In the United States of America, there are many different types of attorneys. They fulfill different types of roles and are specialized is a vast range of different legal matters. A lot of these lawyers will more often than not work outside of the courtroom for the most part, doing things like prepping documents for ongoing cases, outlining and drafting contracts, wills, etc., playing the role of advisor for their clients whenever these need help on specific or broad legal matters, or just negotiating current or future deals, among many other things of course. Granted, that’s not to say that this applies to all attorneys, as there are many who excel at litigation and taking cases to court in order to win the case for their client or clients.
As an average citizen, knowing which type of lawyer to go to in the unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on how things develop) case that you need to pursue legal action is in your best interests. Even if you consider the chances of such a thing happening being relatively slim, this article can still be of help as a future reference for you or someone you know in the case you or they might be in need of a lawyer for whatever specific thing would be required, like suing someone, getting one in case you’re being sued, protecting your intellectual property, dealing with immigration, etc.
With the advent of the Internet, there are now many, many firms with their own websites that you can contact. According to website Statista, there are over 1.3 million licensed lawyers in the US [1] with many of them being able to be contacted online easily to get things going as quickly as possible. They’re just a couple of clicks away, so there’s little need like before to waste precious hours on the phone just hoping to get a good one. Now, you can choose from a myriad of attorneys and lawyers all over the US!
Now then, with all the introduction and rambling out of the way, let’s get to it shall we? These are the top attorney specializations you can find online:
Malpractice Attorney
Sometimes professionals like doctors, accountants, governments officials and even lawyers themselves make mistakes. When facing the consequences of their errors, a medical malpractice attorney is the specialist to call. Sometimes hiring one of these professionals is needed to make sure that business and overall work is being performed in a professional way according to the law.
Immigration Attorney
Dealing with the United States’ immigration process can be a pretty challenging and taxing endeavor, so if a person is experiencing problems related to his or her immigration status, this type of lawyer can help. Issues such as visa processing, citizenship petitions, refugee or asylum applications, and green cards are all handled by this type of specialist.
Intellectual Property (IP) Attorney
These are the kinds of attorneys you are going to need in case you are ever dealing with something you created yourself. When you create something, be it a unique design, a game, a song, a bike, a book/novel, etc., that thing is yours and yours alone (if you created it own your own with no co-creators of course) and as such it’s your intellectual property. The work these lawyers tend to do is based on providing their clients with legal advice regarding their intellectual property’s commercial viability and way in which to market it. They also deal with IP copyright infringement, negotiating settlements and such.
Tax Attorney
These are the ones charged with dealing with their clients’ taxes. As taxes are a complicated thing is the United States, some people choose to leave them in the hands of a tax attorney in some specific cases. These professionals (alongside accountants) are pivotal when it comes to making sure that taxes becoming a non-issue in the case when a client needs or is looking to create or set up a business for example, or when a client needs to deal with taxable assets that are too complicated or bothersome for them to deal with themselves.
Family Attorney
Family attorneys and lawyers deal in all types of cases regarding family issues, such as cases of divorce and otherwise legal separation, adoption and child custody, alimony and paternity, emancipation, and prenuptial or postnuptial agreements. While those are their area of expertise, they can also work on other areas as well, such as -for example- an investigative case of domestic violence or child abuse, as well as teen delinquency. In such cases, these attorneys can work alongside criminal ones to help solve the issue faster and more efficiently.
Labor Attorney
If you feel you have been laid off for the wrong reasons, or for no reason at all, then a labor attorney is what you need. These professionals dabble in unlawful lay-offs as well as discrimination in the workplace, and can also deal with handling your severance pay if need be.
DUI Attorney
Think you or someone you now might have problems dealing with DUIs? Then it might be in your best interest to be in the lookout for one of these attorneys. If you are a repeat offender, this is even more relevant, as they can oftentimes defend you in court and get you out of what could turn into a sticky situation.
Criminal Defense Attorney
These attorneys and lawyers are best suited for dealing with criminal lawsuits, and provide their clients with important legal counsel and advice all the way through, from the moment they are arrested to the time of their sentencing, not to mention that they also -should it be required- work with case appeals. If there is one attorney/lawyer that most definitely need to be of top quality for you, this type should be, as an expert criminal defense attorney would know how to navigate and deal with the law and find ways to use it in ways which would benefit your case and keep you out of jail.
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/740222/number-of-lawyers-us/
