Once you decide to become a lawyer, you have your work cut out for you in a much-needed career. After all, somebody will need a lawyer for something at some point. However, lawyers, like doctors and teachers, can have a specialty. Are you still considering various career paths after law school? Read this guide for more information about lawyer things after school.
1. Specialty Medical Lawyer
You may be one of those lawyers who considered going into the medical field. Luckily, you do not need to be a doctor or nurse to have a foothold in the industry. You may want to use your legal expertise to handle cases relevant to medical issues. When it comes to lawyer things concerning the medical industry, you may decide to become a brain injury lawyer.
Unfortunately, brain injuries can happen for several reasons, and a patient may need compensation. For example, if someone was the victim of an attack, they may have a brain injury due to a blow to the head or a concussion. According to the CDC, about 1.7 billion get a concussion annually. The concussion happens when the brain moves around inside the skull back and forth. Concussions are one of the most common injuries from car accidents. About 289,000 concussions result from car accidents annually. Many NFL players also have long-standing health problems after retirement due to numerous concussions.
Someone may also have a permanent brain injury because an object penetrated it from an accident or due to a blow. Brain damage from the negligence of a medical staff leading to a medical malpractice case. Unfortunately, when somebody suffers a brain injury, it can affect the quality of life and ability to work and function normally again. Therefore, a brain injury lawyer is essential to ensuring the patient and their family get the compensation they need. A lawyer in this position can also provide the emotional support and expertise needed at this time.
2. Bankruptcy Lawyer
Lawyer things often involve the discussion of money, even more so when the specialty of bankruptcy. According to Debt.org, about 387,721 Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2022. While the number of bankruptcy filings can fluctuate, this 2022 statistic showed a 6% decrease from the amount of people who filed the previous year.
When someone is in dire straits, they may need to resort to bankruptcy as a last resort. People are encouraged to explore more options like personal loans or debt consolidation. Once they file for bankruptcy, it’ll be on their credit reports for seven years. As a bankruptcy attorney, you’re responsible for helping people understand their rights and options beyond bankruptcy. Help them through the situation if they do decide to file.
There are forms of bankruptcy which people may need your attorney services for. Lawyer things in the bankruptcy world may focus on Chapter 7, Chapter 13, as well as Chapter 11. After all, some people may believe there is one uniform bankruptcy filing, but that isn’t true. The type of bankruptcy a client needs depends on their situation. Plus, the companies can also file for the situation due to the reorganization of debt.
Chapter 7 is filed by individuals or businesses, and involves liquidation of assets to pay back creditors. This form is very straightforward and quick. According to Debt Consolidation, over 70% of bankruptcy filings were Chapter 7. If you don’t have assets, you can still keep your home. Chapter 13 means you can keep your home and pay creditors with a court-mandated repayment plan. Large organizations and individuals with debt beyond the Chapter 13 limit can file for Chapter 11.
Some lesser-known options include Chapters 12, 15, and 9. As a bankruptcy lawyer, you may have family farmers as clients so they can reorganize debt and still operate a farm. Fishermen also can file under this chapter. Foreign creditors may file Chapter 15, and cities and villages may reorganize debt under Chapter 9 law.
3. Automotive Lawyer
Lawyer things may include driving a nice car or defending someone after a car accident. The United States has many vehicles on the road, and unfortunately, vehicle collisions are a common occurrence. According to USA Today, over 42,795 fatal car crashes happened in 2022. That number doesn’t include the number of car accidents that weren’t fatal but resulted in permanent or temporary injuries that may have changed someone’s life. Even if someone walked away without a scratch, they may be dealing with the emotional and financial repercussions of being in a car accident, especially when it wasn’t due to their fault. That’s where you come in as a local car accident attorney.
It’s your job as an automotive lawyer to help your clients in situations where they may be the victim of a vehicle collision or they were at fault. Even when defending someone at fault, you still want to ensure that they know their rights and the best way to plead considering the proof of guilt. You can act as a mediator to help both parties come to a proper compensation to avoid a court trial. A motorcycle accident lawyer may have to deal with cases involving more fatalities or intense injuries since bikers have little protection against the elements. If they are thrown from a vehicle on the wrong pavement, it can be devastating.
Consider where you have the best opportunity to do lawyer things after school. You may be busy as a car accident lawyer in Texas. According to the NHTSA, 2022 marked a year in which the most fatal car collisions in any state happened in Texas. There were 4,496 fatal car crashes that year there at the time. California wasn’t far behind with 4,407 deadly car accidents, while Florida was in 3rd place.
