The practice of law is broad and a lawyer won’t be able to provide every type of legal service that you need.  Most lawyers choose a specialty of law and only handle cases within their specialty.  You are probably already familiar with criminal and family lawyers as those specialties are the most common.  However there are far more specialties of law than that.  Let’s have a look at the different types of law firms and the kinds of cases they represent.  Law practices fall into one of two categories either civil or criminal.  Criminal law is self-explanatory, however civil law is comprised of a whole bunch of specialities.

Types of Civil Law Practices

Business Law

These lawyers will deal with matters relating to starting and running your business.  Even within business law there are sub specialities like intellectual property, taxes or employment law.  Some will deal with basic business tasks like forming an LLC or incorporating your business while others make up the legal team of large corporations and conglomerates.  Business law is a large field that can be extremely complicated.

Tax Law

While tax attorneys often represent businesses to help them comply with an increasingly complicated tax code they do work with individuals as well.  If you are facing an IRS audit then you need a tax attorney to help you protect your rights or negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf.  Failing to pay taxes can result in a heavy fine or even jail time so get yourself an attorney.

Family Law

Family attorneys deal with issues relating to the family and that can include divorce, child custody, prenup agreements and adoption.  They work with all legal aspects that involve the family unit.

Personal Injury Lawyers

These attorneys deal with accidents and injuries that have happened to you.  They often represent clients who have been injured in a car accident.  They will also represent clients who have suffered because of medical malpractice, or are injured due to a defective product.  These are just some of the issues that a personal injury attorney will help you deal with.  They also help when an insurance agency is refusing to pay a claim.

Criminal Law

The types of attorneys represent you when you are charge with a crime.  Unlike civil law where the state itself has no vested interest in the outcome, criminal law is the state asserting that you violated the law.  Criminal cases can involve jail time if you found guilty.

These are but a handful of the types of law firms that are out there, there are plenty more.  Before you go looking to hire an attorney to represent you, you want to find one that works in your area of expertise.