25 Types of Common Lawyers

As you know, the path to becoming a lawyer is clear but complex. It requires a four-year Bachelor’s degree, three years of law school, and passing the bar exam to become admitted. However, becoming a lawyer involves much more than just accruing hours.

There are many different types of lawyers with various practice areas. Deciding what kind of law you want to practice mainly depends on your interest and the work you want to do.

Knowing the roles and responsibilities of different types of lawyers may help you make the decision of what type of lawyer you would like to be in the future.

1. Business Lawyer

Business lawyers are the people who make sure their clients’ businesses stay in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The main fields of expertise when it comes to business lawyers are contract law, labor law, and corporate law. 

They usually work with a company, but may also practice law in private or governmental sectors. The business lawyer typically takes care of all legal aspects that come into play in doing their job, like negotiating commercial contracts, giving advice on employment relationships between employees and employers, and helping in establishing and maintaining business organizations. 

The nature of the work is challenging, but also very rewarding. Business lawyers get to help their companies grow by providing them with legal advice and representation when needed. 

2. Bankruptcy Lawyer 

There are two types of bankruptcy lawyers: work with individual bankruptcy or commercial bankruptcy. The main role of a bankruptcy lawyer is to provide legal advice and guidance for clients who are filing for bankruptcy protection under the United States Bankruptcy Code.

There are many responsibilities that a bankruptcy lawyer has to carry out in order to uphold their duties and serve their clients. The most common service of a bankruptcy lawyer is restructuring and liquidation, where they file the necessary bankruptcy papers on behalf of their client.

3. Criminal Defense Lawyer

Criminal defense lawyers represent defendants who have been charged with a crime. They handle the majority of cases that reach the criminal court system. Their job is to defend their client and build a strong case to either show:

• There truly has been a crime committed and their client’s intent was innocent;
• No crime has been committed and their client’s actions were not criminal; or
• They are guilty but there is a good reason for it.

These lawyers spend each day building their cases in order to prove their client is innocent, which involves legal research, interviews with witnesses, investigating the scene of the crime, compiling evidence- either obtained from the scene itself or from other sources such as witnesses- and building a strong defense to present to the court.

4. Constitutional Lawyer

Constitutional lawyers are responsible for the interpretation of the Constitution. They often represent parties in civil cases that involve issues of constitutional interpretation.

The main function of constitutional lawyers is to determine if a law violates the United States Constitution. If it does, they will file a motion for judgment on the constitutional issue. If no constitutional violation can be found then the case moves forward with its original agenda.

This includes freedom of speech, freedom to practice religion, and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.

Constitutional lawyers may:

• Analyze legislation for any civil liberty problems
• Decide whether or not they will challenge a law in court
• File amicus briefs or handle appeals on behalf of their clients
• Prepare research and studies on the effects of proposed legislation
• Research existing civil liberties laws while building cases for existing or potential litigation
• Testify before Congress, federal agencies, and other governing bodies

Constitutional lawyers are employed by advocacy groups, non-profit organizations, universities, and various law firms. 

5. Family Lawyer

Family lawyers represent clients who have been involved in cases involving issues such as divorce, child custody, visitation rights, paternity proceedings, domestic violence, spousal abuse, and other family-related disputes.

The client’s background is usually taken into consideration when making a determination of representation since each client’s situation is unique and requires a lawyer to understand the complexities involved.

Family lawyers must be attentive to detail and be able to communicate effectively with all parties involved in a case. It is critical that he or she gathers and documents evidence thoroughly because even small details can play an important role when appearing before a judge.

6. Employment or Labor Lawyer

Employment lawyers, also known as labor lawyers, are legal experts in the field of labor and employment rights. 

An employment lawyer is responsible for representing employees with issues involving overtime pay, discrimination lawsuits, wrongful termination, sexual harassment charges, and other issues in the workplace.

