Your Practice Area Means Everything...

Think about it.  Your choice of area of practice determines all aspects of your daily work life as an attorney.  The law is as varied as society itself.  We think that it is worth spending time to think about who you are, what you like to do, your skills and what it takes to kindle the passion necessary to excel in your chosen practice area.  Practice area often determines the following "working conditions" each day:

The clients are novices to the legal system or they are experienced users of legal services.  The client's expectations of you and what you can do will vary based on her experience with lawyers in the past or lack thereof.  Does the client understand his obligations and responsibilities to you and to the matter?  Are you prepared to spend the time to educate the client about these concerns?

The practice area may demand travel that may disrupt your personal life.

How much paperwork the matter generates can be related to the type of practice area.  Are you good with organizing paperwork and files?

There may be many meetings involved with certain practice areas, perhaps using your evenings.

Living in a particular geographical area may enhance your ability to generate work in your practice area.  An example is agricultural law.

Certain practices are prone to interruptions by the telephone, walk-in clients and the need to be at the courthouse or jail on short notice.

What are the Choices?

Here is a listing of possible areas of practice.  This is not an exhaustive list.  Certain practice areas may be allied in some fashion or one practice area may provide clients to the other practice area.  See also this article on choosing a practice area.

Aboriginal Peoples
Access to Justice
Acting Law
Addictions
Administrative Law
Admiralty Law
Adoption Law
A.D.R. Law
Advertising Law
Affirmative Action
Aging
Agency Law
Agriculture Law
Air Quality
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Americans with Disabilities Act
Animals/Wildlife Law
Antitrust and Unfair Competition
Antitrust & Trade Regulation
Appeals Law
Appellate
Aquaculture
Arbitration
Art and Cultural Property Law
Asset Protection
Associations
Automobile Law
Aviation

Banking Law
Bankruptcy Law
Benefits, Employee
Bioethics
Biotechnology
Bonds - Municipal
Business Law

Charitable Organizations
Child Abuse Law
Child Custody Law
Children
Child Support Law
Civil Procedure
Civil Rights
Class Action Law
Clerks/Court Personnel
Closely Held Business
Coal
Collection Law
Commercial Law
Commercial Transactions
Commodities, Futures and Option Commodities
Communication Law
Comparative Law
Competition Law
Computer Law
Conciliation
Condominium Law
Confidentiality Agreements
Conflicts of Interest
Constitutional Law
Construction Law
Consumer Law
Contract Law
Controlled Substances
Cooperatives
Copyright Law
Corporation & Partnership Law
Corporate Governance
Counterfeiting
Credit
Creditors - Rights
Criminal Law
Criminal Defense
Customs
Cyberspace Law

Death Penalty Law
Defamation
Defense Industries
Disability Law
Discovery/Evidence
Dispute Resolution
Discrimination Law
Distributorship
Divestitures
Divorce
Drug Law
Drug Testing - Employees
Driving While Intoxicated

E

E-Commerce
Economics and Law
Economic Deregulation
Education Law
Elder Law
Electricity Law
Eminent Domain
Employees Benefits
Employment/Labor
Energy Law and Natural Resources
Enforcement of Judgments
Entertainment Law
Environmental Law
Environment Law - U.S. Focused
Equal Protection
Equal Rights
Equine
Equipment Leasing
ERISA
Estate and Trust
Estate and Gift Tax
Ethics
Exchange Controls
Excise Taxes
Executive Compensation
Expropriation

F

Factoring
Family Law
False Claim Act
Federal Administration
Federal Law
Fidelity Law
Financial Services
Financing
Firearms
Food and Drug
Foundations
Foundations - Tax
Franchising
Fraud Law
Free Speech

Gambling Law
Gaming
Gas Law
General Practice
Gifts
Globalization
Government Affairs
Government Benefits
Government (general)
Government Contracts
Government (Federal)
Government (State)
Government (Judicial)
Gramm Leach Bliley
Gun Law

Health Care
Homeland Security
Hospitality Industry
Hotel/Resorts Law
Housing Law
Human Resources
Human Rights

I

Identity Infringement
Immigration Law
Indian Law
Indigenous Peoples
Individual Tax
Information Services
Inheritance - Tax
Injuries
Insurance Law
Insurance Defense
Intellectual Property Law
Intentional Torts
International Law
International Tax
Internet Law / eCommerce
Investments

J

Job Safety
Joint Ventures
Judge - Administration Law
Judge - Appellate
Judge - Federal Trial
Judge - Special Court
Judge - State Trial
Judicial Administration
Juvenile Law

L

Labor & Employment Law
Labor Law - Neutral/Public
Labor Law - Union
Land Transport
Landlord and Tenant
Land Use
Law Practice Financial Management
Law Practice Management
Law Practice Marketing
Law Practice Technology
Leasing Personal Property
Legal Education & Bar Admissions
Legal Services - Civil
Legal Theory
Libel/Slander
Licensing
Limited Liability Companies
Litigation - Civil
Litigation - Commercial
Lobbying

M

Malpractice (Medical)
Malpractice (Legal)
Malpractice (Other)
Managed Care
Manufacturing
Maritime
Marriage
Media
Mediation
Medicine and Law
Mental Health Law
Mergers/Acquisitions
Migration Law
Military Law
Minerals
Mining Regulation
Mortgage
Movie Law
Multimedia Law
Municipal Administration
Municipal Bond Practice
Music Law
Mutual Funds

N

Nationality Law
Native Peoples
Native Americans' Law
Natural Resources
Negligence
Negotiable Instruments
News
Newspapers
Non-Profit Organizations
Nuclear Law

O

Oil/Gas
Open Source Software
Organizations, Business
Organizations, Non-Profit
OSHA

P

Partnership
Patents
Pension
Personal Injury & Tort Law
Politics and Law
Pornography Law
Poverty Law
Price Controls
Printed Media
Prisoner Law
Privacy
Private International Law
Privatization
Procurement
Probate
Procurement by Government
Products Liability & Safety
Professional Liability
Professional Responsibility/Ethics
Profit Sharing
Property, Personal
Public Contract Law
Public Employment
Public Finance
Public Utility
Public Finance
Public Health Care
Public International Law
Public Interest Law
Public Utility Law & Regulated Industries
Publishing Law

Radio/TV
Railroad
Real Estate Development
Real Estate - Commercial
Real Estate - Tax
Real Property
Recreation/Leisure
Refugees
Regulatory Law
Religious Freedom
Remedies
Renters Law
Reorganization - Business
Residential Real Estate
RICO
Right to Die Law
Risk Analysis

S

Safety, Job-related
Safety, Non-Job-related
Sales of Goods and Services
Sarbanes Oxley
Science, Engineering & Technology Law
Sea Law
Secured Transactions
Securities Law
Sexual Harassment
Shopping Centers
Social Security Law
Social Services
Social Welfare
Space Law
Sports, Entertainment & the Arts
State Administration
State/Local Tax
Surety Law
Syndications

T

Tax Exempt Associations
Taxation
Tax Law
Technology and Law
Telecommunications Law
Title Insurance
Torts
Tourism
Toxic Torts
Trade & Professional Associations
Trade Law
Trade Regulation
Trademarks
Transportation Law
Travel
Trials - Civil
Trucking
Trusts, Probate and Estates
Torts

U

Unemployment Law
U.C.C. Law
University/School Law
Urban Planning
Utilities (Public)

W

War & Peace
Warranty Law
Water Law
Welfare
Whistleblowers Law
White Collar Crime
Wills, Trusts & Estates
Women and the Law
Women's Rights
Worker Compensation

Zoning Law
Zoo Liability