Across the globe, there are many areas of law that one can pursue when deciding on the legal profession as a career.
In future posts we will go into each of the below areas in greater depth, however let this brief overview provide you with a general sense of the most popular and challenging areas of law. This list by no means is finite, as there are a multitude of additional areas of law that may be abstract or require specific qualifications to practice. For our first exploration of the areas of law, here is a breakdown of the most challenging and popular disciplines:
Constitutional Law
Constitutional Law involves interpreting and applying the principles and provisions of the Constitution of The United States. It can be challenging because constitutional issues can often be complex and contentious, with high stakes depending on the decision and what portion of the population it can impact.
International Law
International Law involves dealing with legal issues that cross national borders, such as trade, diplomacy, and human rights. It can often be challenging because of the diversity of legal systems and cultures involved. Since each country will have their own set of laws that may apply to specific scenarios, and the lack of a single authority to enforce international law, make this an extremely challenging area of law.
Tax Law
Tax Law involves dealing with the complex and constantly changing tax laws and regulations passed by state or federal governments. This can be a challenging area due to the fact that Tax lawyers must have a deep understanding of tax codes and regulations as they constantly change and evolve with legislation and policy.
Intellectual Property Law
Intellectual Property Law involves dealing with complex and technical issues related to patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Intellectual property lawyers must have a strong understanding of science and technology, as well as a willingness to stay up to date on legal developments in the field.
Environmental Law
Environmental Law involves dealing with legal issues related to the environment, including pollution, natural resource management, and climate change. Environmental lawyers must have a deep understanding of scientific and technical issues, as well as a willingness to navigate complex regulatory frameworks.
Corporate Law
Corporate Law involves legal issues related to businesses, including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, and employment. These can be extremely complex cases that one much have a deep understanding of corporate and business administration.
Criminal Law
Criminal Law deals with crimes committed by individuals or entities, and the punishment imposed for those crimes. This is an extremely complex area of law that can span entire sections of regulations or city, state, and federal governance. When laws being imposed are broken in certain areas criminal law most likely will cover those cases.
Family Law
Family Law involves legal issues related to family matters, such as marriage, divorce, adoption, child custody, and child support. These can be extremely sensitive cases involving parties and outcomes that are permanent and will not always be satisfactorily resolved for both parties involved.
Personal Injury Law
Personal Injury Law deals with legal issues related to personal injuries, including car accidents, medical malpractice, and workplace injuries. This area can span a multitude of cases which can involve anyone from civilians all the way up to government agencies like OSHA.
Real Estate Law
Real Estate Law deals with legal issues related to property ownership and transactions, including leasing, buying, selling, and zoning. This can involve both commercial and residential properties, meaning each category can usually having their own area of specialty.
We will perform a deep dive and explore each of these areas in future posts in order to decern the advantages and disadvantages related with these areas as a legal career.