7. Entertainment Lawyer

Entertainment lawyers represent various celebrities in different fields of entertainment. Such types of lawyers include actors, musicians, athletes, and even fashion lawyers.

Depending on their clients’ needs, an entertainment lawyer can be involved at different stages of the career path of one who is related to the entertainment industry. 

For instance, they are useful when their clients look for a contract with a corporation, when they want to buy or sell the intellectual property or when they are involved in legal disputes.

8. Estate Planning Lawyer

Estate planning lawyers work with individuals, families, and businesses to create estate plans that provide for the distribution of assets at the time of death. Once the plan is designed, they may help implement drafting or filing documents with government agencies including tax authorities and insurance companies. 

They can also provide additional legal services related to estate management including asset protection, wealth transfers, the creation of entities such as corporations and non-profit organizations, tax advice, or dispute resolution during the lifetime of the client.

Estate planning lawyers must have knowledge of relevant areas including family law, business law, taxation law, and benefits law. They may have good negotiation and leadership skills as the estate plan will affect many people and often involves several family members.

9. Immigration Lawyer

An immigration lawyer is a lawyer who specializes and focuses on U.S. immigration law, with emphasis on helping clients receive permission to enter and exit the United States under immigration laws.

The most common types of cases handled by an immigration lawyer are family petitions (such as petitions for spouses and children), employment petitions (for companies that want to hire foreign workers), and visas (for people who want to visit or live in the U.S.).

An immigration lawyer must be familiar with federal laws, such as the Immigration and Nationality Act, as well as relevant administrative codes and procedures for filing petitions and applications with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that manages all legal immigration to the U.S.

An immigration lawyer should have a working knowledge of English, as well as the native language of the immigrant for whom they are filing a petition or application. If necessary, an immigration lawyer can work with interpreters and translators who can translate written documents and oral communications.

10. Intellectual Property (IP) Lawyer 

Intellectual Property lawyers work with brands, products, and services – giving advice on what should be protected (trademarks, patents, etc.), how it can be done (application process), and the enforcement of those protections. 

11. Personal Injury Lawyer

A personal injury lawyer specializes in representing the victims of accidents, medical malpractice, and other wrongs committed by another person or entity in order to seek compensation for their client’s injuries. These types of cases are extremely complex largely because there are many different types of personal injury cases.

12. Tax Lawyer

The goal of a tax lawyer is to provide sound legal advice and service, helping clients with their individual or business taxation issues. Tax lawyers typically have expertise in all areas of taxation, including federal and provincial income tax, sales tax, property tax, payroll taxes, capital gains taxes, estate planning, and more.

In addition to dealing with individuals, they also advise companies on the business aspects of taxation as it concerns them.

Tax lawyers are responsible for ensuring that there is compliance with the tax laws in the jurisdictions where they are practicing.

13. Contract Lawyer 

Contract lawyers work on the negotiations of contracts and agreements. They need to understand, operate and negotiate contracts so that their client can set up a contract that is based on the type of business they are in and one that will benefit them.

14. Corporate lawyer

A corporate lawyer is responsible for helping clients of large companies solve business-related legal issues. Corporate lawyers work with all aspects of a company, including contracts, mergers, acquisitions, investments and compliance with local regulations.

Corporate lawyers hold several roles within a company. They may serve as in-house counsel to the company or as outside counsel to the company. In-house counsel refers to a corporate lawyer who works exclusively for a single company, while outside counsel serves as the main legal support for a client from an external law firm.

15. Government Lawyer

Government lawyers are government employees, but hold a special place in the legal world. They typically work for federal, state, or local governments and handle cases involving the government’s interest. In other words, their client is not a private business or individual citizen. 

Government lawyers must have a thorough knowledge of regulations and laws governing civil service positions, pensions, unemployment, taxation, labor relations, and public utility rates.

16. Military Lawyer 

Military lawyers are legal professionals employed by the armed forces. The role of military lawyers is typically to advise commanders about the legality of various aspects of military operations, perform legal research and analysis to support their opinions, and represent defendants in courts-martial. 

