Areas of Practice That Require Understanding of Multiple Legal Subjects
Attorneys practice law in many different contexts, including law firms, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Within each of these environments, attorneys may focus on one or several practice areas. Many, if not most, areas of legal practice involve the understanding of multiple legal subjects. Of course, an obvious example is that any attorney must understand the subject of civil procedure regardless of the area of law in which they practice. Some areas of practice, more than other areas, require an understanding of many different subjects. The practice of bankruptcy law is an excellent example.
*Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy lawyers represent individual and corporate creditors and debtors in financial liquidations, reorganizations, workouts, bankruptcy cases, and other matters. Bankruptcy requires the knowledge of not only the federal law of bankruptcy but also local state debtor-creditor laws, including those involving homesteads and exemptions. Also required is the knowledge of property law, as well as the law of secured transactions and commercial paper.
*Family Law
Family law is a body of law that applies to family and domestic relationships, including marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships, adoption and surrogacy, and child custody and support. Family law lawyers handle a variety of issues including divorce, custody, child support, prenuptial agreements, guardianship, adoptions, and estate planning. In addition to traditional substantive legal skills, family law often requires attorneys to have negotiation and counseling skills. Lawyers involved in the practice of domestic relations must know contract and property law. Family law lawyers may also spend part of their practices directly serving clients affected by domestic violence, which necessitates knowledge of these and other criminal laws.
*Civil Rights/Liberties
While the term “civil rights” entered the American lexicon in the 1950s and ’60s for reasons related to the infringement of rights based on race, today’s civil rights movement is broad and diverse, encompassing LGBT groups, disability advocacy, and immigrants’ rights organizations. In contrast, “civil liberties” generally involve the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expression, assembly, and religion. Some organizations also consider the right to operate a business or to develop property without government interference a part of civil liberties. Current issues in this area of law include those dealing with the right to same-sex marriage and racial profiling. Criminal law, Constitutional law, as well as other areas of federal law involving disability law and immigration law, are just some of the areas of legal expertise that an attorney will need to possess in this field.
Attorneys must be prepared to satisfy clients regardless of the nature of the services provided. The CDTA provides the training that attorney-advocates require to meet the needs of clients in the 21st Century. As 2021 moves into full swing, the CDTA continues to place students in the best position possible to obtain the valuable benefits, now more important than ever, that distance learning provides, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The California Desert Trial Academy College of Law provides a state-of-the-art online learning platform that takes full advantage of the benefits provided by distance learning. The CDTA is truly moving forward in 2021! The CDTA College of Law trains, educates, and develops students to be exceptional attorneys and trial advocates. Call us today at (760) 342-0900 or find out more online here.