What Type of Lawyer Can Help Me?
Finding the right type of lawyer for your matter can prove problematic. First, don’t expect a lawyer to come out and say “I specialize” in any given area. In fact, lawyers are not allowed to use the word “specialize” in their billboard or other marketing.
But why?
As the thinking goes, allowing one lawyer to announce his singular “specialty” would be unfair to generalists or solo practitioners, who handle multiple areas of law. In Pennsylvania, Rule of Professional Responsibility 7.4 provides:
(a) . .. A lawyer shall not state that the lawyer is a specialist except as follows:
The same is also true in Canada.
Plus, unlike medicine, there’s no board certification for individual practice areas, except patent law, described above, which has its own separate bar exam.
Since lawyers cannot say their “specialization,” how does the client know what lawyer would be best for a given matter?
Lawyer Referral Service
There are multiple lawyer referral services out there, as described by the American Bar Association. Plus, we have written about how to find a lawyer with a given area of expertise in any geographic community.
But how do you know what legal expertise you need?
Homework for Those Seeking a Lawyer
It’s up to those seeking a lawyer to do two things. First, determine your goal in terms of what you really want from litigation: Is it money? An injunction issued by a judge? A letter asking a person to cease and desist? Then, figure out what type of lawyer would best fit that goal. Below, we describe the types of lawyers by area of experience and what experience — in particular — a client should look for, to obtain particular results.
Lawyers by Areas of Experience
One lawyer can focus in two or three areas and do each area very well. The key is looking for the type of cases the lawyer handles — and has handled in the past — to evaluate whether his training and experience will be a good fit.
Below is a description of each core area of experience the client should seek.
Breach of Contract Litigator
Contracts are everywhere. Just look around you: from the moment you wake up in the morning (there was an agreement to purchase alarm clock or smart phone that woke you up in the morning), to the employment agreement governing your job, to the mortgage for the home (or your apartment lease), right up to the agreement to buy the toothpaste you used before going to bed. Everything in your life involves a contract of some sort. Thus, an expert in handling contract law disputes is extremely valuable.
The Power of a Contract. A contract is like a private piece of legislation between two or more parties. A wide variety of rights can be created or waived through a contract, including the right to sue in court. Contract law covers most of your important dealings in life: from credit card debt disputes, to new building construction, to noncompete agreements — also called “a non-competes” or “non-compete clauses.
Moreover, an agreement may preclude you from sharing confidential information via a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). A contract may also deem certain information a “trade secret.”
What a Contract Litigator Knows. A contract law litigator can be an expert at doing investigation and — ultimately — taking a case to court to determine:
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- when a contract was formed,
- how it can create (or take away) rights,
- when the breach of contract occurred, and
- what damages are recoverable (or what defenses apply).
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These lawyers can also write a quality “cease and desist” letter to prevent or compel action.
Employment Law Attorneys
These handle the aforementioned non-compete disputes, but also employment law matters such as wrongful termination and discriminatory practices in hiring, firing, and promotion. These lawyers focus more on the “lost wage” aspect of a case, versus the nuts and bolts of contract law.
Construction Law Litigator
Construction law is its own “separate animal” in some regards. For example, mechanic’s lien law is nuanced and it changes often. Another example is the Home Improvement and Consumer Protection Act (HICPA). This area of law protects consumers and requires in-depth knowledge of the statute at issue. For example, HICPA only applies to improvement of an existing home for consumer use (not commercial). Conversely, the Contractor Subcontractor Payment Act allows for claims on contractors and property owners for non-payment for construction services, but it never applies to renovations on one’s home.
Thus, only a lawyer practicing construction law on a regular basis should be trusted with any significant construction law dispute.
Personal Injury Attorney
Many lawyers claim they can handle “personal injury” cases, but in truth, only a few are qualified to handle anything more than garden-variety cases. In fact, many lawyers — seeing dollar signs from a potentially difficult injury case — are quick to sign up a seriously injured client, only to call yours truly when the case gets too complicated.
For example, in Pennsylvania electing “limited tort” on your motor vehicle insurance can limit you from suing for pain and suffering in a significant roadway collision. “Limited tort law” is highly nuanced and key exceptions exist. Plus, through experience, a lawyer can learn what investigation to conduct to help get a case over the “limited tort threshold.” You should only trust a limited tort injury matter to lawyers who regularly practice a significant volume of these cases.
Intellectual Property Attorney
As mentioned, only a lawyer who passes the national “patent bar” exam may practice patent law. But the field of “intellectual property law” extends beyond patent cases. It includes trademark, copyright, and trade secret law, including the Defense of Trade Secrets Act or DTSA. These areas are all highly nuanced. Thus, for the litigation of any intellectual property matter, you will want a lawyer who regularly handles such disputes in court. That said, it’s not unusual for an intellectual property litigator to also handle construction law, for example.
Generalist
These are good for simple wills, real estate closings, but don’t expect them to know nuances about contract law, or limited tort, for example.
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Contact a Pittsburgh lawyer for any litigation claim or defense in Western PA.
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