Sometimes adulting really stinks. There all these things you have to do and know. Sometimes those things don’t pertain to your everyday life, either. With your health insurance, you have to know if you need a referral from your primary care physician before you can see a specialist. With your finances, you have to know how to budget, save and invest. Then there are the less common things you may need, too, like lawyers. You will require the services of at least one lawyer in your life. Not all attorneys practice the same kind of law, though, so how do you know which type you’ll need?
Family Law
You’re almost guaranteed to need an attorney who specializes in family law at some point in your life. Family lawyers deal with things that pertain specifically to families. They work on both sides of a marriage, both drafting the pre-nuptial agreement and representing the parties in separations, divorce, and child custody. Family law attorneys also help with adoptions. If you need a will drawn up, this is who you’d see. You can read more about these types of lawyers www.americanbar.org.
Personal Injury
You’ll see advertisements from personal injury lawyers on television, billboards, and in local magazines. While some of them have a bad reputation as ambulance chasers, the bulk of personal injury attorneys are focused and passionate about helping their clients navigate a difficult time that isn’t even the client’s fault. The whole purpose of personal injury law is to assist people who have been harmed either physically or psychologically by another’s negligence. While the client is always a person, the negligent party may be a person, corporation or government agency. Personal injury law seeks justice for those who suffer from non-criminal harm.
Real Estate
Even if you never buy a house, you may end up needing the services of a real estate lawyer. Those who practice real estate law do help both sellers and buyers through the process of real estate transactions, but they also help landlords and tenants resolve legal disputes. Other functions real estate lawyers serve are to research and assist in the resolution of environmental issues and problems with property title insurance.
Criminal Law
Operating on both sides of the courtroom, criminal lawyers work primarily either prosecuting people for committing crimes or defending people from that prosecution. Despite having to choose a side, these attorneys have to have a solid knowledge of how their counterparts work. It also helps if they foster a good working relationship with one another so that they can pursue a resolution to each case that both serves justice and applies a punishment appropriate to the crime.
Corporate Law
Unless you own your own business, you may never need the services of a corporate lawyer. Their duties are specifically geared towards the businesses for which they work. They draft documents, negotiate deals, and craft transactions on behalf of that business. They have to be very precise to avoid future problems regarding the agreements on which they work for their companies.
Knowing what kind of lawyer you need for your individual situation will help you choose the right one.
