Every day, people hire attorneys to help them fight legal battles. Lawyers understand court processes, legal requirements, how to write contracts, and what actions people need to take. When you hire a lawyer, you will have someone on your side who can help you with the complexities and intricacies of the law itself, as well as help you understand the different ways you can make your position or lawsuit more favorable.
Lawyers often work in specialties and specific areas, so appeals lawyers in Atlanta Georgia will have a very different area of expertise compared with a personal injury lawyer or a litigation lawyer in a different state. Here are some of the things you are most likely to need a lawyer for throughout your life:
Criminal Defense
Criminal defense is one of the most common reasons people hire a lawyer. People who have been charged with a crime have the right to be represented in court. A criminal defense lawyer may work for a private practice, in which case they would be hired directly for the person who has been charged. Other criminal defense lawyers are hired by the government to provide public representation for people who can’t hire their own lawyers. Finally, some criminal defense attorneys might work for non-profits that help people in specific cases, such as high-profile hate crimes, government overreach, or religious freedom cases. Criminal defense lawyers often have explicit training in criminal law from their universities or through continuing education.
Personal Injury
Personal injury lawyers help their clients in cases involving personal harm, usually in the form of physical injuries. In these cases, the client and their attorney attempt to show the court that the injury was the result of negligence or some other fault of the opposing party. Personal injury cases such as those caused by vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, unsafe working conditions, and slip-and-fall cases are often settled out of court through negotiations between the injured party’s lawyer and the opposing party’s insurance company. Many of these lawyers work on a percentage basis rather than charging by the hour. Their clients pay nothing unless they win their case, and then they pay a percentage, often 30% or more of the amount they receive from the lawsuit.
Business Litigation
Business lawyers work on large projects for businesses, such as mergers, as well as small day-to-day jobs like reading and writing contracts. Corporate lawyers will also help with business acquisitions, like purchasing other businesses, real estate, and property. They can help companies maintain legal compliance with state and local requirements like licensure, liability insurance requirement, and issues regarding intellectual property and copyright laws. Some business attorneys will be found working for individual companies, while others are employed by law firms and are hired by their clients on retainers.
Estate Planning
Estate and probate attorneys help people create wills, make decisions about trusts and inheritance, and create and file necessary forms. Making choices about what will happen after your death is an uncomfortable process for many people, and estate planning lawyers can help them by helping them understand the law and their options, as well as help them make sure they have thought of all the possibilities and covered everything they need to. They can also help support families going through the probate process and guide them as to their legal options.
Real Estate Transactions
Real estate transitions are complicated legal affairs with various issues, forms, and requirements. These are made more confusing by the fact that different states have different legal requirements for real estate sales, such as different forms, required disclosures, and rights of the buyers and sellers. In some states, a real estate attorney is required in order to buy or sell a property. In others, an attorney is a good idea but not legally required. Real estate attorneys can also represent title companies or mortgage companies.
Family Law
Family attorneys work with family issues, such as divorce, alimony, and child custody. However, lesser-known areas of expertise for family lawyers include helping to write prenuptial agreements and other contracts, working on adoption cases, and supporting the family in cases of juvenile delinquency. Family attorneys also help to resolve familial disputes outside of court and in mediation when possible. In other situations, these lawyers do appear in court to represent one side of a family case. Family lawyers often work for private practices or nonprofits.
Bankruptcy
When a person or corporation has more debt than it can pay, it can file for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy lawyers are attorneys who specialize in helping people in these cases. These lawyers can work for businesses or individuals, as both can file for bankruptcy. Many times, lawyers will specialize in just one type of bankruptcy situation. Commercial bankruptcy attorneys will represent corporations, whether they owe money or are a creditor in the case. Consumer bankruptcy lawyers represent individual, non-incorporated, debtors and creditors.
Employment Law
These lawyers specialize in employment and union-related issues. Concerns such as harassment, wage issues, and discrimination are handled by employment attorneys. Labor attorneys do similar work, but rather than negotiating with employers and workers, they work specifically on cases involving unions. These lawyers can represent the employee, the employer, or the union, and they can serve as attorneys for the plaintiff or the defendant.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property attorneys work in the fields of copyrights, patents, and trademarks. They help their clients in several ways, both in the process of understanding their intellectual property rights, and in the process of defending them. An intellectual property lawyer can help their clients learn how to protect their intellectual property with copyrights, patents, and trademarks, as well as how to keep their intellectual property from being stolen in the first place. They can also help file and register legal copyrights and patents, and represent their clients in court if they need to prosecute an infringement.
Immigration Law
Lawyers working in immigration law help people who are seeking to become citizens. They can also help people who want to live, work, or study in the United States. They sometimes work with refugees and asylum seekers who are in the country without documentation but who are asking for protection and asylum. In some cases, immigration lawyers work for individuals who are seeking legal status. Because many immigrants can’t afford an attorney, many immigration lawyers also work for non-profits that provide services at no charge or at a significantly reduced cost. They can also work for employees who are seeking to hire immigrants.