Law> Career Paths & Practice Areas
Business Law deals with laws that involve how businesses are managed, as well as rules, statues, codes and regulations that are established to provide a legal framework within which business may be conducted and are enforceable by action. Some areas within business law are:
Antitrust Law focuses on preventing the development of business monopolies and preserving and encouraging economic competition. Antitrust lawyers also govern mergers and acquisitions of companies.
Related ABA article: http://www.abanet.org/lsd/stulawyer/may00/hot.html
Banking Law deals with the financial transactions of companies, including restructuring troubled financing, planning bankruptcy buyouts, and assessing the structures of financial transactions. Banking Law is also referred to as Commercial Finance Law.
Bankruptcy/Reorganization Law governs the obligations and rights of creditors and debtors through liquidation and sale of assets or by restructuring and reorganization to allow an orderly payment of debts. Bankruptcy lawyers who represent debtors guide their clients through the statutory framework that provides relief from the lenders to whom their clients are financially indebted. Bankruptcy lawyers who represent creditors attempt to protect their clients’ interests by securing the maximum recovery possible from a debtor.
Related ABA article: http://www.abanet.org/lsd/stulawyer/oct02/hot.html
Contract Law covers the legal implications of a contract. A contract is a binding legal relationship of rights and duties. Contract attorneys not only work in several business areas, but can also work in a variety of legal fields, including government contracts and entertainment and sports law.
Corporate Law involves the handling of a wide range of legal issues for businesses, including business start-ups, joint ventures, counseling private and public corporations, serving as in-house corporate counsel, and working with mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.
Criminal Law consists of both criminal law and criminal law procedure. Criminal law attorneys represent clients who are being prosecuted by state and federal government for an act classified as a crime. Crimes can be filed as misdemeanors – less serious offenses such as traffic violations and petty theft, or felonies – more serious offenses such as rape and grand theft.
Environmental Law addresses the system of rules that regulates the interaction of people with their environment and aims to protect species and natural areas from destruction and endangerment.
Family Law/Domestic Relations is an area of law that deals with family-related issues such as marriage, adoption, property settlements, divorce, spousal abuse, and elder issues. Lawyers try their cases within the family court system.
Health & Medical Law relate to healthcare and the health of human beings. It broadly covers malpractice, public policy, doctors, HMOs, hospitals and legal-medical ethics. This practice of law encompasses the doctor patient relationship and the legal responsibility of the members of the medical profession for their actions.
Related ABA article: http://www.abanet.org/lsd/stulawyer/sep02/hotpractice.html
International Law focuses on the laws governing the legal relations between nations. Lawyers working in private international law most often work in multinational firms representing international companies or companies engaging in business ventures in foreign customs where conflicts of law may develop. Lawyers working in public international law work with governmental bodies and the laws to which all countries must conform. Legal issues in public international law include territorial disputes, human rights, sovereign immunity, environmental protection, immigration, regulatory reform, and trade. The International Court of Justice is the highest judicial authority of international law and the highest administrative authority is the United Nations.
Labor Law is the practice of law that deals with the interactions between employers and employees. Labor law attorneys provide counsel to both employer and to employee. Within this area of law are union lawyers, management lawyers, government lawyers, agents, arbitrators, and mediators.
Property Law can be divided into three sub divisions, real estate law, personal property law and intellectual property law. Real Estate Law involves any aspect of residential, commercial and industrial investments. Personal Property Law deals with wills, trusts and estate planning. Intellectual Property Law involves intangibles such as copyrights, trademarks and patents.
Related ABA article: http://www.abanet.org/lsd/stulawyer/mar01/hotpractice.html
Tax Law incorporates an array of laws dealing with taxation; the process by which the government collects revenue from individuals and businesses to fund their operations. The common areas of practice for tax lawyers include tax planning for businesses and tax-exempt organizations (nonprofits), tax litigation, employee benefits, personal estate planning and individual tax planning.
Tort Law is a very broad area of law covering areas from negligence to wrongful death. Tort is derived from the latin word tortus which means wrong. Tort law involves the practice known as personal injury and insurance defense. A person/organization commits a tort by failing to act in a responsible manner and thus becomes liable for the resulting injury. Since a tort is a non-criminal, civil injury that results in damage, tort law encompasses the litigation of these cases.
Internet Law deals with all aspects of the internet, including privacy, intellectual property, freedom of speech, safety issues regarding on-line predators, and e-commerce. Internet law, particularly online intellectual property rights, has become a growing area of interest over the past few years.
Related ABA article: http://www.abanet.org/lsd/stulawyer/dec99/hotpractice.html
Entertainment & Sports Law consists of representing the industries of sports, music, theatre, visual arts, and show business. This area of law is similar to contract law, in that lawyers are involved in the creation and negotiation of contracts, recording agreements, and other legally binding documents relating to their clients within the various entertainment industries. Some lawyers who practice entertainment and sports law become involved in other areas of practice involving their clients, such as, product endorsements, restaurant investments, criminal law and defamation.
Related ABA article: http://www.abanet.org/yld/tyl/septpath.html
* Segments of this section were taken from The Official Guide to Legal Specialties by Lisa L. Abrams, J.D. A copy of this book can be located in the UCS Library. To learn more about the various specialties within law, visit the Internet Resources section of the Law Crib Sheets website.
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