4. Criminal Defense Lawyer
Unfortunately, crimes happen daily around the world, and the United States is no different. Therefore, if you decide to become a criminal lawyer, you’re bound to always have a client to represent, or you may represent the victim who is the plaintiff. Either way, the continued rise in crime means lawyers in this field always have plenty of lawyer things to tend to. The best criminal lawyer may be a defense attorney or prosecutor. You can build a reputation if you end up becoming an Attorney General one day. Either way, you may prosecute crimes from theft to robbery to manslaughter to murder.
In this legal specialty, you would certainly be dealing with the heavier end of clients. A felony lawyer usually handles cases resulting in at least one year or more in prison. These crimes include arson or murder. Sometimes, a felony becomes such a case after a violation of several misdemeanors. For example, someone may be in a state in which a DUI is a misdemeanor as long as you didn’t hurt someone. However, that misdemeanor becomes a felony if you have several repeated violations or your DUI results in someone becoming injured or dying.
If you gain a reputation as a criminal defense lawyer, you may have a high likelihood of representing some very high-profile cases. You may also end up making on the higher end of the income bracket, especially if you develop a reputation for having several convictions as a prosecutor or winning as a defense attorney. However, you should also be prepared that in this particular field, you may be dealing with some very dangerous criminals. On the other hand, you may also get the opportunity to represent someone wrongfully convicted and help prove their innocence.
5. DUI Lawyer
Lawyer things may involve celebrating with other clients or lawyers after a big win. You may have several drinks at happy hour and hopefully safely find your way home. However, some people may have drinks and get behind the wheel of a car completely inebriated. If the police pull someone over and prove they’re under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they would be guilty of a DUI. A DUI in some states can be a misdemeanor as long as that person doesn’t hit another car or a person.
Unfortunately, driving under the influence has taken many lives or created severe life-altering injuries. Therefore, if you work as a DUI attorney, you’d be dealing with individuals who may be convicted of operating a vehicle under the influence. However, you may be able to gather enough evidence to prove that they were not under the influence and were below blood alcohol levels. Depending on the background of a defendant, you may be able to get a lighter sentence, such as community service or agreement to go into a DUI program in exchange for not doing jail time or losing a license.
6. Probate and Estate Lawyer
Having access to lawyer things like legal expertise and contracts comes in handy when someone is planning their estate. Unfortunately, many Americans still believe they don’t need to have an estate plan because they don’t have enough assets. This is the biggest mistake they can make, as even if they die without a will, whatever their assets are, from a car to a home, go through the probate process.
Probate is the process when the court validates a will and allows creditors to make claims. It is a stressful time for loved ones, especially if the validity of a will is questioned or scammers come forward. That’s where your expertise as a probate litigation attorney comes in handy. Help people through the probate process and understand what’s going on. Your legal expertise can also help the process move along faster, so it ideally won’t take as long since your expertise can also help scare off any scammers claiming deceased assets. Many families during this time have disagreements, but the presence of an experienced lawyer can help solve that issue.
The good thing about getting an estate lawyer is people have access to more than a simple will. They can further protect your assets and make inheritance easier for their loved ones by establishing a trust. Under a trust, the terms of the inheritance assets are private compared to the public ones in a will. Heirs can also receive their assets faster and have fewer inheritance tax issues. Some people may also transfer real estate deeds while still living. As an estate lawyer, there are many ways you can help your clients handle their assets in a way that saves them time, money, and disputes.
7. Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Medical malpractice attorneys are there when clients have been victims of poor medical treatment that has resulted in injury, misdiagnosis, wrong medication, doses, or even worse, death. Some malpractice issues have included the removal of the wrong organ or the wrong limb during surgery. People have been given improper diagnoses, such as being told they had IBS, but it was colon cancer.
Some people have also received the wrong dosage of a medication. Receiving an improper dosage of medication could result in a diabetic going into a coma if they don’t get insulin or someone having a bad reaction because of medication interacting with another medication. That’s why it’s essential that clients feel confident going to the local hospitals or clinics. If these facilities are guilty of malpractice issues, the public has the right to know about it, so no one else gets hurt. Dealing with these lawyer things as a malpractice lawyer can help you cater to client needs and keep the public safe.
These are some of the lawyer things involving the career path you can take when you’re done with the long hours and paperwork of law school. You can carve a legal path based on your expertise and interest in the medical field, car accident compensation, real estate estate planning, and much more. Hopefully, this guide will give budding new lawyers a chance to see the world ahead of them. There is a lot to being a lawyer, and you’re bound to find a specialization right for you. As a matter of fact, once you’ve been practicing in a particular field of law, you can always switch over to another branch that’s a better fit.
