A lawyer doesn’t always fight criminal cases

It goes pretty much without saying that whenever you think of becoming a lawyer, the first thing that comes to your mind is a long black coat and a crowded courtroom with the judge shouting “order-order” at regular intervals. According to most of us, a long black coat and a crowded courtroom are two things that form the heart and soul of a lawyer.

But quite surprisingly, a lawyer does much more than just wearing a long coat and fighting court cases. To be honest, each and every lawyer has a particular specialisation. For two different legal problems, you will have to approach two different lawyers. For instance, a divorce lawyer would specialise in divorce cases and family affairs whereas  a criminal lawyer would deal with murder, rape, and cases of theft.

You have to be extremely specific when you go out to hire a lawyer. As stated earlier, not all lawyers fight all kinds of cases. Here’s a closer look at the different kinds of lawyers you might come across at some point in your lifetime.

Personal Injury Lawyer

Such a lawyer would be needed you’ve suffered severe injuries during an accident. If you’ve suffered severe injuries in a car accident, an accident lawyer would help you in your bid to claim compensation for the wounds you have suffered.

Estate Management Lawyer

The estate lawyer deals with wills, trusts, bonds and stuff like that. If you own a huge estate and want to pass it on to your children, an estate lawyer is the man you need to approach. He will prepare a will that’d help you pass on your assets from one generation to the other. Also, if you wish to start a charitable trust in order to help the poor and the underprivileged, an estate lawyer can help you with that as well.

Bankruptcy Lawyers

Now, that’s a difficult situation to handle. If you’re facing bankruptcy and need a lawyer to assist you with the legal proceedings, hiring a bankruptcy lawyer is certainly your best bet. Such a lawyer would advise you on the kinds of bankruptcies and insolvencies you are eligible for.

Intellectual Property Lawyer

He’s  popularly known as the IP attorney. An IP attorney would help you with issues pertaining to Intellectual Property Rights. Copyrights, patents, designs, trademarks, etc. fall under this particular category.

Corporate Lawyers

If you happen to be the chairperson of a corporate, then there’s every possibility that more than 50% of your time would be spent talking to corporate lawyers. You might employ a team of as many as five to seven lawyers. They’d assist you with everything right from handling governance issues to compliance issues.

Immigration Lawyer

These lawyers help you in handling immigration issues. If you’re applying for a US visa, you’d need to seek the advice of an immigration lawyer. Issues such as citizenship, green cards, refuge or asylums are also handled by an immigration lawyer.

Family Lawyer

In case you are filing for a divorce according to the Louisiana divorce laws, you’d need a family lawyer who can help you with the proceedings of the divorce. Also, if you’re a an activist fighting for your grandparents’ rights in Louisiana, a family lawyer is the person you will need to approach.

Criminal Lawyer

Now, that’s a simple one. All of us have seen movies wherein lawyers are fighting criminal cases in court. Engaging in heated arguments, presenting witnesses in court, unearthing evidences, etc. form the heart of a criminal lawyer’s job. Films featuring criminal lawyers going all guns blazing against the opposition are a common sight.

Apart from all of these, there are, of course, general practice lawyers as well. General practice lawyers lack a particular specialisation and deal with a variety of issues. Their scope of knowledge goes past a particular discipline.

So, that’s pretty much about it. The next time to plan to hire lawyer, be very specific. Not all lawyers fight criminal cases…