To become a great lawyer after passing the bar, it’s a good idea to find an area of the law to specialize in. Specialization helps to build your knowledge and secures better outcomes for clients because of your familiarity with the subject matter. Criminal law, immigration, personal injury, family law, estate planning and real estate law are all areas that provide a great living and personal satisfaction through helping others.
Criminal Law:
The practice of criminal law will never end because people will always break the law. As a specialist in criminal law, you will be able to work to defend individuals who have been charged with crimes. You will help some people reduce the penalty they will receive due to a crime they commit and you will help others to clear their names from false charges.
Immigration:
Immigration law is very necessary in America. Some individuals need Visas and other paperwork completed by lawyers to legally reside here. They also need certain documents to be eligible to work in this country. Immigration law can deliver a steady stream of clients and make a good living for any lawyer interested in making immigration a specialization.
Personal Injury:
Personal injury is a great legal specialization that will allow you to make almost unlimited amounts of money. As a personal injury specialist, you will be able to receive a third of settlements that you negotiate on behalf of your clients. There are several specialties within personal injury law such as becoming an auto accident lawyer, a slip and fall specialist, and more. In addition, you get the satisfaction of helping others who have been injured or harmed due to the negligence of others.
Family Law:
Whether a person needs a divorce, a custody agreement or adoption paperwork, they will need a lawyer to represent their interests in the process. This is a great area of the law to specialize in because there is always a steady stream of clients in need of assistance. Family law issues can go on for years and provide a steady source of income from clients who need representation the entire time.
Estate Planning:
Death is an inevitable event for everyone and it’s important to plan for the future. Estate Planning lawyers are able to help families put their affairs in order to avoid the problems sometimes presented by intestate succession. Estate planning lawyers help people start trusts and make wills to determine where their assets will go in the future and also help wrap up the affairs of the deceased. This is a great area of the law to go into because you are able to help families who need assistance after the death of their loved ones.
Real Estate:
Real estate lawyers help make the record of who owns what by preparing deeds and other land contracts. With interest rates dropping in recent years, real estate is still a way to make a great living as a lawyer. This is a great area to specialize in because closing attorneys help clients get into their new homes by working with lenders to make the process seamless.
Being a lawyer can be a very satisfying job. Decide how you want to help others and figure out what you are good at doing. Build a niche in the area of law that you want to specialize in and you will be able to prosper for years to come.
If I would stay with my day job, the next step would be to get a law degree in estate planning. It is actually pretty interesting!
It is very important to evaluate the return on your investment when considering law school. As for criminal law, the assistant district attorneys and public defenders in my high cost of living city make about $40k/year. With 6-figure student loans, many of them have second jobs. Estate planning, however, continues to be a growing business!
In another life, I would be an attorney. In a way I have fancied it for a long while, maybe from watching all those suave lawyers on the telly expertly arguing cases for the clients and the satisfaction of seeing them win. However, I would specialize in something more corporate related eg, tax or mergers or something that doesn’t involve stepping in court and arguing my case, criminal law is simply out for me!
There are several areas of law to study and students find it really hard to choose the best one for them. It is important to choose the area of study by keeping your passion and future in the mind. This post will help a lot of them to make a better decision.
Great guide! You really highlight the key aspects of each area of law and, and with so many options in the field, it’s important to know which one will suit your goals. Thanks for sharing!