Every career or field has distinct disciplines within it, and the legal field is no
exception. These disciplines are specific areas of expertise in the field. Each
discipline has distinguishing features, theories and components that set it apart from
other disciplines. The following are some key and indispensable disciplines of the
legal profession.

Family Law
This discipline spans custody, child support and divorce cases. It includes pre-nuptial
agreements and post-nuptial agreements. Just like its name implies, family law is
concerned with couples, children and spouses.

Criminal Law
Criminal law is concerned with crimes ranging from driving under the influence of
drugs or alcohol to theft to murder.

Job or Employment Law
This is concerned with legal issues strictly related to employment. It includes
contracts, federal and state labour laws, employment lawsuits etc.

Injury, Health or Disability Law
This discipline is the most diverse area of law because it involves any accident or
injury, e.g. car accidents, defective products, medical malpractice etc.

Real Estate and Housing Law
This is concerned with legal matters involving property and real estate issues. It
includes real estate disputes, buying and selling of real estate properties, drafting of
real estate legal documents etc.

Wills, Trusts and Estate Law
Lawyers in this discipline create trusts, draft wills and can act as executors of their
clients’ wills by distributing properties. They can also represent clients who are
contesting a will or trust.

Business or Corporate Law
This is the area of law concerned with mergers, acquisitions or basic legal tasks such
as contract creation. Business or corporate lawyers are needed in the event of
starting a company, negotiating a business deal, filing a business lawsuit, giving
advice about the business law to clients.

Finance and Securities Law
This discipline is a subsection of Business or Corporate Law. It is focused on legal
issues regarding selling stocks, issuing money etc. Lawyers in this discipline are hired for representing clients against IRS (Internal Revenue Service) claims and filing a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) complaint against a company.

Intellectual Property Law
This discipline has three sub disciplines under it namely Patent, Copyright and
Trademark. Intellectual property lawyers focus strictly on protecting intangible
property. They are divided into two groups. One group strictly protects the
intellectual property, and files paperwork to obtain the copyright, trademark or
patens. The other group of lawyers sue in the event of a copyright violation.

Immigration Law
Lawyers in this discipline assist individuals in securing visas for non-indigenous
acquaintances or family members. They help fill forms with the government on the
client’s behalf.

Bankruptcy Law
Bankruptcy lawyers focus on debts of their clients. They represent clients who are
seeking to get paid in a bankruptcy petition, as well as clients filing for personal or
business bankruptcy.

Tax Law
Tax lawyers help individuals and firms abide by federal and state laws regarding tax
return filings.

The knowledge of the various disciplines in the legal profession can come in handy
for law students seeking to specialize in a particular area. Clients seeking to hire
lawyers for a particular purpose can also use this information to select the type of
lawyer that suits their needs.