provide a legal defense to clients who have been charged with a whole host of crimes.
The Constitution of the United States establishes the right of all people to have legal representation when they appear in court. It even goes so far as to extend this right to persons who are unable to pay for an attorney themselves. They can have one assigned to them via the court if they don’t have the money to pay for one out of pocket. Those who practice criminal defense law are the ones who have to stand up and defend those people when they are most in need. This goes to show that being a criminal defense lawyer is certainly not all about fame or money.
DWI Law
A common charge that many defendants face is a driving while impaired (DWI) charge. This can occur even if the person was not truly impaired when they were pulled over. It is sad but true that people can get pulled over for seemingly anything in this country, and it becomes hard to fight charges once you are slapped with the label of being someone who would drive while impaired. That is why they need a good DWI attorney to help them out in these situations.
The laws are very specific when it comes to driving while impaired and what the legal definition of that is. If the client does not meet all of the criteria for being impaired while they were driving, then they may be able to get away from some of the charges that were levied against them. People don’t always realize that they have rights even when they are being accused of various crimes. It is in that moment that they need someone who has gone to law school and wants to make a difference in the lives of others.
Business Law
On the sliding scale of how much money one can make from various areas of the law, a business law attorney tends to do pretty well. What a business law attorney has that others may not is the ability to be retained by one client (a business) that wants to keep them around for all of their legal needs as they arise. Often, businesses have complex legal needs that need to be addressed rather quickly. They may not have the time to go looking for a new lawyer every time something comes up. Instead, they want to have somebody on standby who can assist them so they can cut to the chase and start getting the problem solved.
Those who go to school to practice this type of law are likely to spend a great deal of their time pouring over contracts, sitting in negotiations, and performing other tasks as requested by the company that has hired them. It can be dull at times, but at least the money is good for those who do this.
Accident Law
Accidents occur on the road every day. In fact, there are thousands of them on any given day, and they are not always easy to help solve. People get hurt, and they want compensation from the court. It makes sense that they would take it to this level, but they won’t get very far if they don’t have a motorcycle accidents lawyer. Such an individual is there to assist them with their claims and to help shepherd them towards a promising solution.
The goal of the motorcycle accidents lawyer is to work out an agreement between both parties so that the case can be settled out of court. Often, the lawyer is working with his or her own client and an insurance company of some kind. The insurance company is the only one that really has the deep pockets necessary to pay out some of the claims that accident victims will make. Thus, the ideal student for this area of the law is someone who is good at negotiating, and someone who can convince their client that it is in their best interest to settle the matter out of court (because it almost always is).
Probate Law
There are laws that govern wills and other matters that must be cleared up after someone has passed on. It is not as cut and dry as some assume, and it is necessary to have a referee of sorts to stand in the middle of everyone and make sure that everyone’s rights at protected. It is sad to say, but the role of a probate lawyer is often to keep family members from damaging one another by their actions after their loved one has died. People often get greedy in these moments, and they will pull every trick in the book to avoid giving up any bit of control over a will. They may even overstep the bounds a little bit and do something that they are not supposed to do. That is where a good probate lawyer comes in handy.
The probate lawyer is there to ensure that the will is executed exactly as it is supposed to be. They make sure that those who have the authority to make decisions about matters in the will are executed the way that they should be. This is yet again another example of an area of the law where a lawyer is a great thing to have handy. You don’t want to go into this type of mission without someone there to back you up.
Protecting Against Foreclosure
Society may be on the edge of a great wave of foreclosures to come down the pike very soon. Evictions are resuming after a lengthy cause due to new regulations created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it is highly likely that some people are going to face foreclosure as they are unable to get caught up on their payments. The only good news for people in this predicament is that there are laws that are designed to protect them. They just need to get together with a foreclosure defense lawyer to see what can be done to help in their situation. After all, they shouldn’t give up without a fight. They can work towards staying in their homes even as foreclosure is hurtling towards them. They can dig their heels in and try to get through the situation a bit more easily with the help of their attorney. They just must be prepared to stand up and protect what is rightfully theirs. It is not easy to be put in this spot, but it is the only thing that some lenders will listen to. If you get an attorney to help out, they are far more likely to take you seriously.
Civil Matters
Not everything that goes before the court is a criminal matter. In fact, most of the cases heard in court have to do with civil concerns. Think of things like a dispute between neighbors over a fence line, or perhaps some concerns related to a business dispute of some kind. These are matters that require the assistance of a civil litigation attorney, and those in law school should consider this as a possible route to success for themselves as well.
There are a ton of civil lawyers who do quite well for themselves, and many more can join their ranks. There is no shortage of work, and the clients who need help with these cases are often agreeable to a deal where the attorney gets some percentage of the funds that they win for their client. Everyone walks away a bit more enriched, and the world keeps on turning. It is an area of the law that is not spoken about nearly enough, but it is yet another one to put on your list of potential areas to practice in when debating what to do with your life.
