Types of Lawyersfamily tree and terminology

Areas

Most lawyers fit somewhere in the following outline. However, some attorneys span multiple specialties and types. For example, some mergers and acquisitions lawyers are also civil litigators.

Skip To: Litigators, Transactional Lawyers, Neutrals, Lobbyists

• Litigators represent clients in disputes decided by neutrals.

  • Civil Litigators represent clients in lawsuits in civil court, as well as various kind of alternative dispute resolution. Some civil litigators specialize in particular areas of law or kinds of clients. For example:

    • Family Lawyers focus on marriage, divorce, custody, adoption, paternity, and related issues.

    • Commercial Litigators focus on breach-of-contract and other business lawsuits.

    • Patent Litigators represent clients in patent-infringement lawsuits. They often specialize to the offensive (plaintiff) or defensive (defendant) side.

  • Criminal Litigators represent clients or the government in criminal court.

    • Public Defenders work for the government representing criminal defendants.

    • District Attorneys, State’s Attorneys, and United States Attorneys work for the government representing governments and prosecuting defendants, as Prosecutors.

  • Administrative Litigators represent clients before regulatory agencies.

• Transactional Lawyers advise and represent clients outside disputes decided by government institutions. They typically specialize in a narrow field of law, like real estate tax, or the broader needs of an industry, like construction. Here are just a few:

  • Corporate Lawyers help clients set up and reorganize corporations and sometimes other kinds of legal entities, like limited liability companies and trusts.

  • Employment Lawyers advise on compliance with wage, hour, insurance, safety, discrimination, and other work-related regulations.

  • Labor Lawyers help companies, unions, and other kinds of organizations negotiate and comply with collective bargaining agreements.

  • Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyers help clients merge their businesses or buy others’ businesses.

  • Intellectual Property Lawyers focus on particular kinds of intellectual property, like copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets.

    • Copyright Lawyers focus on copyright issues, often focusing on a particular industry like music, film, or software.

    • Trademark Lawyers help clients apply for and protect trademarks and service marks.

    • Patent Prosecutors write and apply for patents for clients.

  • Securities Lawyers help clients comply with rules and regulations about selling stock, debt, and other kinds of investments.

  • Tax Lawyers advise on how to comply with tax laws and minimize tax burdens.

  • Technology Transactions Lawyers help clients negotiate contracts, licenses, and other deals for creating or selling intellectual property.

  • Trusts and Estates Lawyers help clients create wills and other legal tools to manage their money and property when they die or can’t manage their own lives anymore.

• Neutrals resolve disputes.

  • Judges decide court cases.

    • Trial Court Judges decide court cases when they first come to court.

    • Appellate Judges and Justices decide appeals.

  • Magistrates help judges decide cases in some court systems.

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution Neutrals help clients resolve disputes without going to court.

    • Arbitrators function much like privately hired judges.

    • Mediators try to help the sides agree to a resolution.

• Lobbyists (who are not all lawyers) influence government officials in favor of their clients.

Practice Size

• Sole Practitioners work on their own, without any colleagues. They may set up their practices as firms or professional corporations (PCs). They may also hire administrative or other staff, or even other lawyers on contract. But for the most part, they’re independent professionals flying solo. Sole practitioners often charge less than other kinds of lawyers, but have to refer clients to other lawyers and firms for needs outside their practice areas.

• Small Firm Lawyers work at law firms with two or more partners.

• Boutique Firm Lawyers work for small or middle-sized law firms that specialize in a particular niche. Some boutique firms are made up entirely of lawyers in the same area. Others combine lawyers in related areas. For example, a patent boutique firm might combine patent litigators, patent prosecutors, and transactional lawyers specializing in patent licensing and patent portfolio strategy.

• Big Law Lawyers work for large, often national or multinational law firms with hundreds or even thousands of lawyers. Big law firms typically charge more than other kinds of lawyers, but offer the widest variety of lawyers across practice areas and specialties, presence in multiple countries, and the largest capacity to staff large projects with hordes of legal manpower.

Work Environment

• Lawyers in Private Practice work for themselves, or for law firms, that represent one or more different clients.

• Lawyers in Public Service work for government bodies.

• In House lawyers work as employees of their main clients. The highest ranking in-house lawyer is often General Counsel.

Within Law Firms

• Partners typically share ownership or profits of the firm as a whole.

• Associates do not share ownership or profits, and tend to be junior lawyers.

• Lawyers “Of Counsel” are often more senior, but typically don’t share ownership or profits. They’re often highly specialized in an area of law or an industry.

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