Lawyers who specialize in military law may be either active-duty or retired members of the armed forces, and they must be licensed to practice in accordance with the laws.

17. Social Security Disability Lawyer

A Social Security Disability Lawyer represents those who cannot represent themselves due to mental or physical disabilities. Generally, their responsibilities are as follows:

• To be sure that those individuals receive their benefits as soon as possible 
• Assisting with appeals and filing of motions to reopen
• Filing for retroactive benefits
• Representing those individuals who have been denied their applications and filing a Request for Hearing  

18. Civil Litigation Lawyer

A civil litigation lawyer is a professional who specializes in litigating disputes between individuals, businesses, and other entities.

They bring together evidence, witnesses, and arguments during trial proceedings to build the strongest possible case. It is their job to investigate the facts of the case, analyze relevant legal issues, and research precedents set by previous court decisions.

A civil litigation lawyer must be able to provide an objective assessment of the issues in a case. They will examine all aspects of the suit, including liability, damages, and applicable laws to establish who is at fault or whether there are any mitigating factors that should affect damages.

19. Medical Malpractice Lawyer 

Medical malpractice lawyers are responsible for dealing with cases that involve injuries that result from typically medical procedures or treatments. They are typically involved in litigation, most often representing plaintiffs. 

Medical malpractice lawyers must have excellent interpersonal skills, the ability to understand human anatomy and physiology, good judgment when it comes to assessing evidence and presenting arguments in court, and they must also have good communication skills so that they can explain complicated medical concepts to laypeople. 

They must also be able to carry out extensive research about the latest in medicine and procedures in order to best understand what happened when their client was injured in some way, whether physical or psychological.

20. Public Interest Lawyer

Public interest lawyers are important for society because they help those who cannot afford legal services. They also serve the public by representing low-income clients, clients on death row, and whistleblowers.

A public interest lawyer may represent an individual whose civil liberties have been violated or advocate for low-income individuals in cases involving housing laws or consumer rights.

In the United States, public interest lawyers have made important contributions to the protection of individual rights and liberties. These include helping draft state constitutional provisions that prohibit discrimination and protecting equal access to school textbooks for all children.

21. Traffic lawyer

Traffic lawyers are responsible for handling all matters related to traffic, including minor misdemeanors, civil actions brought against alleged violators of traffic laws. They’ll review the evidence, determine the law and applicable defenses available, and make recommendations about how a case should be pursued. 

22. Civil rights lawyer

Civil rights lawyers work with people who have been discriminated against in some way.  This discrimination can include gender, race, color, and age discrimination.

Civil rights lawyers deal with the complex legal system and help people who have been discriminated against to find justice.

23. Legal Malpractice Lawyer 

A legal malpractice lawyer’s role and responsibilities are to deal with matters concerning attorneys and their negligence or mistakes that lead to damages or loss for a client.

24. Real Estate Lawyer

A real estate lawyer specializes in the acquisition, sale, leasing, and financing of residential and commercial property. They advise clients on all aspects of real estate transactions that are involved in the purchasing or selling of properties. 

Real estate lawyers sometimes work with corporate entities to acquire land or buildings for businesses, as well as governments seeking to build a residential and commercial property.

Real estate lawyers may specialize in a particular area, such as foreclosure law or business law, but many work with all types of real estate transactions. They draft contracts and review closing documents to ensure the process runs smoothly and that all parties involved understand their rights and responsibilities. Many real estate lawyers also represent clients during negotiations and lawsuits involving real estate transactions.

25. General Practice Lawyer

General Practice Lawyers are not restricted to any specific practice area, unlike other types of specialized lawyers. This allows them to work on a much wider variety of cases and clients’ needs and therefore provide clients with more cost-effective legal services. 

They can take on many different cases including family law issues, making wills, personal injury claims, real estate transactions, small business support, and more.

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